Road Trip On Pause: Firemen, & Hoover…

(***Editors Note- I'm sorry but I hope to add pictures at a later date.  Google has still been having problems with adding photos with MS Internet Explorer. ***)

I know I really needed to update this and let all of you out there know what I’ve been up to.  Sorry for the delay and laziness on my part.  Yes, I’m still in my hometown in eastern Iowa.  It seems like ages ago that I left out on the first day of this road trip.  That was the day I saw a vested pair of a man and a goat out along the freeway just outside of Boise, ID; a totally unexpected strange thing to see during my first day of a road trip.  I’ve been amazed at the sights that I have seen since that day in late August. 

But now, I’m in a bit of a pause mode trying to build up some money in my savings so that I can head out on my adventure again.  I’m not sure how long that will take.  I am hoping to get to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms this Spring. Lately, I’ve been working doing some temporary data entry.  I’ve applied for several waitress jobs too.  I haven’t worked in a restaurant in several years that I think they are wondering why I’m applying.  I guess in hindsight I should have gotten a part time one in Utah before I left.  I applied at one restaurant and they saw my degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management and wanted me to apply for a management position.  I half-heartedly filled out the application but I’m not really interested.  So anyway the job searching and working is an ongoing process.

Fire Station Tour

I have been doing a bit of sightseeing and different things here locally in eastern Iowa.  So I’ve been continuing in a way with the trip.  One day I went on a school filed trip with my nephew to see a local fire station in Marion, Iowa.  A Fireman and certified MT named Peter gave us a tour of the station.  We started out in the classroom where he discussed what they did.  The number one calls that they made other than fire are medical calls.  They do regular trainings at the fire station to keep updated in the latest medical techniques. They also do a fair amount of training on other locations; like practicing fighting fires.  Most recently, they got to burn down a local abandoned house that the owner had donated to them for training.  We were told that if at any time during our tour that if a call came in that we were to report to the classroom for our safety and to keep clear of the fireman that needed to get out on a call.

We were also told safety tips and what to do if we are ever in a case if our home had a fire like; keep low, check the temperatures of the doors, and if caught on fire to drop and roll.  Next, Peter took us out to where the fire trucks were and showed us how he put on his gear.  He talked while he put the gear on; explaining the equipment and other aspects of firefighting.  He told us that he would look and sound quite a bit different when he got his gear on and to not be afraid of him.  Once he got all of the firefighting gear on he crawled around on the floor grabbing some of our feet.  Quite often he said that firefighters would be down near the ground and that was where we should be too in case of a fire.  I expected him to sound more like Darth Vader but his voice was not quite that scary.  But it was somewhat muffled.  Peter said that all of the gear weighed close to 65 lbs. He also told us how they needed to get into their gear in less than 2 minutes time.

Photo- Fireman Peter in full gear as Captain Kirk watched.

Next, we took a tour around the fire trucks with Fireman Captain Kirk.  Yes, Captain Kirk!  He explained how some trucks carried water on them and the different uses that each truck had.  One vehicle that they used the most was the medical truck because it was the most fuel efficient and was easier to get around in.  The larger trucks were for fires.  One of the smaller large trucks had a holding area where water could be pumped from a local lake or pond and then immediately used to fight a fire.  Generally this truck was used in more remote farmland areas with a water source nearby.  There was another fire truck that had a large water gun on the back that was used to fight fires out in a field. 

Photo- Captain Kirk showing a future fireman how to hook up the hose to the truck.

Next some of the kids in the class got to play firemen as they connected a hose onto a truck and three of them pretended to work the hose over to a fire in a nearby room.  It was too cute watching them trying to work as a team on a hose that was almost larger than the three of them.  Next, Captain Kirk took us through the living quarters of the fire station.  There were 6 rooms in all, three on each side.  I was surprised at how plain they were.  Each had a wall of closets on one side, a window, a twin bed and a night stand; that was all.  At the end of the hall was a fairly large plain kitchen with a round table in the middle and on the other side was a room with a large TV with chairs and sofas.

