Well, as might be expected, my summer 2016 travel plans have undergone some adjustments. And the odds are quite high that there will be other changes (hopefully only minor–and better option–ones) even as RB and I are on the road.
In this case, I’ve added Riverside, Iowa, as my first stop so I can attend their annual Trekfest. If you are a fellow Trekker, I don’t need to tell you that Riverside is known as “the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.”
Even though Riverside is just 75 miles away, I’ve only attended one previous Trekfest, the one in 2009 when they featured Nichelle Nichols (Uhura-TOS), George Takei (Sulu-TOS), and Walter Koenig (Chekov-TOS) as guests.
I had a great time that year and am looking forward to whatever they are planning for this 50th anniversary year (perhaps they’ve finally been able to get William Shatner to come). Hey, I’d be perfectly content with Chris Pine!! After all, he’s Kirk, too!
This additional stop, however, will require me to delay my departure, so I’ve made one other adjustment to my plans, leading to a map that now looks like this:
This places Birmingham on my return swing so I can spend more time on the Mississippi Gulf coast as one of my sisters-in-law, who is a Mississippi native, suggested.
Fortunately, there’s less than 100 miles difference between this route and my previous one, and it allows me a pause in Memphis for some of their BBQ, too! It’s not North Carolina BBQ, but it’d do just fine.