Day 6 - Thursday, June 5, 2008

Day 6:
Marianna, Florida to Meridian, Mississippi
Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook.

Finally an early start. The archeologist packed the car before the sun was out in full force. But when she came in for the continental breakfast at the hotel, she was sweating like a pack mule -- she was red in the face and sweat was dripping off her upper lip. The other humans laughed at her, but I felt sorry for her. I'm not doctor, but I'm pretty sure she has a glandular problem.

Across the Panhandle
We continued west on I-10 across the Florida panhandle. We drove straight on into a big, beautiful deep blue sky with those classic white fluffy clouds with just a touch of grey for contrast on their underbellies. The humans took a lot of photos of the sky (probably because there was not much else to see).

At Exit 70 on I-10 is a little town called "Niceville." We found that it was a nice place to take a bio break.

An Unwanted Addition
We stopped for an ice cream snack in Milton, Florida after a great sing-a-long in the car. (The little human is quite talented at making up poem-like songs.) We stopped at a little ticky-tacky tourist clap-trap, and along with their chocolate shakes and sundaes, the humans bought me a "friend" -- a big, scary, plastic 'gator (as in aligator)!

Now we're both in the undignified predictament of riding in the rear window of the car -- exposed to every Winnebago, motorcycle and 4-wheel drive vehicle that passes us. I certainly hope these humans don't expect me to POSE with this grinning gator! This is MY 15 minutes after all, and I certainly don't intend to share it with an inferior plastic toy!

Later in the day, my fate turned to the worse as the little human named the aligator "Allie." So now the pest is an official member of our little traveling band. I still have hope, though, that they will abandon it (like me) at some state line!

We ended the night in Meridian, Mississippi after going through the Florida panhandle and whizzing through Alabama.

Day 5 - Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Day 5:

Jacksonville, Florida to Marianna, Florida

Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook.

Today we left Jacksonville, Florida to hit the open road to the great American West. However, we couldn't leave until the little human got out of school. After that, the humans lingered over lunch and good-byes, so again we got a late start. It was literally 93 degrees (Bearenheit!) in the shade, and I was locked up in the car like a piece of luggage, with not even the sunroof cracked! I think this may constitute cruel and unusual punishment, but they've confiscated my cell phone and I couldn't contact the ASPCSA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Stuffed Animals).

Anyway, we finally left in the late afternoon and drove west on I-10 a mere 250 miles to Marianna, Florida. There we stayed in a Microtel motel which the little human was very excited about. There was a padded bench seat by the bay window that she slept on. She let me join her. That was kind of cute.

For the evening's entertainment, I serenaded everyone with Sagette songs (while accompanying myself on guitar). That's me in the photo jammin' and improvising.

After the little human went to bed one of the big humans studied the map -- apparently for the first time -- and began to realize how long the trip was going to be. The oldest human lauged at her. Apparantly the archeologist doesn't take to the heat very well, so everyone agreed that a 30-day roadtrip to the Southwest in the summer was a brilliant idea! (This is what the humans call "sarcasm.")

Really, some of these humans should not be allowed to run the planet -- or even a 4-door sedan!

Days 3 & 4 in Jacksonville, Florida (June 2 & 3, 2008)

Days 3 & 4:
St. George, South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida
Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook.

We've holed up in Jacksonville, Florida for a few days to wait for another human (this time, it's a small one) to join us for the trip.

I've had a little time to recover from my abandonment trauma, so I thought I would share the photo with you here. It could have been the last time anyone ever saw me again. I can't believe humans are so thoughtless in their attitudes toward nature (specifically, me!).

Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook. You'll get a glimpse of some of the Jacksonville scenery.

And, yes, tomorrow we leave for the trip West.

Day 2 On the Road - Sunday, June 1, 2008

Day Two:
Waldorf, Maryland to St. George, South Carolina
Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook.

This was a more eventful day for sure. We went through several states (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and half of South Carolina) and I got my first photo op, and survived a harrowing tragedy!

On Route 301 one of the humans kept jumping out of the car to take photographs of old motel signs. (I think she is an archaeologist or something.) For a nice specimen of an old sign found in Bel Alton, Maryland, go to my MySpace or Facebook photo albums.

