Thursday, October 14, 2010

Vincennes, Part III and the trip home

I had planned this trip with some free time, as I was not sure how long it would take me to explore Vincennes. I had two option for Sunday Morning: drive down the Wabash to it junction with the Ohio or Go out to the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood National Historic site and then, If I had time, go to the Memorial for the Tell City airplane crash.
In the end, I decided that going down the Wabash was more important. I started out by visiting the Mound:
From 10-11-2010

I would have bid adieu to the Avenger. Unlike the one I had in July, this one had a Six way, power leather, heated seats, which proved to be torture devices for my back.
I stopped by the Old State bank before heading out:

I decided to route myself being as close to River as possible. This meant that I would need to cross the Wabash into Illinois on the “Wabash Cannonball” Bridge. It's an old railroad bridge that been remade into highway bridge:

On the way into St Francisville, Il , I ran into some touring cyclists, I stopped to read a historical marker and said hello to theme, but they acted like I did not exist. Oh well.
I crossed back into Indiana on the I-64 bridge and made a stop in New Harmony
New Harmony was the site of a couple of Utopian Communities in the 1820's. I thought I could explore a little but, But I kept on hearing a voice that told me it wasn't my time.

I then Drove down to last Bridge on the Wabash. It had a Starring role in this Video

I didn't make to the Junction, but then I had a chance to see it from the air when I was coming in. I stopped in the town of Mt Vernon, In to see the Ohio and contemplate what some might think seeing a river of that size for the first time:

I had lunch at my Favorite Place: SteakNShake, before pausing in downtown Evansville to check in on the folks in Cape Girardeau. I liked the faux riveboat, which is their Casino.

I then headed back to Dress airport:

It's named after the Mayor who promoted the idea. On the Tarmac was a Bombardier/Canadair CRJ "Barbie jet"(Just like the "real" planes, only smaller) flying for Delta(or Comair, depending on how you look at) in from Cincinnati:

I returned the keys, checked in and wandered for a bit before going through security,
Almost all of the P-47 Thunderbolts were built in Evansville:

The man who held the record for the largest collection of Model Planes also lived here:

I had been trying to record the tail Number, but had no luck, I wrote down the Tail number of the plane to Dallas, N950TW, and entered into a database: no such Plane! I thought I had made a boo-boo, so made sure to take a photo of the American Eagle plane that pulled up:

There was just a little issue, another Eagle plane:

one to Chicago O'Hare(ORD for Orchard Park, Illinois), one for D/FW. I guess I'm not meant to be a plane spotter.
The flight to D/FW was uneventful. I did forget my jacket when I deplaned, and remembered it in the gate check line(ERJ's have limited bin space). I dashed back in, but the flight attendant met me at the Door with it. he had noticed it, and was coming to find me.
I was supposed to meet my Uncle Henry, but he had some unexpected guests and was having a hard time getting rid of them. we eventually connected, and we had dinner at Braum's:

before I went back to the airport for a late night flight back, which another ex-TWA md80(newer interior being the giveaway as opposed to the tail number) . I was apparently the only person drinking coffee, as my cup was refilled several times.
This was fun! I've got to do it again. The only downside was that used my evening commute home on Metrolink to write this instead of my book. But then I do tend to find activities to fill my time. I was think was the only person on the Plane to ONT that was not asleep. That pesky sleep! Say, can I get a refill on my coffee?

2 comments:

Roma said...

I love your writing style, it's gripping in a simple interesting way. And can i just say that your photography shots (especially th eone of the raod from the car dashboard) are actually really impressive but not in an 'in your face' kind of way. I really enjoy your blogging :)


p.s I'm 15 and new to this whole blogging thing. Do you reckon there is any way on earth you could take a look at my blog and just comment on what you think . Say if you hate it ,honestly, i'd value a comment from a pro like you! :) x

Unknown said...

Me, a pro? Ha! unless you meant computer programming. Maybe one day I'll get this thing written and published.
Jana, on respite from her journeys