Killer Bebe's trip across the country and back

[KillerBebe Obeys Zita]

Day Twenty Four:

With our check out from the hotel we set off for the town of Tombstone and some American history. I have to admit that even though it was a long and hot ride, it was worth it for me because of the symbolism I found here. It shows to me the everyday struggle that we have in our lives and the consequence of those actions. After seeing this town and the gun fight at the O.K. Corral, I now can see what must be done to restore the proper balance or if I might say; order to one’s self.

The race North; now begins.

A pic from Old Tucson:
It seems that my youngest is having a better time than me on this trip. (See earlier pic)



After the gun fight,

[KillerBebe Obeys Zita]

Day Twenty five:

The race North was changed to the journey East and to go in search of where some of the RS members came from, that of course being: Roswell, New Mexico. We pulled into the town mid afternoon and the first thing I noticed were some strange people milling about, one family was wearing tinfoil hats to keep the aliens from using mind control on them. We walked about the town visiting shops and the UFO museum and had lunch. What else can I tell you about the town and what I saw, well as we used to say in the Army, of cause I could tell you; but then I’d have to kill you.

We looked high and low for the RS.net members but they’re all away.




Day twenty six:

We’re back in Texas and are here just to sleep.

Day twenty seven:

From Texas to Kansas had a steak in Wichita that to tell the truth was no better than any piece of meat then we can get at home. My son has gotten sick and we have stopped in El Dorado, KA for the night.

[KillerBebe Obeys Zita]

Day twenty eight:

Drove to Kansas City and had lunch at a steak house called Jess and Jim’s (when I saw it for some reason the name Joss and Slim kept popping into my mind), well it finally happened, I had the best piece of meat outside of New York. I chose the Porterhouse, and let me tell you that this was a thirty ounce steak from a free range grass fed animal that gave its life up just so I could fill my belly, it was also enjoyed cooked (if you can call it that) as rare as could be made without eating it raw, with it I drank a locally brewed beer (well many beers) that I thought brought out the flavor of meat.

We have drove most of the night to reach our destination and I will have much needed sleep, oh and by the way I’m in Rosemount, MN.

View from out the window


I just had to go, there was something about it that called to me. . .

False advertizing, what a rip.

Got to sleep in the Kim Possible room, sweet dreams

[morefood2001]

I responded on ACC already Sounds like you're having a great time!

[KillerBebe Obeys Zita]

Day twenty nine::

Today was a great day for me, I got to sleep late. I got up at one in the afternoon, it is nice when you get to stay with family and they don’t bother you thinking that you want to jam pack your day. The big plus of being able to sleep late is that I got to stay in the Kim Possible room longer having wonderful dreams.

When I finally did force myself up and leave a comfortable bed I made my way out of the house to get some maintenance done on the car, I needed a oil change (the car not me), a tire rotation and a wash. The first place I went to told me, “sure we can take care of you; come back in four or five days.” When I pulled in for the oil chance I thought what luck, there was a car wash in the parking lot. The local high school was having a car wash for the Girls field hockey team, I was going to support the team as one would say but the car was to filthy and the front grill was covered with dead bugs from hitting a swarm on the road and I could not subject young girls to such a traumatic event as that; I could just hear the girly screams of ick, yew and yuck. Before I could make up my mind it started to rain and rain hard; soaking to the skin all these girls in tee shirts (and me without my camera.)

We had a sushi lunch and then I got the maps out to look over the start my trip to Vancouver.

Day thirty:

The Vancouver trip is set and flight is booked and will start the next morning, but for now and extra day here in MN. My nieces took us to the mall of America even though it is no longer called that, it’s a long story that starts with the park inside being called “Camp Snoopy” but for legal reasons they had to change the name to “Mall of America” but when Nickelodeon took over it was changed to Nickelodeon Universe, this has to be the best mall I have ever been to. The place is huge and has twenty four amusement park rides inside, a few roller coasters and a log flume. They also have Nick cartoon characters all over the place, like, Sponge Bob, Dora, The last Air-bender, Danny Phantom and Kai-Lan. I took my nieces on a shopping spree and let the pick whatever they wanted, I also made sure that they got to go to the Hot Topic and some other fringe store for the teen (or what passes for fashion) fashion (I’m such a square.) The only problem I had was finding clothes that fit her, you would think that there would be more made for her but there is not much out there for a size double zero. I have talked to my sister-in-law that works for the fashion magazine Elle, and that she should try to get into modeling but the family does not want to expose her to that lifestyle.


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Note - I’m now home and am sorry that I have neglected my upkeep of the trip, I got so tired that I did not have much time between all the driving and running around with family site-seeing.

I have nothing to say about Vancouver just that it is sometimes true that one person that you new so well can change so much that it is really shocking. I only wish he well and that he receive the help that he needs.

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Day Thirty one:

Nothing to say. . .

day Thirty two:

Nothing to say. . .

Day 32:

Had some good news, my wife’s family was coming in to surprise there Grandfather but it would have been two days late for me to see them. With a quick call to my wife we talked about leaving the kids there and booking a flight at a later date for them to go home. Airfare is much cheaper from Mn to NJ than from Fla, in fact I was able to get tickets for the two of them at a little bit more than the price I paid for my wife’s fare.

