FHMA Day 4: Playing With Fire

QUICK FACTS

• Where We Started: Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
• Where We Ended: Charleston, S.C.
• Miles Driven: 434 (1,012 total)
• New States: 1 (South Carolina)
• Total States: 3 (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina)

THE DAY'S HIGHLIGHT 

On trips like these, the days tend to fall into two categories: days where the goal is seeing things, and days where the goal is getting somewhere. Monday was the latter, as we decided we wanted to make it all the way to Charleston, a seven-hour ride. It didn't hurt that there wasn't a whole lot to see  between the Outer Banks and Charleston. We considered taking a ferry from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke, and then another from Ocracoke to Cedar Island, but since it's the off season, the ferry schedule didn't match ours. So we set off by land.

Because driving was the mission of the day, I spent the first few hours of the drive wondering what I'd write about today, and came up as empty as John Turturro in "Barton Fink." As we were blowing down U.S.-64  toward the tiny town of Roper, the answer came with a plume of smoke in the distance. Joan noticed it first, and immediately declared it a fire. I thought it might be a low cloud. As we got closer, two things became obvious: it was indeed a fire, and we were heading right toward it. Sure enough, we soon came upon a wildfire, not more than 20 feet off the highway.

As you can see, the fire wasn't huge, though it had spread to most of the surrounding woods. Emergency personnel had just arrived when we got there. We saw the flames too late to get any real good photos, so we decided to circle back and come down U.S-64 again to get a better look. But this ain't New York City; it took us 15 minutes to get ourselves back on the highway toward the fire. And, my, how 15 minutes had changed things. Now, an ambulance and police car were blocking the right lane of the highway, and emergency personnel were wandering on the roadway.

By now, the smoke was so thick that driving down the highway was extremely difficult. And a look to the right now featured this scene.

The scene to the right of the car.

Even worse, embers from the right side of the roadway had blown across the highway and lit the median on fire.

The scene to the left of the car. The presence of the dashboard gives you a sense of how close this fire was.

So now, we're sitting on the highway to hell. Both sides are on fire, and visibility ahead is nil. We patiently wait for direction from the emergency personnel, but it's slow coming, as the guy in the photo above is on his cell phone. Finally, this policeman and a volunteer fireman start discussing what to do with the motorists that are piling up right next to the fire. Since we're first in line, this conversation is happening right outside our window. My best recollection is that it went something like this:

• Me: What do you want us to do?
• Volunteer fireman: Go ahead, but go slow and stick to the left side of the highway, since the fire is on the right.
• Policeman: No, dude, the fire jumped the road; the median's on fire too.
• Fireman: Oh. Crap. Hmmm.
• <silence>
• Fireman: Go ahead anyway. Just go slow.

This is not the answer I'm expecting, and I'm somewhat positive it's not a good decision. They probably should have turned us around. And, needless to say, if I'm driving between two fires lapping at the sides of my car, slow is not really in my vocabulary. So I go, as slowly as I need to in order to avoid mowing down emergency personnel, but not exactly slow. But slow enough for Joan to capture the part of the woods close to where the first picture in this post was taken 20 minutes earlier. An amazing difference.

There was a second wildfire in the area as well, and we saw that plume of smoke as well. A local television affiliate wrote about both fires.

ROAD SCRAPS

• We're still working out our morning routine, which involves writing this report, planning our day, packing our bags, loading the car, etc.  Shockingly, it's exercise that is being ignored, though we've done a decent amount of walking. But I managed to exercise my middle finger for the first time Monday, near Washington, N.C. I had just gotten to the point where I could legally pass a slow-moving lumber truck -- I didn't realize that part of North Carolina was such a big lumber area -- and started to move into the oncoming lane to pass, when the guy behind me decided he wanted to go first. Now, you can't pass two cars at once in most states, so I'm assuming this was illegal, not to mention dangerous. Plus, I was obviously eager to pass myself and wasn't exactly lolly-gagging. So I decided to signal our displeasure in the universal language of the middle digit and re-stretched that finger when we shot past the truck mere seconds later. I'm slightly competitive.
  
• As I'm sure you all know, it's tax time. As such, Liberty Tax Service is eagerly seeking customers. For the second time on the trip, we saw a guy dressed up as the Statue of Liberty standing out by the road and dancing in order to attract customers and/or attention. Now, I've never worked in marketing, but is this really the best way to get people to sign up have them do your taxes? Taxes are sober and serious work -- unless you choose not to pay them, like some people we know -- and when listing the skills I'd most value in a company doing my taxes, dancing would fall pretty low. To this guy's credit, he seemed to be enjoying himself, though I don't think the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor is wearing work boots.
  

