We've Been Everywhere!

One of my all time favorite singer/song writers recorded a little ditty called "I've Been Everywhere" many years ago.  It was not one of his mega hits, but the song told a story that we've largely lived over the past 13 months since hitting the road at the end of June 2013.  So here's my take on that story as we've lived it.

 

On the Road, Over and Over and Over Again!

We’ve been everywhere, man

We’ve been everywhere

Been to Burns, Boise, Green River, Golden, Loveland

Waxed the floors with olive oil in dad-burned Burns, man.

Boiling hot in Boise, bare-assed gravel lot in Wyoming,

Finally got High on Rocky Mountain air,

And loved that 4^th of July boy, our “Little Man”, man

Of travel, we’re just getting going, man

First "Home Away from Home", Dakota Ridge RV Park, Golden, CO

"Little Man" Arrives 7/4/13

Maroon Bells, Colorado Rockies

We've been to Vail, Aspen, Fort Collins,  Colorado Springs,
2 1/2 miles high on Pikes Peak, man!
Been to Rapid City, Sioux Falls, 
Sharp right turn in Fargo,
and on to Be… midgi, Minnesota

Four presidents in granite,

Badlands splendor, man

Crossed the baby Mississippi in two bounds,

And we’re still going, man

Memorial for John Denver, my 2nd cousin, Aspen, CO

Mt. Rushmore

Badlands

Crossing the Mississippi, Lake Itasca, MN

Been to Thunder Bay, Toronto, Niagara Falls,

Over/Under the thunderous spray, man

later the Adirondacks, flap jacks, Cooperstown

Oregon's own Bobby Doerr in bronze,
And the "Hammer" on a wall,

We’ve been everywhere man!

Niagara Falls in all its Splendor

Hudson River in the Adirondacks

 

Bobby Doerr, Jct City, OR resident, oldest living Hall of Famer

Tribute to the "Hammer", Hank Aaron, at Cooperstown

We’ve been to Brattleboro, Bar Harbor,

Green Mountains, White Mountains, Lobster Pounds,

And we’re not talkin Dog Pounds here, man

Been to Newbury, Salisbury, but not Beri Beri, 
Boston, too, "marathon" travel goes on and on.
Been to Fall River, Portuguese spoken in the corner grocery,
Plymouth, non-descript "Rock"  marks the spot 

where Pilgrims landed; Are you kidding, Man?

Yes, we've been everywhere!

Flaming Chorico at Azorean Restaurant, Fall River, MA

Maine Lobster from the local "Pound"

Plylmouth Rock!  Really?... Is that all there is?

Fork in the road near Salisbury, MA, I think we took both

We’ve been in the Biggest Apple of all,

Friends Connie and Addison  flying out to join us,

Central Park, Times Square, Lost on the Subway,

Miss Liberty  standing proud on the Hudson, man

Been to Quakertown, Amish Land,

Philly, Liberty Bell signifying a Nations’ birth,

South Philly’s famous Cheese Steaks and Vinyl Idols,

Oh yes, we’ve been everywhere,

And still on the road, man.

Lower Manhattan from the top of the Empire State Bldg.

 

Lady Liberty

My Kind of Place, South Philly

South Philly Teen Idols, circa 50's & 60's

Been to Mary Land, West Virginny, 
O Hi O - Canton, Wooster, Xenia, Waynesville

Rolling hills, factory smokestacks,

Kind of like Beauty and the Beast, man,

Been to Kent State, "4 Dead in Ohio" back in the day.
Now Rollin thru Cincinatti, ball parks in a river row

Then Kentucky, and on to  Knoxville,

Wrong kind of Tigers (Auburn)

In town to waste the Vols,

We’ve been everywhere, man

Amish buggy shares the road with school bus, Wooster, OH

Kent State Memorial

Auburn Tigers on the prowl, Knoxville, TN

We’ve been to Nashville, NOT the live music capital,

That would be Austin still down the road, man

Now Memphis “Blues”, Elvis' Gracetown, and

Mississippi barge traffic passing by,

Yes, we’ve been everywhere, man

Beale Street, Memphis - Blues music everywhere!

Graceland

Been to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Amarillo,

Amarillo? Are you kidding me, again?

Winter closing in, racing weather

Back to Colorado, man

Thanksgiving blessings, family blessings

Little Man meets GG, and Auntie Em

15 Below, what the Hell, 
"Beauty and the Beast", redux,

Oh yes, we’ve been everywhere, man

Thanksgiving - Great Grandmother, Mavis ("GG") meets Jonah

And Auntie Em meets "Little Man" as well

Sub Zero camping in Loveland, CO, Fall 2013

Been to Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Flagstaff,

Down the big chute into the

Phoenix Valley, man

Xmas delight lights at Papago Park

With daughter, Emily, of Auntie Em fame

Desert oasis from winter weather at Xmas, man

Two of my favorite folks, Xmas in Arizona!

Christmas splendor at the Phoenix Zoo, Papago Park

Sunset over Tempe, AZ

We’ve been everywhere,

And we’re still going man

Been to Las Cruces, El Paso (yuck!), Fredericksburg,

South Padre Island, Port Aransas,

Bertha riding high and proud on beach sand,

Winter Texans we became

But time to move on, man

Sunset over South Padre Island, TX

Big Bertha claims the beach at Port Aransas, TX

NowFlorida bound, Chattahoochie, 
Homosassa, Tampa Bay -
Gulf Coast Wanderings,

Watched old Willie who's still “On the Road”

Yes, he’s been everywhere too, man

And off we go to Disney World thrill rides,

We’ve been everywhere, man

Flamingos at Homosassa Nature Park

Old Willie, Still "On the Road" at 80!