Hoover Presidential Library

Another day I went to the Hoover Presidential Library which is located in West Branch, Iowa.  It’s funny that I had grown up so close to a Presidential Library but I had never visited it before.  Most people negatively tie President Hoover with the Great Depression, and I must admit that I generally did not have a good outlook on him either but I decided to go in with an open mind.  I was surprised.

Hoover was born in a small house in West Branch, Iowa and worked up his way to become one of the highest paid engineers in the world.  By his mid-30’s he was tired of earning money and opted for a life full of philanthropy.  There was a map of the world at the entrance to the main part of the library on the floor and it showed a star by every country that he had touched.  There were quite a few stars.  His wife worked hand in hand with him on his charities and eventually because of the public profile he ended up going into politics. 

One of his first roles in politics was the position of Secretary of Commerce on the Presidential staff of President Harding.  During this time, Hoover was instrumental in standardization of almost everything from house building to road signs to weights and measurements; all of this in an effort to make government and business to work together in his belief of an efficiency movement. He believed that the government and the economy were riddled with waste and inefficiencies.  Wow, I wonder what he would say about government today?  The big joke during Hoover’s time at this job was that you better be careful what you did because Hoover may find a way to standardize and make it more efficient. He was touted as being a little too enthusiastic about his job.  But quite a bit of what he did back then affects us every day now.   

From the standardization, he ended up being catapulted into being nominated for the presidency.  He won in the election of 1928.  I watched a film and heard the recording of the live radio broadcast of his inaugural speech.  He was one of the first Presidents to be heard live during this speech.  I was rather amazed at his plain speaking and not overstating but he outlined what was considered idealistic at the time.

When the stock market crash happened and the Great Depression started, no one was prepared for such an event.  There was a lot of debate at the time to let the free capitalistic market work its way back without assistance from the government and to not regulate or make laws.  Hoover started to lay in a lot of the ground work towards building the WPA projects.  But he was voted out of office before they took full bloom.  It was even more interesting that after WW2, he was asked by FDR to help organize recovery efforts to feed the thousands of hungry Europeans affected by the war.  He continued to work and help people the rest of his life.  It all surprised me that he did all this during his life.

DAY 105—Finishing Up Texas & Moving On to Louisiana…

The plan today was to head east from Houston towards Beaumont, TX and then onto Lake Charles, LA.  It was raining pretty well when I woke up and I could see from my hotel window that I-45 north was a solid traffic jam.  That would be the way that I needed to go to catch I-10 East.  I decided to take my time with breakfast and getting ready for the day in hopes that when I left most of the traffic would be gone.  It was mostly gone when I jumped on I-45 with my car shortly after 10am.  I decided to wait until I was out of the Houston area before I fueled up.

About 30 miles east outside of Houston, the price of gas had dropped by ten cents a gallon.  I stopped and fueled up.  There was a guy from Tennessee that was going around to everyone at the pump asking if anyone had any cash.  He and his family were stranded and needed some help so he could get to a location of a job he found.  When he asked me, I told him I was the last person to ask because I was basically living out of my car.  He looked at my loaded up car and then God blessed me.  I’m always wary of giving people like this money because there’s never a way to verify their story.

Photo- Starvin' Marvin's Restaurant .

On down the road I went and a few miles outside of Beaumont I saw signs advertising Starvin’ Marvin’s restaurant.   They advertised that they were the best of Beaumont.  Oh, these Texans love to brag!  Well, it was lunch time and I thought what the hell.  I swung by Starvin’ Marvin’s.  I’m glad that I did.  I sat outside on their wonderful patio area and enjoyed a delicious crawfish enchilada.  Then, I had bread pudding for dessert.  Yummy! 

It was as I paid for my meal that I noticed a credit card was missing from my wallet.  The last place I used it was the gas station.  I went out to my car and looked through the seats and all through the bags and what not where it could be.  I’m getting more and more nervous as I look and it’s not showing up.  I must have dropped it when I fueled up because I couldn’t remember what I did because I got side tracked by that guy from Tennessee.  Normally, I have a system but talking to someone during the process threw me off. 

