Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

We still have time to mess this up!

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / 2023-2024 Tour Dates

2023-2024 Tour Dates

by | 187 Comments

This post is in: ,

So here is the itinerary:

Night One- Nashville, staying at a friend’s place.

Night Two- Little Rock- since the first night was free, we are staying at a fancy place the second night- the Empress or something like it that Joelle has her heart set on.

Night Three- Amarillo, staying at the Big Texan.

Night Four- Albuquerqe

Reader Interactions

187Comments

  5. 5.

    Barbara

    I am sure there are nice places in Alubquerque but if I were going to New Mexico for just one night I would probably check out Santa Fe.

    If Joelle or your friend is looking for a nice restaurant in Nashville a friend of a friend owns this place:

    https://lounashville.com/#menu

  6. 6.

    brendancalling

    I know you don’t drink, but as a former Nashville resident, do go to Robert’s Western World and Layla’s on Broadway, the only two places still doing real country music on the regular. If the Royal Hounds are playing GO SEE THEM.
    Tuesday night is the American Legion Post 82 honky tonk. Again: GO. You will not be disappointed.

    For hot chicken, it’s Bolton’s or Hattie B’s. Avoid Party Fowl. It’s OK, but overpriced. Bolton’s regular is like eating fire. Even the medium is too hot for me.

    I may move back next year. Today kind of broke me a little bit.

  11. 11.

    cmorenc

    Tennessee is undeserving of such a wonderful, fun city like Nashville, a relatively hip, progressive island amid a backward, red (and redneck) sea.  The evening you’re there, I suggest an outing going honky-tonking on lower Broadway – there’s about thirty places along a three-block stretch with no cover and killer live music, no drink minimum, no pressure – you simply walk down the street until you hear something you like an go in.  And so on to the next place.  Some famous musicians got their start here – Willie Nelson played Tootsie’s before he became famous.  While along Broadway, try Hattie B’s hot Nashville-style chicken – you can choose how hot you want, from mild to scorching.

  12. 12.

    AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team

    Have a great trip!

    Would be fun to see some pictures of you’re into that.

  14. 14.

    StringOnAStick

    I saw Trae Crowder refer to Texas as Howdy Arabia today and I don’t think I can ever call it Texas again.  Unless they change from being more restrictive on abortion than Saudi Arabia, they’ve earned that name.

    Just be careful going through TX John, make sure nobody in your car is pregnant.

  15. 15.

    Geminid

    Georgia O’Keefe taught school in Amarillo from 1916 to 1917. She liked to hike and sketch wildflowers in nearby Palo Duro Canyon.

    O’Keefe did not last long there. When the US entered WWI she was required to take a warlike oath against Germany. O’Keefe was a pacifist and refused, so she lost her job.

    Then O’Keefe ended up in Greenwich Village, New York. She’d fallen in love with the West though, and some years later was able to return for good.

  16. 16.

    Regnad Kcin

    please do not attempt the 72oz steak challenge at The Big Texan. i’ve seen that and it’s not pretty.

  20. 20.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Dagaetch:

    Don’t make a wrong turn when you get to Albuquerque.

    Nothing wrong with waking up at Pismo Beach

     

    ETA: Doh! Bruce K beat me to it.

  26. 26.

    Anonymous At Work

    I-40 from Nashville to Little Rock is exactly the sort of drive I would wish upon my enemies.  Memphis is Fed-Ex’s main hub and tons of 18-wheelers moving from it in all directions.  It’s about 7-8 hours with traffic but would be about 5 without.

  28. 28.

    Regnad Kcin

    @Joelle: Aaaaagghh! :)

    When we sat down, the waitress advised us not to look at the *very* large man at the next table, who was just being served the challenge (which was magnificent in its very excess), as “he had just gotten out of prison, and didn’t like people watching him eat.”

    True story.

  30. 30.

    Suzanne

    @Hoodie: Agreed, it’s bad. John and Joelle can get off the interstate in Holbrook and then drive down to Tempe through the White Mountains and Payson, which is lovely.

