Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.
What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned? :hmmm:
Los Angeles. lOl
Does Centralia count? (I haven't been there but I just wanted to say that.)
Quote from: Federal Route Sixty-Nine on November 15, 2012, 08:53:33 PM
Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.
What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned? :hmmm:
You must not have driven on US 169.
Quote from: Federal Route Sixty-Nine on November 15, 2012, 08:53:33 PM
Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.
What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned? :hmmm:
At 3pm that sounds about right. I actually found a lot more to do in Tulsa after 7pm or so than during business hours. Between lunch hour and the evening it's eerily quiet.
Oh, and in answer to your question, Florence, SC. Also, Abilene, TX.
Quote from: Federal Route Sixty-Nine on November 15, 2012, 08:53:33 PM
Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.
What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned? :hmmm:
Speaking of "aban..." there's a very short leash on users who repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more midwest-bashing for you.
I actually had this very feeling driving through Indianapolis on I-70. It was probably around noon or so.
Quote from: Steve on November 15, 2012, 11:01:48 PM
Quote from: Federal Route Sixty-Nine on November 15, 2012, 08:53:33 PM
Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.
What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned? :hmmm:
Speaking of "aban..." there's a very short leash on users who repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more midwest-bashing for you.
Oh, come on. He's funny. I live in the Midwest, and I'm not the least bit offended by what he says.
Quote from: Steve on November 15, 2012, 11:01:48 PM
Speaking of "alan..." there's a very short leash on goats who both repeat and don't repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more sheep-bashing for you.
I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.
Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me. He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa. I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.
Quote from: kphoger on November 16, 2012, 01:42:45 PM
I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.
I think I've been to that same restaurant...
Quote from: empirestate on November 16, 2012, 02:18:35 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 16, 2012, 01:42:45 PM
I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.
I think I've been to that same restaurant...
Can't find it on a Google search. With any luck, that's because it's gone. It looked like a cafeteria plucked from the 1970s, with food that reminded me of school lunch rooms. You ordered your food at a huge window and sat in hard-seated booths. There was only one other couple in there, and it was also their first time trying it out. I don't know how they stayed alive (the restaurant, not the other couple), with mediocre food and no customers, plus a half-page ad in the yellow pages; as I said, maybe they didn't stay in business after all.
Quote from: kphoger on November 16, 2012, 04:07:02 PM
Quote from: empirestate on November 16, 2012, 02:18:35 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 16, 2012, 01:42:45 PM
I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.
I think I've been to that same restaurant...
Can't find it on a Google search. With any luck, that's because it's gone. It looked like a cafeteria plucked from the 1970s, with food that reminded me of school lunch rooms. You ordered your food at a huge window and sat in hard-seated booths. There was only one other couple in there, and it was also their first time trying it out. I don't know how they stayed alive (the restaurant, not the other couple), with mediocre food and no customers, plus a half-page ad in the yellow pages; as I said, maybe they didn't stay in business after all.
This was mine:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mexicali-border-cafe-tulsa
Perhaps "crappy" is a strong word, but I do remember it being very, very bland. The Yelp consensus is probably pretty accurate. I remember El Guapo being better, although honestly I don't think I had a full meal there, only drinks and apps, maybe.
On the other hand, there's a pretty awesome coffee shop in that neighborhood called the Gypsy. The Blue Dome Diner is quite a smashing place for breakfast, and I also spent some above-average quality time at Arnie's Bar and, to a lesser extent, MacNellie's. (The manager at Arnie's gave me a hand-written free drink coupon the first time I was in town, and on my next visit more than a year later, they still honored it!) Finally, I remember having a very satisfying meal at an Italian restaurant that I'm reasonably certain was Tucci's.
Mine was in a less-than-nice neighborhood somewhere on the east side of the city. Mlyeh.
Back on topic, Denver used to seem fairly empty until they started revitalizing it in the 1990s. Downtown Aurora, Illinois, often feels like a ghost city, but the traffic starts to choke you as you approach Route 59.
Also back on topic, but keeping with the digression about hidden gems, Terre Haute, IN is pretty abandon-y, but then there's M. Mogger's, a damn fine eat-and-drinkery.
