Uranus (not the planet)

 In 2015, Louie Keen wanted to create a roadside destination that captured the spirit of old-school Americana: fun, family, and a good laugh. What began as a quirky pit stop for travelers has grown into a full-blown attraction in St. Robert, MO. He now has 3 locations, including 2 in Indiana. The first sits on Route 66. The billboard on I44 was enough to pique our interest: 

That was after a billboard that touted "The best fudge comes from Uranus."

We pulled off the interstate, and made the stop on Route 66. It did not disappoint. It's somewhat recalls South of the Border, but is funnier. It actually is a Fudge Factory and Louie Keen built his business around one joke and a good product. There's a large store, mini golf, ice cream shop and other buildings that mimic a town. In around the store, a song plays that touts Uranus (too funny). The photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/jJkcMnQdUYPpCMdt8) will give you an idea of the humor. Make sure you read the signs, labels, and inscriptions. 

We had ice cream (handmade here) and checked out the Guiness record belt buckle. 

Fun stop. Tomorrow we'll end up in Columbus, OH.

Cattle stink, lava , and more March 21, 2026

After almost 3 months away, we're heading home, 2252 miles and 8 states, driving 7-8 hour days, our stops are Albuquerque,  Oklahoma City,  St. Louis,  and Columbus, OH. Today could have been really boring, as we  passed through New Mexico, northern Texas, and western Oklahoma.  But it turned out to be both good and bad interesting.  

The bad? We encountered at least 6 objects on the road that Google warned us about. Of course when you have no idea where or what lane the object is in, it makes things interesting.  Most were large pieces of tire. There was a tandem instance when a large metal chunk was followed by a large pipe. At 80 mph (speed limit 75), that makes for a situation that begs for alert driving.

Somewhere around Amarillo, we passed a huge cattle stockyard with literally thousands of cattle. Before you see them, you smell them. I read that in this area there are dozens of feedlots, that hold Texas Panhandle’s massive, concentrated cattle-feeding industry. This area hosts nearly 2.5 million head in feedlots, with individual, large-scale feedyards often holding 20,000 to over 100,000 head at a time. The smell was so incredibly bad that I wondered how the paint on the car could hold up passing through. It took several miles for the stink to dissipate in the car.

The good: Along our way on I40, we passed the Leaning Tower of Texas, and discovered it has a pretty cool story: https://texashighways.com/travel/roadside-oddity-the-leaning-tower-of-texas-britten/

Extensive lava fields line the edges of I40 near Grant's, NM, part of the El Pais National Monument. 

The Peace Garden of All Faiths, ) is a unique, roadside attraction in Amarillo featuring plaques, memorials, and a large peace sign.  https://www.facebook.com/peacegardenoffaith

Not far from the Leaning Tower is the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ ( in Groom, TX) erected by the Ministries of the same name. It is a 190-foot-tall, 1,250-ton free-standing cross monument that can be seen from 20 miles away.

In addition to all this, we saw lots of scrub land, goats keeping brush down on the edge of the highway, motionless windmills, and some later that were moving, and places where semi trucks (sans trailers) were lined up in fields along the Interstate. 

It really was an interesting ride. Tomorrow we head to St. Louis.

Loved NZ, and here are the reasons

This was a really special trip for us. Our first trip, even before we were married, was hitchhiking around Europe for months. We stayed in a small tent, and ate what we could buy in grocery stores. It was awesome. Our next big trip was a few years later, in 1975, when  we took our 74 Volks bug cross country for 6 weeks or so. We started by using the same tent we used in Europe, and then upgraded in Denver to a huge tent you could actually sit up in. At various times over the years, we've traveled with an 8 x 10 tent, a pop-up tent, a 19-foot hard sided trailer, a 35 foot class A motorhome, and a 28 foot motorhome. We've "moteled" it too. Usually we try to get our biggest bang for our buck, and save money where we can. 

This trip was a relatively last- minute choice for us, and as with most travel decisions we've made, settled on with little discussion. (Hey--you want to go to "fill in the blank"? Yeah, that'd be cool) What made it unique for us was that we decided to travel first class.

And rather than make all the accomodation and excursion reservations ourselves (aka me), we chose to have a tour company arrange everything: hotels, activities, transfers, travel methods. All we had to do was show up ( and pay the tour company).

So what we got was a fantastic trip in luxurious style, with activities that we loved. 

