Are there still people who like to get off the beaten path?
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I seldom use well beaten trails or cities. I like to embed with the local culture. (worldwide)
How many 'old' travelers do we have who don't use hotels and still hitch-hike?
Anyone else purpose to stop and help people / farmers while on trips? I seldom even remember were I was planning to go, but interruptions are good!
When I'm on a USA road trip, the one thing I try to do every day and look forward to: Breakfast in a small town cafe, listening to the farmers chatting at the next table.
Last place I did that was in Quanah, Texas. Most interesting was somewhere in the upper Ottawa Valley, around Pembroke ON, where the local farmers were all bilingual and the conversation was full of code-switching French/English.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
When I'm on a USA road trip, the one thing I try to do every day and look forward to: Breakfast in a small town cafe, listening to the farmers chatting at the next table.
L...
me too... A 'communal' breakfast is one meal I will not miss, usually long after the day has started (farmer roots). Spent the last year in Thailand working at a Taiwan company with Chinese managers and Burmese and Cambodian workforce. Lots of 'code switching' conversations in the canteen. It was in the boonies so we stayed at rural homes and SMALL local lodging / food places.
Off the beaten path for SURE!
As a rural commercial driver I keep track of # of vehicles I meet. One blizzardy night in ND I went 113 miles without seeing another car. My previous record was WY at 83 miles.
Favorite communal breakfast (off the beaten path) is here (on days they serve French Toast) http://www.yelp.com/biz/samoa-cookhouse-samoa
everyone eats at long tables (Logging camp kitchen)
As a rural commercial driver I keep track of # of vehicles I meet. One blizzardy night in ND I went 113 miles without seeing another car. My previous record was WY at 83 miles.
I've driven several times on winter nights from Bangor to Calais, Maine, 90 miles without seeing a single car. In a fool moon with snow on the ground, I'd drive it without headlights. I didn't keep track, but I'm sure I've gone without seeing a car overnight from Madison Maine to Sherbrooke Quebec, 140 miles.
Congratulations! Sounds wonderful! Especially the herbs and the guns.
We tore it up this weekend! It was even better than the last outing! Then again we had our boys with us! Did a little work, such as cut some wood for the fire, as well as started digging the hole for the outhouse. It's going to take a bit longer, as there are a ton of rocks in the soil. Go figure the place is in the foothills of the Appalachians. After that on both days was a lot of walking, and shooting. My son shot for his first time. We started him on the single shot .22, and then moved up to the high powered .22 semi with a scope, and then on to the 30 carbine! Now THAT was an awesome gun to shoot!!!! After that, beers, and some bud (for me at least) and food. This time we stood in the darkness behind his camper and it was so dark this time because of the lack of moonlight (it was full when we last went up) that it was like a wall. However; you could see every star in the Heavens. We heard wolves howling in the distance and kept answering them. Boy did we set them off, as soon it was coming from all directions. I've never heard wolves, since at the moment there are none in Ohio.
It was a kick a** trip! My son exceeded my expectations as far as his behavior, and his following the safety rules for shooting. Not to mention he is quite the crack shot for his first time. My friend's boy was also well behaved, and we just all had an overall great time in the woods, without a care in the world! I can't say enough about it, and I cannot wait to get back up there again, which should be end of September, early October to shut it down for the winter. My son said to me soon after we got home "dad, I want to go back, can we go now?" He kept repeating it all evening. I think it made quite the impression on him. I know it did for me.
I can't wait to go back! My friend and I are going back one last time around late September early October to shut it down. My son won't be happy, but in the event that my friend has is son..... well..... that could change. It was quite an experience for him, and I told my wife and my friend that his balls have dropped a bit lower, LOL!
Once the outhouse is completed (hopefully by next year) and if my wife can get a lid on her health issues, I want to get her up there. She seems receptive to it. She is much more of a city person than me, but it went from, "nope, not my thing" to we're building an outhouse, and her saying "hmmm" to her saying "when I go...." I've assured her, we'll have plenty of food, plenty of drinking water, and some lights since my buddy hooks up a battery to the camper. I also told her it isn't too hot up there because of being up the hill and all of the trees, and the bugs aren't bad. Mosquitoes love her, and they're brutal where I live, but they weren't an issue up there. She just has to be a little cautious on her scents. As for the camper, sure it is cramped, but it isn't like we're sitting inside! Hell no! Too much to do outside! And unless it's raining I sure as hell don't want to sit inside! Hell, I don't even do that at home in the summer! One thing is for sure, it will blow her mind at night as to how quiet it truly is. When we first moved into our condo, we were the first one in the unit, and where I live is semi-rural (an exurb of Cleveland) and surrounded by wetlands. Our first night in the new place I had to DJ at one of the clubs I worked at, and she was a bit unnerved as to how quiet and dark it was, not to mention we had not yet purchased blinds for the windows. Then again where she grew up was in a direct flight path from the airport, and you could practically read the logos of the planes flying over, and of course she lived off of one of the main roads which always has traffic. Me on the other hand.... it didn't bother me.
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It was in the boonies so we stayed at rural homes and SMALL local lodging / food places.
) and food. This time we stood in the darkness behind his camper and it was so dark this time because of the lack of moonlight (it was full when we last went up) that it was like a wall. However; you could see every star in the Heavens. We heard wolves howling in the distance and kept answering them. Boy did we set them off, as soon it was coming from all directions. I've never heard wolves, since at the moment there are none in Ohio. 
My friend and I are going back one last time around late September early October to shut it down. My son won't be happy, but in the event that my friend has is son..... well..... that could change. It was quite an experience for him, and I told my wife and my friend that his balls have dropped a bit lower, LOL!