  35. 35.

    Anoniminous

    @Suzanne:

    And if they get stuck behind some snowbird jackalope pulling a 30′ trailer with a Subaru Outback they’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.

  38. 38.

    Suzanne

    @Anoniminous: Hey, when you take the scenic route, you roll the dice.

    On balance, it’s still likely faster than driving to Flag and then down the 17. That adds some miles to the trip and coming down the hill off the Rim from Flag is not a fantastic drive. Too many semis.

  39. 39.

    Lapassionara

    This itinerary is one I drove more than once years ago. West Texas! OMG, the wind! The tumbleweeds! Good luck and report in often.

  44. 44.

    Albatrossity

    @Geminid: Actually, O’Keefe did not teach in Amarillo; she taught at what was then West Texas State Normal School (now West Texas A&M) in Canyon TX, south and a bit west of Amarillo. A lovely (albeit dusty) part of the Panhandle.

  46. 46.

    piratedan

    assuming that weather permits and they are taking I40 to Flagstaff and then south on I17 to Phoenix, that’s roughly an 8 hour haul…..  It takes a bit longer going south on I25 from Albuquerque to Las Cruces then I 10 west bound thru Tucson and Phoenix, but depending on weather, you may want to consider it.

    loads of cool stops to take along the Northern route with the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest NP being one and Meteor Crater further east.  If lodging in nifty places is a thang, La Posada might be worth a stay (check ahead for rooms, its popular) and it’s within walking distance of the “standing on the Corner” made up landmark for the Eagles tune….  If you just need to stretch for a bit on that leg, Jim Grey’s Petrified Wood store is an awesome stop if you’re into rocks and minerals and stuff.  If you push on to Flagstaff, there’s Little America, which used to be one of the pre-eminent family way-stations of cross country travel (but finding a hotel in Flagstaff shouldn’t be too much of a challenge).

    I hate harping on the weather, but I17 down from Flag Town can be a challenge in the winter (because Flagstaff gets more than its fair share of snow being above 7K and all) and coming down the mountain(s) for roughly 2/3rds of the 120 miles is not for beginners (imho) even if it IS interstate.

    apologies for the travel advice, just hoping that your travel is trouble and stress free and all of us want to get to your destination safely.

    If you end up coming thru Tucson, let me know and you can let Thurston out in my backyard for a potty stop and a treat. :-)

  49. 49.

    citizen dave

    That’s not the way I would have planned it.

    (Don’t want to disappoint that this response isn’t here, from the jackalatariat.  Also, another generic comment:)

    I know it’s a 2,000 mile journey, but you really owe it to yourself to stop at ____________(exit/landmark/restaurant/concert venue/my friend’s house) along the way, and _______________(see the big jackalope/rock/eat the steak/hear the locally unheralded goober brothers band/say hey to my friend).  

    (loving this thread)

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    @Albatrossity: Thank you for the correction.

    O’Keefe has a local connection; she lived in Charlottesville a few years, a couple blocks from the University. I think she was a teenager then. As I understand it, money was tight for the O’Keefe family.

  51. 51.

    piratedan

    @Suzanne: can confirm, that drive south of Holbrook is pretty innocuous until you reach the rim and then that drive along AZ 360 is pretty awesome, when you pick up 87 in Payson and then follow that into the Phoenix Metro Area.

    If you’re driving into the Valley of the Sun from the North there’s going to be mountains since you’re dropping anywhere between three to five thousand feet in elevation.

  53. 53.

    Marmot

    Sorry about Amarillo, but I know you’ve been elsewhere in Texas before! I’ll never know why they call that West Texas, since where I’m from is several hours west of it still. (Edit: Oops. I’m thinking of Midland somehow; Amarillo’s not standard West Texas, but Panhandle.)

    Palo Duro canyon is pretty cool, but I’m not a fan of the fake-West Texas area or its cow smell.

    Obligatory, though it’s not flat farther west — that’s where the goddamn Rocky Mountains are! Still, the question mark on the panhandle is dead-on.

