Game Day in Beer City - Milwaukee, Part 2

We've been eating a drinking in Milwaukee for a little while now. Let’s turn to something else the city does very well…sports!

Baseball is our sport. One of our travel goals is to see each Major League stadium. There are 30 of them altogether.  Our main reason…but not the only one…to visit Milwaukee is to notch our 22^nd stadium, Miller Park.

Watch the Video!

Before that, we spend a little time seeing the city along the fantastic Riverwalk that winds through downtown. We do a bit of pub crawling…which you can see in more detail in this week’s Cocktail Hour, TheMilwaukee Pub Crawl.  Go ahead, click on that link and check it out.  We’ll be here when you get back…

One of our rules for stadium trips is that Tim makes all the arrangements for tickets. At Miller Park, there is no good public transit, so Tim also buys a parking pass which you can buy in advance for $9 if you’re handicapped…normally $15 on weekend games at the gate.

Turns out we could have gone on our hotel’s shuttle for free but that’s one to grow on.  Maybe next time.

Being an idiot, I had left our handicapped parking placard back on our car’s rearview mirror which was now sitting in the parking lot of the airport in Ontario, California.  Luckily, at the gate, I was able to show the parking attendant the wheelchair in the back and explain what a moron I was and he let us in.

We were directed to park in the tailgating area.  Here in Milwaukee, that means something.  Approximately 6 – 7,000 people surrounded us, barbecuing, drinking, playing games, and generally having a good time.  It’s said to be the largest tailgate party anywhere in baseball.  I believe it.

We spend a little time exploring the stadium and visiting the gift shop where Tim and I buy t-shirts to wear for the game.  You might notice that my shirt does not say “Brewers” on it. Instead, it says “Cerveceros.” More on that in a bit.

Come game time, we find our seats up above third base in the upper deck. We’re up pretty high but the views are still fantastic. A friend of mine from high school meets us at the game and we spend the next three hours catching up on the thirty plus years since we’ve seen each other.  It was a great time.

As far as the game went, tonight was Cerveceros Night where the team celebrates Hispanic heritage by changing the team name for a day (the visitors were the Piratas from Pittsburgh), playing mariachi and Latin music, and bringing out a special jalapaño mascot for the evening.

The Brewers…er, Cerveceros…handily beat the Piratas 5-1 during this evening’s game, putting a win in the middle of a losing streak. 

You can see more of our thoughts on the stadium at our Field of Dreams report on Miller Park (click on either of those links).

The next morning, after another delicious breakfast at the wonderful Ambassador Hotel, we jump on the freeway and head north a little more than 100 miles.

In a spot where I see nothing but endless trees and very little evidence of civilization, there’s a sign that says “Lambeau Field Next Exit.” We have ended up in the pretty town of Green Bay.

Not very well signed from the exit, nevertheless we finally do see the stadium lights (it’s pretty much the highest point in town) and make our way over.

Home of the Green Bay Packers, there are stadium tours given almost everyday. In the Atrium connected to the side of the stadium, there is also an extensive gift shop and a restaurant.

We’re here for the tour and to meet my friend afterward for lunch.  We find out the history of the team, founder Curly Lambeau, and legendary coach Vince Lombardi. The team has won more championships than any other in the NFL. The gift shop sells more items than any other gift shop, in any sport, in the world.

The guide then tells us that NFL rules prohibit us from videotaping in the stadium itself, so we must rely on our still camera to tell the rest of the story.

The grass is embedded with plastic strands to keep it from getting worn out and having to be constantly replaced. 90% of the seats are just plain flat bleachers. After the current renovation is complete, it will have the second highest capacity after Dallas.

It’s a fun tour and lunch at Curly’s Pub is delicious.  Now, it’s time to pack it up, head back to Milwaukee, and move on to our next destination.