We took a huge toll bridge on 301 to cross over into Virginia and then took the scenic "Virginia Bypass" on Rt. 218 into Fredricksburg. Again, the humans took the scenic Route 1 (which runs parelell to I-95) so they could see more old signs and historic things.

The Stonewall Jackson Shrine (Virginia)
They finally took me out and got a photo of me at the Stonewall Jackson shrine near Guinea, Virginia. And also on the road that led there which was part of the Virginia Civil War Trail. Stonewall Jackson died at the Chandler Plantation after being shot by his own soldiers, in what may be the earliest recorded instance of the so-called "friendly fire" tragedy.

Tragedy at "South of the Border" (South Carolina)
Speaking of tragedy, I also got my photo taken at the North Carolina state line, which was kind of exciting. But that was NOTHING compared to what happened (or almost happened) at the South Carolina state line. There, we went to the must-stop South of the Border amusement park where I heard one of the humans saying she had stopped there 20 years ago on during a spring break from her college days.

Anyway, they took me out and got several photos of me in and around South of the Border, but the last photo was on the state line sign near the park. The human had to stand on her tippy-toes and squish in some of my delicate body parts to make me stay on the sign. I was still hanging there after she took the photo, and then IN HORROR! I watched her turn away and walk back to the car without me! I thought that "South of the Border" must be tourist-language for "abandon the bear." When she got to the car, the other human must have said something because the archaeologist came running back to get me. I got back to the car safely, but my-lands, I was MIFFED! They laughed and laughed (cruel humans!) as if it were hilarious, but I refused to pose for another photo the rest of the day.

We ended the night in St. George, South Carolina. I slept with one glassy eye open.

Day 1 On the Road - Saturday, May 31, 2008

Day One:
Albany, New York t0 Waldorf, Maryland
Be sure to check out my photo albums on Facebook.

Well, I, Jackie Bear, was up and ready to go by 9:00 AM. But the humans were very slow to get around and get started, so we didn't leave until the late, late afternoon! (They would never make it as bears -- it's the early bear who gets the honey.)

We drove from Albany, NY down I-87 to New Jersey where we picked up I-95 South to Florida. Around Baltimore, the humans decided to take a "scenic" bypass around Washington, DC, but they ended up getting lost. Eventually, after driving around in circles in Baltimore, they took I-97 south to Rt. 3 to Rt. 301. We stopped in Waldorf, MD (be sure to have the salad there!) for the night so that we could see scenic 301 in the daylight.

Frankly, it wasn't much of an exciting day for a bear, but I have hope that things will perk up along the way.

Last Day on Campus Before the Big Trip

Homebase: Troy, NY

Well, like every cool/kewl college kid, I've created a Facebook page and a MySpace page to upload photos of my trip.

MySpace URL:
http://www.myspace.com/RussellSageRoadtrip

Here's my first photo album on my Facebook page.

It's of some of my favorite spots on campus. I wanted to visit them and take some photos before I started my 6-week road trip!

Now I've got to get to bed because we're leaving tomorrow at 10AM and I still have to pack...

The Trip is About to Begin -- Operators Are Standing By!

Yes, it's true -- operators are standing by to report every mile and memory of The Great 2008 Russell Sage Roadtrip.

A special Russell Sage icon will travel the country this summer, visiting all the exciting tourist traps from New York to Florida to Arizona and back! (Think of it as our version of a certain traveling gnome -- the mascot for a popular travel Web site....)

Want to see Russell Sage icons in iconographic places? Then send us your suggestions of where to shoot our photos:

• on top of Pedro's Reality Ride at South of the Border?
  
• the Ava Gardner museum just off I-95?
• the Florida state capital in Tallahassee? (yawn)
• Bourbon Street in New Orleans?
• alongside dusty claptrap motels on Route 66?
• looking over the painted deserts of Arizona and New Mexico?
• hanging over Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon?
• meeting a Vortex guru in Sedona?
• touring Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale?
• buying postcards in the Heard Museum in Phoenix?
  

You name it and we'll try to get there!

We're going to have a great road trip and post lots of photos, so stay tuned, operators are standing by -- and this offer does NOT expire at midnight tonight!

Departure Date: Saturday, March 31st

Next Posting: Sunday, June 1st

For more info: http://www.sage.edu or http://www.sage.edu/rsc
Contact us at: comments@TheQuillRSC.com