Edmond, Oklahoma

 We got up early this morning; said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 7 a.m.  

We encountered heavy fog in Iowa, along with occasional black ice and temperatures in the mid-teens.  We had decent weather for driving in Missouri, but then had rain changing to snow back and forth through Kansas and Oklahoma. We pulled into a cheap dog-friendly motel in Edmond, Oklahoma, putting in a ten hour, 655 mile day. 

After unloading our gear, we went out for brisket and a local IPA.

We towed the Brew Hut through countless cotton fields and past numerous Confederate flags on the way to Medoc Mountain State Park.  This area is known as the coastal plains.  We really felt that we were getting a look at the South in a way that we had not experienced before.  We traveled past the  Tillery Resettlement, a New Deal program in 1936 that offered Depression-era benefits to “both races”, separately.

Medoc Mountain State Park

The summit at Medoc Mountain is only a 325 feet above sea level.  I’m sure it wasn’t the elevation, but we did experience milder temperatures during our two day stay.  Nights were pleasant in the high 50’s and low 60’s.

The campground was amazing.  First, because we were there on a weeknight, there were only a few other campers.  The sites were generously spaced and wooded for privacy.  Electric hookups are available but primitive sites are in the majority.  There are water spigots and trash cans conveniently located.  Also, there are very nice bathrooms and showers within a short walk.  The camp-ground was immaculate, and we saw workers cleaning and sprucing things up during our entire stay.

We spent much of our time hiking: there are trails leaving from the campground, and we hiked at least ten miles of those trails.

On our last night, we treated ourselves to takeout at Lynch’s BBQ & Grill in Hollister.  There’s no seating here; you call ahead or just show up and it’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.

There’s also a free Paranormal and Bigfoot museum in town that Julia originally wanted to see, but she chickened out when we learned that it was in someone’s house.

She may have missed her opportunity because we are headed back to the Fairgrounds in Raleigh, where Julia catches her flight back home.

Outer Banks: Saying Goodbye

We ended up staying nine nights at Oregon Inlet Campground.  Mostly through luck, we had one of the best sites; we could walk to the beach from our backyard.  The showers were solar-warm.  The bathrooms had flush toilets and running water.
Cons:  the mosquitoes were terrible when the wind dropped.  Fortunately, the wind blows hard nearly all of the time.  The sites are tight.  Generators are allowed in the areas where there is no electricity.  Because all of the electric sites fill up first, this results in some strange situations where big Class A motor homes are running generators right next to tents in the non-electric zone.
Unlike the Texas gulf coast, we were unable to find any free public camping in the Outer Banks

Food and Drink

During our last days, we got in final tastes from the area.  Barbeque from Pigman’s in Kill Devil HIlls, shrimp and grits at Blue Moon Grill, and beer from Lost Colony Brewery.

The bbq was very good; the shrimp and grits were wonderful, and the beer was possibly the worst I’ve ever had at a brewpub.  The brown ale (to the right) was very thin and overly hopped for the style.  I like brown ales. Just one man’s opinion. I tasted Julia’s IPA (to the left), and it wasn’t as bad.  That’s all I’ll say about that.

Kayaking

On one afternoon, I dropped Julia off to do some kayaking (her race is coming up in about two weeks). She had a nice paddle and saw some some glamped-up fishing shacks which have been remodeled on the inside and even feature electricity.

The Lost Colony

We also took some time to learn about the Lost Colony at Roanoke, established by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585 and eventually led by John White.  White’s grand-daughter, Virginia Dare, was the first “English” child born in America.  White left the colonists to resupply in England.  When he returned in 1590, all of traces of the colony, including Virginia Dare, were gone.  Attempts to discover what happened were unsuccessful.
There was some speculation that the local native population killed everyone off.  That would not be shocking, as the colonists (fearing the locals might kill them) attacked the tribe without provocation, killing the chief and others.  However, there was no evidence of such a massacre by the tribe against the colonists.

Heading East

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Outer Banks.  This area has been on our bucket list for a long time.

Walking in Memphis

May 25-28

To celebrate Justin’s high school graduation, we are on a wheelchair van road trip with the first stop in Memphis.

Traveling with Justin can be a lot of fun but sometimes also very frustrating. We had trouble finding accessible accommodations in every city stop on this trip.
Julia booked us at the Hilton. When we arrived, we discovered that all of the handicapped rooms were in the basement/parking level.

Our room was accessible for perhaps an older person who could walk but needed a rail support for the toilet or bath. However, we had asked for a wheelchair accessible bathroom with roll in shower. The bathtub, narrow door and tight spaces didn’t work.

An hour later. We were settled into a room that worked. It was located in the very back of the basement floor next to the staff break room door. But it worked.
The pool had a lift for disabled people but could only be reached by negotiating a flight of stairs. We asked how a power wheelchair user could access the pool. Each employee we asked looked at us like we were aliens. No one knew.

This is often business as usual for wheelchair consumers in our country. Things are better with the ADA (Americans with Disability Act). But we have a long ways to go with regard to access and respect. It isn’t as though our room was cheaper.

Think for a moment how races or genders would feel about being segregated in hotel basements or restaurant side rooms. Or ushered into the back room or freight elevator representing the handicapped entrance.

We were pretty tired when we finally got settled into our room and got unpacked. Still, we had time for some Memphis barbecue.

On Saturday, Julia and Justin toured the Civil Rights Museum while I took a long stroll to downtown, Beale Street, and the riverfront. I ended up drinking a 201 Poplar IPA at Earnestine’s and Hazel’s.

We met up for an afternoon stroll around downtown, stopping for gyros, and listening to music at a riverfront festival. On Saturday night, we dined on delicious fried catfish at the Soulfish Kitchen, along with sides of fried okra and collard greens.

On Sunday, we returned downtown and toured Old Dominick Distillery. Our guide did a great job, and the location provided excellent accessibility for Justin who enjoyed it all including fresh squeezed lemonade at the end of the tour. Julia and I sampled some of the distilled stuff.

Sunday evening, we ate burgers at Huey’s and listened to live music. Although it was crowded, staff did a great job of finding us a table and creating a path to get there. Food, service, and music were awesome!
Next–Nashville.