Fly Out

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Sunrise at Skyharbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona

Three-thirty in the morning is an awfully early time of day to wake up, but that’s what was required for getting to the airport by 5:00. Our first stop on this journey is Chicago, where we’ll be connecting to our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany, landing at 7:20 tomorrow morning.

Flying over America to Chicago, Illinois

We were on board early with 20 minutes to go before departure. Paying for upgrades such as priority boarding and premium economy is proving to be worth their value regarding their stress relief factor. With everyone accounted for who’d bought tickets for this flight, we were able to depart 15 minutes early. I think this is new to me; I can’t remember such a thing ever happening before.

Flying over America to Chicago, Illinois

Hey, wait a second; I thought this trip was canceled. Yeah, well, Lufthansa only wanted to refund $150 of each ticket or have us rebook. Rebooking for early next year wasn’t possible as we have a vacation already booked for Chiapas, Mexico, in March. Booking later this year with looming new travel restrictions due to COVID might not even be possible, so if Caroline was going to see her parents before 2022, it was going to have to happen now.

Flying over America to Chicago, Illinois

So here we are at 35,000 feet over the middle of America in the 8th row of a flight that is far from full with no seat neighbor. Now, the trick is to stay awake so we can sleep on our flight over the Atlantic.

Flying over America to Chicago, Illinois

Since we’ll be landing in the heart of Europe early Wednesday morning, which is our 10:20 p.m. Tuesday night in Phoenix, Arizona, we’ll be inclined not to want to hit the ground running, but that’s exactly what we’ll need to do. Not only that, we’ll have to keep up that momentum for at least 14 hours so we can go to sleep late enough in the hopes that we can start getting over jet lag as soon as possible. So, if all goes well, we’ll grab a solid 5 hours of sleep on our next flight.

Flying over America to Chicago, Illinois

I must have fallen asleep for a moment or two as I’ve got nothing to say about this photo of farmland somewhere, not that falling asleep should have any impact on what I might say. What I should say is that by the time I’m writing this, we’re at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, and I’m feeling a bit worn, using a fuzzy brain to try and say something.

Cannabis Amnesty Box O'hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois

With marijuana legal for recreational use in Illinois, we surmise that these boxes are used by people who forgot they have a pocket full of weed and, before they get in trouble flying into a place where it’s illegal, this is their opportunity to get rid of it.

Caroline Wise at O'hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois

This is the before photo prior to Caroline enjoying her Aperol spritz as we sat down to some mediocre lunch at the airport. For a place known for its cuisine, terminal 1 is a sorry representation of the city outside the airport. As I finish this first installment of the post for our flight out of Arizona and the United States, we have less than an hour before we board our flight, and Caroline is looking just a bit tired. Maybe my two micro-naps on the way to Chicago gave me an advantage? Anyway, the next image for this post will arrive later, but for now, this is what’s going on for the two of us.

Chicago, Illinois

We took off from Chicago nearly a half-hour late, but that seems to be fitting with the O’Hare airport as it’s one of America’s busiest, and while the airport food was on the disappointing side, the view of the city on the lake was spectacular.

Caroline Wise on the way to Germany

We were able to snag a great deal on an upgrade to business class on our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. Caroline pointed out how this was her first time having champagne on a flight, and while she once flew first class from Phoenix to New York City for work, this was her first time in business class to Europe.

Business class meal on Lufthansa flight

With a flight barely seven hours long, the crew got busy as soon as we were in the air to get dinner service going. Instead of serving the three courses separately, as was my experience on the way from Frankfurt to Denver back in June, appetizer, main course, and dessert were all brought out simultaneously, which was great for me but not ideal for Caroline, who had opted for ice cream as her sweet.

I don’t think it was 15 minutes after eating that our seats were laid down nearly flat, and we were on our way to sleep. While fitful, we were able to sleep off and on for about 4 hours before the aircrew was prepping breakfast. Not thirty minutes later, we were landing in the city where Caroline was born, Frankfurt, Germany. As for the flight in business class, all flying should be in this comfort.

Backfill

JWise Travels

The United States Capitol building in Washington D.C.

