Cow road trips to Baltimore, Hon

When we left Towson in 2018 we had no idea how long we would be gone or where we would come back to. We put many things in storage. As it turns out, we were gone over three years and we landed in Austin – which is not close to Towson, or Baltimore, at all. This summer the timing was right to deal with at least some of these items; back to Baltimore we went; another road trip.

These pictures show you some of the adventures Cow had while we were on this trip.

Cow is ready to go. He is waiting inside the snack bag we keep in the car – this way he is sure he will not be left at home. Plus, the bag has a cow on it.

First stop: Little Rock, Arkansas. We have been here before, so this was just an overnight stay. Cow learned that the summer theme for North Little Rock is it’s old name of Dogtown. Sculptures and art cover the streets.

Cow found more alien friends when we stopped for a cave tour at Crystal Onyx, Kentucky.

You can’t touch the walls or ceilings in the caves, but you are allowed to touch some broken stalactites and stalagmites that are edging the walkway.

One night in Baltimore Cow went with us to Union Brewing. Here he hides in the beer koozies.

Next door to Union Brewing, on part of the campus they have created out of the old Pepsi bottling plant, is the Wine Collective. We all liked this; the interior is new and shiny and the wine is good – even if it is from Maryland.

Cow did not help at all with cleaning out the storage unit but he did like meeting The Cow in Reisterstown and our old friend Leslie. We liked the root beer floats.

After the working part of the trip was over, and we had met up with as many old friends as possible in our short time, we were on our way back to Austin. We were not in a hurry. We spent four days in Brevard, NC (just south of Ashville) Cow takes in the view from the cabin’s back deck.

Transylvania county is home to over 250 waterfalls. Our goal was to see/hike to seven of them. Cow loves a good hike.

Linda takes Cow to his first waterfall in Brevard – Hooker Falls. (Hooker ran a gristmill in the late 1800’s)

Andy warns Cow to not fall in the rushing water.

One waterfall, two waterfalls …

Can you find Cow? He is hiding in a hibiscus tree in downtown Brevard.

While Linda and Andy shop for lights at a Brevard store that truly has everything, Cow admires the bear family.

Brevard is home to Oskar Blues Brewing – Monday night is Jam session night.
Real fiddle, guitar, banjo and bass music in North Carolina. (Funny side note: the leader asked if Cow was a recording device – no, but my phone is. 🙂

Cow is not in this picture. Andy took this picture on the campus of Brevard College; known for it’s teacher programs and being home to one of the few colonies in the US of White Squirrels.

After Brevard, we were off to Huntsville, Alabama; home to the Space Center. Cow poses with a prototype of the Lunar Landing module from 1969.

Astronaut Andy is ready to take Cow to the Moon.

From Huntsville, we were off to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Cow chose Mexican food for our first dinner.

Hot Springs is one of America’s first spa towns. It still has it’s old bath houses, although only two of them are still functioning as spas, and it has hiking trails through the forests which surround the area.

It has a Mountain Tower with an elevator to the top – the view is for miles in all directions.

Another meal was taken at Granny’s Cafe. Granny has more toys than most kids and was happy to let Cow pose among her various collections.

We left Hot Springs, and headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma and the beautiful Tulsa Club hotel.

We particularly wanted to see the Woody Guthrie Museum in Tulsa. Very interesting and inspiring.

The Guthrie museum also had a special exhibit on Bruce Springsteen. Of course, Cow loves The Boss.

Right down the street, and funded by the same foundation as The Guthrie, is the Bob Dylan Museum. Dylan and Guthrie did meet when Dylan was just beginning his career.

Tulsa is also home to The Gathering Place. The word ‘park’ is not adequate; there are trees, flowers, paths, and water. But, also small museums, eateries and venues.

Next stop: Oklahoma City. They too have a nice city park, but it is not comparable to Tulsa’s.

Oklahoma City has the triple A Dodgers minor league team. Cow got to go to a baseball game again – Twice actually; a fun place with reasonable ticket and souvenir prices – and Friday night was Fireworks night!

Cow learned that pictures of cows can be artwork. Here he is at OKC Museum of Art.

The OKC Museum of Art introduced Cow to Chihuly Glass artwork. They have a large, permanent, exhibit at the museum because Chihuly’s wife is from Oklahoma City. This is the Persian ceiling installation

Cow says goodbye to the OKC city park. It is time to head back to Austin.

The Baltimore Road trip comes to an end with a final overnight in Dallas. The four of us went to Alamo Draft House Cinema for lunch and to see the new Thor movie. Cow had to stay in the car.

But, Cow’s adventures will continue. Cow says Austin is too hot – he wants to go to Canada where the weather is cooler – so, off to Canada we go!

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