• One of the cool tools we're using on this trip is Google Latitude. This allows anyone who's signed up for the free service to see where we are at any moment on the trip (assuming we allow you to see). My mother has been using it faithfully, and when on the phone with Joan the other day -- my mother likes Joan much more than me -- asked her, unprompted why we had not yet left Fredericksburg. Now, letting my mother know about this feature was a bold move on my part. My mother is always worried about personal safety: hers, ours, anyone's. There used to be a store in Tysons Corner called "The Safety Zone," that was made for her. Snake bite kit? Yes! Asteroid strike kit? YES! Anything they sold, my mother could envision a need for. So Google Latitude will be a mixed blessing for her. She can now see where we are at any moment. I am now wondering whether she's able to calculate my speed based on how quickly we're moving on the map. Then again, right about now, she's more outraged -- and quite fairly -- that we consciously drove back to experience a wildfire from close up.
• Speaking of speed, about 10 miles before we reached the blaze, I saw my own personal favorite road sign for the first time: SPEED LIMIT 70.
• On our way from the Outer Banks to Charleston, we passed through Belgrade and Bolivia.
  
• One potential plot development re: this trip. The men's basketball team at my alma mater, The American University -- and don't forget the "The," by golly -- is in the championship game of the Patriot League tournament on Friday. If the Eagles win, they will make their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. If so, that would also be their second ever. If they win, there are eight potential places they could play, and two of them -- Dayton, Ohio, and Kansas City -- are places we could relatively easily get to for the game. Two others -- Minneapolis and Greensboro, N.C. -- are outside possibilities. The rest -- Boise, Idaho; Miami, Philadelphia and Portland -- won't work. So let's go Eagles!
• Sign of the Day #1: "Hematoma Paintball," in Chocowinity, N.C. Now, maybe it's just me, but is it a good marketing technique to name your business after the injury you may well sustain by participating? Maybe after your paintball fun, you can head on over to the Chocowinity's "Gaping Head Wound Shooting Range." OK, I made that up. By the way, Chocowinity stands for "Fish From Many Waters."
• Sign of the Day #2: In Hampstead, N.C., on an ice cream shop: "Closed or Renovations." I was making snide comments about what I thought to be the overly indecisive owner, then I realized he was merely the victim of a missing letter. 
• As we were in the home stretch of our long drive yesterday, we passed through Georgetown. S.C. And we did it as quickly as possible. The city smelled so bad, it made that stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike right outside New York smell like lilacs. When the smell enveloped the car, we immediately suspected a beagle. We looked into the back, and Fred and Hank were giving us looks that seemed to say, "We smell it too, and dude, it wasn't us." Turns out Georgetown is South Carolina's third-oldest city, so maybe it was just moldy.

NON-TRIP RELATED NOTE

• OK, this has nothing to do with this trip, but I'll shamelessly flak myself: Poynter posted a Q&A with me about a wide range of issues around digital journalism. Thankfully, it sounds like I was on my meds when I did this.
  

MUSIC REPORT

• Random iPod shuffle song of the day: "Olympic Fanfare'" by John Williams. You know, I really don't have this much John Williams on my iPod, despite the fact he's now come up twice. Having said that, in the pantheon of sports-related music, this is a pretty good piece. And I will admit I do have a CD of NFL Films music on my CD. Great music to get psyched up to.
• Most played albums Saturday: "Bachelor No. 2" and "The Forgotten Arm," both by Aimee Mann. Best tracks, respectively: "Deathly" and "I Can't Help You Anymore."
• With the clock nearing midnight and Joan sound asleep in the passenger seat , I put my personal late-night driving rules into effect. Among these rules: No Pink Floyd. Ever. I love them, but man, if you try and listen to "Dark Side of the Moon," "Animals" or "Wish You Were Here" late at night, you'll wake up in a ditch, if at all. Conversely, any song that makes you want to air-drum  is good. So, yes, that means a lot of Rush late a night.

MEAL REPORT

• Lunch: Food Dudes Kitchen, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.: Always go with the recommendations of locals. Before we departed the Outer Banks, Tammy and Chip took us to this small place in a non-descript strip mall near the water. It was fabulous. Joan and I each got the grilled chicken salad -- though I got the bacon and she didn't. But she threw that advantage away by getting coconut cake for dessert, while I settled for my ninth refill of Diet Pepsi. Jim Nutrition Check: Very solid performance, though I can't lie; I did have a few bites of Joan's cake. (Editor's note from Joan: Yes, if five counts as "a few." I consider that sharing) . Restaurant Rating: 5 stars (out of 5). If you hit the OBX, you should try this place. Apparently, it's owned by chefs from some other local restaurants.

