6 Days on the Road and I'm Gonna Make It Home Tonight

Snow fell in Atlanta last night as the sign scrolled a welcome to Lulu as she honored this school library


I am sitting in an IHOP Restaurant in Decatur Georgia - where else can you get a t-bone steak - 3 eggs - 3 pancakes - and 2 hours of wifi for $13.

We have been cruising in the Prius for 6 days - 6 different hotels - 3 school visits - a day in the Biltmore Estate in the middle of February and no delays for bad weather. I never realized that Knoxville and Atlanta were only 3 hours apart - and the Prius showed its true colors delivering 51 mpg on that leg.

As I type - Lulu is visiting the Coralwood School in Decatur GA - I am about 1 mile away prepared to extract her at about 12:30. Between now and then - I will update the web page.

This trip started last Friday - leaving Tallahassee early and taking several two lane roads to Augusta GA to visit Jack and Charlotte - the great grandparents of our little ones - Jack and Kate. We had a tour of the town and did an video chat so they could see their second newest family member. While we were away Rebecca and Joe has a little girl - they named Charlotte after this Charlotte.

Saturday we drove to Durham to see Duke play and then Sunday we watched FSU lose at the North Carolina Dean Dome.

Monday was a visit to a school library in Walkertown NC.

Tuesday was a visit to George Washington Vanderbilt's home near Asheville NC called the Biltmore.

Wednesday while Lulu visited a school in Knoxville - I toured the town featuring the University of Tennessee - the World's Fair site - and the East Tennessee History Museum.

Last night we checked into a fantastic Marriott here at 6 pm and did not leave the room until 8 am today. We were glued to the TV to see Georgetown beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome - then watch Duke fall 16 points behind Carolina only to charge back and win by 6 points in Cameron. Lulu snored through the great comeback and as the horn sounded ending the game - Nancy's snoring signaled the beginning of a long night's sleep.

We woke up to a dusting of snow - but as soon is this school visit is done - we will point the Prius south on I-75 - turn on the auto pilot and be home in 5 hours.

The Toyota Prius we bought is a really nice long legged traveler. We set the cruise at 70 MPH - turn on the audiobook Lulu bought me for my birthday (Keith Richard's - Life) - and point the garnet colored car down the road. It holds 12 gallons - and with yesterday's 51 MPG - would get 600 miles on a tank full of gasoline. The fuel warning light comes on with 4 gallons left- I plan to hack into the computer and have it come on with only 2 gallons left. Still - if we were making our old trip form Tamaqua to Disneyworld - we would only have to stop for gasoline once.

We will be home for two weeks until the next road trip - Texas - Mississippi - and 2 nights in New Orleans at the Mardi Gras.

16 schools down and 20 more to go - so far weather - health - or anything else has altered the tour. You can follow along at - outstandingschoollibraries.org I am truly amazed at the performance of Lulu - and the Prius too.

Quiet Night in Our Marriott at Knoxville

We are as far north as we go on this trip. We are in a pretty hotel that reminds me of the Contemporary Hotel in Disneyworld. It overlooks the Tennessee River.

I toured around downtown a bit as the sun was setting.

The campus of UT is about one mile west of us. Someone unlocked a door so I could go in Neyland Stadium. It is very big and quite vertical. It holds 110,000 people and it is a completely closed bowl.

Lulu says her school visit here will be all day tomorrow. After the visit the local media will interview her for broadcast.

They expect an inch of snow tomorrow - but I hope to get out of here before it gets messy.

We drive to Atlanta tomorrow for a school - then home after that visit Thursday.

We spent a few hours at the Biltmore today. I will do a full story on it tomorrow. We had the place to ourselves - it was kind of spooky. It is normally $60 a person but Lulu scored two tickets on craigslist for $20 each. The lady saved them for her for 5 days - very nice of her.

The garden and hot houses were really neat. I bet that the place is fantastic in full bloom. The views were breathtaking - even though we fought a brisk wind and 30 degrees.