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    @piratedan: I much prefer that drive through Payson over the I-17. The interstate gets all the semis coming down the hill, and is nerve-racking even in good weather. And the landscape isn’t as nice.

    Did I tell y’all about the time I FUBARed my left hand while taking the kids sledding up in Flag, had to get it stitched and X-rayed up there, and then I drove home through the snow until getting off the Rim, then back to PHX? God, that sucked.

  60. 60.

    frosty

    @Geminid: ​I love Palo Duro Canyon. Among other things it was the last stand of the Comanche. Check out Empire of the Summer Moon for a good biography of Quanah Parker.​

  62. 62.

    brendancalling

    @Old School: at least once a week, I see musician friends in Nashville achieving great things or playing the Opry. At LEAST once a week. Meanwhile, I spend my time telling middle schoolers to stop hitting each other, stop using racist terms and swearing, and (In a first for today) had to call home on a kid who stuck a banana between his legs, pretended to jerk off, and then LIED TO MY FACE LIKE IM BLIND when I told him to stop. Oh, and I cleaned up the fucking mess they left me.

    Another teacher quit last week. Probably due to the kids, like all the rest.

  63. 63.

    piratedan

    @Suzanne: Agree about Payson, it’s a scenic little town/refuge for those that can afford it.  Lots of good to great places to eat and flat out beautiful (imho), it’s got that State Park north out on 87 with it’s own natural bridge too.  I like 87 all the way up to Winslow if I have the time to wind thru Strawberry and Pine, otherwise I do like 360 across the Rim to either Heber/Overgaard or Show Low depending on what suits.

    Very underrated part of the state that not many are fully acquainted with.

  64. 64.

    Origuy

    Sounds like a great trip and not too much driving each day. I looked up the Empress in Little Rock, it looks amazing! I love classic old hotels and can put up with creaky elevators and showers down the hall. Makes me feel like I’m in Europe. I stayed at the Bridgeport Inn in Bridgeport in the Eastern Sierra a couple of years ago, recommended. I’m going to be in Ohio and Indiana in April; I have a room one night at the General Denver Hotel in Wilmington, OH, anyone stayed there?

  68. 68.

    mrmoshpotato

    John Cole Presents “Stories from the Road”

    Surprised that the topic wasn’t “This Long Fucking Car Trip”

  72. 72.

    brendancalling

    @Suzanne: his dad sent me a text back. He was not amused with his child.

    Meanwhile, my friend Tim Bo is playing the Opry with Sierra Farrell this week (pounds head on wall like Charlie Brown).

  73. 73.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @cmorenc: Tennessee is undeserving of Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. Haven’t spent enough time in Knoxville to know if Tennessee is worthy yet.

  74. 74.

    brendancalling

    @Suzanne: I should add, the banana was overripe. There were 4 such overripe bananas, and I was going to use them for banana bread. Instead all of them wound up smooshed on the floor, because the rotten children have no self control.

  76. 76.

    Geminid

    @frosty: I’ve driven past Palo Duro Canyon a few times, but I’ve never stopped. I want to though, since it sounds really nice.

    The last two times I drove to New Mexico I jumped off from Atlanta and took I-20 to Sweetwater, Texas. Then I went northwest to Lubbock and west to Santa Rosa, New Mexico. I camped at Santa Rosa Lake State Park and after a couple days headed on to Phoenix and visited with a cousin.

    Have you ever been to Alamosa, Colorado? That’s a nice town to visit.

  78. 78.

    ChasM

    I’ve been to Albuquerqe, couple times on I40, it ain’t much.

    I’ve never been to Taos, but for more than 50 years it was my parents go-to romantic post-Christmas getaway. When we were young, they would dump us at our cousins and then when we got older, they would send me off skiing, and my sis to Hawaii with the neighbors just so they could sneak off to Taos.

    They’re too old to travel now, but I believe their final trip was about 6 years ago, in their mid 80s.