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick

Copyright 2012 – Letty Musick

All Rights Reserved

FIELDS OF DREAMS - Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Originally playing in Seattle as the Pilots, the team was bought by used car salesman Allan Selig. Moved to Milwaukee, Selig...better known by his nickname, "Bud"...changed the name to the Brewers due to the city's fame in the beer brewing industry. Bud Selig went on to become the Comissioner of Major League Baseball, a post he holds to this day.

The team was originally in the American League where they Won the pennant in 1982 but lost in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.  In 1998, the team moved to the National League to make way for expansion teams.  Since then, the team has made it into the postseason as a wild card in 2008 and as the Central Division Champions in 2011 but have yet to make another World Series appearance.

They're not a team filled with big superstars but their left fielder, Ryan Braun, won the 2011 MVP award...under cloudy circumstances.

The stadium is a retractable roof park that is unique in baseball in that the roof folds out from each side like a circular fan instead of just a flat, sectioned roof.  Here are the stats:

Opened: 2001

Surface: Grass

Construction cost: $400 million

Capacity: 41,900

Field dimensions: Left field - 344 ft; Left center - 371 ft; center field - 400 ft; right center - 374 ft; right field - 345 ft.

Home team: Milwaukee Brewers (National League - MLB) 2001 - present

Events attended: 1 game

Once you're there, it's easy access at any entrance for wheelchairs.  There are plenty of elevators, and ramps too, for access to the upper levels. Unlike many stadiums, we did not experience a long wait for an elevator.

Wheelchair locations are dispersed throughout every level but there are only a couple in the front row...in the very expensive seats right behind home plate.  Tickets were very easy to get by calling the ticket office at (414) 902-4000. Ticket prices run $9 to $195 and have three tiers of pricing.

Closed captioning is available on the ribbon displays on the front of the second deck. There is also a web-enabled app for smart phones, laptops, and tablets. Go to fancaptions.com/mil for more information on this service.

Sightlines are exceptional here from anywhere in the stadium.  Food is very good, especially sausages as Milwaukee is known for having great tube steaks. In fact, sausages are so revered here that every game features a race between five mascots dressed as the most popular sausages sold in the stadium...bratwurst, hot dog, Italian sausage, Polish sausage, and chorizo.

Mascot Bernie Brewer sits in his treehouse and slides down the slide 

when the home teams hits a home run or wins the game.

Beer selection is average to good and prices are somewhat reasonable.

Tailgating is encouraged and vast swaths of parking lots are populated with thousands of fans celebrating up to game time. There's also a small baseball field in the parking lot where kids can play a pickup game.

Public transit to the park is poor...just a few buses and taxis. If you buy ahead of time, you can save a few dollars in purchasing a handicapped parking space.

There are plenty of lodging options in nearby Milwaukee. We like the Ambassador Hotel which also features free shuttles to and from the game.

While I still have some stadiums I think are better, my wife says this is her new favorite. I do agree you'll have a very good time here.

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick

Copyright 2012 - Letty Musick

All Rights Reserved

Milwauke - The City That Beer Made Famous

It’s the city beer made famous, breweries and bars dot the landscape. Our latest escapades return us to the shores of Lake Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After flying all day on Southwest and picking up a Ford Escape from Thrifty Rent-a-car at the airport, we eventually find our hotel, The Ambassador Hotel - Milwaukee, on Wisconsin Avenue adjacent to Marquette University.

Watch the Video! 

The third floor room features a king size bed, a queen size sofabed, flat screen TV, wifi and wired free internet, basic wet bar, robes, ironing board and iron, accessible restroom featuring a barred bathtub with seat or roll in shower.

Letty says it’s the most comfortable hotel bed she’s ever seen.

Upon check-in, we’re offered a deal…$7.95 for breakfast vouchers. Seeing their site beforehand, and knowing that breakfast here went for twice as much, we snapped some up. We’re glad we did because breakfast is in their beautiful restaurant with entrees such as spinach omelets, pancakes, bacon and eggs, and delicious waffles covered with fruit served to your table by actual waiters. No warmed up breakfast bar entrees here.

