Dillards 73: A Bitter Dill

[FrozenSmile]

This is the best thread! I love traveling, but have never been out of the states. I’ve been to most of the western, midwestern, and southern states, but the northeast is a big, gaping hole in my travels. Someday. My favorite states so far are Wyoming, Montana, and Arizona. Nevada’s pretty awesome, too. 

The maps that have been posted reminded me of this book i got a few years ago. So funny! 

[AreYouThereGothard?]

12 minutes ago, Rowan said:

Don't forget Grandpa's Cheesebarn, which is an hour into the Cleveland to Cincinnati trek. Or "Where will you go when you die?" and "HELL IS REAL" billboards that are about an hour from Cincinnati. With the 10 commandments on the other side when you are driving the opposite direction. Good times. And no, can't blame those on the Maxwells I don't think. 

I actually had some out-of-state friends from undergrad who ventured to Grandpa’s Cheesebarn just to check it out and I think they enjoyed themselves. 

Moral of the story: if you visit Ohio, you can be reduced to tears by the Cleveland Orchestra, exhilaration of the Millenium Force at Cedar Point, and blatant judgement by our rural Bible-belt wackadoodles. And get some fun food while you’re at it. It really is choose your own adventure over here. 

Off topic, but I’m unbelievably pissed that Bezos chose NYC and DC for the new Amazon HQ instead of Columbus/Bloomington/Pittsburgh, I would have even been stoked with Boulder. 

[HarleyQuinn]

I have to say when I'm traveling if I hear someone say "ope!" I laugh my ass off every time. 

*one of us* *one of us* 

#MidwestIsBest

#jesuslovesthemall 

[BachelorToTheRapture]

When I've been in other parts of the US people have always guessed I'm from Minnesota or Wisconsin based on my accent. I've spent the majority of my life within 50 miles of the MN/WI border, apparently my accent is strong.

[Audrey2]

My brother-in-law is from Massachusetts. He always harassed my sister about Ohio being, "a bunch of cornfields." When he was in Ohio for the wedding, my family showed his family around. My Dad pointed out, "There's a soybean field. That field is alfalfa. There is a pasture. It's not all corn!"

If you are a fan of cheese and not afraid to get way off the beaten path, I like Heini's Cheese Chalet in Sugarcreek.

[K'Z'K]

I always get Wisconsin and Minnesota mixed up.

 

The Animaniacs had lots of educational material, but one of my favorites was the song some random message board says is called "Corn", from episode 57 (the segment starts at about 8:10):

 

Quote

Runt : (spoken) There goes the train. Wake up, Rita.
Rita : Are we in Chicago?
Runt : No, it's, it's Nebraska, definitely Nebraska. Or Kansas.
Definitely Ohio.
Rita : Ya blew it, Runt.
Runt : You're just cranky 'cause I woke ya up from your nap.
Rita : I am not cranky!
Runt : You'll definitely like Nebraska, Rita. We'll live on a farm.
Farm folk are friendly. Definitely, definitely, friendly.
W-what's so great about Chicago, anyway?
Rita : Are you serious?

Rita : The Sears Tower, the North lakeshore
The Loop downtown, meat packers galore
The magnificent mile and the elevated train
Deep-dish pizza and the Stock Exchange.
Runt : But it ain't got, what we got: corn.

Rita : Michigan Avenue, Frank Lloyd Wright
Wrigley Field and dancing all night
Oprah Winfrey, Lake Michigan
Muddy Water blues, and Michael Jordan.
Runt : But it ain't got, what we got: corn.

Rita : Just to be fair, I wanna ask ya:
What's so great about Nebraska?
Runt : It's...
da...
Corn!
Definitely the corn.

(transcription courtesy https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/animaniacs-lost-song-aka-i-cant-remember-what-its-called.774872/)

 

And while I'm here . . . watch the first segment of this one. "Baloney and Kids" is a classic:

 

[StraightOuttaArkansas]

18 hours ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

Editing to add: I think everyone has a state they forget exists. Mine is Delaware. Where is it? What is it? Does anyone live there?? I’ve never met someone from Delaware. I think it might be fake.

There is a running joke in Germany about the city of Bielefeld not existing. It seems everyone knows someone who has been there, but has never been there themselves. I adore this joke and took it so far as to remove and hide the game card for Bielefeld from one of our games, my older son thinks it is genius.

(Deutschlandreise is the game, not sure if it has an English equivalent. Fabulous game.)