    Based on their reviews, I’d suggest it might be a beautiful diversion for a night (or two)

  79. 79.

    raven

    @Alison Rose: And some people do, it hasn’t bothered me in 30 years. It tickles me that we get handwringing posts about the dangers of football and then lots of celebratory posts about alcohol.   There were 140,000 thousand deaths from excess alcohol consumption each year from 2015-2019 and 20 a year from football. Living is dangerous.

  82. 82.

    MomSense

    Greetings from McDonalds.  Seems to be the only place with power in the area.
    We are having quite the storm. Intense rain and wind has knocked out power for 500,000 customers which is a lot considering we only have about 1.3 million people in the whole state.  Trees down everywhere.

    Road trip sounds like fun.  I’ve never been to Nashville and I’ve wanted to go for a really long time.

    John, hope you and Joelle enjoy your adventure.

  84. 84.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @brendancalling: Yes. I’m pretty sure I’d get fired dealing with those kids. But before I was fired, the banana mess would end up smeared across the side of their faces and it might be worth it.

  85. 85.

    Alison Rose

    Chimps out here with better memories than 99% of humans: (gift link)

    In 2015, while working as an undergraduate researcher at the North Carolina Zoo, Laura Lewis became friends with a male chimpanzee named Kendall. Whenever she visited the chimps, Kendall would gently take her hands and inspect her fingernails.

    Then she disappeared for the summer to study baboons in Africa. When she returned to North Carolina, she wondered if Kendall would still remember her face. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped into his enclosure, Kendall raced up and gestured to look at her hands.

    “The feeling I got was that he clearly remembered me after four months away,” said Dr. Lewis, now a comparative psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley. “But I didn’t have the data to prove it.”

    Now she believes that she does. In a study published on Monday, Dr. Lewis and her colleagues have demonstrated that chimpanzees and bonobos can recall faces of other apes that they have not seen for years. One bonobo recognized a face after 26 years — a record for facial memory beyond our species.

    That bonobo then said “bitch better have my money” and took off after him waving a club.

  87. 87.

    brendancalling

    @Suzanne: it’s why 5 (6? 7?) teachers have quit my school this year, two with no notice at all. It’s not so much the school as it is the pathetic Philadelphia School District.

    I’m finding new work this summer and the hell with it.

  90. 90.

    Suzanne

    @brendancalling: Mr. Suzanne is a school-based SLP and agrees.

    He just got the official word that his student loans were forgiven, after twelve years of working in Title 1 schools for shit pay and putting up with nonsense like you describe.

  91. 91.

    Bobby Thomson

    Get some Los Pollos Hermanos when you’re in ABQ.  Very well managed restaurant with a unique flavor.

  94. 94.

    zhena gogolia

    @MomSense: Our neighbor’s tree came down into our yard (not onto our house, thanks God). We didn’t notice it until lunch time (and it’s a bigass tree).

  95. 95.

    Hoodie

    If you have time in Little Rock, check out Sims Bar-B Que.  Good pulled pork and chicken. Local joint since 1930’s, a couple of locations.

  99. 99.

    Baud

    “At bottom, whatever the chief of staff’s role with respect to state election administration, that role does not include altering valid election results in favor of a particular candidate,” wrote Chief Judge William Pryor.
    “So there is no ‘casual connection’ between Meadows’s ‘official authority’ and his alleged participation in the conspiracy,” Pryor added.
    Pryor said that the federal removal statute at issue “does not apply to former federal officers,” but that even if it did, “the events giving rise to this criminal action were not related Meadows’s official duties

  101. 101.

    Jay

    And the Beat Goes On,……….

    Authorities have unsealed an arrest warrant for Barbara Balmaseda, a former Florida International University student and South Florida GOP strategist accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

    Barbara “Barby” Balmaseda — a 23-year-old from Miami Lakes with ties to high-profile Republican politicians in Florida and beyond — was arrested and charged with corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding, knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building, and engaging in disorderly conduct in a Capitol building with the intent to impede a session of Congress on January 6, 2021.