We this all being done; I told my kids goodbye and that I was leaving them there for an extra week or so to spend time with there cousins and that I would be driving home alone (they did not seem to be to heartbroken over this) and left for Home and wanted to make it to Chicago by nightfall. My trip through Wisconsin was to say the least, “uneventful.” I was unable to stop in on a friend that lived in Jefferson, WIS. do to a fault of my own, that is to silly and embarrassing to mention here. I’ll add that even though there was not much to do nor see here, I did like the little stores that sell cheese and sausages along the road way, I did have to stop off and grab something for the wife. (Again no offence to those that live in this State, but what can I say; I saw a lot of nothing.)

I arrived close to 8pm and decided to try a Chicago pie, being a Noo Yawker; I of course never tried one of these. Well let me just state for the record; you ain’t missing anything, it did nothing for me and I truly now know what Kim meant by the term burnt cheese (no offence to people from Chicago, those who like this type of pizza or the Middleton school cafeteria) on cardboard really means. The best part of being here was that I got to see the city at night, it is a beautiful city but to tell the truth I do believe that most cities are beautiful at night. It is at that time they get quiet and a hush falls over them, then they back to life as the people come out to play, the cafes open, the clubs, the night spots, the little holes in the walls that you pass not even giving a second glance to during the day; but at night have people coming together for a drink and to listen to some live music and mingle and have easy conversations, crossing paths with strangers and becoming wiser for it.

Day thirty three:

Got up early and took off for home again; hoping to get as close to NJ as I could, the roads were open but starting to get a little more congested than I was used to. One other thing I began to notice was that the condition of the roads began to deteriorate and the drivers became more rude. I have to say that in the country people shared the road with you, if you were going faster than they were they moved over to let you pass, but now I found that they tried to block you from passing so that they were first in line, or that they would drive slow (slow by my account, more like five MPH over the limit) in the speed lane and not yield.

Well I made a trip to the Rock-N-Roll hall of fame in Ohio, the place is of a good size and filled with lots of memorabilia, from costumes to band equipment. What I liked best though was that they had some of the song lyrics there that were written on loose leaf paper or napkins, I enjoyed to see how the song progressed and was change as the artist began to go in a different direction. They had a large array of costumes that upon closer examination show them to really be cheaply made, but I can understand that cause they are made most likely to worn for one or for no more than a few shows. I found most to be as if they were made for children, but that’s cause most entertainer seem to be so short or because I’m so tall. Next to this I found when they had some guitars from there early career they were for the most part just the same instruments that you buy from the local music store. This told me that again most of these artists start off with (for lack of a better word) cheap or low end guitars, then after they hit it big they begin to purchase more expensive and higher end items.

(Moral of the story, don’t buy a four or five thousand dollar guitar if you can’t play a lick)

For the rest of the place it was somewhat entraining, and some of the artists that were inducted by my standards should never have been there in the first place. I found a little place just above the food court off on its own where you had to pass through a wall that had weird dolls both large and small. When you pass through there are small benches that face the wall with some writing on it and in the corner is a life sized sandbag doll sitting in a chair watching television. This was the Pink Floyd exhibit that I found immensely interesting, they had benches for you to sit on while facing the wall with some Pink Floyd music playing softly till a scream is heard from far in the distance as if it came from behind you or from the back of your mind. The writing on the wall was of an occurrence at a Montreal concert, it reads as follows.

“In the old days, pre-dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd (We) played to audiences which by virtue of their size allowed an intimacy of connection that was magical.”

“However, success overtook us and by 1977 we were playing in football stadiums.”

“The magic crushed beneath the weight of numbers, we were becoming addicted to the trappings of popularity.”

“I found myself increasingly alienated in that atmosphere of avarice and ego until one night in the Olympic Stadium, Montreal. Some crazed teenager fan was clawing his way up the storm netting that separated us from the human cattle pen in front of the stage, screaming his devotion to the “Demi-Gods” beyond his reach.”

“Incensed by his misunderstanding and my own connivance, I spat my frustration in his face. Later that night, back at the hotel, shocked by my behavior, I was faced with a choice. To deny my addiction and embrace that “comfortably numb” but “magic-less” existence or accept the burden of insight, take the road less traveled and embark on the often painful journey to discover who I was and where I fit.”

“The Wall was the picture I drew for myself to help me make that choice.”

Roger Waters
Summer 1995

This to me shows that the old saying of, “don’t fly to close to the sun,” or the other old ditty of, “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” can hit anyone of us. We then not to think of such things or we say to ourselves, “no not me; I’d never become jaded,” but it shows how ego can take over when all is giving to you and you do not remember from where you came from. I sat here for over an hour; contemplating what it must have been for him; pondering my dance with the monsters from the id and my own return from the edge of darkness and how easy that last step could have been.

Day thirty four:

I woke up in a small town in Pennsylvania at exit 62 along Route 80 and had a breakfast of french toast, eggs and a pot of black coffee. The drive home was quiet and quick and I was home in a few hours and was happy about it; that my adventure was done. I have memories that will last a life time and saw many things and met many people, I will cherish the memory of my time spent with Dave, Tony, Red, (I have to say it again that Red did so much for me and my kids that I think I will never be able to thank him properly) and especially Anna who I found a joy to spend time with.

[KillerBebe Obeys Zita]

I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or just continue in here.

I will be getting ready to take a cross country trip again, but this time my plans are to head north then west. I also want to take a quick trip into Canada and drive around the great lakes. While in Canada I want to try and visit both Alicia (you should remember her) and elvisjj before going to Minneapolis afterwards I'll head to Washington and hopefully I'll take the time to go to Alaska. Because with Alaska I will have then been to each state in the country.