I turned back on the interstate and headed back to that gas station which was about 50 miles.  The whole time I’m praying to God that someone was honest and turned in my card to a clerk at the counter.  I never had a longer 50 mile drive.  I got to the gas station and waited a few minutes while they contacted someone in the office area of the Flying J.  I described the card and gave them my name.  About 5 minutes later a gal comes down and yells my last name.  I answer and she hands me the card.  She never even asked for ID or anything.  I quickly used the restroom and then was back heading east on the interstate towards Beaumont.

Photo- A festive air in the Fireman's Museum in Beaumont, TX.

There was a Fireman’s Museum that I was hoping to catch before it closed in Beaumont.  I made it with time to spare.  The museum is a free self-guided tour and it was rather fascinating reading about how fireman came into being.  I found it very interesting that Benjamin Franklin had a great influence on the history of fireman.  He started the first volunteer fire company in 1736.   It was also very interesting to see the evolution of the fire truck and other tools that the fireman use change over time.  I had the place all to myself and I took my time going through it.  I especially got a kick out of the HUGE black and white spotted fire hydrant in a courtyard area across from the museum.  It was very much worth the stop.

Photo- A HUGE fire hydrant in Beaumont, TX.

Next, I was heading further east towards Louisiana.  It was interesting watching the landscape change just a little more.  There was more marsh like areas with trees along the interstate.  There was moss hanging in the trees. 

I crossed the state line into Louisiana.   The speed limit on the interstate dropped from 75mph to 70mph.  The interstate widened with another lane and it was a smoother black top that seemed better maintained.  Another 30 miles, and I was going over a long huge bridge into Lake Charles.  I happily found my hotel which was close off an interstate exit.

After getting settled in a bit at the hotel, I went down to the front desk and asked the gal where was a go place to grab a bite to eat.  She asked what kind of food I was in the mood for.  I told her something local that was casual, as I looked down at my jeans.  She directed me to Steamboat Bill’s which was just up the road about ½ mile.

Steamboat Bill’s is definitely a locals place.  I walked in and was the only white person in the place; which is cultural shock after living in Utah.  There were two counters in the place.  One where you ordered prepared food and another on the other side that looked like it had fresh seafood you could take home to prepare.  I walked up to the counter asked if they took credit cards and then ordered a chicken and sausage gumbo with a soda.  The gal behind the counter gave me a number along with my receipt.  They would call that number when it was ready.  I went over to the fountain area, got my drink, and then decided where to sit.

Photo- Good Gumbo at Steamboat Bill's.

Quite a few people were coming in and picking up to go orders.  The place wasn’t very busy.  There were maybe six actual customers sitting down to eat in the whole place.  I got my gumbo and sat at one of the simple tables that have paper towel holders at each end.  The gumbo was wonderful and I wish I would have ordered the large portion instead of the regular.

It was as I was enjoying my bowl of gumbo that an older blond haired man came in.  He looked at me and said,” Awww, I see you got the WHOLE place to yourself.”  I just smiled and nodded at him.  Though, surely he could see that there were 6 other Black customers in the place.  Did they not count in his book or what’s up with that; I thought to myself?  He came over after he got his drink and noticed that I hadn’t done the crawfish which was in season.  “No crawfish?” he asked.  I laughingly told him that I was building up to that.  He asked where in the north I was from after I said that.  I guess he noticed I didn’t have a southern accent.  I said Utah.  “Oh, that’s REALLY up there!” he said.  I chuckled and wondered to myself if he had any idea where Utah was.

Photo- Christmas Lights by the Civic Center in Lake Charles, LA.

It was as I was leaving the restaurant that he asked me how long I was staying in Lake Charles.  I told him just the night and part of tomorrow and then I would head on to Baton Rouge.  He said,” Well, Miss Utah.  You have a wonderful visit.”  I thanked him and left.  I then decided to explore some of the Lake Charles area in the dark.  There were quite a few Christmas lights down by the lake area and by their civic center that were festive.