    Balmaseda was arrested on December 14 in Miami Lakes.

    https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-gop-strategist-barbara-balmaseda-accused-of-storming-us-capitol-18501993

  102. 102.

    Geminid

    @raven: Sweetwater, Texas is the home of the National WASP Museum. A nice place to stop..

    The Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots delivered airplanes from factories to US Army Air Corps bases. Once, when a base’s Army pilots were threatening to strike rather than fly the “dangerous” new B-29, Hap Arnold had WASPs deliver the B-29s. General Arnold knew that would shut the male pilots up.

    The WASPs started delivering planes in 1942, when there was a shortage of pilots. By 1944, there were plenty of pilots and a DC journalist named Drew Pearson and others started agitating about women taking men’s jobs. So the WASPs were disbanded in November of 1944.

  104. 104.

    David Hunt

    “Night Three- Amarillo, staying at the Big Texan.”

     

    *Shudder*  I’m reminded of an old one frame cartoon I once saw:

    Two soldiers in the snow huddled over proverbial fire in a barrel. They’re showing signs of really feeling the cold.  There’s a sign indicating some base in Alaska.

    One soldier is saying to the other,  “Man, can you imagine how cold it must be in Amarillo?”

     

    You have been warned.

  105. 105.

    pthomas745

    My route choice from ABQ:
    South on I-25 to Socorro. Turn west on US60. Beautiful high plains all the way across to Globe. A better road. More relaxing. The “real” west. Hardly any trucks. Stop and have a look at the Very Large Array just east of Socorro.
    And, of course: the weather. NM and AZ are all above 6000 feet once you pass ABQ, and FLG is at almost 8000. Good chance of rain and snow all across I40 for the next 5-7 days.

  107. 107.

    Hoodie

    @KM in NS: If they hadn’t already decided to stop in Little Rock, I’d suggest Hot Springs instead.  My dad, who grew up in STL, said a popular phrase was “Married today, Hot Springs tonight!”

  111. 111.

    frosty

    @Geminid: ​We camped outside of Great Sand Dunes National Park on one of our Road Trips and took a trip into Alamosa for groceries. You’re right, nice little town.​

  114. 114.

    Alison Rose

    I hope whatever absolute dipshit who did this to this poor pup is never allowed to adopt another animal. JFC. The photos almost don’t look real.

    When Sweet Tomato first arrived at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, her new friends could barely believe their eyes. The little Chihuahua was actually not so little and weighed a whopping 30 pounds when she should have only weighed 10. Her previous owner fed her mostly sausage and eggs, leading to Sweet Tomato’s shocking size.

    “She was the most obese dog we had ever seen,” Patty Stanton of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue told The Dodo. “She could barely heave herself up from a lying position, and she could only walk a few steps without collapsing. For any distance at all, she needed to be lowered into a stroller.”

    Within about 4 months, they got her down to 14 pounds and now she’s in a forever home with a non-idiot owner.

  116. 116.

    eldorado

    wall of voodoo’s “call of the west” is my choice once you get to the texas state line

    if for some reason you get stuck in okc, give a shout out. i know all the worst places there

  119. 119.

    frosty

    @Geminid: I need to get to this. One of the WASP pilots gave flying lessons at my College.

    Another good one close by in Lubbock is the Silent Wings Museum, about the glider pilots in WWII. My dad’s oldest brother flew a C-47 towing them into Normandy among other places; I really need to get to Lubbock on one of our trips.

    Walter Cronkite flew into Market-Garden in one. His response: “I’ll tell you straight out: If you’ve got to go into combat, don’t go by glider. Walk, crawl, parachute, swim, float—anything. But don’t go by glider!”

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    Followup on a topic from a morning thread… WhiteHouse.gov:

    DECEMBER 18, 2023

    Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris on the Launch of the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database

    Every person in our nation has a right to be safe. And trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve is essential for public safety. Police misconduct undermines that trust—and threatens the right to equal justice under law.

    Today, President Joe Biden and I are establishing the first ever federal database to track official records of law enforcement officer misconduct. The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database will ensure that federal agencies have ready access to records of serious misconduct when hiring federal law enforcement officers.