I started blogging here at Johnwise.com nearly 13 years ago, but have been living and doing stuff for a lot longer than that. Now that I’m far more comfortable writing and my computer has no problem dealing with processing large images, I felt it was time to start backfilling this blog that chronicles a considerable amount of Caroline’s and my life together. So way back in this blog, more than 350 pages ago, there are some entries that I’ve dated into the 1960s. Those entries were made with photos I scanned in from our archive of memorabilia. About 19 years ago we started shooting digital images at about the same time we were starting to travel quite a bit. The convenience of stepping away from film while gaining date stamps on photos has allowed us to catalog our travel history quite accurately. Because those blog entries may never be seen due to where they reside by date, I’m going to occasionally share some highlights up here on the front of this site in order to bring attention to those posts. Sure, Google will ultimately add them to search results, though I can’t imagine that 18 to 100-year-old photos and writings will be of much interest to the majority of people looking for current information. Here goes, above is, of course, the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. This image was taken on November 12, 2000, on the 12th day of a 21-day drive across America. We had never driven across the United States together, and following Caroline’s mother’s return to Germany after we spent the better part of October with her in Yellowstone, New Mexico, and Tombstone, we had travel fever and spontaneously decided to venture out to Maine and back. To check out not only some old low-resolution digital photos of that trip but also to read about our impressions, you can start with Day 1 by clicking HERE. All links in this blog entry will point to various dates that I’m referencing from Johnwise.com.

Jutta Engelhardt in Gleeson, Arizona

Over the years, my mother-in-law Jutta has played a large role in our travels as she’s visited the United States on ten occasions. We’ve taken her to all four corners of America, from Niagara Falls to Key West and the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles. Along the way, she learned to smile, laugh, and let go of a bit of her German nature, but just a bit. This photo stems from a short four-day road trip that was part of her 33-day stay in the U.S. when we took her into the southeast corner of Arizona from Saguaro National Park to Tombstone, Bisbee, and the surrender site of Geronimo. Maybe memories were created. Click here to visit this blog entry that started on October 13, 2000.

Sunrise near Key Largo, Florida

Fast forward to April 17, 2003, and Jutta once again joined us, this time for a 12-day road trip across the Southern United States to Florida. This particular picture was from Day 6 as we entered the Florida Keys early in the morning. On this vacation, we visited New Orleans, the Everglades, Savannah, Georgia, Smoky Mountains National Park, Graceland, Paris, Texas, and White Sands National Monument. Click the date in the first sentence or “Day 6” to jump to this blog entry.

Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas

We don’t only travel with the mother-in-law, and more often than not, it is just Caroline and me out exploring the country. On this road trip that hugged the Mexican-American border, we visited Big Bend National Park and checked out the Rio Grande, along with heading up to pay a visit to Carlsbad Caverns, Bosque del Apache, and the Petrified Forest. Click here to join us on our Christmas 2002 journey that even featured snow.

Olympic National Park Washington

Just the month before that, we were in the Pacific Northwest for a week over Thanksgiving. We started this adventure by staying at the Little A’LE’INN in Rachel, Nevada, near Area 51, visited Mount St. Helens, Olympic National Park, and our first rain forest (seen above), and still had time to visit the Redwoods and a California ghost town. Learn about the best Thanksgiving ever by clicking here.

Caroline Wise at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon

The summer of 2002 was a busy one. Not only did we visit Crater Lake in Oregon over the Fourth of July, we also dipped into Yosemite, a small corner of Death Valley that is rarely visited, and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Starting in June, we also visited Death Valley proper and Los Angeles, and then in July, we again stopped in Los Angeles for some Hawaiian dance. Finally, in late summer, we ventured out on a four-day trip to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

Grand Falls on the Little Colorado River in Northern Arizona

This photo of Grand Falls in Arizona is part of the Little Colorado River that will empty in the Colorado River deep in the Grand Canyon. We were out in the Four Corners with Jutta during that year 2000 trip that had us visiting Chaco Culture in New Mexico, sleeping in Kokopelli Cave overlooking Shiprock, visiting the Navajo Nation Fair, exploring a slot canyon, and rafting a small section of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. Click here to follow us on that journey.

Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River in Oregon

Five states in five days was the way we had our first encounter with the Oregon coast in March 2002. Seen here is Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River as we traced its banks coming out of the snow of Idaho. Sometimes, when you live in Arizona, you tend to forget the bad weather other states are experiencing. If you’d like to share with us our first impressions of this state that has drawn us back a dozen times, click here.

Ute Reservation, Colorado

On July 14, 2001, after spending the night in a Wigwam in Holbrook, we were driving northwest to the Ute Reservation before stopping on the Zune Reservation to check out some beautiful art. This was a quick two-day-jaunt and is quite typical of many of our travels back in the day. Click here to visit this “oldie but goldie” blog entry.

