My Top 10 Favorite Road Trip Movies..ever

I had to lighten things up around here. I was poking around a few sites with top movie picks and thought, "Hey Desiree, you've seen some pretty cool movies. How about sharing with the world yet another top 10 list!"

There was no scientific criteria used in the selection of this list or the order. It's what I like. I highly recommend all of these movies as must sees, for several different reasons. There is something for everyone - angry women, car fanatics, families, action and comedy junkies! And Tom Cruise fans who long for the "pre-Katie crazy" days.

And we list...

10.) Road Trip (2000) – Need I say more than the movie title? Oh yeah, and Tom Green? This should be required in that KSU1101 (how to be a student) class. Thankfully, I never had to take it.

9.) Dumb and Dumber (1994) – This is classic stupid humor at its best. What better way to turn your brain off than to watch Jeff Daniels' character suffer through what could possibly be described as the most twisted, sick, disgusting bowl movement every portrayed on film. Juvenile? Absolutely! It’s a must see.

8.) Duel (1971) - This movie is what helped propel Steven Spielberg from obscurity to his status as one of America’s greatest film makers, ever. Dennis Weaver says very little throughout a suspense-laden nightmare, as he is stalked by the driver of a huge (and in very much need of a bath) tractor trailer.

7.) Convoy (1978) – O.K., if you never did the “fisted arm pump in the air” to a trucker that signifies your adolescent desire for him to blow his horn, you won’t even appreciate this movie. However, there was an episode of ‘King of the Hill’ that honored the Convoy theme titled, “Living on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane.” If anyone can find this on the internet, they will be my hero!

6.) Mad Max (1979) – If you can get your hands on an original version of this film, do it! The version released in the U.S. does use Mel Gibson’s voice, but it is not nearly as good as the original with his rough Aussie accent!

5.) Death Race 2000 (1975) – I’m almost certain this is where the idea of, ‘hit the old person and score 100 points’ came from. The hospital scene is too good not to share!

4.) Vanishing Point (1971) – A motor head’s wet dream. Just a guy running from the law, trying to deliver a 1970 Dodge Challenger, in a cross-country trek from Colorado to San Francisco.

3.) Rain Man (1988) – Yeeeaahh, Tom Cruise is hot, definitely hot! Much hotter than Wapner! Yeeeahh!

2.) Thelma and Louise (1991) – The quintessential chick-flick. Enough said.

1.) Vacation (1983) – Road trips don’t get any more American than this.

So there you have it. I am sure some may protest to my choices. What can I say, I like variety! I must give honorable mention to Easy Rider. Sadly, I have not seen this great film...yet. I would love to hear some of my readers' choices. I always appreciate film suggestions!

My First Official Rant

This post will mark the first in possibly a long string of rants regarding the economy and it's effects on my ability to take road trips.

Due to the current "gas crisis" we Atlantans are facing, we have to be creative with transportation. I am fortunate to have a short commute to work. I live and work in Alpharetta. I am also fortunate to work for a company that has begun to allow employees telework. For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it simply means work-from-home. I began this chapter in my work career a couple weeks ago. I telework twice a week, every other week. That equates to 20%. It is definitely something that takes some discipline. But enough of that, cause I have commented on the perils of blogging about work.

Rich is not so fortunate. He must endure an awful commute to Tucker! I have driven this route with him on the weekend before and I must say, Tucker is an ugly area. And I do not apologize if you live in that area because, yuck. What a hole. On top of the undesirable commute, his Jeep SRT8 is a pig. So, he takes my car on occassion to ease our fuel costs.

Last night was my one night I have class at Kennesaw. For those readers who are not Atlantans my commute from Alpharetta to KSU and back works out to roughly 40 miles round trip. I started my haul with 3/4 tank of gas and was feeling optimistic. I mean, come on! I should be able to find a station with petrol on my 20 mile cross town drive! Come to find out, I wasn't the only person out hunting. I wasn't worried. After class I would take a slightly altered route and will surely be successful. Wrong, yet again.

This morning, Rich left early to fight traffic and locate some go-go juice for my thirsty little Honda! I just received the following message and felt I should share.

