China 2011

Never thought I'd be going to China but I am! Tomorrow, Thursday, April 7th, I join a group flying from Atlanta to Hong Kong. After Hong Kong, we're off to Shanghai and finally ending our Chinese adventure in Beijing. We return to the states on April 16th. Hopefully, Internet access in China will allow me to post some photos and share highlights from the trip.

Come full circle

After two weeks and almost 7,000 miles of driving, we returned safely to our starting point, my parents' home in Reisterstown, Maryland. Sadly, we said "goodbye" to the Town & Country. The agent noted that I could have washed it as he checked it in. Then, upon seeing the number of miles on the odometer, he asked, "Where did you go?!?"



Thanks for all your prayers, calls to check on us, and positive blog comments throughout this journey. Would I do it again? Considering how blessed we were throughout the journey from the weather, to lodging, to all the sites seen, and to all the angels we crossed our paths along the way, I'd have to pause...but finally say, "yes, I would." Actually it is because the trip has been such a joy for my parents and a unique experience for me at this time in my life that I'd be willing to do it again. Peace.

We took no photos today. Our focus was on covering the 650 miles between Memphis, TN and Roanoke, VA. Our lack of photos was not an indictment of Tennessee’s scenery. I appreciated seeing the dense green woods of the Tennessee forests which were a stark contrast to the terrain from our days in the western deserts. I knew how determined we were to reach our destination when no one suggested making a stop in Nashville to see the sites. We’ve visited several state capitals on this journey, but clearly no one minded skipping this one. Actually, I noticed that we were all fairly quiet for much of the drive. My father reeked havoc with the telemarketers who called (he forwarded their home number to his cell phone). My mother napped between magazine and newspaper articles. I kept myself alert and entertained with CD changes from various Motown artists, to Aretha, to the Dreamgirls soundtrack. After not quite 12 hours of driving and a very filling meal at the Country Cookin’ restaurant, we’re happily ensconced in our Roanoke hotel, resting and recharging for the last segment of the journey.

Tomorrow, we’ve got a relatively short 297 miles to cover to return to the Maryland homestead and the end of the Johnson Journey 2008. Let it go safely and quickly.

Gas Station Time Wharp

This is probably the only reason I'd consider time travel back to 1957! 25 cents a gallon! Those were the days.

Welcome to Arkansas!

An Arkansas state trooper officially welcomed us to Arkansas, the Natural state. About 5 miles into Arkansas, I noticed a state trooper on our tail. He followed us for several miles before pulling to the left of me and motioning for me to pull over. I was actually driving below the speed limit, so I knew speed wasn’t an issue. He approached the van on the passenger side, looked inside to see my father with the road atlas in his lap, and my mother sitting the back seat amidst assorted bags and luggage. He let us know that he was checking on us because he felt we were following a tractor trailer too closely. He asked me to walk with him back to his patrol car where he asked me various questions about our travel plans, vehicle ownership, identity, and employment. I believe he was sorely disappointed to learn that we were as we appeared—a family on vacation. When I mentioned that we had been traveling around the country since before the Memorial Day weekend, he expressed surprise that I could have that much time off. I shared with him that as a federal civil servant working for Congress, I’m entitled to a generous amount of vacation time. The officer and I shook hands, and he wished us safe travels. That, of course, was the external account of what happened. I’ll spare you the internal dialogue I was having (and the associated foul language).

Once we arrived at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, I put the highway incident behind me (as best I could) in order to absorb the beauty of the site and the wealth of information and artifacts presented. The library was very impressive. Bill pulled out all the stops to display his papers, gifts, and highlights of his presidency. The presentation put a positive (or at least minimally critical) spin on the events of his presidency including the Lewinsky situation. I was disappointed that I couldn’t enter the Oval office replica because I had every intention of having my picture taken at the president’s desk. Unlike Graceland which has Elvis’ jets parked outside, the Clinton library does not have a replica of Air Force One in the parking lot (another disappointment). Ultimately my mother got to achieve her goal of seeing another presidential library (my folks went to the Kennedy library last year). Now she’s trying to figure out what other presidential libraries can be easily visited. I’m voting for the Carter library, but I may be biased.

