Remember the Alamo (Trip)

Introduction

Our group at work attended the NFPA Conference & Expo in San Antonio in conjunction with our unit meeting. Since I no longer partake of air transportation, I drove about 2,300 miles in a rented Dodge Durango to get there.

This post presents a sort of summary of my trip.

Wednesday June 12

After packing and getting a haircut, I drove to ClevO to visit my mom & sisters and spend the night. On the way I stopped in Scranton as usual for lunch at Arby's. While eating lunch I called in to a work "town hall" meeting (and learned about 200 people let go). Gulp!

Thursday June 13

Mom & me.

Before leaving Mom's, I made hotel reservations for the rest of the trip to San Antonio. Then I drove drove to Knoxville.

Ironically, I passed through Cincinnati and went past the tubular Radison Hotel where I stayed in 2002 and decided that I no longer wanted to fly. And now, here I am driving past and not much has changed: Ironically, not flying has not prevented me from having to be away from home on Father's Day for work (!).

It has been nearly 25 years since I last was in Knoxville, so I was curious to see what changed and what stayed the same. Our time in Knoxville was rather stressful and thankfully brief (i.e, about 1.5 years). However, because of the many found memories, I wondered if it might be a good place to retire (no income tax in TN).

Welcome to TN
(at the KY border).

When I arrived in Knoxville, I drove around trying to orient myself and identify old haunts. I found the apartment complex we lived in-still in good shape. Drove some of the back roads (when I got lost) that we used to bike. The RC Church that we tried once or twice has been replaced with a gigantic cathedral (that looks totally out of place). Fortunately, the Krispy Kreme donut store is still there. Overall, I was startled by the magnitude of commercial development and the density of people.

Friday June 14

I was shocked at the large volume of traffic when I left this morning. It reminded me of I-495 in Long Island. My destination today was Ozark, AL, in order to try to link up with my son, Richard. He is working in the area as a truck driver and I haven't seen him since he came home at Easter. We talk on the phone frequently but it's not the same as in person.

 

With my son, Richard (right).

 A major accomplishment for today was accompanying Richard to  the doctor to get cleared to go back to work after some fluid in the ear. By the time we did this, it was supper time. We enjoyed a nice supper at a local pizza place (Difilippo's Pizza). Very down to earth and down home and reasonable. Comfortable.

When I dropped Richard off, I got to see the DC (Distribution Center) and his truck. Pretty amazing. Things are non-stop.

Saturday June 15

Today I continued driving south in Alabama, then went west through the Florida Panhandle continuing on I-10 through Mississippi and Louisiana to Beaumont, TX.

I was especially impressed with three things in Louisiana:

• Free coffee at the welcome center. I was hoping this local brand from New Orleans would be strong & dark but it medium and rather typical. Still, free coffee...!
• The long Atchafalaya Basin Bridge over the Atchafalaya Basin. More of an elevated roadway than a bridge, all I knew at the time was that it just kept going on and on; water on both sides with trees seeming to spring from the water. Really two bridges (one for each direction) with each having two lanes and a fair shoulder (although No Stopping signs were posted); trucks restricted to right lane and speed limit reduced. I wish I could have stopped to take a picture.

Aerial view of the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.

• Approaching the west border of Louisiana, I encountered the imposing sight of the Calcasieu River Bridge. It looks like one of those unbelievable pictures that are click bait on the Internet. The steep angle of the approaches seem unbelievable. My first thought was that this was a bridge that would definitely frighten Lynn. I had to take a deep breath myself.

Calcasieu River Bridge (Lake Charles, Louisiana)

I was certainly relieved to cross it (both times) without incident.

  

By the time I reached the Texas border it was dark and the welcome center was closed. Coming into Beaumont, the gasoline gauge showed empty as I held my breathe hoping to reach a gas station before the engine shut down. Thankfully, God made up for my stupidity and I made it to a gas station and the hotel.

Sunday June 16 - Father's Day

See comments above when passing through Cincinnati. Fortunately, I spent Friday afternoon and evening with my son.

