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USA Map - Red Line is Traveled Path

Our Trip Across the USA

Christy and I drove 11,556 miles across the nation from July 2 - August 27, 1998. Below are some of the details of our trip. For more information on the trip, see Vol. I and Vol. II of our scrapbook/photo albums.

USA Map - Red Line is Traveled Path
Where We Stayed

Day 01 - Marshalls Creek, PA (resort)
Day 02 - Marshalls Creek, PA (resort)
Day 03 - Marshalls Creek, PA (resort)
Day 04 - State College, PA (fraternity friend Al)
Day 05 - McKeesport, PA (fraternity friends Steve and Laurie)
Day 06 - McKeesport, PA (fraternity friends Steve and Laurie)
Day 07 - Sagamore Hills, OH (friends Howard and Rita)
Day 08 - Batavia, IL (Kwasha Lipton friend Chris)
Day 09 - Deerfield, IL (family Bob and Audrey)
Day 10 - Deerfield, IL (family Bob and Audrey)
Day 11 - Columbus, WI (municipal campsite)
Day 12 - Minneapolis, MN (Kwasha Lipton friend Dan)
Day 13 - Minneapolis, MN (Kwasha Lipton friend Dan)
Day 14 - Chamberlain, SD (municipal campsite)
Day 15 - Buffalo, WY ("Big Horn Mountains Campground")
Day 16 - Logan, UT (Days Inn)
Day 17 - Elko, NV ("Valley View R.V. Park and Campground")
Day 18 - Big Bend, CA (municipal campsite)
Day 19 - San Francisco, CA (Travelodge)
Day 20 - San Francisco, CA (Kwasha Lipton friend Jeanne)
Day 21 - El Capiton, CA ("El Capiton Campground")
Day 22 - Glendale, CA (Econolodge)
Day 23 - El Cajon, CA (friends Linda and Tim)
Day 24 - El Cajon, CA (friends Linda and Tim)
Day 25 - El Cajon, CA (friends Linda and Tim)
Day 26 - El Cajon, CA (friends Linda and Tim)
Day 27 - El Cajon, CA (friends Linda and Tim)
Day 28 - Lake Pleasant, AZ ("Lake Pleasant Regional Park" primitive campsite)
Day 29 - Williams, AZ ("Bedrock City Campground")
Day 30 - Cortez, CO (Aneth Lodge)
Day 31 - Grand Mesa, CO (camped in wilderness)
Day 32 - Denver, CO (drove through the night)
Day 33 - Tulsa, OK (family Catherine)
Day 34 - Tulsa, OK (family Catherine)
Day 35 - Tulsa, OK (family Catherine)
Day 36 - Tulsa, OK (family Catherine)
Day 37 - Arlington, TX ("Traders Village" campground)
Day 38 - Arlington, TX ("Traders Village" campground)
Day 39 - Houston, TX ("Traders Village" campground)
Day 40 - Pensacola, FL (Rodeway Inn)
Day 41 - Orlando, FL (friend Brian)
Day 42 - Orlando, FL (friend Brian)
Day 43 - Orlando, FL (friend Brian)
Day 44 - Orlando, FL (friend Brian)
Day 45 - Atlanta, GA (fraternity friend Ron and Lisa)
Day 45 - Atlanta, GA (fraternity friend Ron and Lisa)
Day 47 - Concord, NC (friend Katie)
Day 48 - Danville, VA (friends John and Cathy)
Day 49 - Virginia Beach, VA (family Vickie and George)
Day 50 - Virginia Beach, VA (family Vickie and George)
Day 51 - Herndon, VA (Penn State friends Tom and Natalie)
Day 52 - Herndon, VA (Penn State friends Tom and Natalie)
Day 53 - Herndon, VA (Penn State friends Tom and Natalie)
Day 54 - Herndon, VA (Penn State friends Tom and Natalie)
Day 55 - Herndon, VA (Penn State friends Tom and Natalie)
Day 56 - Bensalem, PA (family Sandy and Mel)
Day 57 - return to Fort Lee, NJ