• Dinner: Hieronymus Seafood, Wilmington, N.C.: We sought recommendations for a dinner spot on Twitter and in the blog. We got a bunch, so thanks. Unfortunately -- sorry, Whitney -- we struck out at this seafood place outside of town. Now, Mondays are always dodgy nights to eat out. The focus of most restaurants is the weekends, so we've often found Mondays to be generally bad nights for restaurants. Our seafood here was pretty pedestrian. Not much else to say. Jim Nutrition Check: I made some good choices, and some bad ones. I got my seafood blackened, and we did start with oysters and clams on the half shell as an appetizer. But the waiter suggested I should at least get the calamari fried, and I caved. And I got fries again. That will be the last time I will have fries for a while. I swear. On the bright side, I didn't drink. Restaurant Rating: 2 stars (out of 5).

HOTEL REPORT

• Best Western Charleston Downtown, Charleston, S.C.: Perfectly passable hotel, though parking lot construction made it hard to find a place to put the car. The room was fine, and relatively clean. Rating: 3 stars (out of 5).

TRAVEL WEB SITE OF THE DAY

• Dogpark.com: It's not wildly comprehensive, but this list of dog parks from around the national is still pretty useful.

COMMENT OF THE DAY

From Beth Jacobsohn:

• Reading this is now part of my daily routine -- don't know what I'll do with myself once you return. I've looked, but I can't seem to find an itinerary. How long will you be gone? Where are you headed? I looked back at some 2003 weblogs -- sounded like a great trip. I had no idea you were gone for so long and hit so many states! Keep it up!

A few folks have called for us to post a long-range itinerary. So just to be clear: While we have a general idea where we're headed, we really don't plan more than a few days ahead of time. But here's the general plan: From here, we'll head to Savannah and Atlanta and then into Mississippi and Alabama. We'll then head to New Orleans, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into California. We'll work out way up to San Francisco and then back through the north, most likely via Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. But this is all subject to change; keep the recommendations coming from anywhere, since we like detours.

UPCOMING PLAN (subject to change)

• Today: A walk through Charleston, and then to Savannah, Ga.
• Wednesday: A day to recharge -- you need these every so often on trips like this -- in Savannah.
• Thursday: Some random Georgia sites -- Plains, Warm Springs, Andersonville -- on the way to Atlanta.

BONUS BEAGLE PHOTO

Fred chews on his paw after stepping on a burr. Both Fred and Hank had paw problems on Monday because of these burrs, although Hank seemed to be OK by day's end. Because he's a complete hypochondriac, however, Fred is still slightly more addled. In terms of today's planned walk around Charleston, Hank is probable and Fred questionable. Both will be game-time decisions.

Comments

[Beth]

If you get to Atlanta -- you must go to the Varsity...it is a TRADITION

[David Heyman]

Have just started using Google Latitude too. It is an amazing service, but definitely not for the stalker-scared or anything-to-hide crowd.

[Chris]

Since I will take credit for turning you on to Rush, (which I agree, is good late night driving music) I will also suggest Springsteen, some Mellencamp, Coldplay and Nickelback, but never, ever, no matter how much of a Fanilow one is, should Barry be considered a good choice. Glad to see he's off the list so far:-)...and Joan, I'm sorry, but I know of no country music to suggest;-)!!!

[Jeff Burkett]

Jim, I have driven through Georgetown SC a few times and I remember the smell and wonder if you saw the "tooth mobile"? Some areas have a book mobile to promote literacy, but it seems that the City of Georgetown has a greater need in the area of dentistry. My family's sick sense of humor finds this quite funny.

[Mark Potts]

Ooh, Aimee Mann! Your iPod has most excellent taste.

And I think I can top Liberty Tax Service: There's a gas station in Leesburg, Va.—one of those multipump jobs, with the little booth in the middle—that has a sign advertising that the guy in the booth will do your taxes for you. You might as well just go directly to Leavenworth and check in for three to five. Somehow, the idea of H&R Amoco doesn't fill me with great fiscal confidence.

[Sherry]

Totally agree with you: Pink Floyd wasn't made for driving. Might I suggest some U2? Under a Blood Red Sky (I Will Follow, Gloria), Rattle and Hum (Lots of songs) and All That You Can't Leave Behind (if you can tolerate their new stuff).

