The Almost-Real Old West in Love Valley

Recently, we read an article with several suggestions for day trips. Thinking this might help us suggest one to our friend, Lynn, for a change (see previous post on Körner's Folly), Marsha and I were thrilled. The spot that intrigued us the most was Love Valley, NC, a small, imitation Western town near Statesville. On our cross-country trip this summer, we'd searched for an authentic Western town to visit, but the closest were were able to get was the Dodge City re-creation.

According to the article and photos, Love Valley looked just like an authentic Western town with a saloon, general store, hitching posts, and dozens of trails for riding. In fact, the "town" was built for riders to go and feel just like they were in the Old West. This sounded exactly like what we were looking for.

Right after we went to Körner's Folly, Marsha and I had a rare Sunday afternoon to just ourselves, so after church, we decided to drive over to Love Valley, have some lunch, and check it out. Sure enough, the GPS in my new car (which we'd already found to be less than reliable) took us on the most convoluted route possible. But we found the area soon enough (as evidenced by all the horse stables and the giant list of rules for riders) and knew that within minutes we'd pull up in front of the saloon.

Instead, we found ourselves on a dead-end road in a church parking lot. That was the first sign that all was not to be what we'd expected. After reprogramming the GPS, driving around in a big circle, and ending up right back in the church parking lot again, we realized what we'd done wrong. The saloon and the whole "town" itself wasn't on an actual street, so the GPS was just taking us to the closest spot that was. So we drove back to the town "entrance," and tried to park, but the only parking lot was an unmarked dirt lot full of horse trailers and motorcycles. It wasn't really designed for visitors. After the motorcycles left, we were able to finally park and go get some lunch at the saloon.

As soon as we strolled into town like the couple of greenhorn hombres that we were, I immediately steered us to the wooden walkways than ran the length of the town. That was both to get the full Old West experience (really needed some spurs) and to avoid all of the horse poop in the street. 

I have to admit, with all the horses tied up along the hitching rails, the authentic weathered clapboard buildings, and dirt street (no grass like Dodge City) full of horse poop, it felt just like the real deal. Especially with all of the horses tied up outside the General Store. Much more Little Big Man than Gunsmoke.

After we walked to the other end of town and checked out the walking/biking/riding trails. We momentarily entertained the idea of a hike, but opted against it since we still hadn't had lunch and it was already getting close to 3:00. 

We found the saloon across the street, steered ourselves around the big pile of poop in front of the steps, and went inside to check it out. The Western theme didn't carry as much inside. It looked more like the biker bar in Pee-wee's Big Adventure. I was game, but Marsha said she "wasn't feeling it," so we ventured further down the walk to the General Store & Cafe. The windows were all covered up with stickers and flyers to where we couldn't even get a glimpse inside. Neither one of us were feeling it there, so we decided we'd spent enough time in Love Valley. We'd spent a grand total of about twenty minutes there. So much for suggesting it to Lynn.

After we got back in the car and hit the road for Statesville to eat there (which ended up not working out either, since almost everything was closed for Labor Day weekend), Marsha perfectly summed up why we hadn't taken to Love Valley. It was like we'd walked in on a party to which we hadn't been invited. The magazine had billed it as a tourist attraction, but it's really more of a club for people who own and ride horses. Not really geared towards tourists at all (hence the absence of signs pointing us in the right direction). But we still had a good time checking it out and having an excursion together. Even trips that don't exactly work out can make for fun memories.

By Gosh, By Golly, It's Körner's Folly!

Our great friend, Lynn, is the master of the Day Trip. I have no idea what her sources are, but when our families get together, she never fails to find someplace interesting for us to go to, usually within an hour's drive. And it's not just day trips, either. Thanks to her, we discovered and fell in love with Newport. Our attempts to mimic her skill have been less than successful, as I shall detail in an upcoming post.

Some time ago, she suggested a trip to Körner's (pronounced "Kerner's") Folly, just down the road in Kernersville (at some point they changed the spelling to match the pronunciation), billed as "the Strangest House in the World," which sounded awesome. But for some reason or another, each time we attempted to go, our plans fell through. Well, after repeated attempts, we finally made it. And it was well worth the wait.