When I drove through Houston, I was amazed at the amount of traffic out so early on a Sunday morning. Equally impressive (in a lesser way) was the size of the metropolitan area: the commercial areas kept on coming for miles. Huge. Bigger than I expected (but it is Texas).

My driving goal for today was to reach San Antonio in time to attend our NFPA Research Foundation meeting. I was (somewhat) successful - I arrived when I expected but due to confusion about the time (due to time zones) I missed the first hour (but was not the only one).

Our group stayed at the Homewood Suites near the River Walk (see picture below). Found out that the hotel was originally the San Antonio Drug Company Building (see below).

Homewood Suites, San Antonio (near the Riverwalk).

National Register of Historic Places plaque.

After the meeting, I checked into the hotel and then several of us went to supper at a place along the River Walk. The weather was very humid and we (foolishly) ate outside. Afterwards, we returned the short distance to the hotel-very tired.

River Walk

Monday June 17

The first day of the conference consisted of educational talks in the morning, a (boring, stupid) general session (lots of puffed up speeches and a silly keynote speaker that said nothing). Around mid-afternoon, the Expo opened and I walked through that for a couple hours.

Before going to bed that night, I went up to the rooftop pool at the hotel and admired the view.

View from the 10th floor-roof.

This tower was built for a World's Fair.
Wish I had time to go up in it.
Yes, that is the moon in the background.

Tuesday June 18

The second day of the Conference was more educational sessions and time in the Expo. I attended an all morning session about Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Me at the Expo.

My colleague, Lee (plaid shirt) inside a
demonstration booth for an Oxygen Reduction
System (ORS).

Wednesday June 19

Although the NFPA Conference continued this day, our group had its Unit Meeting at the hotel today. That evening, we had a group dinner at The County Line, a BBQ place on the River Walk. The food was okay (mediocre), the beer was good, and the company was even better. I'm not in the pictures because I was the photographer (using Lee's phone).

This was my table (my place was at the left foreground).
[L-R: Nick, Rocco, TonyG, Nacia, Tim, Dave, Kevin, Bob, Lee, & Jim]

The other table (was to my right).
[L-R: Ken, Dale, Richard, Kevin, Will, Tom, TonyA, Scott, ChrisK, Dawn, Lynn]

On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we stumbled across a famous bar that Lee was interested in seeing. The Esquire Tavern boasts as being the oldest bar on the River Walk as well as having the longest bar in Texas. The picture below is much brighter than in reality; I "fixed" the photo so you could make us out. Actually, the place was very dark. Ken and I drank water.

At the longest bar in Texas in the Esquire Tavern.
[L-R: Jim, Kevin, Lee, Ken, & me.]

Thursday June 20

Day 4 was the final day in San Antonio. The NFPA Conference too was wrapping up today. When I got up this morning, I made hotel reservations for my drive home. Our group finished up our meeting at the hotel (in the basement Alamo Conference Room).

Our meeting concluded in time for lunch. Then a couple of us braved the heat and humidity to walk a few blocks to the Alamo. Lee acted as our unofficial tour guide since he had been there previously. We only stayed about an hour or so. The heat outside was incredibly uncomfortable.

At the Alamo: [L-R: Bob, me, Kevin. Lee was the photographer.]

Since the traffic in Houston was so congested on Sunday morning (see above), I was apprehensive about trying to make it back to Beaumont this afternoon. So I made tonight's hotel reservation for a place on the east edge of Houston, near San Jacinto, hoping that I might be able to see the Battleship Texas.

I arrived at my hotel while there was still day light left. Overcoming several obstacles (e.g., toll bridges not accepting cash), I arrived at dusk. Of course, everything was closed. I was surprised to find another park adjacent to the battleship: the San Jacinto battleground monument and park. However, I did get out and take a few pictures.

The San Jacinto Monument is in the background.

Battleship USS Texas (BB-35)

Made it to (the) Texas!