I think Lulu has knocked off 21 visits so far. Not one was cancelled for weather or travel yet. They all were on time.

Our next tour is in two weeks. Our Prius will be hitting Texas and Mississippi with a two night stop in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Lulu got the Omni Hotel a block from Bourbon Street.

Things You See at Walmart

Seminoles Fall in the Carolina Dean Dome - 89-69

Start of the game from our seats

Last Sunday Drew - Keith - Liz and I were in Madison Square Garden watching Drew's Duke Blue Devils lose. This Sunday - Lulu and I watched the Seminoles take it on the chin - courtesy of the Tar Heels. It was an interesting way to spend a birthday.

The Dean Dome holds 22,000 people - I was surprised at how many showed up on a Super Bowl Sunday. I would say about only 2% of the baby blue seats were empty. Coming from Tallahassee - I did not expect tickets to be in such a premium - both here and last night at Duke. Although there were a lot of tickets for sale - most of them were in the upper level - I would say that 70% of the seats are in the nose bleed section. Face value of tickets in the Dean Smith Center is $55. But if you want to buy a season ticket in the lower level - you must first pay a $2500 seats license before you can buy any of the "$55 tickets."

About 45 minutes before game time we were lucky when someone offered us two tickets along the base line. The guy was well dressed - definitely not a scalper. We paid $50 each - which was $5 below face value. Lulu wanted to go right into the arena - but a scalper offered us $100 each for our tickets. After much deliberation and discussion - we decided to sell the tickets and try for another set. A scalper approached me - and I sold him the tickets for a tidy profit. As soon as I took the money - he grabbed my wrist and said I was under arrest. He only held my hand for less than a second - then smiled and said he was kidding. After I changed my underwear - we joked a little - and he went out to sell those tickets again - at a higher price. He said he would double his money.

Lulu put up two fingers - and two nice guys offered her two tickets for face - $55 each - lower level in the Ram section. That is where we found out about the seat license fee. I am really impressed with the Tar Heels drawing power to get away with that $2500 robbery. We sat with those guys - enjoyed a friendly conversation. Lulu proceeded to offer her card to one of the guys' wives because she was interested in the FSU online library science masters program. She is "always" hyping her program.

FSU lost by 20 - but were as close as 6 points with 10 minutes to go - then the bottom fell out.

We had our eyes opened to a few ticket scams that just blew our minds away. Lulu watched the scene when one guy bought two tickets from a UNC booster for a good price. When the guy attempted to enter the arena - the ticket collectors wand alarm went off. The ticket collector said the owner of the tickets had gone on the computer on "stub hub" and sold those tickets. The new buyer went into the game on a paper printout of the sale. Although the tickets were "real" not "counterfeit" tickets they were still worthless. The guy left - head hung over - and while walking down the hill - a couple of scalpers bought the tickets for $100 each. The tickets were real - but worthless because of this new way that "stubhub" could re-sell the tickets.

Not only do ticket buyers have to worry about avoiding counterfeit tickets - they have no way of knowing if someone re-sold the tickets on StubHub. As that scene went down - I was thinking of the night before. Scalpers were selling Duke tickets for $200 each. Imagine buying $400 worth of real tickets only to find them worthless.

It is a long way from Tallahassee - where the face value of our basketball tickets is $18. The Civic Center at home is seldom more than half full - and one can buy a couple of tickets for $5 each - them move down into the good seats that are empty because many season ticket holders stay home.

Can you just imagine the feeling when the alarm goes off at the turnstile saying your tickets are worthless - and you just paid $100 for them?

We ended up in really nice seats - although we were surrounded by baby blue clothes. People were nice as long as we didn't cheer a lot - and also the Tar Heels were ahead. I can see how Carolina fans are called the Wine and Cheese Crowd - really the Whine and Cheese Crowd. They are always whining about the referee calls. I guess after paying $2500 for a seat license on top of $55 tickets - they feel like they are owed every call.

