Dave and Janice’s Trip Across America 2007

Westward Ho!

May 16 – June 15, 2007
After 20 great years in Raleigh, North Carolina, I retired as President and CEO of the Greater Raleigh
Convention and Visitors Bureau on April 30, 2007. Janice and I left some wonderful friends, business
associates and memories in Raleigh to move to Yakima, Washington where we both grew up to join our
daughter (Kathleen), her husband (Mike) and our granddaughter (Delaney).
Since two of Janice’s brothers and two of her sisters live in the Yakima Valley and my mother and two of
my sisters live in the Pacific Northwest, we decided that since we had been gone for over 20 years that it
was time to be near our relatives in our retirement. Also, it brings us a little closer to our son (Ben) and
his wife (Chrissi) and two children (Dean and Emma) who live in Sydney, Australia.
After closing on the sale of our home in Raleigh on May 16, 2007, we started on our big adventure
across America. The daily sequence of events follows:
May 16 & 17:
Charlottesville, VA where we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home and
plantation. Beautiful home, slave quarters and surrounding countryside. Also learned that
Thomas Jefferson was quite the inventor which showed up throughout his home. Quite a
creative man and, of course, a key individual in the creation of the Declaration of Independence
and the development of the foundation of our country.
May 17 - 20:
Dublin, OH where we visited and stayed with a University of Washington Sigma
Phi Epsilon Fraternity friend of mine...Jeff and Pat Pahre. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus, OH.
Enjoyed our stay with them which always includes fine wine and food. They also took us to the
United States Air Force Museum which is one of the largest museums in the world with hundreds
of planes of all sizes from the small replica of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first plane to the huge
B-52 bomber...one could spend days viewing all the exhibits.
May 20 - 21:
On our way to Springfield, IL, we stopped in Terra Haute, IN (the home of Indiana
State University and Larry Bird) where my grandparents (Otto and Emma Heinl) worked
in/owned Heinl’s Florist which still bears their name...in operation for 143 years. After taking a
couple of pictures, we headed to Springfield, IL the home of Abraham Lincoln up to the time he
became President of the United States. We went through his home, law office, major gravesite
mausoleum where he, his wife and children were buried and information center and gained a
little more insight on him, his family and why he was such a successful President.
May 21 – 22:
Headed to St. Louis and “The Arch” through Memphis, TN where we didn’t stop
to see Elvis’ Graceland Mansion. We had been by there before.
May 22 – 23:
From St. Louis we headed to Jackson, MS where Janice wanted to see a part of the
old South. It has a magnificent state capital complex, and we had dinner at a unique upscale
restaurant in an older brick building. Other than that, I don’t think I would want to live there. I
did call a guy who worked with me when I worked for IBM during the World’s Fair (Hemisfair)
in San Antonio, Texas in 1968. We hadn’t seen each other for 39 years and didn’t get to see each
​other while we were in Jackson, since he was in Las Vegas at a meeting. But it was good to talk
to his wife to see that he was still doing well.
May 23:
We headed toward Tyler, Texas where we were to stay that night, and took a side trip to
Vicksburg, MS where we visited the site of a major battle during the Civil War. It was quite a
huge park which you drive through to see statues and monuments from all of the states (North
and South) that battled during the Civil War. We also saw a film on the battle and the hardships
both sides went through.
May 24:
From Tyler, TX we headed to Fort Worth, TX through Dallas. On the way we saw
some of the Texas longhorn cattle...man, they must have strong necks to hold up that rack of
horns. We stopped for lunch in the Stockyard district in Fort Worth which is a major attraction in
this town where they used to herd cattle through the streets for sale at the stockyards. Instead of
going south to Austin and San Antonio as originally planned, we decided to head north so we
could spend more time with my two brothers (Denver and Sacramento) during our planned 31
day trip.
We headed out of Texas and ran into one of the most fierce rain, thunder and lightning storms
you’d ever want to see. They were predicting quarter-sized hail stones, but we only got rain with
which our high-speed windshield wipers could hardly keep up. One could hardly see, and they
were suggesting people take cover. We made it through and this was the only weather problem
we had on the whole trip. The weather was perfect with this one exception. Going through
Oklahoma and the central United States was filled with thousands of acres of rich farm land.
The scenery throughout our trip was magnificent from flat lands to rolling hills to mountains to
the sea. America certainly is beautiful!
We went through Oklahoma City and into Kansas where we spent the night in Wichita.
May 25:
We left Wichita and headed west to Dodge City, Colorado where we visited the
museum and the old western attraction where supposedly Wyatt Earp was Marshal. Then we
“got out of Dodge” and headed to Pueblo, CO where we stayed that night.
May 26 - 30:
We drove to Denver to see my brother Doug and his wife Judy and stayed with
them for four nights...Doug beat me in golf on two separate days! It was a good, relaxing four
days which we needed being on the road so long. We had a chance to see my nephews Todd
and Ryan and nieces Jennifer, Kristin and Heidi during our Denver (actually Littleton) visit.
May 30:
We drove over the Rockies through the southern part of Utah (which surprisingly was
really waste land, not like the Salt Lake City area) into Arizona where we went through the
Monument City area where many westerns were filmed showing the beautiful natural rock
sculptures. This was very scenic to say the least. We stayed in this area that night.
May 31:
On to the Grand Canyon which Janice had not seen and was looking forward to
seeing. We viewed that magnificent natural phenomena from many different angles and
viewpoints. I got photos of the two natural beauties...Janice and the Grand Canyon...for
posterity. We then headed to Flagstaff, AZ for the night.