Our main reason for being here is to notch another point for our seemingly never-ending quest to see every Major League Baseball stadium. We have tickets for tomorrow’s game but today is for exploring the city. First up…as all our friends who have experience here have been telling us…we have to go to the Third Ward.

This is an old area, burned down in a big fire long ago and rebuilt into an Italian neighborhood, that is being gentrified. While some buildings are still waiting for their time in the redevelopment spotlight, most of the area has been spiffed up and is home to nice little boutiques, restaurants, bars, and anchored by the Milwaukee Public Market.

It’s also the south end of the Milwaukee Riverwalk, a three mile long accessible walk along the Milwaukee River that takes you through the highlights of downtown.

We start filming (see the video above) and soon run into another crew doing the same thing on the river side of the Milwaukee Ale House. It’s a great walk that we’ll take full advantage of later. Tonight, we’ll have dinner at Benelux, a restaurant and bar dedicated to all the good food and drink of the European lowlands.

And what food it is…Tim and I have their very good burger served with Belgian frittes and a beer palette (four beers served on a wooden palette) made up of Belgian strong ales. Letty has the Friday fish fry with Ichtagem’s sour red Flemish ale.  That’s after a very tasty starter of tater tots filled with brie and accompanied by a Sriracha garlic mayo dipping sauce. It is very good and we vow to come back again before we leave and dig a little deeper into the menu.

An aimless trip south of town takes us to St. Francis, home of a big monastery, a bunch of bars, and a nice beach. It’s a nice place to stretch our legs a little, take some pictures, and just relax before heading back into town.

All in all, it’s a fun but short overview of the town we’ll be spending the next four days in. Stay tuned for more fun, drinking, eating, baseball, and cheeseheads here in what will turn out to be one of the best destinations we’ve been to.

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick

Copyright 2012 - Letty Musick

All Rights Reserved

THE COCKTAIL HOUR: The Milwauke Pub Crawl

Luckily, we got a ride to and from today’s adventure. Good thing…there was no way we were going to end this one sober…

Milwaukee is the city that beer made famous, so how does it stack up to the self-described “Napa Valley of beer” that we visited last year (Denver)? Very well, thank you.

Watch the Video!

We start off with a standalone visit to Benelux in the Historic Third Ward. Yes, you need to capitalize each word.

With a thick bible of beers to choose from, Tim and I have a palette of strong Belgian beers while Letty goes with a bottled sour.  It’s hard to pick from our palette but Letty says the sour, Ichtegem Flemish Red, could have more bite.

Next, it’s on to the actual crawl. We start at the north end of town where the really cool Milwaukee Riverwalk starts. First up is the American absinthe made right here in Milwaukee by Great Lakes Distillery and served at Trocadero. It’s the first time we’ve had it and it tastes like anisette and looks like cloudy water. Not bad but not really my cup of tea either.  I enjoyed the shot of Cazadores Reposado I had better.

Across the adjacent Hudson Street bridge, which has a really cool, wheelchair accessible, pedestrian bridge hanging under the main bridge, we go to Lakefront Brewery to take the tour.  This tour is so fun that it is rated as the number 4 best thing to do in Milwaukee on Tripadvisor. It should be number 1.

Our tour guide is hungover and drunk, but he’s funny, knowledgeable, and keeps our glasses full of our choice of Lakefront brews. I’m partial to their flagship variety, the Stein.

Seven dollars gets you on the tour and four tokens for beer. Answering trivia questions or helping the tour guide gets you more tokens, plus the generous policy of free frequent top-offs means there is much more beer available that most people can handle. I ended up giving my last four tokens away.

Walking along the river, we eventually end up in another historic neighborhood, Third Street…also known as Historic Old World Third Street.  Yes, with the capitals.

Mader’s has been here over a century, serving good but expensive German Cuisine. They also have a happy hour so we go inside to enjoy a $5 ceramic stein of Spaten Oktoberfest and a glass of Pinot Noir.

Afterward, it’s a couple of doors down to get some more Lakefront beer (two mugs for $3) and some Franziskaner Weissbier at Milwaukee Brat House along with some of their namesake fatty sausages and deep fried cheese curds.