Körner's Folly has seven levels on three floors, twenty-two rooms, ceilings that range from five to 25 feet, an underground tunnel that runs beneath the street, a children's theater in the attic, and is nothing like you've ever seen. It also makes amazing use of ventilation (especially considering the piecemeal method in which it was built), allowing hot air, cool air, and even sunlight to travel where needed. Sadly, I was so enraptured I forgot to take many photos (and wasn't sure if I could at first). But that just gives me an excuse to go back.

Jule Körner was the grandson of German immigrants who designed furniture, did interior decorating, painted murals, and worked as a commercial artist. His greatest claim to fame was the Bull Durham murals painted on the sides of barns all over the South. He'd have his artists paint the bulls "anatomically correct," then write to the local paper posing as a concerned citizen to complain. Then he'd have to send the artist back to "fix" the painting. He was also a brilliant marketer.

The house was first constructed in 1880 as a showplace for his interior design and furniture work. For this reason, none of the rooms or furniture match (other than his signature flourishes). The right-hand side of the ground floor was actually the stables, with a 16-foot ceiling to allow for the hay loft. A relative said that the house "would surely be Jule Körner's folly." He liked the description so much, that's what he named the house. He even had it set in tile on the front porch.

Over the years, Körner kept adding to the house, especially after he got married and then had two children. His wife, Polly Alice, didn't want the stable attached to the house, so he closed it in and built a floor in between. He also built rooms for the children with five foot ceilings and small doors, and a level below where their nanny could sit and watch over them. Some of the hallways are so narrow it would be tough for a heavyset person to squeeze through.

His wife wanted to start a private theater for children (believed to be the first in the U.S.), so they converted the top floor into the Juvenile Lyceum, called Cupid's Park Theater. Körner designed a series of Cupid murals and had an artist paint them on the ceilings.

The largest, and most "normal" room (and the most elegant) sits on the second floor and connects to the two rooms on either side. It's most unique features are the curtained booths built into the corners, dubbed "kissing corners" where couples could smooch in privacy. There's also a unique three-person chair, built so that each person (a couple and their chaperone) can face the other. There's also a two-person version for a married couple.

Körner kept adding to the house up until he died in 1924. It stayed in the family for many years until it finally sat empty for some 30 years. It was in danger of being torn down before a group of locals got together and raised enough money to save the house and turn it into a tourist attraction. Now they're working to raise money for renovations, which the house desperately needs. Many of the rooms have peeling paint and show many signs of wear from the intervening years. In addition to the admission price, they also have spots where you can provide donations. We gladly tossed in some more, but what they really need is a wealthy benefactor -- either an individual or corporation. Bull Durham comes to mind as a possibility.

You know what they say: if you're poor, you're just crazy. But if you're rich, you're eccentric. Jule Körner was very eccentric.

John's of 12th Street? Fughetaboutit!

Three things I truly love in life: gangster movies, old restaurants, and great food. Not necessarily in that order. John's of 12th Street on the Lower East Side of NYC hits all three notes perfectly.

We first heard about John's on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network. They've been open since 1908, it looks a lot like the restaurant where Michael plugs Salozzo and the Chief, they make their own pasta by hand, and have a giant mountain of wax that's been dripping from candles since 1932 to celebrate the end of Prohibition. Before the episode was over, we just knew that we had to go there. Turns out that was easier said than done, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Our first attempt was summer of last year  (2012). We spent the week in NYC before heading up to New England. We spent one day walking across the Williamsburg Bridge, then all over the Lower East Side to Chinatown and Little Italy.

We realized something was up when Marsha tried all day to call to ask if they took reservations and no one would answer the phone. When we finally arrived, tired and hungry, we immediately realized why. There were several trucks and a small crew of people and equipment outside. 

It was a film crew.

I've seen enough movie trucks in my day to recognize them right away. Besides, we were almost late for our dinner reservations two nights earlier because Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty production had blocked our path and we had to completely backtrack (sadly, we didn't spot Ben or Kristen Wiig).

When we inquired about what was shooting (and what had squelched our dinner plans), I was happy to learn that it was for a Season 3 episode of Boardwalk Empire. If anything was going to cost me a dinner I'd been looking forward to for several months, that was a great option. We ended up eating at another little Italian place down the street (don't remember the name, but it was pretty good). 

After dinner, we went back by John's to see if we could spot Steve Buscemi, Martin Scorsese, or anyone else, but no luck there, either. The crew was packing up, but we did manage to peak through the windows to get a glimpse of the place. 