Heads Carolina, tails California
somewhere greener, somwehere warmer
up the mountains, down by the ocean
where doesn't matter as long as we're going
somewhere together, I've got a quarter
Heads Carolina, tails California

Here is a list of some other cities where we spent one hour or more on the trip:

Pittsburgh, PA
Cleveland, OH
South Bend, IN
Chicago, IL
Evanston, IL
Oak Park, IL
Deerfield, IL
Milwaukee, WI
Sparta, WI
La Crosse, WI
St. Paul, MN
Bloomington, MN
Rapid City, SD
Badlands National Park, SD
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Montpelier, ID
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
Tijuana, Mexico
Phoenix, AZ
Sedona, AZ
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Cameron, AZ
Four Corners, AZ CO NM UT
Glenwood Springs, CO
Georgetown, CO
Clinton, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Cuttoosa, OK
Sand Springs, OK
Dallas, TX
Mesquite, TX
St. Petersburg, FL
Kelly Park, FL
Stone Mountain, GA
Spartanburg, SC
Charlotte, NC
Chesapeake, VA
Baltimore, MD


There's a feeling I get, when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen, rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking.

Required Reading

(these are books we read on the trip, and we're glad we did)

Travels With Charlie by John Steinbeck
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
MTV Road Rules Road Trips
Off The Road by Elisha Cooper
Rand McNally Ultimate Road Atlas and Vacation Guide
Guide To Free Campgrounds by Don Wright
AAA Tourbook (we brought 19 of these)
Mobil Travel Guide To The Northwest U.S.

Old Stone Bridge
Photo: 1998 by Michael S. Berman

These are some of the places that we ate:

Pizzaro's - Marshall's Creek, PA
Perkins - South Bend, IN
Little Sicily - Oak Park, IL
The Good Life Cafe - Deerfield, MI
A Slice of Chicago - Chicago, IL
Union Station Gold Coast Dogs - Chicago, IL
Jodee O's - Columbus, WI
Cajun Cafe - Bloomington, MN
Vescio's - Minneapolis, MN
Colonel Bozeman's - Buffalo, WY
Ranch Hand Truck Stop - Montpelier, ID
The Factory - Logan, UT
Denny's - Forest Hills, CA
Venice Pizza - San Francisco, CA
Hollywood Cafe - San Francisco, CA
Pasta Pomodoro - San Francisco, CA
Mama Maria's - Santa Barbara, CA
Koo Koo Roo's - Los Angeles, CA
Kip's Cafe - El Cajon, CA
In 'N Out Burger - San Diego, CA
Coco's - El Cajon, CA
Hungry Howie's - El Cajon, CA
Jack in the Box - Yuma, AZ
Cameron Trading Post - Cameron, AZ
Rocky Mountain Pizza - Cortez, CO
The Flamingo Diner (old Route 66) - Elk City, OK
Grandy's - Tulsa, OK
Discoveryland! - Sand Springs, OK
Pizza Inn - Arlington, TX
Chili's - Mesquite, TX
Saltgrass Steak House - Houston, TX
Orlando Ale House - Orlando, FL
Louie's Universal - Orlando, FL
Branch Ranch - ?, FL
Murphy's - Atlanta
Sizzler - Danville, VA
?? - Chesapeake, VA
Bertucci's - Herndon, VA
Mozzarella's - Herndon, VA

It's the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live.