After the game - we walked back to our car in town - and headed for Greensboro. Tomorrow Lulu visits a school library here - then on to Asheville NC - then Knoxville TN - Decatur GA - and finally home Thursday night to our own bed.

End of the game and scoreboard

At Dean Dome an Hour Early - Lots of Tickets For Sale

It is sunny and about 50 degrees - we parked the car about a mile away by the Carolina Inn on the street.

Maybe because it is super Sunday - maybe because the Tar Heel point guard just quit - maybe because they are just playing the Seminoles - maybe because this place holds 22,000 - but there are lots of tickets for sale.

We are turned down a lot of tickets for face value - mostly uppers.

We will probably pay $40 or less for good lower tickets.

A clear Carolina blue sky - not a good sign for the Noles.

The Seminole team spent the night just down the hall from us. We got to talk to Coach Hamilton - nice guy. Did not ask him for tickets.

Lulu and the Coal Stove

That is Lulu on the left - with her cousin Georgeann in the middle. The real star of the picture is the coal stove in the background - note the stove pipe chimney. This was at least two years before we got married.

Back in the Hotel Room After Being Skunked at Duke

Lulu did not want to give up - anybody have two extra tickets in front of Cameron. A few fellows offered her single tickets - but nothing for her father

Dan and Ann - with Lulu and Me - at the tent city next to Cameron

The Noveys and The Everharts. Harry - Lulu - Bridgit - Dan - Ann - Courtney - Jack - and Courtney's Daughters. Transplanted Coal Crackers.

Harry and Lulu visiting Jack and Charlotte Robinson in Augusta. Jack Everhart was named after this Jack and Lulu's Dad - Jack. This Jack holds a gold medal from the 1948 London Olympics in basketball. What wonderful hosts they are.

Today we met the Novey's in Durham for an early supper and to go to the Duke basketball at Cameron. It was so mice to see their family. We raised our kids together - when we moved from Pennsylvania to Florida - the Novey's went to North Carolina.

We met at the Mellow Mushroom - a pizza restaurant across the street from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Then around 5 PM - the Novey's followed us to Cameron Indoor Stadium to the game. The Novey's had tickets - given to them by their kids. Lulu and I were going to do our usual "two fingers" routine.

This time it was not meant to be. The game was sold out. The tickets are expensive there - $65 versus the $18 cost of a game at Florida State. Lulu and I stood outside for 90 minutes. Scalpers were offering us tickets for $200 each - but I doubt if you could sell me a Super Bowl ticket for $200. When the smoke cleared - there were several people outside still holding up fingers. We walked back to the car.

The ultimate insult was that usually I do not pay to park. They got $10 out of me for parking.

Lulu and I are back in the hotel room. She is watching the game huddled up in the comforter after surviving the 90 minutes in 40 degree weather - I am trying to finish this story before the back game is over. With 6 minutes left in the game - Duke is beating NC State by 30. The Novey's got to see their first game at Duke's Cameron - and I still have my cash in my pocket.

Cameron holds only 9000 people. Tomorrow - FSU plays UNC in the 22000 seats Dean Dome. Hopefully we will get tickets for a good price.

Greetings From Dreary North Carolina

Lulu and I are on the road again. Lulu is visiting school libraries in North Carolina - Tennessee - Georgia. Today - we will see Duke play in Durham if we can get tickets. Tomorrow - FSU Seminoles plays the Tar Heels - our team at staying at our Sheraton in Chapel Hill. We drove to Augusta yesterday and stayed with our friends - Jack and Charlotte - there. Then today we drove to Chapel Hill - a total of 600 miles from home. The Prius performed well - got 47 mpg today. Go Devils & Noles!

We are going to meet the Noveys for supper today. They are our old friends from Tamaqua. They moved to North Carolina - Dan is a superintendent of schools here.