"Sum of all Thrills", Epcot Center, DisneyWorld

We’ve been to Port Canaveral, St. Augustine,

That’s the oldest city in the USA, man

Now cruising to the Bahamas,

Oh man, Ship almost left us there,

And on up the Atlantic to Savannah, Charleston,

Raul and the Mavericks rockin' the house.
 We’ve been everywhere, man
 

Cruise ship fills the horizon at Pt. Canaveral

So Close yet so far - We had 5 mins. to get back to our cruise ship

Waterside dining in historic St. Augustine

Open air dining in old town Charleston

Mavericks rock the house in Charleston, SC

Been to Pine Mountain,  Monticello,
Aniston, Tuscaloosa, small town bliss with

Catfish food wagon, man.

And then Biloxi resiliency,

Katrina, you can’t bring them down that easy,

White sand beaches, in Seafood heaven.

Yes, we’re been everywhere, and still goin, man

Weekend food cart in Monticello, MS

A floating casino in Biloxi, wasted by "Katrina"

Wood carvings from trees leveled by Katrina

 

Oysters grilled 4 ways!

Biloxi's beautiful white sand beach

 Spring “time out” for Phoenix, golf, baseball and family,

Not necessarily in that order, man,

Now a quick trip home, to say goodbye to dear Mom,

And say hello to old friends; big thanks to
Addison  and Connie for putting me up

Then back to Biloxi, but soon on to Loo Eez Ee Anna, man,

I think we’ve been almost everywhere.

Cowboy boots and a Luckenbach shirt for "Little Man"

Who's in charge here? Jonah helps his Daddy with the LPGA tournament

Jonah's first spring training game "This is fun, are the Cubbies winning?... okay, well a little water from Mommy helps soothe the disappointment"

Jonah and Trevor bond over breakfast!

Been to Breaux Bridge, Lafayette, the Big Easy, Lake Charles, Mamou

Hello again to the Manleys, Bourbon Street calls,

But are we too old for all this debauchery?

Now let’s talk Poche’s FishNCamp,"Boo dayn"

Gumbo, Etoufee, Fried Alligator, Music Fests, Crawfish boils,

And swamp tours, with alligators not so ready to be fried, man

Saturday morning Cajun music at  Fred’s (“Allans Danser”)

Yes, we’ve been everywhere.

 

Just another Friday nite on Bourbon St.

Crawfish boil at Poche's

 

Sat. morning at Fred's, Mamou


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Hanging with Connie and Addison at Poche's

Hungry gator checking out the tourists during Bayou tour

nightcrawlers on one refirgerator shelf, boudin sausage on the other, Ah yes, rural Louisiana!

Been to San Marcos, Austin, Fredericksburg, Luckenbach

Johnny singing the blues in South Austin (the real live music capital),

Chris doing his thing in Luckenbach,

Barbeque trail goes through Lockhart, Luling,

Everywhere slow, wood-smoked meats are served

On butcher paper, sauce and utensils optional, or not supplied.

It’s Texas heaven, unlike Amarillo or El Paso

Okay, we’ve been everywhere, the yin and yang of Texas, man.

Bluesman Johnny Nicholas at Saxon Pub, S. Austin

Chris Wall at Luckenbach

 

Texas slow cooked barbeque... only the basics... sauce not required!

Time out again for Eugene, man

Reunion with friends and family

At Mom’s memorial service in Salem

But Texas calls, so off we go again,

To the great (?) Midwest

We’ve been to Wichita, Okie City,

Des Moines, Stockton, Annapolis, and Altoona.

We’ve been Everywhere, Man!

Gathering at Mom's memorial service, Salem, OR, June 2014

Des Moines Farmer's Market - Jonah in familiar arms!

 

Cooling off in the Missouri Ozarks

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And not a single funnel cloud has found us, man

Now it’s Galena, as pretty an old town as can be found,

Wisconsin marks number 50 for me; now let’s go to

Dubuque, Omaha, Grand Island, and on to Colorado, man.

Back to Golden, Louisville, 4^th of July 2014,

And “Little Man’s” First (birthday),

What a treat, man.

Yes, we’ve been everywhere.

Galena, IL

Now, I've been to all 50!

Jonah and friends celebrate Big Numero Uno!

1 year old Jonah gets down to business

 

One more birthday to celebrate, July 24th, Louisville, CO

Been to Cheyenne, Casper, Buffalo, Sheridan,
Now Garryowen and Little Big Horn,
that was "Long Hair's" Last Stand, man.
Been to Billings, Bozeman, Butte and Missoula,

Couer d' Alane, Spokane, Prosser, Yakama reservation,

Yes, we've been everywhere,

A Fallen "Native American" at Little Big Horn

Little Big Horn Montana; Custer's (and Sitting Bulls') Last Stands!

Big Sky Country, Western Montana

 We've been to the Dalles, Hood River, Cascade Locks, Troutdale,
Been through West Linn, Wilsonville, Woodburn
Salem, Albany, Coburg, and on to Eugene.
Now we're home, if just for a little while!
We HAVE been everywhere, man!

Back Home Again, July 31, 2014

Thanks, JR Cash.  And a much bigger thanks to Lanie for putting up with me on the road for so long. Together, we've endured (among other annoyances) broken trailer jacks, blown and flat tires, a handful of tornado watches/warnings; but have also enjoyed some quality family and friend time, wonderful scenery, cities and towns of all sizes, and great food and drink everywhere;  while traveling all over the USA and parts of Canada. And we'll be heading out soon to do it all over again. All together now (Willie cutting in here), "On the Road Again...."

One Big Reason to Head back to Colorado Soon

The map on the side of our "5th" had just 5 stickers, all Western States, BEFORE we began our retirement travels