Trip Superlatives

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This will be the last post on our trip. We are all glad to be home and looking forward to getting back to a normal life. We certainly had some good times while we were gone and would love to do it again. Just not too soon. During the trip I thought it might be fun to keep tabs on some of the most, best, wierdest, etc that we saw. What follows is that list:

The most twisting Road: I-76 in western Pennsylvania
The most snow: In my front yard when I left. Second most in my front yard when I returned.

The least snow: There was no snow in all states except for New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine

The most tunnels: I-76 through the mountains in Western Pennsylvania.

The noisiest pavement: I-70 west from Columbus Ohio

The most littered highway: I-271from the Ohio turnpike to Cleveland

The most traffic: Saw Mill Parkway in New York from I-684 to the Tappan Zee Bridge

The longest Bridge: Tappan-Zee

The straightest road: I 44 from Oklahoma City to St. Louis has many long straight portions

the best state welcome sign: Ohio

the worst state welcome sign: Pennsylvania

The fewest billboards: Maine (they are illegal there)

The most billboards: I-465 North of Indianpolis

The worst drivers: (I am a little biased here. I learned how to drive in Boston so I think that is the right way) Alabama, but New York is a very close second

The most roadkill: I -71 from Cleveland to Columbus (there were 3 deer as well as numerous smaller animals. One of the deer looked like a kangaroo

The most expensive road: The Pennsylvania turnpike

the nicest people: Everywhere. They were all nice (except the officer in Indiana)

The strangest looking building: The Corvette Museum in southern Indiana

The most hypocritical thing we saw: Ok it was a tie between the Cleveland Scene free magazine that had an ad for "organic cigarettes" (I kid you not!!). and a place in Indiana about an hour south of Indianpolis on I-65 southbound where there is an "adult" store on the left side of the highway and a billboard with a few of the commandments on the right side.

The worst coffee: A place called "doughnuts and coffee" in Columbus, Inidana.

The Best Coffee: Dunkin Donuts of course

the most surprising sight: On highway 46 going into Columbus, Indiana there is a bridge that as it comes into view frames an old building in the town. It is really quite an unexpected sight. I wish I had stopped to photograph it.

The most amazing freight:While travelling through Missouri I saw two large flatbed trailers each carrying one blade of a windmill. These blades were wider then the truck at the front end and had to be 60 feet long as they hung of the end of the trucks

The most street entertainment: Nashville of course on this trip, but if you really want street entertainment try Virginia Beach in the summer time.

The biggest model: The bat outside of the Louisville Slugger factory

The best sandwiches: Firehouse Subs. Birmingham, Alabama. Not only are the sandwiches delicious but when you get a kids meal you also get a fireman's helmet and since (S) loved it, I had to mention them here.

The best idea for kids by a business:there were 2. At Chuck E Cheese they stamp all members of a party with the same number (special light needed to see the number). All members of a party must leave together. This way no child can leave with anyone other than who he/she arrived with. Second was at "The Cheesecake Factory" in Birmingham, AL where they immediately brought banana and bread on a plate for (S) while we decided on dinner. It kept her occupied and eating and I don't understand why any restaurant doesn't do that.
THE BIGGEST CROSS: Along interstate 70 in Effingham Illinois. It is 198 feet tall and has been placed by http://www.crossusa.org/

The best place to be: There were many places we went to on this trip that were great. I could name them all again, but if you are interested you can read back over previous posts. We really had a wonderful time and would love to do something like it again, but Dorothy had it right....There is no place like home and we are glad to be there.

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