In these 3 weeks, we learned a lot about NZ , its culture, its plants, it's land, it's customs, and came away with a great deal of respect for this special place. If it weren't so far away from friends and family, and if I were looking for another country to live in, I would choose NZ. But I love the US -passionately, I couldn't be away from those I love, and I can't see myself ever leaving.

Along the way,  we had these minor observations about NZ:

• There are very few public waste receptacles in towns and cities. Yet the country is refreshingly clean. Even in Auckland, a city of 1.7MM people, there's no litter on the streets. Glorious!
• There are sheep everywhere. There are 4 sheep for every person in the country.
• In hotels, they give you 1 hand towel and 2 bath towels.
• In hotel rooms, they place 1 miniscule waste basket in the room.
• There is no tipping in restaurants. In casual restaurants,  you enter, check out the menu, and order and pay. Your food is delivered, you eat, then leave when you're done.
• Prices in the grocery store are reasonable.
• In summer (our only experience here), there are lots of tour busses and camper vans on the road.
• Other than sand flies, there are really not a lot of biting bugs here, even in the rainforest. But the sand flies are the equivalent of NH black flies, biting and itchy.
• Gas stations don't have trash receptacles or windshield wash cleaner or squeegee. 
• There are many one lane bridges. You may be driving on a 2 lane road at 60 mph, then find a one lane bridge ahead that requires you to stop and wait for a car coming in the opposite direction.
  
• Chinese tourists seem to make up over half the population.  We happened to be here during Chinese New Year, and I expect that made a difference. 
• There are signs along major road that warn: "Take care, Accident Black Spot"

Last full day in NZ, a different kind of garden,, February 27, 2026

 We got up late and had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes layered with banana and bacon, and topped with mascarpone and blueberry compote. Mmmm. A good part of our enjoyment of this trip has been the places we've stayed and the restaurants we've visited.

Today we drove an hour and a half north to Hamilton Gardens, an unusual grouping of 18 unique gardens. It's usually described as a botanical garden, but  it doesn't technically qualify as a botanical garden. Instead, it has separate gardens representing the art, beliefs, lifestyles and traditions of different civilisations or historical garden styles. Each garden is set off in its own space. 

There were the Italian, Egyptian, English, Surreal, Indian, Modern gardens and more. It's a quiet and relaxing place. We particularly enjoyed the Surreal Garden and the English gardens.

Hours later, we decided to head to Auckland, our final stop, where we will fly back to Phoenix tomorrow. We are staying at a hotel close to the airport to minimize the time to return the car, and avoid traffic. The drive north to Auckland was nasty, and punctuated with times of bumper to bumper traffic due to break downs or accidents. Google routed us around a 20 minute slowdown through some hilly, narrow roads. Kudos to Ray! That was the highlight of the drive back!

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QaS2DMC1HekMgJWv5

Walk in the treetops and a micro- Yellowstone, February 26, 2026

Before we set out for the day, we walked around the property of our hotel. They have decorated it with various pieces of interesting modern art, and some cages of parrots. One of the art pieces is a big pink bunny rear sticking out of the ground. It's a quirky, but elegant little place (12 rooms) with superb service. The concierge carried our bags up to our room (there's no elevator).

We went for a different kind of forest walk this morning.  Instead of walking on the forest floor, we were high above it among redwoods, on suspended bridges and platforms that have been designed to protect the trees. The trees themselves are about 250 feet tall, and 150 years old. Redwoods were introduced to New Zealand around 1901 in Rotorua as a government-led experiment to test the viability of fast-growing, high-quality exotic timber species. They were planted to replace rapidly depleted native forests and to assess their suitability for commercial forestry. Due to the rich soil, favorable climate,  and high rainfall, the trees grew faster in NZ than in their native California, reaching heights of 230 feet in just 100 years.

We thought it interesting that NZ and California are equidistant from the equator, one north , one south, and both provide favorable growing conditions for these trees. We enjoyed reading the information provided on the walk about these trees and the construction of the cabling. Great care was taken to protect the trees. 

I was surprised that they did not take care to highlight the difference between redwoods and giant sequoias, seeming to equate the 2 species. Redwoods are taller and thinner and grow on the coast. Sequoia are massive and grow at high elevations. They had a display showing information and a giant sequoia slice without mentioning and difference between the 2 species. At any rate, it was a cool experience.

We then headed south to the thermal area called Wai o Tapu. As we discovered, it's a micro-Yellowstone thermal display. They have bubbling pools, fumaroles, boiling water bubbling out of the earth and more, on a 1/10th scale to Yellowstone. Having been to Yellowstone several times, we enjoyed the walk, but were less than impressed.