With that, we cannot crawl another foot and call for the hotel shuttle to take us back. It’s all in the video above, so come along and watch as we take in as much Milwaukee as we can handle.

Cheers!

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Eating My Way Across the USA; Five Fun and Accessible Road Trip Restaurants

Today, we've got a special report for you from perhaps the most experienced travel writer who specializes in disabilities in the world. Candy Harrington is an old friend of mine and I'm honored to have her stop by and give us a guest post today. Find out more about Candy at the end of the article - Ed.

by Candy B. Harrington

One of the best parts of any road trip is the food. No, I’m not talking about fast food joints or chain restaurants; but good old fashioned road trip fare. First and foremost the eatery must be a little bit off the beaten path, and then it has to serve some downright delicious food. A little quirkiness helps too. And of course it goes without saying that it has to be wheelchair-accessible.

A tough task to master?  Not at all. In fact my notebook is virtually bursting at the seams with yummy road trip finds. Here are five of my top picks.

 Whoa Nellie Deli (http://www.whoanelliedeli.com/)

Located on Tioga Pass Road, high above Yosemite in the Eastern Sierras, this combination filling station, grocery store and deli serves up some yummy house specials like cajun chicken jambalaya, lobster taquitos and fish tacos. Of course, you can also indulge in standard deli fare if you prefer. As an added bonus, the outside eating area offers a great view of nearby Mono Lake. Not only is there good access throughout the establishment, but they also have the cleanest accessible restrooms on Tioga Pass Road!  And if you’re in the area on Sunday afternoon, be sure and stop in and enjoy the free music.

 Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner (http://www.mrdzrt66diner.com/)

No culinary road trip round-up would be complete without at least one mention of a diner. And in that respect Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner in Kingman, Arizona fills the bill perfectly. Located just across the street from the Powerhouse Route 66 Museum, this nostalgic diner features accessible parking with level access to the front door, and good pathway access inside. Unfortunately the restrooms are not accessible, but there are some very nice ones over at the museum, so plan ahead if you decide to dine here. The décor is retro, the food is filling and the service is good. The menu includes the usual burger and sandwich fare, along with a decent selection of pizza, pasta dishes and dinner specials. And you just can’t beat their milkshakes and malts. Outside seating is also available, and it’s a great place to sit back and watch vintage cars cruise along the Mother Road.

Lee’s Chicken Restaurant (www.facebook.com/leeschicken)

Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lee’s Restaurant first opened in 1945 as a twelve-seat beer joint. Apparently one of the regulars got a hankering for fried chicken, so Alice Lee went out back, slaughtered one and fried it up. And although they’ve added burgers, sandwiches and even lobster to the menu over the years, people still come for miles for their yummy fried chicken. No matter when you go, you’ll find the place filled with locals -- a sure sign you’ve made the right dining choice. To add to the quaint atmosphere. there’s even a piano player that takes requests. There’s ramp access to the entrance, but no accessible restrooms inside. Still it’s a fun place to dine. Just take exit 397 off Highway 77, drive two miles west and look for the big chicken. You can’t miss it!

Houmas House (http://www.houmashouse.com/)

Who can resist dining in a southern plantation house, especially one that’s wheelchair-accessible? If that piques your interest, than head on down to Darrow, Louisiana, where you’ll find Houmas House, the crown jewel of Louisiana’s River Road. For a casual lunch, check out Café Burnside, which features level access and serves up sandwiches, southern favorites and salads. If you’d prefer something a tad more elegant, Latil’s Landing, which is located inside the accessible mansion, is the place to go for that special dinner. And then there's the Le Petite Houmas Restaurant, which has level access and offers a Sunday brunch with a definite southern twist; with dishes like Eggs Creole and Grits and Grillades. Accessible restrooms are centrally located between the restaurants. Save some time before or after your repast for a tour of this former sugar plantation, which boasts ramp access, barrier-free pathways and even an elevator. 