I eventually learned that the scene filmed was for the "Sunday Best" episode. It was where Gyp meets Joe "the Boss" Massaria after Nucky and Eli have celebrated Easter together. Judging from an article I read, they seemed to have also shot a scene out front with Michael Stuhlbarg (Arnold Rothstein), but that must have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Months later, we finally got to eat dinner there. The food was great -- just good Italian food, period. Nothing too fancy, with prices to match. I had one of the dishes they showcased on Triple D, Tuscan Ragu over Homemade Pappardelle, and it was awesome. Next time we go back, I'm getting the other dish they showed -- the veal meatballs.

For dessert we had Tiramasu, which was more like a pudding than a traditional Tiramasu. It was served in a tall glass with a spoon. Usually, It's not one of her favorite desserts, but she loved this one so much she dug out every last bite.

The decor is pure Old Lower East Side Italian, and it looks like it's changed little in the 100+ years that it's been open. Lucky Luciano actually grew up nearby, so it's easy to imagine that he had to have dined there a time or two.

We recognized one of the owners from Triple D. The service was excellent as well, with multiple waiters checking on us. They run a tight ship there, which was the only slight downside. There was an older woman there (Owner? Manager?) who fussed at the waiters right by our table, even though they were doing a great job.

Our main waiter even chased us down the block in the cold drizzle when Marsha forgot her earmuffs. We wanted to go back in and leave him an even bigger tip.

Thanks to a sign in the window, we also learned that The Sopranos also shot there. In one of the very last episodes of the series ("The Second Coming"), Tony barged in, beat the crap out of a guy, stuck a gun in his mouth, then busted out a few of his teeth against the footrest on the bar. Badda-bing, badda-boom! Also in that scene was Greg Antonacci, who plays Johnny Torrio on Boardwalk Empire. Small Mob world.

Can't wait to go back. Not just for the food, but to look for a gun behind the toilet.

Santa's Land: Where It's Christmas All Year 'Round!

North Carolina Tourism has an ad campaign that extols everyone that lives here to "visit the state you're in." That's certainly one of the advantages of living in Western North Carolina -- there's just so much to do and see here, and much of it within just a few hours' drive.

Couple that with our love of cheesy destinations and theme parks, and you get the awesomeness that is Santa's Land in Cherokee, NC (another great place to visit for entirely different reasons).

First, some back story. Marsha first went to Santa's Land as a kid, probably back in the 60s when it first opened. It was one of those experiences that she would always remember fondly, so about ten or twelve years ago (best I can remember), we decided take Madison. Not quite Disney World, but she sure loved it. As you can imagine, it's really geared towards small children. And Marsha sure loved the trip down memory lane.

Recently, Madison has wanted to go back, so that's just what we did. Only this time it was a fun trip down memory lane for all of us.

The park is divided into three main areas: Christmas Village, where you can visit Santa in his house any day of the year; Zoo Land, which has several animal displays; and Fun Land, which has most of the (kiddie) rides. The park is one long rectangular area, so the three sections run end to end. In addition, there are a few spots that also highlight the mountain locale, and a little train that circles the entire park.

When you first enter the park, you go right into Christmas Village, which is actually kind of impressive in its own quaint little way. There's Santa's House, of course, but also a few other Santa-style buildings, plus a giant snowman, rabbit, and kangaroo (not sure I get that one). And pretty good landscaping.

One building is a little theater with a magic show featuring the Amazing Gene (seriously), who we saw twelve odd years ago and is still there. Some of his tricks were easy enough to figure out, but more than a couple left me scratching my head. And he did a great job (just as before) bringing kids up on stage to help out.

Behind Santa's House is a quaint, "regular" village with a firehouse, church, train depot (one of two), and a life-size Nativity. Parts of the park just needed some more TLC, but were certainly eye-catching.

On the other side of Christmas Village and heading into the rest of the park, is an outdoor stage connected to a BBQ (beef) restaurant, a blacksmith shop (where they specialize in rings made from flat nails) and a tiny magic shop (run by the Amazing Gene).

Last time we saw a local bluegrass group perform (still have their CD somewhere) and ate lunch, but there didn't appear to be a show this trip.

From there you cross into Zoo Land, which we didn't quite remember from before. There were a bunch of Elf houses containing "minima-tronic" displays (more on those in a minute), which seem to have been converted into front structures for the zoo cages. There are (little) bears, goats, donkeys, a camel, and more, all of which you can feed (from a safe distance).