June 1 & 2:
We drove to Las Vegas where we spent two nights. Although I had been there
several times, this was Janice’s first. We had called ahead for tickets to see the show “O” at
the Bellagio Hotel. Of course, the Bellagio Hotel is a show in itself with its dancing waters to
music, restaurants, casino and shops. We had dinner and enjoyed the one-of-a-kind show. We
also gambled for a short while playing black jack and actually ended up winning $22.50...
thought I’d stop while I was ahead, but nothing to write home about. I don’t think Janice was
that impressed overall with this oasis in the desert.

June 3 & 4:
Headed back through the cactus to Arizona where we visited my nephew Brian
and his wife Nancy in Phoenix. We had a great meal, visit and night with them at their home.
Although it was about 105 degrees Fahrenheit...”it was dry heat”.

June 4:
Turned our car west and headed to California where we spent the night in Thousand
Oaks, CA...getting to go through the traffic in LA along the way. Now, we were in more
familiar surroundings on the west coast, so didn’t stop in LA.

June 5 - 7:
Went to Monterrey, CA where our friend Bob DeVoe and his wife Teresa live. He
is a part owner and general manager of the Portola Plaza Hotel there, so we had great
accommodations during our visit along with a relaxing time with good friends. I didn’t get to
play golf at Pebble Beach Golf Resort, but this was Bob’s son, Chad’s, home course when he
played golf for his high school team...can you image that?

June 7 – 9:
Drove to Sacramento, CA to visit my brother Richard and his wife Diane. We
spent two nights with them where I had better luck playing golf with this brother. We also had
a great time enjoying meals, conversation, walks and card games before we headed north.

June 9 – 13:
Headed for Klamath Falls, Oregon where we stayed with Janice’s best friend
from high school Denny Rhode and her husband Monte. We enjoyed their company and
hospitality in the southern part of Oregon and were again able to relax from a long trip across
America.

June 13 – 15:
Reached Portland, Oregon after visiting Crater Lake, OR on the way from
Klamath Falls. My 90-year old mother lives in Portland in her own apartment in a retirement
community. She is in great health and still makes her own meals including one for us. My
sister Dorothy and her husband Paul also live in Portland, but were on a trip and out of town
when we were there. We stayed at my Mom’s apartment and had a great visit with her. She
challenged us to a card game of Hand and Foot that she plays with her friends each Monday
night. She is quite the competitor! It was feeling like we were almost home.

June 15:
Headed for Yakima, Washington just about 3 hours from Portland, OR with a stop in
Goldendale, WA along the way to see Janice’s sister, Doris. Finally, reached Yakima, WA
where we stayed with our daughter Kathleen, her husband Mike and daughter Delaney for a
couple of nights while preparing our house for habitation. We had finally reached our
destination!​

Summary of our trip:
This synopsis of our trip across America was just that...a synopsis. We saw so much more of America
and actually think we passed as many trucks shipping goods over our land as we passed cars. We saw
wide open country where you could see for miles of farm land...of some waste land...of mountains...of
bustling cities...of rolling hills...of desert...of water...of orchards...of wheat...of corn...of recreational
areas...of blue sky...of historical areas...of unique beauty...of cultural attractions...of nature. We heard
all types of music...of dialects...of stories (or yarns)...of natural sounds of waterfalls and birds singing.
It was simply a tremendous experience and journey.

Janice and I put 6,655 miles on our 1998 Mercedes SUV which held up extremely well. It was a great
traveling car just packed to the hilt with so much of our “stuff”. We knew just how to use every inch of
space in the car by packing everything just the same way each day. The trip took us 31 days, and we
knew this would probably be the only time we would take the time to see this great and beautiful
country in which we all live.

And we had a great time together. Can you image spending 31 days in a car (with a few stops) with
your spouse? It proved we definitely must be compatible after 34 years of marriage. It will be a trip we
will always remember fondly. You should try it!
Dave and Janice Heinl

Map of the Cross Country Trip

The Google map does not allow for more than 10 markers so I have tried to only include the ones that will give a general route.