Mary’s Place

Last, but certainly not least, for some good old fashioned home cooking in the Mobile Bay area, head over to Mary’s Place. Located just south of Bellingrath Gardens at the intersection of Highway 59 and Highway 188, this Coden eatery has been around since 1922. The menu features a good selection of po-boys, salads and entrees, but the local favorite is the lunch buffet. Buffet selections include black-eyed peas, stuffed pork chops, hamburger steaks, turkey pot pie, chicken and dumplings, greens, fried okra, green beans, rice and a well stocked salad bar. Access is good too, with ramp access to the front entrance, good pathway access inside, and very clean accessible restrooms. It’s a winning combination with good home cooking, great service and very reasonable prices.

Known as the guru of accessible travel, Candy Harrington is the author of several accessible travel guides including the classic Barrier-Free Travels; A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers (http://www.barrierfreetravel.net/). Her newest title, 22 Accessible Road Trips; Driving Vacations for Wheelers and Slow Walkers (http://www.22accessibleroadtrips.com/) features 22 driving routes across the United States with information about wheelchair-accessible sites, lodging options, trails, attractions and restaurants along the way. It’s a great resource for Baby Boomers, couples, families, or anybody who wants to hit the road. Candy also blogs about accessible travel issues at www.barrierfreetravels.com.

All photos by Charles Pannell and used with permission.

FIELDS OF DREAMS - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Frederick Dennstedt under CC-BY-SA license

Los Angeles, and its neighbor to the south Anaheim, have the third and fourth oldest stadiums in baseball with Dodger Stadium opening in 1962 and Angel Stadium in 1965. They are two of the most wheelchair unfriendly stadiums in the major leagues. Angel Stadium will get its due, but today we’ll talk about Dodger Stadium, which sits at #16 on our list of stadiums.

Home to the Dodgers, who moved west in 1958 from Brooklyn, the stadium is visually striking…built into a natural bowl with views of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north, and downtown Los Angeles to the south. It is on top of a hill in Elysian Park, just above Chinatown and next to the police academy.

Here are the stats:

Opened: 1962
Surface: Santa Ana Bermuda Grass
Construction cost: $23 million
Capacity: 56,000
Field dimensions: Left field – 330 ft.; left center – 375 ft.; Center field – 400 ft.; right center – 375 ft.; Right field – 330 ft.
Home team: Los Angeles Angels (1962 – 1965), Los Angeles Dodgers (1962 – present)
Events attended: Too many Dodger games to count.

It may be old but it wears its age well, at least visually. Many partial rehabs have been done, most recently by former owner Frank McCourt adding premium seating behind home plate and around the dugouts. McCourt kept promising a $500 million rehab, but his divorce and his dispute with Major League Baseball kept that from happening..

The big news for 2012 is that McCourt is gone.  New ownership is in place via the Guggenheim Group that includes Stan Kasden and Magic Johnson. Paying way more than the team was valued...over $2 billion...it remains to see how their investment will pan out. For now, the team is playing like a heavy yoke has been lifted from their backs...as of this writing, they're the best team in baseball leading the way with Matt Kemp, who should have been last year's MVP.

Dodger Stadium is known for its harsh security measures. Beach balls are confiscated immediately and popped. You cannot wander around the stadium outside of the section you are sitting in. The riff-raff are zealously kept away from the beautiful people here. The stadium also has a reputation for violence in the stands and parking lot...a visiting paramedic from Palo Alto is permanently disabled due to a severe beating he took in the parking lot on opening day - and now has a $50 million lawsuit against the team for not providing enough security.

Ticket prices and concession prices had also steadily risen under the former management as have other snafus such as building high-priced baseline seats with poor views, a concession tent in the sun with no air conditioning, and paying a psychic six figures to beam good energy toward the team. 

One of the first thing the new owners did is lower the parking price, infamously raised to $15 under the McCourt regime.  One of the few teams who have not gone to tiered game prices or dynamic pricing, the Dodger ticket prices are set in stone and  now run $10 - $115, which is a bit less than last year.