On the topic of where you are from, I am not sure if I should be thankful for the Duggars or not. At least people know Arkansas is a real place now? I have lived abroad for a long time now and I have my standard response when people ask where I am from: "Arkansas in the US. It is in the south to the right of Texas." Standard reply "Oh yes Texas, I know where that is!" I think a lot people actually think I am just from Texas now. I don't want to be from Texas (no offense).

[Someone Out There]

10 hours ago, Beermeet said:

I used to work primarily with Japanese people. We got to talking about racism because one coworker married an African American man. Anyway, I got curious about Japan. Like, if you're all Japanese, do you have racism? They said yes, they don't like Koreans in their country.  My Filipina co-worker said in the Philippines, they don't like Chinese people because they own a lot of businesses there and treat Filipinos poorly.  So, amoungst themselves it seemed a no. But they did have issues with "others". I guess I have no point, just found it interesting.   

Yes, there is definately racism, it is likely everywhere.  My understanding is that because Japan is so homegenised it generally has issues with people it deems as not 'Japanese', people may or may not be in your face about it though.  I understand China has issues with black people.  There was an issue with an ad a couple of years ago here is a link to an article about it.

I believe Indonesia and Malaysia have issues with those Chinese heritage (Malaysia definately has significant issues around racial politics).  Singapore deliberately tries to integrate those of Malay, Chinese and Indian heritage in their schools.

I know that here in Australia there have definately been issues with Taxi drivers (of whatever heritage, I do remember some being Indian) refusing service to Australian Aboriginal people.

Internally many countries have issues with different ethnic groups, hence the issues with Myanmar and Rohinga's, Sri Lanka and Tamil's, and Turkey and the Kurds, to provide a few examples (yes there are religious issues with each of these examples, but the people also distinctively look different).

In regards to USA states, with Delaware I always think of the shell companies in one building!

[Drala]

10 hours ago, AreYouThereGothard? said:

I actually had some out-of-state friends from undergrad who ventured to Grandpa’s Cheesebarn just to check it out and I think they enjoyed themselves. 

Moral of the story: if you visit Ohio, you can be reduced to tears by the Cleveland Orchestra, exhilaration of the Millenium Force at Cedar Point, and blatant judgement by our rural Bible-belt wackadoodles. And get some fun food while you’re at it. It really is choose your own adventure over here. 

Off topic, but I’m unbelievably pissed that Bezos chose NYC and DC for the new Amazon HQ instead of Columbus/Bloomington/Pittsburgh, I would have even been stoked with Boulder. 

As long as we're touting special places in the Buckeye state, let's not forget about Touchdown Jesus (because Jesus & Browns, Bengals & Buckeyes!) on I-75 north of Cincinnati. 

 

 

[OldFadedStar]

13 hours ago, Beermeet said:

I used to work primarily with Japanese people. We got to talking about racism because one coworker married an African American man. Anyway, I got curious about Japan. Like, if you're all Japanese, do you have racism? They said yes, they don't like Koreans in their country.  My Filipina co-worker said in the Philippines, they don't like Chinese people because they own a lot of businesses there and treat Filipinos poorly.  So, amoungst themselves it seemed a no. But they did have issues with "others". I guess I have no point, just found it interesting.  

And according to my elderly boss while in Japan, the Chinese don’t like the Japanese and the Koreans don’t like the Japanese. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

When I was teaching in China, several of my students talked about anti-Japanese feeling and mentioned that "all Chinese people and all Korean people" hate Japanese people. Of course, I had other students who were also learning Japanese of their own choosing. The Japanese teachers on campus were easily some of the most popular teachers on campus. (It was a foreign languages institute.) 

[Bobology]

13 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Back before the dinosaurs, Perry Como sang a song called "What did Delaware?" I currently live in northern Nevada, formerly from Connecticut and California. Life is good here. Don't tell anyone.

You can't just leave this hanging out here without a link! As a young kid I read my brother's Spin and Marty book several times and this song was in it. 
 

 

[twoandthrough]

2 hours ago, Drala said:

As long as we're touting special places in the Buckeye state, let's not forget about Touchdown Jesus (because Jesus & Browns, Bengals & Buckeyes!) on I-75 north of Cincinnati. 

 

 

YES! I forgot about that guy! Didn't he get struck by lightening a while back? We lived in Dayton for a little bit (Air Force) and drove to Cincinnati often (because there are actually things to do there ?  ) and ALWAYS laughed at that statue!