The craziest part was the paddle boat ride (which really needed a good cleaning) around a pond filled with Japanese Koi and containing two islands with monkey cages. The fish have learned that boats mean food, so as soon as you set out, you can see a whole giant swarm of them swimming towards you like little sharks coming in for the kill. Then they thrash all around the boat with their mouths open waiting for food. It was seriously freaky. 

Still inside many of the Elf Houses are Christmas display windows dating back to the early 60s by David Hamberger Designs of New York (though his last name is misspelled on the window tributes). Despite their age and wear and tear, most of these are still pretty impressive and the characters still move back and forth.

Especially impressive is the Christmas Carol window with moving Scrooge and Marley figures. The only downside of these displays (thank goodness they're still there) is that a few of them have wide open doors where the sunlight reflected off the windows, which made them hard to see.

In the center of Zoo Land is an old grist mill that sells unique jarred items like pumpkin butter and stuff. The pumpkin butter really intrigued us, but the shop part wasn't open and, sadly, that was the one flavor we couldn't find in the gift shop later.

Finally, there is Fun Land, which has a bigger train station, a non-themed eatery, a carousel, and lots of kiddie rides. I love how the employees wear little Elf hats (Madison got one of her own on her first trip). But it also has two things that stand out: a replica moonshine still (oh yes!) and the world-famous Rudi Coaster!

The still is part of an old fashioned farm exhibit. The only thing better would have been a racing ride where you get to outrun the "revenuers."  After all, that's how NASCAR got started in not too far away Wilkes County. I mean, what more do you want in a theme park for kids? 

And finally, there is the Rudi Coaster, their signature attraction. It's a kiddie coaster not much bigger than one you'd see at the State Fair, but it's got a giant Rudolph head on the front and they let you go around twice. You can't beat that for a fun day at the park.

Tips for Cross-Country Travel

Having traveled across the country and back twice now, I thought I'd offer some advice on the topic.

To paraphrase The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the US is big. Really, really big. You have no idea just how mind-bogglingly big it is. Until you attempt to drive across it, that is.

Two ways to do it: completely scheduled or open-ended. Open-ended (no schedule, just going where and when the winds take you) is ideal, but reserved for retirees or independently wealthy. For the rest of us, you need to plan a schedule. Three to four weeks is ideal, but taking that much time off from work (not to mention being away from home for that length of time) isn't always an option. Two weeks is the minimum, but you can do a lot in two weeks if you plan well.

Thanks to the advances in the Internet over the last thirteen years, planning this trip was much easier than the first one in the summer of 2000. The first thing we did was took a map of the US and plotted all of the places we wanted to go. Then we did a preliminary route and realized that some things had to go. And through each iteration, a couple of places eventually went back in.

We used Google Maps to plot just how far we wanted to drive each day. You can plot a route and then drag it around to plot your distance, which is a huge time-saver.

Allow more time for places that are further away or are harder to revisit. We spent our longest time in Yellowstone, but only alotred a few hours for sight-seeing in St. Louis. Much easier for us to return there.

Know where time zones are! Plan them into your schedule. This is the number one thing that tripped us up. Also, realize that some states, like Arizona (and even parts of states like Illinois) don't practice Daylight Savings Time. Believe me, it's much better to know this ahead of time, particularly when driving West to East.

Realize, too, that there are a LOT of tolls on the East Coast and upper Midwest. After spending $60 in tolls on a trip to NYC a few years ago, we finally got an EZ-Pass, even though it wasn't available in NC. Smartest thing we ever did. Saved us a lot of time (not having to wait in toll lines) and headaches ever since.

With the route firmly in place, we researched each location and booked all of our hotel stays. We learned a valuable lesson on the 2000 trip when we didn't book a hotel between San Francisco and LA, thinking it would be fun to leave one night up to chance. Biggest mistake we made. We got as far as Santa Barbra that night, which didn't believe in billboards. So, we had to drive from exit to exit looking for a hotel. There's a long story that follows here, but that would require a whole 'nother post. Obviously, that's not a problem now that we have smart phones, but you're really better off having a specific goal for each day of driving. Gives you a real sense of accomplishment and allows you to relax more. Much less to worry about.