Map of our U.S. Travels

JWise Photo of the Day

Map of John Wise and Caroline Wise's travels across America

It’s been 18 years since we started tracking our travels on an old Michelin map. While we’ve been to all four corners, the geographical center of the United States in Lebanon, Kansas, and been to some places such as Yellowstone nine times and the Oregon coast probably more than that, there are still vast swathes of America that remain unseen to us. Large parts of the North and South Carolina coasts have not been explored yet along with small segments of the Texas, Florida, and New Jersey shorelines we’d still like to visit. The Great Plains could certainly use some work, along with the Southern States. We’ve been to the majority of the Hawaiian Islands and while we’ve seen Alaska from Anchorage to Fairbanks and from Juneau to Haines, that is one state that would require two lifetimes to see it all.

I used an infrared filter on the image to turn it black and white as it brought up the darker highlighted roads we’ve traveled and brightened the state outlines making them easier to see, should you be wondering why this photo, in particular, was chosen to be presented sans color.

Return to America

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

In flight from Europe to America

Klaus made us a terrific breakfast fit for a king and queen. The eggs he served up were delivered with “Pfeffer Himmel,” a pepper blend from a favorite shop in Fulda, Germany, called Der feine Vanilleladen. Instead of waiting for a package to arrive from the Engelhardt’s with my own personal supply of  “Pepper Heaven,” I ordered 6 x 90-gram bottles after getting home. I’m guessing that a pound of this stuff should last me a few months at least.

The Engelhardt’s brought us to the airport on time even though we knew our flight was late just in case it was somehow moved forward. While we would leave more than an hour and a half later than scheduled, we still landed three minutes early in the States.

In flight from Europe to America

Our flight was unspectacular and long, with practically no turbulence. Previously, on winter trips, we’d have some of the worst turbulence. We flew Condor Air as it was nearly a thousand dollars cheaper for the two of us round trip from Phoenix to Frankfurt.

In flight from Europe to America

We managed to stay awake for the entirety of the flight to Washington. Every so often, I’d sneak a peek out the windows although we were asked to close the shades for the “comfort” of the other passengers, but I didn’t want to get sleepy. Opening the shade from time to time was a blinding experience after my eyes had adjusted to the dim display of my notebook. I suppose keeping the shade closed was a good thing as it forced me to spend more time writing. With the display at 25% brightness, I had power for nine hours on the flight and still had power to spare when we landed. Isn’t the Earth beautiful?

In flight from Europe to America

Coming in over southwest Canada and entering Washington and Northern Cascades, we must be landing soon. I was hoping for a glimpse of Mt. Rainier over the clouds, but no luck.

In flight from Washington to Arizona

This has been the most godawful reentry into America I have ever had. We Americans are fat in the most horrible of ways, and it’s spread out across the terminal like the plague. People are in the gate area, slopping up their gruel wrapped in paper with their bucket-sized cups of soda. The first nearly dozen electric outlets we tried were dead. We’ve just landed in Seattle, the home of Amazon and Microsoft, and we can’t recharge our mobile devices. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread that I’d fallen into a bucket of stupidity.

I left a different Frankfurt than the one I lived in more than 20 years ago. Gone is the Frankfurter with the clenched jaw and stoic, almost angry look that has been replaced by the happy American look. I understand that Seattle sees a lot of gray skies, but it’s the second week of June, and we came into partly sunny skies and beautiful weather; winter is long gone. The people in this airport look grim and morose.

On my way to get something to eat, seeing we’ll be arriving in Phoenix shortly before 23:00 when NOTHING is open in our hometown, I passed dozens of people eating out of paper and plastic. Compared to the dining situation at the Frankfurt airport, it is primitive beyond belief here. At Wolfgang Puck’s, I ordered a sandwich delivered in a plastic box on “Italian” white bread with a few slices of salami and eight pieces of pepperoni, some cheese, tomato, and banana peppers for nearly $17.00. This was the concept of an “Italian Meat” sandwich.

A man behind the pizza counter languidly makes pizzas. I’m struck as to why he’s working what must be a minimum-wage job. I ask him his age, and he tells me he’s 67 years old; what’s he doing in a teenager’s job during retirement? I’m not in awe of his industriousness, as I’m too taken aback by our lack of a safety net for seniors.