By late afternoon, we drove back to Rotorua and checked out the restaurant scene there. There is a street called Eat Street lined with restaurants. Near there, we chose a little cafe for dinner. What a find-- the food was fresh, locally sourced (although I suppose they all are out of necessity), and delicious.

Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LZiLyGncH71P8V8w5

A Maori experience, February 25, 2026

This morning we left early to drive north to Christchurch to drop our car off, and catch a flight back to the north island. It was on a prop plane, and that turned out to be a blessing, because we enjoyed birds-eye views in clear skies of the whole trip. When we landed in Rotorua, we picked up our new rental, a RAV 4, and headed to check in at our accommodations a "boutique" lodge on the northwest side of Lake Rotorua. We are in 1 of 12 rooms here. 

After settling in with a glass of wine in the lounge, we set off for our evening activity, a visit to Te Pa Tu, a place that offers an opportunity to learn and experience the Maori culture and traditions. We arrived at the "Gathering Place" where there were many other people waiting for thekirl transportation to TePa Tu. We boarded a bus for the village, on en route, we're greeted by our Maori guide. He asked for a volunteer for an "important " job. After a bit of prodding from someone, Ray was the only person to respond, and was told that he was to be the "chief" of our tribe (people on the white bus). The chief, we were told, has the duty to accept the peace offering of the chief of the village. To do that, he has to accept the peace offering from the chief, and the touch nose to nose twice and shake hands.

Arriving at the village, that's exactly what happened.  The greeting ceremony featured Maori men and women, and the tribe chief. I caught it on video, and loved it all. We were then ushered through

Father (chief)

their beautiful forest to a group of huts in a circle, where we were offered small bites of traditional Maori foods, and were shown and participated in various Maori traditions and games, one by one. I joined in one, and Ray another. The Maori guides explained all as we traveled around the circle to each hut. It was fun, and instructive. All the people that guided and taught us tonight were relatives, brothers, cousins, father, sisters.

We were then shown how some of our meal tonight had been cooked: in a pit covered with banana leaves. Then, we were led to a community hall, where the Maori performed traditional songs and stories for us. That was really great. 

Then came dinner. We were assigned places at a table with a young couple from Indiana,  and another from Idaho with whom we enjoyed travel conversation during dinner. Dinner was served family style and the menu was varied and delicious. 

After dinner, we all said "Kia ora" (sounds like key ora) , a common New Zealand greeting meaning "hello," "hi," "good morning," or "cheers". It literally translates to "be healthy" or "have life," and is used to welcome people, express gratitude, or say goodbye and is widely used, and a culturally significant phrase in New Zealand. We came away with a better appreciation of the Maori culture.

We took the bus back to our starting point, and cautiously drove in pitch black darkness, to our hotel.

Photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/Miz3UxhCMPC2mhfZ8

FINALLY clear skies to luxury, February 24, 2026

With the breakfast items we purchased at the Lake Tekapo grocery store yesterday, we had a leisurely breakfast looking out over the lake and mountains. The weather gods mocked us by providing a crystal clear sky over Lake Tekapo. That would have been welcome 10 hours earlier. We headed out and as we approached the mountains,  it became overcast, and the temperature dropped. We passed farms and sheep and cows and deer farms, across green, rolling hills that were

Hedgerow

partitioned with hedgerows. Some of those hedgerows were hundreds of yards long, and thick. Some were neatly shorn, others just a natural thick green wall. It was fascinating to see the variety. They are used to separate fields for crops and livestock, cut the wind, and reduce soil erosion. We did note that some trees were changing color! Fall is coming!

We stopped at a town called Geraldine, larger than most in this area, about 86 miles south of Christchurch. We browsed a few shops, and  stopped at the Hewlings Totara tree, planted in the 1860s to commemorate the birth of the first non-native New Zealander born there. 

Our hotel for the night is in a remote area that is a posh golf resort. We are in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a lovely view of the golf course and the mountains in the distance. Because we decided to do this trip so late (the summer season here was already under way), lots of choices were completely booked.  As a matter of fact, we see a prepondrance of no vacancy signs. So, we got what our tour operator could wrangle for us. It's worked out well, anyway, as we've had superlative accommodations. 

We had a fantastic dinner in the dining room while our we washed our laundry in the washer and dryer in the unit. When we leave NZ on Saturday,  we'll have mostly clean clothes in our bags.

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rj47uiMijXUyv3nZA