Try not to put too many long days back to back, which can wear you down. Sometimes this is unavoidable, particularly through the states in Mountain Time. 

Be sure to plan short days, too, where you can drive a few hours in the morning, then spend the afternoon sight-seeing. This helps charge the batteries for the next day. You can also drive, stop somewhere for a few hours, and then drive some more before stopping for the night. Breaking up the pattern is also a big help.

Be sure to allow some time for flexibility. Some days, if you have a long drive, you may not have much choice. But you may see a billboard or something you didn't expect, or hadn't realized you'd be nearby a certain location. Side detours can be a lot of fun and a nice break, even if you only stop for ten minutes. That's what we did for the Jackson's house in Gary, Indiana, and it was one of our more memorable stops.

Don't plan too much, though. You'll have to prioritize and occasionally pass on something. That happened to us on our very first full day when we went to Cleveland. The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame was on the schedule, but low on the priority list. When we realized we couldn't fit everything in, something had to go. You just can't do everything. Likewise, check to see what everyone's priority is and use that as your guideline.

Two-three weeks is a lot of time to spend together non-stop, 24/7, much of it in one vehicle. Believe me, that's a LOT of togetherness. Have plenty of entertainment for kids: books, movies, and video games. One of the best things we did on the 2000 trip was get an outlet adapter for the cigarette lighter. That let us bring the Nintendo 64 (top of the line then) for the kids to play in the car. Madison hunted it down and brought the old 64 again for old time's sake.

Research the places you're going. While its fun to explore and discover, realize that you can't do everything on a whim (there will still be plenty left to discover). Some things need to be scheduled in advance, like tours (Alcatraz), shows (Beatles Love in Vegas), dinners (Bar-D Chuckwagon in Durango). We missed out on Alcatraz in 2000 because of this, and it was top on my priority list. We were only in SF for two days, but Alcatraz was booked a week out. It was years before I finally got to go. If it's important to you, see if you can book it.

Same goes for dinner. You don't have to book a fancy meal for every night, but if there's specific places you want to eat, book them ahead of time. This is something we always tell people going to Walt Disney World. If you just want to eat hamburgers, then don't worry about it. But if you want to eat somewhere nice, then you've got to plan ahead.

Chances are, you might need to do some laundry. We've found that we can travel two weeks without doing laundry (which required buying a lot more socks and underwear). If you do need to do laundry, try to plan that into your schedule, too. We did it twice on our 2000 trip: first at a laundromat in Wyoming, and second at Disneyland, which was much better.

When you pack, allow for a range in temperatures. Even in the summer, take a jacket and long pants. It can still get chilly up in the northernmost states, especially if there's a storm. We had temperature ranges from 55 to 120 degrees this trip. Those jackets really came in handy in Yellowstone. On our 2000 trip, we had to buy sweat pants for Madison in San Francisco. In July.

When stopping just about every night, you'll need systems. We have a specific method for packing car, and everyone has their assigned suitcases to carry. This makes things much easier when you pull up to a hotel that only has valet parking. Surprisingly, we never once used a bellhop on our whole trip, not even in Vegas.

Try to vary your fast-food intake, or at least mix it up. Good time to try places you've never been, especially when you're on the opposite side of the country. It's a challenge to eat healthy or not over-eat. We would grab fruit from hotel continental breakfasts. We also ate a lot of McDonalds apple slices, sometimes for lunch between a big breakfast and big dinner.

This is a no-brainer, but make sure your car is tuned up, tires checked, etc. We drove over 6000 miles in two weeks. Anything you can do to avoid a breakdown out in the middle of nowhere. Likewise, go ahead and stop for gas once you get down below a half. That was another mistake we almost made. There are places out West where you literally have to drive a hundred miles or more between gas stations.

Don't count on having cell service wherever you go, either. We were amazed at how little we had it, even on major highways. I can now name at least a couple of dozen places that the Verizon guy ("Can you hear me now?") hasn't visited.

And speaking of food and gas, be prepared to spend a lot on both. You can skimp on food costs, which we ended up doing to our surprise, but you're stuck on gas. No getting around that one.

And finally, be sure to carry an atlas. Don't just rely on your GPS. Sometimes, it won't always take you on the best route. For some reason, ours likes to find little detours even though we have it set to stick to major highways. Which is how we lost a lot of valuable time getting stuck in Belle Fourche, SD, when we should have just stayed on I-90. It's really best to get an idea of the big picture, have an idea of your surroundings, and know where you're going. Which is what it's really all about, isn't it?