Now we have to go out and find tickets for the game today and the game tomorrow. Wish us luck and watch on TV.

Free iPads at La Guardia Airport - Free Use

Free iPads at LaGuardia Airport

Order Food from iPad and It Magically Appears

On Sunday I flew out of La Guardia Airport in NYC. When in an airport - some of the best features are getting free internet and a place to plug in your phone and laptop. La Guardia takes it one step further. Right in the waiting area at the gate where you get on the airplane - they have placed these little booths that act very much like an internet cafe.

At each booth there is an iPad mounted for your use. On the first screen - there is a food and drink menu. You order stuff to eat from a menu that is clearly marked with prices. Then someone wisks the food to you - it reminds me a bit of the old drive-in shops where girls used to deliver your food on roller shakes - minus the skates.

The best part is that the iPad can be used to surf the net! I was there about one half hour and I surfed away - with no charge. I did try to access some pages for web mail - that did not work - but I was able to access newspapers and other news sites.

There are also outlets to charge your phone and laptop - conventional plug outlets and USB plug outlets. At this airport you no longer have to search for that one outlet to charge your computer - the one everybody is crowded around.

When I got to Atlanta there was another surprise. On Thursday when we were there - there were no place to charge your laptop. But then on Sunday - on my return trip - there were these neat little charging stations. They are not iPads - but they are a big improvement. I wonder if you could plug in your new Chevy Volt there :-)

New Charging Stations in Atlanta Airport

Here is Where We Stayed in Providence

Providence - Our Hotel on Left - Capitol on Right

Last weekend we got to see our granddaughter Kate for the first time. She lives in Providence RI - with her brother Jack and Mom and Dad. They live right downtown.

We like to stay in the Renaissance Hotel because they offer deeply discounted rooms on Priceline.com for the weekends. It is also a fantastic hotel in the center of things - an easy walk to Drew's condo.

The hotel started out its life as a Masonic Temple in the 30's. It fell into disrepair for many years. Then about 5 years ago - someone dumped a lot of money into it - and now it is a fine 4 star hotel. As you can see by the picture - it is very close to the State Capitol.

Right across the plaza from the hotel is the train station. This is where we caught the Amtrak trains to New York City and Boston. You could go all the way from there to Miami without getting into an auto or plane.

Game Over - Duke Gets TKOed in Madison Square Garden

11PM. I am halfway home in Atlanta. Looks like I will arrive at midnight in Tallahassee. ACC stunk up the weekend. Both FSU and Duke lost on the road.

Our good friend Paul emailed to say we could use his tickets Feb 1st when Wake is in town.

Harry's iPhone

Harry - Got home at midnight. Had hot chocolate with the boys at 4 after the game at the Garden. At 5 caught a cab to La Guardia Airport. Was at the plane gate at 5:30 - took off for Atlanta at 7 - landed in Atlanta around 9. Left Atlanta at 11 - arrived in Tallahassee by 11:45. Lulu was there with the car - I was in my bed by midnight.

Halftime at The Garden - SJU 46 - 25

The score says it all. Duke is down 21 at the half. The Garden is packed - pretty evenly divided red and blue.

Tickets were tough - lots of scampers and cops. Someone gave me a free ticket. Then drew bought one for $12 and sold it for $70. Finally we found 3 good ones together for $50 each - face value $65. I am behind them with my free ticket.

Here is Drew - Robin - Keith and the garden behind them.

On Train To The Garden

Lulu is on the plane heading home from Providence. Drew and I are on the train to NYC - meeting up with Liz and Keith. The train arrived on time at the downtown Providence Station. We pulled out at 7:20 and arrive at Penn Station at 10:50 under Madison Square Garden.

We do not have tickets for the 1pm game between Duke and St Johns. Keith - Drew - and I all took courses at SJU in the 90s when Lulu was a professor there - but today we will all be Dukies because Liz and Drew graduated there.