    As a United States Senator, with Senator Cory Booker and Representative Karen Bass, I authored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. And last year, President Biden and I issued an Executive Order banning chokeholds, restricting no-knock warrants, and strengthening use-of-force policies for federal law enforcement, in addition to other critical reforms.

    President Biden and I will continue to do all we can to advance police accountability and strengthen the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. And we renew our call for the United States Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

    ###

    (Emphasis added.)

    Good, good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    Anoniminous

    @frosty:

    Germans used gliders to capture Eben Emael a key fortification on the Albert Canal in Belgium on the first night of Fall Gelb

    Ever-after dipshits thought using gliders was a great idea!

    It wasn’t

  126. 126.

    Leto

    @Geminid: in our PDG, Professional Development Guide for Air Force NCO testing, we have a small section on the WASPs. I always loved reading about them, and just learning about that part of our history. Along with the flying sergeants. Unfortunately over the course of my career those sections increasingly got smaller, or were just removed entirely. Anyways, I hope to make the trek out to those museums just to check’em out and learn more.

  129. 129.

    Dan B

    @Geminid: My partner’s mom was a WASP.  She delivered planes during WWII.  I believe she worked as a cropduster, the plane, not her, after the war.  My partner’s father’s family also had airplanes, and hangars.  My partner owned an airplane with his brother.  Lots flighty folks.

  131. 131.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Hope one of your cell phones has Verizon as the carrier if you’re going to basically be any of the reservations in that area. It’s the carrier that has the best coverage. If you don’t I would consider getting a cheapo unlocked phone and do the monthly prepaid deal. You do not want to get stranded on the reservation in inclement weather. I know it’s a longer drive but I would consider coming through eastern Arizona. Also, Alamogordo is worth seeing if you have the time.

  134. 134.

    Scout211

    I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!

    The group that organized the pro-Donald Trump rally in front of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, knowingly misled government officials   about plans for attendees to march on the U.S. Capitol, according to a new investigation from the Interior Department’s internal watchdog.

    The report, published Monday by Interior’s Official of Inspector General, includes text messages from Kylie Kremer ― the rally’s organizer, and a representative of the group Women for America First ― and one potential event speaker. The Interior report does not name the individuals, but the exchange between Kremer and Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and Trump ally, was previously made public by the House Jan. 6 select committee.

  135. 135.

    Hoodie

    @brendancalling: My wife was dealing with crap like that all the time at her last school, mostly from affluent white kids.  She moved to a school with mostly immigrant kids and has had very little of that type of problem.  She had 20-25 kids in a class at the old school.  She has around 35 per class at the new school, but still says it’s preferable.

  136. 136.

    trollhattan

    @Miss Bee: Have not made it  to Taos but Santa Fe was quite remarkable–scenery, architecture, history (early 17th century, rare in the West) and my god, the food.

  137. 137.

    Baud

    The Vatican said on Monday in a landmark ruling approved by Pope Francis that Roman Catholic priests can administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies.

  138. 138.

    lowtechcyclist

    @raven:

    There were 140,000 thousand deaths from excess alcohol consumption each year from 2015-2019 and 20 a year from football. Living is dangerous.

    I choose not to derive entertainment from either one.

  139. 139.

    Joelle

    We’re going to dip down the 25 to the 60 and go in through Payson.  If the weather is nice we may do Flagg and down 17.  But I have a feeling the southern route will be our best bet.  Especially with any holiday weekend traffic.

  140. 140.

    Jim Appleton

    @kindness: I had a cat, Kilo — who needs a guest post for his rescue from squashed kitten on a country road to taken by cancer at 15 — who both flew and traveled by car very happily.

     

    One of my favorite stories is him spending hours on Annie Leibovitz’s lap in my car.