[Hashtag Blessed]

13 hours ago, AreYouThereGothard? said:

Off topic, but I’m unbelievably pissed that Bezos chose NYC and DC for the new Amazon HQ instead of Columbus/Bloomington/Pittsburgh, I would have even been stoked with Boulder. 

I’m pissed too. We really don’t even want Amazon here but stupid Cuomo doesn’t care. Other cities could actually USE the influx of cash and jobs. Instead they’re gonna push a bunch of working class people out of their neighborhood here for a big fancy campus that benefits no one but Amazon employees. Worse, they’re going to use up tax money to do it while our subway system is literally crumbling and desperately underfunded. 

Sorry to rant, but this has had me pissed off for a while now. I just saw a big anti-Amazon gathering in the city today and was tempted to join them. They should go to Ohio! Or Pennsylvania! Or literally anywhere else because we don’t want them.

2 hours ago, Drala said:

As long as we're touting special places in the Buckeye state, let's not forget about Touchdown Jesus (because Jesus & Browns, Bengals & Buckeyes!) on I-75 north of Cincinnati. 

 

 

Omg, I’ve heard so much about touchdown Jesus but I’ve never been shown a picture! That’s beautiful(ly bad). Amazing.

[Meggo]

16 hours ago, singsingsing said:

Howdy, neighbour!

I'd wave but it's too damn COLD!!! Brrrrr

State of Emergency in Michigan, schools closed, post office not delivering mail. 
Across the border - schools are going, BUSES are going, no one has said a peep about the mail.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

@Hashtag Blessed and @AreYouThereGothard? They were trying to lure Amazon here to Iowa, we have the skilled workers and the space but we are just Iowa so they, as always, kept on going.  Big corps just think this is fly over land, until they actually come here and are like "Oh wow, this place is nice, and CHEAP".  

[onekidanddone]

2 hours ago, OldFadedStar said:

And according to my elderly boss while in Japan, the Chinese don’t like the Japanese and the Koreans don’t like the Japanese. 

 

[Alisamer]

8 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

@Hashtag Blessed and @AreYouThereGothard? They were trying to lure Amazon here to Iowa, we have the skilled workers and the space but we are just Iowa so they, as always, kept on going.  Big corps just think this is fly over land, until they actually come here and are like "Oh wow, this place is nice, and CHEAP".  

I know there were billboards up in the Charlotte, NC area trying to lure Amazon here also - there's plenty of space in the lower cost-of-living small towns around the city, with city amenities and a major airport right there, too. I'm not sure why they even pretended to be looking for a new location, only to skip all the places trying desperately to get them. There are tons of areas with low-cost land and plenty of skilled workers that could use the boost! 

If I was to ever win the lottery, I'd go on a long road trip through the US to see all kinds of roadside attractions, taking photos and blogging all the way through just to share it with people. As it is there are things nearby I've never done... I need more hours in the day and many more dollars in my pocket.

[Lurker]

One of the reasons for Amazon’s choice of NYC and DC metro Virginia was the presence of a true regional mass transit system.  I personally think the choice of the Long Island City neighborhood was dumb, the trains near there as all of NYC are already  stuffed and stressed to the point of being inoperable.

I was in Colunbus, Ohio maybe 10-12 years ago and there was no transit options other than rental cars that the hotel could guide me to.  

[Alisamer]

That makes sense. Mass transit is less of a thing here, in the city there's a decent bus system, and many people use the light rail line daily, but Charlotte is largely a commuter town  - most people live on the edges or in surrounding areas. There's no subway at all (and probably won't ever be, the city is built on top of a network of old gold mines). Even commuters that use the light rail or bus usually have to drive to a pickup spot for those. You can get around fine from the airport to the city and around the main part of the city (and to and from Ikea on the light rail!) but past that not so much. Rental scooters and bikes are actually a pretty common mode of transport in the city. Out further? Bus, taxi, limo, Lyft or Uber - unless you rented a car at the airport.

That said, with the lower cost of living it's less financially burdensome to own a car, IMO. 

[PennySycamore]

@Alisamer, I was about to mention the light rail service in the Charlotte are.  I thought about using it from Gastonia(?) when I drove up to Spirit Square to see Herb Alpert last spring.  I thought I might be late as the traffic had been awful.  Got there in plenty of time just driving though.