Day 16: 18 Days, 20 States, 28 Destinations

Today is the last and final leg. It feels a bit like we're on The Amazing Race, 

except that we're not racing anyone. We're all just ready to get home.

Got up this morning, loaded the car for the very last time (Madison learned the packing order early on and has been a big help there), and left the Gaylord.

Marsha tried to surprise us with a taste of home for breakfast, but the GPS took us to a Krispy Kreme warehouse instead of an actual store. That was a bummer. So, we went to Dunkin Donuts instead. That works, too, because even though Winston-Salem is the World HQ of Krispy Kreme, there are three times as many Dunkin Donuts here (six DD to two KK). Don't get me started on that. Don't get me wrong, though, either. I like DD and we certainly eat our fair share whenever we visit Boston.

We ran into road construction again (wouldn't be the last time, either) as soon as we left Nashville, but luckily it didn't slow us down any. Before long, though, we were in the Tennessee mountains, and from there throughout the rest of the trip it was all familiar territory. The Great Smoky Mountains look a lot like the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially since they're right next door to each other.

Somewhere along the way we encountered our very last time zone change, and for the very first time on the whole trip we knew it was coming and were actually prepared for it. At least we caught on eventually. Still never saw a sign for it, though.

Marsha spent yesterday and today calculating miles traveled, number of states and destinations (cities and National Parks) visited, and how much we spent on everything. Here is the official recap: 18 days, 20 states, 28 destinations, 4 time zones, and 6300 miles driven. AWESOME! 

Surprisingly, we also came in under budget. We were actually over budget in every category except food, which was the real shocker, as much as we love to eat. Either we just spent less than planned on food or she grossly over-estimated that one. I think the latter is probably true, even though for every expensive meal out like Mesa Grill or Lola, there were a lot of breakfasts at McDonalds and lunches of M&Ms and Fritos.

It's always interesting to see how fast food chains differ around the country. You only see In-and-Out Burger and Taco John's out west, and you don't even have to cross the Mississippi before Hardee's turns into Carl's Jr. You may find McDonalds from one side of the country to the other, but I actually think Dairy Queen (or DQ, as they're know now) has them beat on market penetration. In just about every tiny little town through which we passed, there may not have been a McDonalds, but there was always a DQ. Hence, we ate there a couple of times. 

The other thing that didn't go as anticipated was relaxing in the hotel at night. I took plenty to read, but spent all my free time on the blog. It was a bigger time commitment than expected, especially since I did most of the driving and could only write at night or in the morning. Definitely worth it though, to share our adventure and to be able to read back through it in the future.

Once we made it to Asheville it was home free all the way. We go to Asheville a lot, so I can drive that in my sleep (not that I would actually try it). After just a couple more hours on the road, we made it home with the chocolate intact and lots and lots and lots of laundry.

We picked up the mail, and started sorting it and the dirty clothes. Unfortunately, the downstairs AC wasn't working so the house was a little warm. Luckily, though, the upstairs unit was. We called our repairman and, thankfully, he told me how to get it working again until he can come over. It's a good thing we have two floors, or we'd be back in another hotel for the night. We still had take-out, though, so it will be another night before we have a home-cooked meal.

Tonight we get to sleep in our own beds again, get relaxed, get caught up on Food Network. And think back over the last two weeks as we travelled across America and back.

That was one incredible adventure!

Day 15: Lost in Opryland

Last day before we head home. After two-plus weeks and everything we've done, it feels like we've been gone forever.

We enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant/bar so much, we went back for the breakfast buffet, which was also pretty good. Then we drove by the Arch again, trying to get a better photo (which you can see on yesterday's post). Finally, it was time to hit the road. Only one goal for the day: drive to Nashville.

We got on the highway and immediately crossed back into Illinois. Feels like we're coming full circle, since we'd already passed through there two weeks ago at the very start of the trip.

We hadn't been on the highway very long before we got stuck in yet another traffic jam for 45 minutes. I have a theory about traffic jams (one that would be sorely tested today, but in the end still held true). It's like that scene in The World According to Garp where Garp buys the house after the plane hits it because its been "pre-disastered," with the odds against another one. In the end, we went through road construction four times today, but only the first one slowed us down.