  146. 146.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Suzanne: I’m afraid I dealt with it by engaging in creative revenge tactics. My favorite was having the Precious Infant stay after school, spending a full half-hour using a three hole punch to decorate a full ream of paper with it. He was told to empty the punch into a bowl, then, at the end of the half hour, to sprinkle the contents of the bowl allll over the class room. Then… he was told to pick up each ‘punch’ and place it in the bowl again. To my surprise, he followed my instructions perfectly. Yes, I left late that night – but it was so worth it

  147. 147.

    Joelle

    Y’all should start planning Cole’s solo return trip. Open those spare bedrooms and kitchens.  John “Kerouac” Cole will be on the road late March-ish.  If you like houseguests that don’t say much (other than complaining that there’s no bidet) and always turn the lights off when leaving a room, he’s your man.

  152. 152.

    surfk9

    @piratedan: Agreeed that the drive through Payson is fantastic. The In-laws have a ranch in Show Low. We take the 260 to the 87 to get down to the valley. The drive is a couple of hours long which means hours of some of the most beautiful scenery the Arizona has to offer

  153. 153.

    Nettoyeur

    Is Steve going to AZ in the car?
    What are you going to do with Thurston and Steve while you are out on the town?

  154. 154.

    Another Scott

    @raven:

    Not to be that guy, but …

    There were 140,000 thousand deaths from excess alcohol consumption each year from 2015-2019

    If you’re citing the CDC numbers for the USA, you’re off by about 3 orders of magnitude.

    ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  156. 156.

    BellaPea

    @cmorenc: Well, I mostly agree, but the cities in Tennessee are very cool. I have lived in or near Knoxville for over 40 years, and our downtown has blossomed. Chattanooga is very urban as well. Unfortunately, yes the outlying areas tend to be pretty backwards.

  157. 157.

    Poe Larity

    This just off the tunchtype:

    BLUE BLAZE IRREGULARS ALERT

    0015 ZULU

    ALL BLUE BLAZE IRREGULARS TO DEPLOY FOR THE JOHN COLE TOUR. PLEASE REVIEW TOUR ITINERARY ONLINE AND PREPARE FOR RESCUE AND SUPPORT OPERATIONS. EXAMPLE HERE

    +++++ MESSAGE ENDS ++++++

  158. 158.

    Miss Bianca

    @Joelle: As luck would have it, a bidet is on the list of Dream House Improvements here at the Mountain Hacienda, but, sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to afford to have one installed by March.

  163. 163.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steeplejack:No, off by 3 orders of magnitude would mean the actual number was either 140,000 or 140 billion.​​
     

    ETA: given that there’s only about 8 billion people on Earth, I’ve got a hunch which one is right.

  176. 176.

    Xavier

    @Joelle: Down NM 117/38 west of ABQ to Quemado on US 60 will take you through the El Malpais National Monument. By the time you get to 117 you’ll be happy to get away from the semis on I-40. I-40 is the pits, not as much for scenery and way way too many trucks.

  178. 178.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    Wave as you come through Nashville, you two. The traffic sucks at all hours, there are too many tourists riding trailers pulled by farm equipment around downtown and the governor is a christofascist fraud. But it gets bluer all the time.

  179. 179.

    SectionH

    @Xavier: Yeah, I’m 3 hours late posting (but maybe Joelle will give a glance all, hum, experts. Well, some of us have driven every single option mentioned on this post, from close enough to WV to make no never-mind to PHX.  Cutting down through El Malpais is so great, even if not the fastest. And then the last time I drove drove the Phoenix-Payson road it was scary efficient. Well in 2019/early 2020 it was. That’s my last year driving San Diego-Lexington trips. I drove 5 in 5 months*. Anyone who wants some routes with fewer fucking trucks, I have options through Texas too. My favorite is going from Amarillo down to Canyon and cutting west over to Clovis and south to Las Cruces. Which has been mentioned above.  I think most of that is US 70. There may be a couple of more obscure highways involved but it’s all pretty obvious. But stay away from Alamogordo. There are work-arounds.

    *um, I still have 30-40 cases of books in Lexington. So yeah, I only want 2 or 3 cases or so. [looks shifty]

Comments are closed.