Baseball Games
DateCityStadiumTicket PriceVisitorScoreHomeScoreObservations
July 11ChicagoComiskey$10.00Royals2White Sox4Albert Belle hits homer; best organist
July 12MilwaukeeMilwaukee County Stadium$8.00Cubs3Brewers0Sosa hits one out of stadium in B.P.; Last year before new stadium; Beer Barrel Polka during 7th inning stretch
July 20San Francisco3COM (Candlestick) Park$3.75Diamondbacks3Giants5Should have brought the parka
July 23Los AngelesDodger Stadium$6.00Astros8Dodgers6Dodgers score 6 before their first out, but go on to lose 8-6 in 10. Bought roll of film for $10. Raul Mondesi T-shirt night. Fans whip out beach balls and "the wave" in the top of the second.
July 26San DiegoQualcomm (Jack Murphy)$7.00Astros4Padres5Hoffman blows save record with Alou HR in ninth; Padres come back to win in 10; 99 degrees in the shade (we were in the sun)
August 7ArlingtonThe Ballpark$10.00Red Sox3Rangers4Rangers beat Pedro Martinez; full moon; our favorite stadium
August 9HoustonAstrodome$7.00Phillies2Astros11Another HR for Moises; car fire in parking lot (not ours)
August 23BaltimoreCamden Yards$16.67 (scalper)Indians4Orioles1Gooden wins third straight; third largest crowd in Camden Yard history (regular season)

* Note: Of course, we did not get to see out beloved Yankees on the trip but we watched many of their wins get posted up on stadium scoreboards across the land. It's hard to pick one, but for me the most memorable win was this one as we watched from the jacuzzi in our anniversary suite. Second most memorable was sitting in The Ballpark at Arlington and wondering who this Shane Spencer was who made his first start that night and went 5-5 with two home runs.

The Unforgettable 1998 Baseball Season

Mark McGwire hits 70 home runs
Sammy Sosa hits 66 home runs and wins MVP
Yankees win 114 games and sweep World Series
Rookie Kerry Wood ties single game record with 20 K's
Daryl Strawberry diagnosed with colon cancer
Cubs beat Giants in one-day playoff at Wrigley for wild card
Ripken sits out, ends streak at 2,632
Florida fire sale from World champs to worst
ARod joins 40-40 club

Someday girl I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
And we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
Baby we were born to run

Our Awards for the USA Trip
Category
Winner
Best StateWyoming
Best CitySan Diego, CA
Best StadiumThe Ballpark - Arlington. TX
Ugliest StadiumTexas Stadium - Dallas, TX
Scariest CampsiteGrand Mesa National Forest - Grand Mesa, CO
Prettiest CampsiteLake Pleasant, AZ
Longest Continuous DriveDenver International Airport to Clinton, OK (712 miles)
Highest Posted Speed Limit75 mph
Best Sign"Federal Prison - Do Not Stop for Hitchhikers" (near Phoenix, AZ)
Toughest WorkoutStone Mountain, GA
Favorite RoadOld Route 66 - Elk City, OK
Worst Road ConditionsNE Yellowstone National Park, WY
Favorite National ParkBadlands National Park - South Dakota
Favorite HighwayChief Joseph Scenic Byway - Route 296 - NW Wyoming and Southern Montana
Cheapest Gas$.779 Spartanburg, SC
Most Expensive Gas$1.479 San Francisco, CA
Best NewspaperDallas Morning News
Cheapest MuseumGilcrease - Tulsa, OK ($0)
Most Expensive MuseumRock 'n Roll Hall of Fame - Cleveland, OH ($19.95)
Least Time in a StateNew Mexico - 3 minutes
Most Time in a StateCalifornia - 9 days, 22 hours
Best PizzaChicago, IL
Highest Exposure to RadiationDormitory 4 - Fermilab Particle Accelerator - Batavia, IL
Longest Drive in Wrong Direction17 miles - near Columbus, WI
Cheesiest Tourist TrapWall Drug - Wall, South Dakota
Biggest RipoffMount Rushmore, SD - $7 to enter prime viewing area
Highest Thermometer Reading105 degrees - El Cajon, CA
Worst CountryMexico
Stickiest FloorInternational Sample Room, Coca Cola Museum - Atlanta, GA
When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small
But it's as big as the promise the promise of a comin' day

To go to my homepage, click here

We expect to see people driving across the country next year.

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