Friday June 21

Today was a humongous drive from East Texas back to Ozark, AL (same hotel). Traffic was crawling and I briefly stopped in Mobile, AL to visit another battleship, the USS Alabama park. Again, I arrived during the day but after the park closed. I didn't have time to tour anyways.

At the Battleship Alabama Park.

By the time I finally arrived in Ozark, it was dark and most of the restaurants were closed. Richard suggested grabbing a bite at the Huddle House.

Richard during supper at the Huddle House in Troy.

Rick & son, Richard

Again, the visit was too short. It was early in the morning when I dropped him back to his truck at the DC.

Saturday June 22

This was another long day of driving (actually all of them are because each day involves at least 500 miles). Took some back roads in Alabama to get into Georgia. Then up to Atlanta and into South Carolina. I am heading to visit my colleague Jim to see his "farm."  I should have thought ahead and paid closer attention to determining the best route. I misjudged the time and ended up lost in the dark and about 2 hrs late. However, a cold pint of Jim's homemade brew and the hospitality of Jim and his wife Terri helped me relax.

Each state's welcome center had one of these signs.

Sunday June 23

This morning, Jim took me on a tour of their farm, showing me the goats, pigs, dogs, chickens, and his brewing equipment in the rebuilt barn. Terri is a flower farmer (and promoter of goat yoga) and pointed out the greenhouse and flower fields. Very nice.

Then it was Sunday driving into North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland in an effort to reach my sister Amy's place in Dover, DE. This was almost a repeat of Saturday: long day of driving, underestimating the time, and getting lost at the end.

  

If there was a welcome center for Maryland and Delaware, I missed them...probably because the sun was setting. It was dark when I went over the Bay Bridge. The view from one of the world's longest continuous over water steel structure is probably spectacular during the daylight.

When I arrived in Dover, I realized that I did not have Amy's address (my new Cricket cell phone had imported an old version of my address book). However, I eventually got there and enjoyed catching up with her over a steak salad and beer.

Monday June 24

Enjoyed a cup of coffee with Amy on her porch this morning before setting off home. I was just building up speed on Rt 1 when I heard a buzz and saw a hornet crawl out of the front windshield molding right in front of me. I quickly pulled off onto the shoulder and slowed down and opened the window and "calmly" watched the hornet float outside. Whew!.

My return trip took me over two more famous bridges: Lynn's favorite bridge, the twin span Delaware Memorial Bridge; and the new Tappan Zee Bridge (I cannot bear to use its official name-it will always be the Tappan Zee Bridge in my mind).

After returning the rental car, I drove my car home and unpacked.

Welcomed home.

Conclusion

In some respects, this trip was similar to my "Total Eclipse" trip in 2017.  Both trips involved long days of driving. I had a bit more latitude in my time for the Eclipse trip but this time I booked the hotels in advance so I did not have the stress of wondering where I would spend the night. 

Although this trip was for work, I used vacation days for the extra travel time needed to drive. I was able to save a bit on hotels by visiting family and friends but I did not have much time to visit or sight see. 

The best parts, other than returning home safely, were getting to spending time with my son; also seeing my mom and my sisters; seeing Jim & Terri's farm; and visiting my sister Amy. Driving allows you to see the country a lot closer than flying over it. I was blessed to have been able to accomplish this trip.

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Links:
https://www.nfpa.org/
https://www.sanantonio.gov/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durango
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville,_Tennessee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark,_Alabama
https://alabama.travel/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Panhandle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_Basin_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcasieu_River_Bridge
https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Resources/Fire-Protection-Research-Foundation/Research-planning/Property-Insurance-Research-Group
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_River_Walk
https://www.esquiretavern-sa.com/
https://thealamo.org/
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/battleship-texas
https://battleshiptexas.org/
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/san-jacinto-battleground
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35)
https://www.huddlehouse.com/
https://crittercreekfarm.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Memorial_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee_Bridge_(2017%E2%80%93present)
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Written Saturday July 27 & Sunday July 28, 2019.