There has been lots of talk about expanding light rail or maybe regular rail down to at least the Greenville/Spartanburg area of SC.  The Crescent does run but it's not a convenient time for commuters or even those of us who just want to shop )or attend concerts!)  The Crescent leaves the Greenville station around 11 at night so it would arrive in Charlotte around midnight.  It departs southbound from Charlotte in the wee hours.

I'd love to be able to take the train to Charlotte and Atlanta myself.  Atlanta is more of a possibility as the course are better.  I did take the Silver Meteor from Columbia to Orlando about this time last year and it's how I'll always go to Orlando/WDW.  It's overnight and not all that much longer than some flights with layovers.  (A friend has a flight to Orlando next week that takes over 5 hours.)  You can carry more baggage, too.  

[Blessings of the Corn]

21 hours ago, OldFadedStar said:

I think the image of Illinois above is an inaccurate representation of how people outside the midwest see here. 

See exhibit A:

 

I grew up in Illinois and now that I live elsewhere when I tell people when I'm from their first response 99% of the time... "Oh, you're from Chicago?"

 

that's like when I tell people I'm from Washington. First I have to clarify that I mean Washington State, and then they just assume I mean Seattle. Sometimes it's easier to say Seattle even though I'm about an hour + north.

[Alisamer]

36 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@Alisamer, I was about to mention the light rail service in the Charlotte are.  I thought about using it from Gastonia(?) when I drove up to Spirit Square to see Herb Alpert last spring.  I thought I might be late as the traffic had been awful.  Got there in plenty of time just driving though.

There has been lots of talk about expanding light rail or maybe regular rail down to at least the Greenville/Spartanburg area of SC.  The Crescent does run but it's not a convenient time for commuters or even those of us who just want to shop )or attend concerts!)  The Crescent leaves the Greenville station around 11 at night so it would arrive in Charlotte around midnight.  It departs southbound from Charlotte in the wee hours.

I'd love to be able to take the train to Charlotte and Atlanta myself.  Atlanta is more of a possibility as the course are better.  I did take the Silver Meteor from Columbia to Orlando about this time last year and it's how I'll always go to Orlando/WDW.  It's overnight and not all that much longer than some flights with layovers.  (A friend has a flight to Orlando next week that takes over 5 hours.)  You can carry more baggage, too.  

The light rail doesn't run to Gaston county just yet that I know of - I think it's currently from the Pineville end of Charlotte through uptown to the University and then Ikea, though it will be amazing once it does. I'm hoping they are able to run light rail to Belmont, which is starting to become a very trendy area to live I think. I never park in town in Charlotte anymore, if I can help it, especially if I'm going to the convention center - I park at one of the free outer lots and ride the train in.  I'd love if we had more rail transit in this area! It would need to be high speed, however, like in other countries. Most of our US rail system has a 70mph or lower speed limit due to the tons of road crossings. I once took the train to Raleigh from Charlotte for the state fair - never, ever again. It takes me less than three hours to drive to Raleigh, and the train took well over 4 hours with all the stops they made. I was DONE by the time we got there. If we had high speed rail to Atlanta/Charlotte/Raleigh/DC and such it would be amazing, but as long as the train takes longer than driving I can't deal with it. 

I usually drive to Orlando, it's about 8 hours or less from here (with my sister and I driving, I've had it take way longer with friends who want to stop frequently), but my favorite way to get to Orlando is to fly with no layovers so it's less than an hour and a half. I usually can't afford to do that, but once we got $29 flights on Frontier. Personal item only, but that's plenty for a weekend! I pack carry-on only whenever possible anyway. 

[Purrl]

On 1/29/2019 at 8:01 AM, onekidanddone said:

Hey don't feel bad.  Some Americans don't know that New Mexico isn't in Mexico.

Some people think that’s a joke, but my in-laws (now in their 70s, but at the time in their 50s) actually would not go into New Mexico when on a road-trip because they didn’t want to leave the country. ? 

[Drala]

4 hours ago, twoandthrough said:

YES! I forgot about that guy! Didn't he get struck by lightening a while back? We lived in Dayton for a little bit (Air Force) and drove to Cincinnati often (because there are actually things to do there ?  ) and ALWAYS laughed at that statue!

I'd completely forgotten about the fire that destroyed TD Jesus.  I never drive I-75 any more, so it's still there in my head.  It appears the church replaced TD Jesus with "Hug Me Jesus"