In my home state, let's not forget Rome, NY, of which roadgeek emeritus William Least Heat-Moon wrote this: "The place looked as if it had died of heart rot - from the inside out." And I don't know of any hidden gems there.
Right next door, of course, you have Utica, also in very rough-looking shape. But there you have the Stanley Theatre, a performing arts roadhouse that recently underwent a $20 million renovation which, in my view as an industry participant, is nothing short of miraculous. It went from being one of the most dreaded itinerary stops in the country to one of the best.
Anyway...sorry for all my unsolicited boosterism of all these downtrodden cities. I don't feel any particular responsibility to defend them, but I guess it's only fair to point out that some of the best finds are where you least expect them. "Seeing beyond the road", as it were. :-)
Quote from: bugo on November 16, 2012, 01:48:50 PM
Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me. He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa. I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.
He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.
That's no fun. I was planning on trolling him and having a bit of a laugh over it. This forum takes itself WAY too seriously. Some of the mods need to smoke a bowl and drink a six pack and let the forum moderate itself. When I was a mod, I didn't overmoderate it.
Hey, man, if you want MTR, you know where to find it.
I never said I wanted MTR. You're using a strawman. I just think this forum is way overmoderated. I'm a member of many forums, and this one is by far the most moderated. Let us have a little breathing room. Let us have some fun. If the hobby becomes no longer enjoyable, then why do it?
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on November 17, 2012, 05:06:19 PM
Quote from: bugo on November 16, 2012, 01:48:50 PM
Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me. He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa. I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.
He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.
I'm sure it wasn't the infamous Calrog, but it must have been someone "inspired" by him.
Quote from: bugo on November 17, 2012, 07:09:17 PM
I never said I wanted MTR. You're using a strawman. I just think this forum is way overmoderated. I'm a member of many forums, and this one is by far the most moderated. Let us have a little breathing room. Let us have some fun. If the hobby becomes no longer enjoyable, then why do it?
And you're quite free to think what you like.
Quote from: hbelkins on November 17, 2012, 08:29:14 PM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on November 17, 2012, 05:06:19 PM
Quote from: bugo on November 16, 2012, 01:48:50 PM
Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me. He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa. I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.
He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.
I'm sure it wasn't the infamous Calrog, but it must have been someone "inspired" by him.
It was blawp.
And here I was thinking this had turned into a nice heartwarming little thread about down-and-out cities and the little ways in which they continue to impress. :-(
OK, I guess that was pretty much just me...
Tulsa is down and out?
Quote from: bugo on November 17, 2012, 11:21:37 PM
Tulsa is down and out?
"Feel(s) abandoned" according to the OP. "Down and out" is my phrase for what the thread became, not for the OP.
Detroit. entire neighborhoods completely without people.
You can get a totally wrong first impression of a town.
The first time I visited downtown Denton, TX it was early afternoon and it felt like a scene from The Last Picture Show. But downtown is where a lot of people hang out at night, and the industrial area down toward Dan's Silver Leaf has really sprung up in the last year or two.
To me a city is a city. True you should not make a conclusion for one visit. To me unless, its a resort town or by the ocean, every city is the same unless its the big ones like NY and LA.
I would like to visit Dallas again, as I did not get to see much except that it is a business oriented city. I was only there during the day, so I cannot say what night life lies there.
Then again, St. Augustine, FL rolls the carpet up at 7 PM as it has no night life, yet I find it an attractive city. I could spend a few days there if I had to.
Last I checked, bro, NY and LA are by the ocean.
There's plenty to do in Tulsa on any given night. I've seen Dinosaur Jr, N.E.R.D., Talib Kweli, Bassnectar, Ween, Smashing Pumpkins (twice,) Cherri Bomb, Ume, Down, Warbeast, and Puscifer in Tulsa in the last few years. I missed a bunch of shows that I wanted to go to. If you aren't into concerts, there are plenty of other things to do: ballet, opera, minor league baseball, arena football, many fine restaurants, and other attractions. Dallas, OKC, KC, St Louis, and Memphis aren't too far away. To say Tulsa is boring is only halfway true.