AFTER 6 STATES, RUBY IS NO LONGER A VIRGIN!

In 2 days, Ruby has traveled through 6 states:  NC, SC, GA, AL, MI, and Arkansas where we are now!  So far we have been mostly on interstates, and except for driving around Atlanta, Ruby has been a pleasure to drive.  Dave has driven about 2/3 of the time, and I've taken at least one "leg" each day.  We decided to "boogie" out here so that we would have more time in AK and Texas.  We did make 2 short (micro!) side trips.  The first to see where Deb first taught in Fair Play, SC.  I had already read that the school had merged with one in Westminster, but it was really sad to see the building practically falling down!



In Tupelo, we had to pay homage to Elvis! In this part of the country, instead of "George Washington slept here", it's "Elvis, slept/ate/sat here"!  LOL




In downtown Tupelo (about the size of Hendersonville), they paint guitars instead of bears or rocking chairs!


We arrived in Bentonville, Arkansas about 5 and I typed in "brewery near me" and we found a great little brewery right across from where they are building a new campus for WalMart's Headquarters.  This construction project is MASSIVE and the little brewery will be well-positioned!!  It was in a complex sort of like Optimist Hall.  We bought Clay some beer glasses and talked to folks for him about biking in Bentonville.  Folks actually move here for the biking.  There are 36 miles of paved biking trails with dirt trails going off of the main Razorback Trail.  Get well Clay, and dust off that helmet!!



As we drove through Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, we were greeted with wide spaces of farm land.  They have planted canola as a cover crop, so the fields were bright yellow.  You felt like you were in the breadbasket of America.

Here are a few things we have learned traveling almost non-stop for two days in Ruby:

  • We think she was more cargo room than the jeep!  And while not quite as much as the RV, we packed WAAAAY more in her than we needed and still have room left over.  One thing we need to perfect is packing the hotel cart when we stop.  We brought too much cold food and STUFF.  We need to pare down!  
  • So far we have not "limped in" to any charging station, but have 10-15% (or @ 30-50 miles) to spare.  We did reduce our speed on one leg to compensate for hilly terrain and strong crosswinds.  You could do that to get better gas mileage too, but as virgin travelers, we were a little more motivated to stretch our charge.
  • Chargers are easy to find, and an 85% to 90% charge usually takes us about 30 minutes:  maybe 10 minutes or so more than if we stopped at a regular gas station for gas and a potty stop.  We figure we might have to add one stop per day versus if we were in a gas car, but stopping and stretching is a good thing!  The chargers are usually on the edge of the gas station, or parking lot, so sometimes the walk to the bathroom is long!! LOL
  • Things you can do while the car is charging:  grab a snack, shop at Michaels/Target/grocery etc., read the paper, work the Wordle, eat lunch, take pictures of kitschy gifts and send them to your daughter and granddaughter saying "I found your birthday present!!" 


  • Instead of frantically checking Gas Buddy for the nearest, cheapest gas, we laugh as we ride by a Flying J and see almost $4/ gas!  You can become a little smug driving a Tesla!  And the newly updated Tesla charging app makes them easy to find.
  • Driving the Tesla is much easier and less tiring than driving the Jeep or RV.  The lane assist and auto-following features make freeway driving a breeze.  You set how many car lengths you want to stay behind the car in front of you, and your max speed, and the only thing you have to do is pay attention and keep your hand on the wheel (she'll ding you if you don't!  Dave says its like having your mother fuss at you!! lol)  So while you may have to add an extra stop, you don't arrive frazzled!
  • So far we have driven 1000 miles and spent $95 on charges /or $.095 per mile. We figure gas would have cost us @ $150+ in the jeep... or $225 in the BMW  it would have been $225!!!  An $600 in the RV!!!!
Today we plan to spend the bulk of the day at Crystal Bridges, an art complex given to the town by WalMart.  We were here several years ago and realized it was a place we wanted to come back to and explore more.  Since we've been gone, they've added a performance place, and a Frank Lloyd Wright house!  Except for the COLD and windy weather, it should be a good day... tune in, in a few days and find out!!  Then on to Dallas.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FIVE VINTNERS 20TH VINTAGE CELEBRATION

Image
  It is a BIG Vintage!! Twenty years ago when we first began wine tasting in "earnest" with Glenn Kelly as our guide, we discovered Five Vintners at a restaurant.  The owner/winemaker Krisi Raymond did not have a tasting room but invited us to her home.  We weren't able to go, but 20 years and 20 vintages later we finally made it.  Due to confusion in time zones, we were more than fashionably late to the party but were welcomed with open arms and hugs.  We enjoyed several vintages and met Krisi's daughter who is coming to NC to explore colleges and several of her friends.  It was a delightful party and we stayed and helped bring in cushions before the "big" rain that was expected the next day. Krisi greets us at her 20th Vintage Celebration David enjoyed talking to Krisi neighbor and bartender, John.   He also kept pouring vintages!! Every party has its "joker".  This guy took the "Big Gulp" picture! The promised rain did come the next da...
Read more

WINE AND ROSES: The Rose Parade and Exploring Wineries in California

Image
  May I give you a rose? THE ROSE PARADE WITH ROAD SCHOLARS We've always wanted to see The Rose Parade and when the trip appeared in a Road Scholars email, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The program included working on floats, "band fest", a grandstand seat at the parade, and an up-close view of the floats at "float fest". On Friday we volunteered to help decorate floats.  Our "float barn" (a big warehouse) had 6 floats in various stages of completion.  We cut and prepared flowers for three of them.  The roses and Dutch Irises came to us in 5-gallon buckets (75 rose stems).  Our job was to cut them to about 3-4 inches, strip the leaves and put them in vials with water and preservative. Luckily, they had already been "de-thorned". These would then be transferred to the floats.  David worked the guillotine cutter, I would strip the leaves, and we both helped put them in vials. Our group processed at least 50 buckets of roses = 3750 ro...
Read more

SPACESHIPS, ROCKETS, AND BOOSTERS, OH MY!!

Image
We loved this sculpture!  But couldn't figure out which one was Elon!! Wednesday afternoon we drove into Boca Chica, TX, home of Elon Musks Starbase where they are developing, assembling, and testing the next generation of rockets and spaceships.  Mars is the ultimate objective!  Dave has been following Space X closely since its beginning with Falcon rockets which now send satellites and people to earth orbit.  At Boca Chica, there are no falcons, just much larger boosters and spaceships, called Starships.  We were lucky to get there right after they finished cryogenic pressure testing of the fuel tanks.  When we returned the next morning they were releasing the pressure which almost sounded like the ship was taking off.   As you can see from the pictures, the booster and starships are HUMONGOUS!!  They will be the largest and most powerful heavy-lift rockets ever created. We didn't see this "For Sale" sign until we were in the hotel looking ...
Read more