Little Rock’s Central High School was the other site on the day’s agenda. A new visitor center across the street from the school presents the story of the “Little Rock 9,” the nine black students who faced angry mobs to begin the integration of Little Rock’s schools in 1957. The exhibit with film footage, photographs, and interviews with the students and protesting white citizens was powerful and moving. Facing the school today with its imposing and majestic façade was intimidating without angry masses of people spewing words of hate and threat. I can’t begin to imagine the bravery of those nine students—even with National Guard escorts—entering the school and concentrating on school work. On another corner across from the school, a memorial park has been created with an exhibit of photographs from the many years of Central High’s history. The photographs depict how far race relations have progressed as Central High students from diverse backgrounds are shown studying, competing, and socializing together in the years since 1957. The school remains in operation with a student body of 2,700.

Also moving was a sculptural presentation on the grounds of the Arkansas Capitol building celebrating the courage of the Little Rock 9. On plaques circling the sculpture are quotes from each of those nine brave souls. All of them were touching but the one that stays with me the most was Minnijean Brown Trickey’s quote from Ghandi:

“We have to be the change we want to see in the world.”

We were up at 4 a.m! None of us slept well in Flagstaff. Perhaps our meal at Sizzlers didn’t agree with us. Whatever the reason, we were on I-40 heading east at 80 mph as the sun rose over the mountains in eastern Arizona. Beautiful! Dad started driving but was ready to resume his role as navigator/passenger with our first restroom stop. For the remainder of the day I blazed across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and into Oklahoma. We covered about 860 miles with temperatures starting at 54 degrees in the morning and peaking at 108 degrees in Oklahoma. Oklahoma also greeted us with intense wind gusts that had the Town and Country rocking. The terrain offered very little to see. The same desert, more cows, and some times smelly fields of unidentifiable vegetation surrounded us on all sides. My father the historian kept himself entertained identifying remaining sections of historic Route 66. Yes, the drive was that exciting.

We arrived in Oklahoma City while still light enough to take in the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, a moving tribute to the victims and survivors of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The experience was so moving that I need to process it further before sharing it.

Good night.

Through the Desert--Bakerfield, Barstow and Beyond

Road across the Mojave desert--I have several

pictures from the desert that look exactly like this one.

Is it Monday? We’ve been on the road so long that we’ve lost track of the days. At dinner we recalled that last Monday was Memorial Day and we were in Denver. Now, a week later we’re in Flagstaff, Arizona. Today was our first day heading east. We left our hotel in Oakland, California this morning at 6:15 a.m. and after about 770 miles of driving we arrived at our hotel in Flagstaff at 6:30 p.m. We’re working our way back across the country via I-40. We’ve got a lot of highway yet to cover.

Today’s journey had to rank as the most dull of the trip so far. As we drove through central California, we played the very thrilling game of Guess What’s Growing in that Field! We passed field after field of orchards, grape vineyards, and other cow-manured fields awaiting seeds. When we didn’t have any plant life to identify, we played that other thrilling road game, Is That A Cow or a Sheep? When my father tried to figure out what one particular cow could have been eating in a field of rocks and dirt, I knew we had been in the car too long. Sadly, the cows and sheep gave us something to look at besides the endless desert. From Bakersfield to about 100 miles before Flagstaff, the scenery rarely changed. Desert. Short shrubs and cacti in the desert. A lone house or trailer. An abandoned car. A dry lake or riverbed. Sometimes the road curved and we crossed the occasional mountain, but mostly we saw nothing. We hoped passing Edwards Air Force Base would give us something to see, but no such luck. The entire area looks like a dirt runway, so what we could see of the base from the highway didn’t really stand out. It was hard keeping the van below 80 mph when there was so little to make me want to take my time. Let’s hope Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma have more to offer. I’ll let you know.

P.S. Near Barstow we so gassed up at $4.79! Since crossing into Arizona, gas has fallen below $4 a gallon.