Eventually, we got back underway through Illinois farm country. Again. If there's one thing we've seen more of than road construction, it's farmland. Saw lots of corn, as expected, but not a single bale of hay. So now I have no idea where Illinois stands on the whole small rectangle vs. large roll debate. That all changed, though, when we crossed into Kentucky, which was all large rolls all the way.

Halfway through Illinois, the thought occurred to me that we might pass through Metropolis, and sure enough we did. We had come full circle once again, since we had stopped by the Superman house on our very first day.

Gary, Indiana, and even Marceline to a degree, could learn a thing or two from Metropolis. By sheer luck of the draw, the name of their little town is most-closely associated with Superman, and they've embraced it whole hog. In addition to the giant Superman statue in front of the courthouse and official recognition by DC Comics, they also host an annual Superman celebration.

We'd visited the tiny hamlet of Metropolis a few years ago and I was anxious to see if it had changed any. Previously, it was was a little run-down (except for the statue). The Super Museum even more so. I was thrilled to see that things were much improved. 

The Super Museum has been repainted, the street lights all have hanging planters with fresh flowers (can you beat that?), and they even installed a tourist information booth next to the statue.

What's more, the outside of the booth answered my biggest question: whether or not the Lois Lane statue honoring the "First Lady of Metropolis," Noel Neill, had been installed. Sure enough, it had. Just a few blocks from Superman.

We were also surprised to see that the little town is growing. They've added a new hotel and new fast food options since we were there last. The annual Superman Celebration is clearly paying off. 

From there it was just a short drive past one of my favorite-named towns, 

Paducah, KY (which has an awesome movie theater, by the way), on our way to Music City.

We got there around 6:00 and checked into the Gaylord Opryland, which we'd only really seen from across the parking lot at the Grand Ole Opry. Now, we knew this place was big, but like Yellowstone, we weren't quite prepared for just how big. I started to get an idea when they gave me a map of the inside of the hotel.

We had plans to meet my old friend, Hal, and his daughter, Claire, for dinner. So, it was off to the room real quick to drop off our suitcase (just one -- we'd wisely consolidated since we only had one leg left to go) and freshen up. You know those freaky horror movies where someone is running down a long hall and the further they go, the longer the hall gets? Yep, that's what it was like going to our room.

The one thing that really puzzles us is how they manage to fill all those rooms, especially without a casino. There's so many restaurants inside and things to do, you could spend a week in there without ever going out. I mean, the Opry is popular, but it doesn't hold that many people.

Hal picked us up in the Magnolia section, which was clear on other side of the hotel. We actually got a little lost trying to find our way there. Later that night after dinner, I had to go back to the room for a few minutes, and really did get lost. Even tried to put my key in the wrong door. Luckily, an employee helped me get back on track.

Hal took us near downtown to The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden, one of the best new restaurants in Nashville with award-winning burgers. It was really crowded, so we had to wait just a bit, but surprisingly it was only 30 minutes, just like they said. They have a really cool automated system where you input your cell number and it calls you when your table is ready. That was awesome. The food was fantastic and the service was quick. Can't beat that. And can't wait to go back.

Afterwards, Hal took us on a quick tour of downtown, past Broadway (the main drag, not to be confused with the one in NYC), Music Row where all the producers' offices are, and the absolutely ginormous brand new convention center. This place is so unbelievably huge (shades of Gaylord), a street runs underneath it.

From there it was back to the hotel to explore. It's like the Bellagio with the layout of Caesar's Palace or even Wall Drug (confused). In fact, it's the biggest hotel in the US without a casino. As I said, this place is unbelievably ginormous. Imagine Disney World with a roof.

There's actually several attractions inside with DreamWorks characters. Marsha had her heart set on the narrated boat ride around Delta section, and luckily it was still open despite the website and hotel information telling us it wouldn't be.

The Delta section is actually filled with all live plants. At first we thought they were fake until our boat captain told us otherwise and showed us the banana trees growing fruit. Since it was night, it was too dark to get a decent picture, though. We'll have to go back in the daytime on our next trip. Walking around there made me think of being in Disney World at night. I couldn't help but think about how cool (literally) it would be if the park had a roof and was completely air-conditioned.

All in all, it was pretty magical and the perfect place to end our trip. Tomorrow, the final trek home.