Wheelchair seating is adequate and fairly easy to buy. Mostly around the top of the field section. The team’s web site is woefully inadequate for information, only letting you know that wheelchair escorting ushers and handicapped parking is available.

There is no regular public transit to the games but a shuttle serves the stadium from Union Station in downtown. If you have a ticket it's free, otherwise it's $1.50 each way.  It’s a long walk uphill from the nearest regular bus stop on Sunset Boulevard.

Food prices are expensive but they do have some variety such as sushi, garlic fries, etc. Their signature item…the Dodger Dog…is awful. The only thing going for it is that the sausage is longer than the bun. (I will give the Dodgers one thing in this area, though...as much as I don't like the food there, it is still miles ahead of the Angels whose food ranges from mediocre to inedible.)

Now that new management is in place, we've got to get back to the Ravine. Hopefully, we can add a current in-person report to this soon. Nice going, Dodgers...hope the future holds good things for you.

-Darryl
Copyright 2010 - Darryl Musick

CLASSIC TRIP: North Carolina, 2000 - Part 2

In Part 1, we went to a NASCAR race in Charlotte and just missed getting robbed. Now we head for the hills...

After the race and another night, we caught the train to Washington, DC (which will be covered in another trip report) and took a week's break there before returning to Charlotte. Now, we have 8 more days, no plans, no reservations, nothing in mind but we do have a rental car for the duration. We check in to a La Quinta Inn and press on.

We pull out a map and look for somewhere to go. We see that the town of Hickory is within a couple of hours drive so off we go.

The Blue Ridge Moutains Spectacular Fall Color

Being October, the leaves are putting on a show and what a show it was. The hills and mountains were literally ablase with color. Vibrants yellows, flaming reds, glowing oranges. A SoCal boy like me never sees anything like this. We were extremely lucky to hit right at the peak of color (we've been back since and have not been able to time it just right as we did on this trip).

Murphy's Mill, North Carolina

On top of the fall color, the countryside scenery is straight out of Norman Rockwell or Mayberry...which of course is set in North Carolina to begin with. Thousands of little country roads criss cross the state with breathtaking views around every corner. Heading up to Hickory, we round a bend and are hit with a view straight off of the cover of the Saturday Evening Review, Murphy's Mill.

We pull off to take a look at this historic grist mill. We later learn that the state is dotted with such mills. The banks of the placid mill pond with it's rushing waterfall are too much to resist picnicking at.

The General Store at Murphy's Mill

No lunch? No problem, turning around we see this pleasant little country store across the street with all the supplies we need.

At this point, may I just say that the people in the state are also top-notch. You hear about Southern Hospitality but it's something else to experience it first hand. The people here are very friendly and are a pleasure to deal with.

Arriving at Hickory near dinner time, we find another charming little Mayberry-like town that the state is full of. Now Mayberry is, of course, an unobtainable fiction and all towns have problems. But the towns we've seen are beautiful examples of small town America populated by some very friendly folks.

We pull in for dinner at the Hickory Station, a nice dinner and steak house set in the restored railroad depot. As my wife dines on some savory shrimp, Tim on a nice juicy burger, and me on a tender rib-eye, we enjoy the wonderful view of the twinkling lights of downtown and the hills beyond. After dinner, the host invites us into the kitchen to meet the chef and after a nice chat we head on back to Charlotte.

The next day, we head over to the hometown of Elizabeth Dole, Salisbury. Here, we ride on the historic restored steam train at the railroad museum. The coal fired locomotive gives us a clue as to why it's not used as a fuel on modern trains anymore. Our skin, hair, and even teeth are filled with a fine, gritty soot as the smoke from the burning coal settles over the entire train.

The town offers a self guided tour of its magnificent old homes, some dating back to the 17th century. We marvel at these grand old buildings and head back for another night in the big city.

No, it's not Lake Tillery but another beautiful lake, Lake Lure.