The trip was a birthday gift from Robin to Drew yesterday for his birthday. It was quite a surprise. Robin is a real trooper - home alone with two and two - one two weeks old and one two years old.

After the game - Drew - Keith - Liz will take the late train home. Lulu got me a last minute flight out of LaGuardia for 25000 Frequent flyer miles. I'll be home around midnight - as a bonus Delta bumped me to first class.

Harry's iPhone

FSU Women end Miami's 17 Game Winning Streak - 66-59

Chasidy Clayton and Cierra Brevard - All Ball

Last night Lulu had to teacher a class from 6 to 8. So unfortunately she had to miss one of the best basketball games of the year - live.

FSU girls (16-4) beat guest rivals Miami (18-2) at the Civic Center. No matter what sport - whenever the Hurricanes come to town - things heat up.

The Noles used a stifling defense to hold the two top scorers in the ACC below their season average. 59 points was the lowest Miami scored all season. FSU had a balanced scoring attack that had 5 players scoring 9 or better. But it was the defense that sealed the Hurricanes fate by cutting their shooting percentage to 30% from the floor.

Courtney Ward leads team in cheer

One of the best bargains in college sports is the 55 and older season pass. For $30 - you get 15 tickets to see the women play. Since you are allowed to sit in any seat - we were able to sit along the rail beside the court. Just like a prize fight - you are close enough to see the sweat fly.

College women athletes are special. They are students first - and play for the love of the game. They realize they aren't going to make a fortune as a pro - so many of them are outstanding performers in the classroom too.

Last night - I attended with three neighborhood friends - Manny Shargel - Wayne Wiegand - and Shirley Wiegand. We enjoyed being "rail rats" at the gym.

The last few seconds

The Leaf - America's First REAL Electric Car

From today's New York Times -

THE Nissan Leaf, a mildly futuristic four-door hatchback, arrives as so much a pioneer that the systems necessary to keep it moving down the road are still being put in place. The process is a bit like the progression of the first transcontinental railroad: tracks are being laid as a locomotive sits steaming impatiently behind.

Here comes the people’s electric car, America, ready or not.

Fast-charging stations, a necessity for longer treks, are few and far between now, but a network of them are planned to begin operating within the next year or so. Leaf buyers who buy the optional $700 Quick Charge Port will be able to use a direct-current fast-charger to replenish their batteries to 80 percent of capacity within 30 minutes and continue on their way.

The next quickest solution, Nissan’s 220-volt home charging units, cost $2,200 installed and can give a full charge in eight hours, the company says. The majority of public charging stations planned will also use this so-called Level II charging protocol.

With the battery topped off, the Leaf — a midsize car as defined by the E.P.A. — has a range of 100 miles, Nissan says. In my testing, I never dared to drive the car that far, mostly because its dashboard range meter said it would not be possible.

After charging overnight in my garage on a conventional 110-volt household circuit, the Leaf’s meter never showed more than 88 miles of possible range; once, it promised as little as 66 miles. Nissan specifies a 21-hour recharge time using house current.

At a starting price of $33,630, the Leaf is by far the least expensive battery-electric car produced in significant numbers; with a 24 kilowatt-hour battery, it qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit as well as incentives offered by various states. The Leaf will be sold initially in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington; by the end of 2011 it will be offered in all states.

Have Your Wedding at This Parking Garage in Miami Beach

A Miami Beach Event Space. Parking Space, Too.

By MICHAEL BARBARO

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — For her wedding over the weekend, Nina Johnson had worked through a predictable checklist of locations in town: hotel ballrooms, restaurant halls and catering outfits.

In the end, though, she opted for the most glamorous, upscale and stylish setting she could find — a parking garage.

“When we saw it, we were in total awe,” said Ms. Johnson, 26, an art gallery director. “It’s breathtaking.”

Parking garages, the grim afterthought of American design, call to mind many words. (Rats. Beer cans. Unidentifiable smells.) Breathtaking is not usually among them.