The more I look around me, the more I see the look of uncertainty on far too many faces. Clothes are sloppy and loose, as are the intellect and bodies. Someone who overhears a small part of my lament as we are waiting to board our flight to Phoenix chimes in with his own take on why America has gone “downhill,” and it has to do with “Minorities and the lack of English being taught to our children by foreigners.” WTF we are being assaulted with blatant racism by a total stranger. Pass me a barf bag.

After getting into Europe, I had some jet lag; upon the return to America I’m reeling in cultural jet lag.

I’ll Take The Low Road

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Map on the United States detailing John and Caroline Wise's travels

Two and a half years ago, I posted another photo of this map, which is quickly becoming more tape than paper. The map’s backside holds what must amount to yards of tape since the seams tend to fall apart after years of opening and closing this much-loved map. Many roads have now been traveled multiple times; our odometer will attest to the many miles driven north, south, and north again along the Oregon coast, for example. If you look closely and compare maps, you will see we have added a circumnavigation around Lake Michigan. In Maine we added Madawaska and Lubec to the list of furthest points outward that can be traveled in the lower 48 states; they join mile marker zero in Key West, Cape Flattery in Washington. By the way, we also found the geographical center of the United States, which lies in Lebanon, Kansas. Small sections of the eastern seaboard were driven, as was the shoreline of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. We flew into Oklahoma City and made our way to Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas, and prior to that spent the 4th of July in Canadian, Texas, visiting a rodeo and an old-fashioned town parade. A few small stretches of secondary roads in New Mexico were taken as prizes, adding to our road collection. Our upcoming travel plans will take us back to Oregon in November, Yellowstone in January, and the Northeast when my mother-in-law returns in April; not until next Thanksgiving will we likely see virgin road when we land in Atlanta, Georgia, for a road trip through the Old South. I don’t think many people outside of Presidential candidates will ever have the opportunity Caroline and I have made for ourselves to see so much of this great, big, beautiful country

America – Day 21

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Alamogordo, New Mexico welcome sign in German

Only about 90 miles north of El Paso, Texas, is this little outpost of Alamogordo, New Mexico, where the German Air Force comes to train its pilots. Sadly there’s not a German restaurant to be found, not much of anything else for that matter. To say Caroline was surprised by this sign would be an understatement. Breakfast was here in town at a place called Ramona’s, where we were treated to another yummy Mexican meal. (As of 2018, this place no longer exists)

Caroline Wise at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

This is the reason we didn’t continue west from El Paso: Welcome to White Sands National Monument.

Caroline Wise leaves a footprint at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Wonder what the chances are that 10 million years from now someone discovers my wife’s footprint?

John Wise and Caroline Wise's hand prints in the sand at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Or maybe in 100 million years, someone will find our handprints?

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

After enjoying near-perfect weather for most of the trip our last day out here is again spectacular. Nothing like a thin layer of water to make for a nice reflection of the dune.

Caroline Wise looking through a piece of ice at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

While the sand might look like snow, it is not, though from the piece of ice Caroline picked up from some pooling water, it’s apparently cold enough out here for it to snow.

Caroline Wise and John Wise driving in New Mexico

Starting the final leg home and our last selfie on the road.

A dollar bill we left at Steins Mercantile in Steins, New Mexico

Ultimately, there would be four dollars stapled to these walls and shelves from four different occasions at Steins Mercantile (pronounced Steens) here in Steins, New Mexico. Sadly, this old ghost town location was shut down after the owner, Larry Link, was murdered in an unsolved crime 11 years after our visit. As of 2018, there might be some limited tours available by reservation only, but I can’t confirm that as of this writing.

The Mighty Bussalo brown VW bus in Arizona

We finally had to try to get a picture of this old VW bus christened the “Mighty Bussalo.” We’d been passing each other since the Louisiana border, and here we were in Arizona, passing one another for the last time. Over the years, we’ve looked for a sign of this car on the internet but never found a thing. The amounts of times we’d passed each other had started to become absurd, and each time it would put giant smiles on our faces.

Sunset entering Phoenix, Arizona

I tried to tone down the colors, but as vibrant as they were as we were entering Phoenix, Arizona, I blamed our camera for not being able to properly deal with the contrast in light and dark. Anyone who has lived here will know that, in fact, this is not all that far off from the truth. We are almost home after driving 8,722 miles out and back across America.

Various food stuffs from across America

While out for these past 21 days we did a fair amount of shopping trying to collect local flavors. The next images are the results of our haul.

Various food stuffs from across America

Various food stuffs from across America

Various food stuffs from across America

Various food stuffs from across America