For our last day in Charlotte, we head over to nearby Morrow Mountain State Park and Lake Tillery. We rent a rowboat at the bargain rate of $2.50 an hour a take a leisurely cruise to the other side of the lake, watching the fall leaves drift down to the surface and the snapping turtles drift up. A wheelchair accessible platform hovers over a prime fishing spot on the lake. A few bucks for a license and a cheap rod and reel from Wal-Mart is all that's needed to dip a line here (licenses are free for disabled persons).

The Pinebrae Bed and Breakfast

For a change of pace, we head to the hills for the rest of our trip. Our home is now the beautiful Pinebrae Bed and Breakfast just outside another charming North Carolina town, Rutherfordton. We arrive at 9:00pm hungry. After checking in and unpacking, we head into town to see what's for dinner. Not much at that time of night.

The only place open (and for only a few minutes more) is a barbecue place just outside of town on the road to nearby Spindale. I'm sorry to say that North Carolina barbecue and me just don't get along...just way to vinegary. The food was atrocious but luckily, it's the worst we would have to endure.

The Pinebrae is a antebellum style mansion situated on 15 acres of prime western North Carolina countryside with woods to wander through, great expanses of lawn, and many wild furry visitors popping through.

The owners, Alan and Charlotte, tell us it used to be a home for troubled youths back in the depression years. Now it's a beautiful home with four guest rooms for travelers. And fellow travelers here tend to be nice and quiet since most of their guests are visiting doctors working at the hospital down the road.

This waterfall is not on any map, this is where our hosts led us to.

A great home cooked breakfast awaits everybody each morning and guests eat at a common great table in the massive dining room with Alan holding court leading the conversation. He also tells us of the sites nearby, off the beaten path, that lead to spectacular waterfalls and mountaintop views. This luxurious and homey retreat costs us a grand total of $69 a night including breakfast.

A country lane near Rutherfordton

Travelling through the countryside towards nearby Asheville, we stop at roadside stands to pick up home made jams, jellies, and preserves to take back with us.

We travel over to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hike up to the top of Clingman's Dome, the second highest point in the state and the highest point of neighboring Tennessee (the state line bisects the peak).

If you can make it, here is the lookout tower that awaits you at the top of Clingman's Dome

A note here for wheelchair users: although there is a smooth, paved path leading up from the parking lot to the top of the lookout tower with no steps whatsoever, the trail is very steep. A strong power chair with lots of traction and a full charge will probably make it. Be sure to bring a very strong pusher or be in extremely good physical shape if you attempt this in a manual chair. I pushed my son up to the top in his manual chair and was having some very serious doubts as to if I would make it to the end of this half-mile trail without suffering a coronary. It is exceedingly difficult for a manual chair and should be attempted with caution...remember, even if you do make it up, you have to negotiate that very steep downhill slope with a chair that wants nothing more than to break loose and make a mad dash for the fall line.

We did make it after much effort and the view into neighboring Tennessee is astonishing. After a hair-raising walk 'n roll back down to the parking lot, we head over to Dillsborough to board the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad.

The scenery of the Smokey Mountains is up close from the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad.

Here, we board a wheelchair accessible coach - with an onboard accessible restroom also - and take a 2 hour ride up the Tuckaseegee River and marvel at the countryside views of tobacco farms, villages, and the river itself. Just before a tunnel, we are treated to the spot where Hollywood created that fantastic train wreck scene from the Harrison Ford movie, "The Fugitive", complete with the destroyed locomotive and prisoner transport buses.

The train makes it back to Dillsborough at 6:00pm and after browsing through the few shops still open at that time, we have dinner at the unpretentious Dillsborough Steak and Seafood house for a delicious dinner before heading back over to Rutherfordton.

We spend our last full day here shopping for souvenirs in town and taking one last drive through the countryside. The next day, after having one last hot southern breakfast we say goodbye to our hosts and take that 2 hour drive back to Charlotte for the most regretable part of our trip...going home.