"No luck on the gas yet- I had stopped at a Citgo over this way and
after seeing that I needed to pay inside and pay cash, I should have left.
I instead gave the attendant/owner/criminal 20 bucks. I go out to the
pump and 1 penny barely registered. I then went back and told him it did
not work and give me back my money-he gives me 15 back and then I told him
to try again. I finally got the other 5 after having to yell. Then.....(I cut this part
out because the encounter he had could have been borderline disastrous. Let's
just say he had to stare and individual down to get him to move out of his way
so that he could leave the parking lot of the station...mkay?), he sped off. All of that just to get some gas.......unreal. But hey, my lunchtime will be another adventure!"

So there you have it. My story is not unlike many others. Care to share your adventures with me? I'm listening!

Am I Just Allergic to Apples?

I have developed quite a liking for Facebook recently. Never in a millions years did I think I would succumb to it's "crack-esque" addictive quality. Some days I have to say to myself out loud to log off and do something else! Despite this I have reconnected with more people than I ever did through MySpace.

Throughout my school years I was a music and theatre geek. And I am quite proud of this! I had great friends and was involved in loads of activities. Through Facebook I discovered a lot of my friends persued their interests in music and theatre and are working in those fields today. I could not be happier for each and every one of them. But this has led me to look at my own path in life and ask, "What corner did I turn that took me to a corporate job, sitting in a cubicle crunching numbers?" And I was able to answer it very quickly. I like being able to pay my bills. Does that make me a sell-out? Well, a little.

Enjoying the thrill of taking road trips and traveling is something that I love to do. The job I have has enabled me to pursue my interests. But I cannot help but look back at my own life and be a bit disappointed in myself.

Okay, I don't want to turn this into some gooey soul searching mission. But my discovery of old friends had me looking at where they ended up and where I have ended up.

But here is the big mystery. I have driven across country quite a few times. The first was from Minnesota to California in 1990. I have made the drive from Minnesota to Pittsburgh, PA twice and then from Pittsburgh to Georgia in 1998. Just this past March Rich and I road tripped from Georgia to California and back. In all my travels, the former music and theatre geek I am have experienced, be it through leisure, relocation or business I have not stepped foot in New York City! The theatre and entertainment capital! How is this possible? Of course I say this with a bit of a smirk on my face. After all, it is funny, or ironic may be a better word. However, it has made me evaluate the list in my head of places I want, no need to visit. New York has just skyrocketed to the top of that list. And I will make it a personal goal to make that trip happen within 1 year.

So I ask my readers, what is the #1 location you want to visit? And why?

"Massive" Wine Drinking!

Living in the Atlanta area makes it easy to find things to do. A short drive up I85 and one can find themselves at Chateau Elan, Georgia's very own winery.

I attended a shower for my friend Ruth this past weekend. She's a foodie. So what better way to say buh-bye to her single days than consuming free wine and learning how to cook a tenderloin with asparagus and hollandaise to perfection? This was the first cooking demo I have ever sat through. I must say, I had a very nice time. We had the pleasure to watch as Executive Chef Marc Suennemann prepared a lovely meal right before us with the ease of assembling a pb&j sandwich.




Following the demonstration was the wine tour. This was not my first wine tour at Chateau Elan. In fact the last time I was here I enjoyed a facial and an evening at the Inn. That was 9 years, 9 months ago. My son just had a his 9th birthday, so do the math!

I recalled the wines at Chateau Elan to be okay. I am not a wine snob, but even back then at the tender age of 24, I wasn't thrilled by the product. But this time around, I was impressed.

We began our tour overlooking the production area, but this is where the typical tour ended. After giving several tours that day, we were last, and Peter Kasprzak (with wine glass in hand) was feeling pretty loose and open to questions. He shared with us his philosophy of what makes a good wine "good". I must say, it was perhaps the best wine tour I have ever been on, never mind it was only my 2nd wine tour!

I highly recommend making a day trip to Chateau Elan this fall. The chef will be demonstrating some German cuisine paired with German beers.

To end this entry I will leave you with Peter's opinion about port wine.