Yet here in Miami Beach, whose aesthetic is equal parts bulging biceps and fluorescent pink, bridal couples, bar mitzvah boys and charity-event hosts are flocking to what seems like the unimaginable marriage of high-end architecture and car storage: a $65 million parking garage in the center of the city.

They are clamoring to use it for wine tastings, dinner parties and even yoga classes. Or taking self-guided tours, snapping photographs and, at times, just gawking.

Created by a colorful Miami developer and a world-renowned architecture firm, it appears to be an entirely new form: a piece of carchitecture that resembles a gigantic loft apartment, with exaggerated ceiling heights, wide-open 360-degree views and no exterior walls. The structure, 1111 Lincoln Road, is so distinctive that Ms. Johnson put its image on her 230 wedding invitations.

It is, in many ways, an ode to Miami’s flashy automobile culture. Rather than seeking to hide cars, as garages have done for decades, it openly celebrates them.

While car enthusiasts rejoiced, eager to showcase their Aston Martins and Rolls-Royces, something unexpected happened. Ordinary people, many from far beyond Miami, came too — with no intention of parking there.

“I went to the top and worked my way down,” said Peter Lampen, an architect who traveled 1,200 miles from New Jersey to see the seven-story garage.

Ben Traves, a graduate student, has taken so many photographs of the building that security guards have shooed him out. “I am just really drawn to it,” he confessed the other day as he toted his camera around the structure.

The garage has an unlikely back story. Its developer, a contemporary art collector named Robert Wennett, bought the property in 2005, inheriting a drab-looking bank office and an unremarkable parking lot at the corner of two well-known boulevards, Lincoln and Alton Roads.

Noles Hammer Boston College 67-51

This picture was produced by - 

Mike Olivella 

I am a photographer for Florida State University Athletics, Unconquered Magazine, Seminole Boosters and a stringer for AP while also shooting events for various clients as time permits. Law pays the bills, photography keeps me sane. While a good deal of my photography involves sports and outdoor images, I also own and operate BaselineShots Photography Studio for glamour, fashion and product shoots.

You can contact Mike Olivella here - mike@adrprocess.com

We just got back from the game with FSU in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Both FSU and BC entered the game with identical 4-1 records in the conference. It was a tough ticket.

We left our house at 6:30 for the 7:00 game. We drove the Prius and were lucky to find a free parking spot in the FSU faculty parking lot. While Lulu parked the car - I went to my usual "begging" spot and held up two fingers. The game was supposedly sold out - and lots of newbies came up to me to ask if I was selling tickets. Two fingers means you want two - but many people showed up for the night's event without tickets.

One scalper offered me two tickets for $200. It was 6:50 by now - and I said that in 5 minutes I would be going home and watching the game on TV. All of a sudden a couple came up to us and asked us to follow them to the "will call" window. They had 4 tickets waiting for them and their friends could not make it. When they got their envelope they handed us the two tickets - free.

When we got to our section - it was dark and they were already introducing the players so we had to wait. Our tickets were in Section V1 - lower level - if that half court line was 12 & 6 o'clock - we were sitting at 7:30. For the lace being sold out - there were quite a few empty seats - good seats. I am guessing maybe 11,000 were there.

The Noles led the whole game - but only by 2 at half time. 75 legend players were introduced for the half time show including Dave Cowens and Kirk Luckman. Lulu spent half time gabbing with Jeannie - one of her former students from Tampa - that drives up for the games with her husband.

In the second half - it was all Noles - the final score 67-51 was the largest margin of the night.

The Noles are now 5-1 in the ACC for only the second time in their 18 years as a member. Duke is also 5-1 - but their loss was here in Tallahassee.

We left at the buzzer and traffic was moving nicely. We were home in 10 minutes. Free parking - free tickets - and Lulu brought along free snacks. Throw in a route - and it was a fun evening. Now we will watch the game on our DVR and see what really happened.