-Darryl
Copyright 2000 - Darryl Musick

THE COCKTAIL HOUR: American Wheat Beer Taste Off

What do you do when life gives you lemons?  Make lemonade, of course.  Or put a wedge in your wheat beer.

We taped the video below as a normal taste off and found when we went to edit it that the battery had died in the microphone, leaving us with no sound at all.  So what to do?  Make and old fashioned silent movie!

Watch the Video!

Go ahead and watch.  We taste test Sam Adams Coastal Wheat beer, which already has a splash of lemon in it, against the Widmer Hefeweizen from Portland, Oregon.

Which one do we like best?  Watch the video to find out.  I will tell you that we tried both with and without the lemon and found that we liked it with the lemon best in each case.

Cheers!

-Darryl

CLASSIC TRIP: North Carolina, 2000 - Part 1

 

Over the course of the years we've been to a lot of nice places. Sometimes really nice places. At the end of each trip though, we were always ready to call it a day and retreat to home sweet home. Out of all the places we've been, none have beckoned us beyond a visit except for one. North Carolina was a place I hated to leave and actually enticed us to try to relocate.

It didn't happen. Oh we tried, I even put in for a transfer to Raleigh, but it just wasn't meant to be at the time although we still hope for the right circumstances to allow us to make the move.

I wasn't expecting it to be that good. In fact, I'd never given the Tar Heel state a second thought until one day we were at my inlaws house, knockin' a few back while we were watching a stock car race on TNN. A commercial came on from the North Carolina tourism board with an offer to call an 800 number for a free visitor's brochure. What made me make the call? I don't know, maybe in the heat of the race (we're big race fans by the way) I thought it'd be cool to see a race at one of those good ole boy tracks down south.

Well the brochure arrived and the timing was right. There was a fall race at Charlotte and we could get dirt cheap tickets. We even found an open room at the Motel 6 nearby (as race fans could tell you, a cheap room during a race weekend is an extremely rare thing...try getting one at Indianapolis during Memorial Day weekend). This would allow us to see the race and then give us 10 days afterward to explore.

Flying to Charlotte, we took US Air which is about the only choice you have since they have 90% of the gates locked up there. It was a great flight and we had the bonus of several celebrities on the plane with us like Jeff Conaway, Don Knotts, and some we recognized but didn't know their names like the guy who played Kevin's older brother on the Wonder Years. It was a fun flight (It's Jason Hervey - Ed).

Arriving at the airport, US Air have their sponsored car with driver Ted Musgrave waiting to greet arriving passengers. To those of you who wonder why it's a big deal, in Charlotte a big race weekend is comparable to Super Bowl weekend. Anyway, we did the meet and greet with Musgrave who was a superb gentleman and even put our son Tim in the driver's seat of his Winston Cup racer. All in all a wonderful way to start the trip.

We caught a taxi to our motel, which was just your basic Motel 6. Upon checking in, a young man came in behind us at the lobby and held the door for us as we went to our room. 10 minutes later, reality came down on us as the manager who checked us in came to our room and asked us if we remembered what that man looked like because right after we walked out he robbed them!

Luckily, no one was hurt. He just took the money and was actually polite about it. We gave our statement to the police and went on with our trip. We were a little shaken up, but that was the first and last bad thing to happen on our trip.

The motel soon turned into race central and was full of fans.  Motel 6, though basic, is pretty advanced when it comes to accessibility with a roll-in shower and two double beds.  Nowadays, I'd look for something a little more comfortable but back then, it was available and cheap.

We soon realized that Charlotte has one thing in common with Southern California...you need a car. God must have been smiling on us because after calling several agencies, we must have got the last available car in North Carolina at Enterprise Rent a Car.

The next day we drove over to the speedway for the race. Charlotte Motor Speedway is a marvelous place to watch a race. We had great wheelchair accessible seats in turn one and could see all the action easily. It was also quite warm, pleasantly so, we sat in our shorts and t-shirts soaking up the sun enjoying some great NASCAR Winston Cup action.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we head to the hills of Western North Carolina...

-Darryl
Copyright 2000 - Darryl Musick