Oh, and the Poynter piece made you sound like you actually know what you're talking about ;-)

[Robin Lunt]

this is probably too late, but if you have a chance, eat at Hominy Grill in Charleston. Their Shrimp and grits and chocolate pudding are to die for.

[Beth Jacobsohn]

Are you familiar with the band Ludo? They are upbeat but VERY dark and weird -- though I gather most of it is all in good fun (tongue-in-cheek kind of dark). They have a great song about Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana which should get you through any long driving nights near the Bayou . . . But if you spook easily -- don't listen to it at night if you are actually anywhere near Lake Pontchartrain!

[Mary Lou White]

I guess you all are too young to know the really
good driving songs.
See if you can get Thunder Road, sung by Robert
Mitchum (yes, THAT Robert Mitchum), and Maybelline, by Chuck Berry.

[Your Williams Cousins]

I'd suggest the Varsity, too (the Varsity Junior is near us), but you may want to exercise and eat right for a few days before (and have some tums on hand for later) Hope to see you in Atlanta!

[Tamara & John and their beagles, Elvis and Abbey, from Michigan]

Isn't it funny how beagles seem to have mastered the "who? Me?" look? Enjoying your blog!

[Jane]

I'm making you a CD mix ... stat.

[NPF]

I'm hooked, too. This is a great road story. Pictures are terrific. Years ago my friend D. Gorton and I were doing a story for the NY Times Travel section. We were in Hnederson, Kentucky. Newsies from the big sity didn't often breeze through town and people knew who we were. One morning a waitress winked and asked us how we liked going out with her friends? We didn't know what she was talking about, until we figured out that two sharpies must have impersonated us and scored. Your trip is bring back all the fun of people on the road. Drive safely. watch the fires. bob

[Chris Geisert]

Great stuff Jim and Joan!
If you detour through KC, (maybe for an Eagles game) You must eat at Oklahoma Joe's. It is great BBQ and you can fill-up the car while you are there... it's in a gas station. We also have a Three Dog Bakery for the pups!

[Daryl]

When in New Orleans, have a burger at the Camellia Grill for me!

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2063

[eddie sutton]

I'm very disappointed you missed the opportunity to use the title "Touring Inferno" - but I'm certain that was caused by the PTSD caused by the encounter with the fire. However, that won't diminish the joy of reading your reports! Kinda feels like I'm sharing the spot between the "boys" in the backseat.

[Jim Brady]

So, Jane, are you mocking my taste in music? :-)

[Rick Blum]

"Touring inferno"? Pretty good. "Hot dog"? Let me know when you get to Santa Barbara. I may be able to get you a local tour.

[Jim Brady]

Mary Lou, is that "Thunder Road" song from the movie of the same name? Seen the movie, but don't recall the song...

[Jim Brady]

Robin, we actually did eat lunch at Hominy today...

Beth, sounds like I'd like Ludo... Any recommendations on which album to download...

[Maggi Gottsegen Helmkampf]

Jim, I will be VERY disappointed if Missouri is not a destination. I will only understand if we miss you b/c we are on Spring Break. We are between Iowa and Illionois (I can't believe I, a New Yorker know that). So... I really hope we make the hit list :)

[Fran (aka Mom)]

Many thanks for the 'Paranoid Mom' announcement.

[Royelen]

I think we should determine the itinerary actually. It's reality blogging with us voting you on or off the road.

[Ken Sands]

If you're looking for an alternative form of entertainment while on the road, pick up a copy of Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley."

http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Charley-Search-America-Steinbeck/dp/0140053204

As road books go, it's pretty dated and kind of unintentionally funny.

[Kathie]

The Eagles of The American University play at 4:45 pm on Friday. It sounds like you will be in Atlanta -- how 'bout a pit stop, a few brews and watch our Eagles win the Patriot League?

Also, while in Atlanta, and since I read you have a penchant for cemeteries, I suggest going to Oakland Cemetery. It's about a mile from Downtown on the east side of the city, right off I-20.

I agree with Beth - The Varsity - the original, not any of the Jr. wannabes is the best. It's across from Georgia Tech's campus at North Avenue off 75/85N.

And if you are a golf fan, you may want to check out East Lake Golf Club. It's the home of Bobby Jones and the home of the PGA Tour Championship. BONUS: I live in the neighborhood :)

[Joan]

Love your descriptions of events. Love also the beagle photo - that truly is a bonus! Safe travels.

[Paul Volpe]

Bachelor No. 2: Satellite; Forgotten Arm: Little Bombs.

[Claudia]

Catching up on your trip...this is great. Keep up the late night Rush tunes, it will do you good!

And Go Eagles (my alma mater, too) :)
Claudia