Chris Rowland
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Posts posted by Chris Rowland
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I have assumed my self appointed duties for Reubens Realm and make this report from the North Western Division Headquarters
Thanks, Dave! You definitely have the passion! The video was a little disturbing, though. Just send the complete report to my reuben at rowlandweb e-mail and I'll let you know when it gets officially posted.
Chris
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I am a lifelong Hoosier, born and raised in Indianapolis. I attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. I fell in love with maps before I turned 5 years of age--my Dad let me have a "Graphic Street Guide of Greater Indianapolis (in convenient book form)" when I was four and I remember tracking along our route to church or to Grandma's...
Since then I have enjoyed sitting with maps and enjoying hours of hypothetical routing and research. I love planning road trips. I like to plan out as many details as possible in advance, with plenty of wiggle room to see the unexpected.
I consider myself an amateur cartographer. I had two of my maps published by Wabash College back in the early 1990s and you can check out on-line: Crawfordsville, Indiana and Wabash College campus map. How I wish I would have had Google maps or even Terraserver back then...
In 1994 I drove US-36 all of the way from Indianapolis to Denver--this is still one of my favorite routes. I've taken the stretch from Indianapolis to St. Joseph several times over the years. I've also enjoyed taking US-12 through Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota. This past summer we took US-19 from Tallahassee to St. Petersburg, US-41 through the Everglades, US-1 from Miami to Key West. This fall we took US 40 from Cumberland, MD to Wheeling, WV.
I'm hoping to get some photos from these journeys put into a gallery over the next few months or so.
As for me, I am a computer programmer in my mid-thirties with two wonderful sons (8 and 11). So far they haven't shown much of an interest in maps and roads, but I don't want to force them. Another hobby of mine is reviewing Reuben sandwiches wherever I travel (Reuben Realm). I've got over 100 reviews and photos posted at the moment.
My dream right now is to drive US-52 all the way from Indianapolis to the North Dakota/Saskatchewan border... maybe Summer 2008. Wherever we decide, I'll be sure to ask all of you for advice on what to see and any great reference material for whatever my destination.
Thanks for the warm welcome,
Chris Rowland
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WOW! You are the man when it comes to reubens! Love em, but never rated them. Do you have rating criteria, or is it up to the individual and sort of subjective?
I can see there is a need for a western rater! I might be your man
!Keep the Show on the Road! Dave
Just download one of my "Reubens on the Road" review forms (Review Forms and fill it out. It's mostly subjective. I usually measure them and photograph them to get some stats, but when it comes to the letter grades for different categories, it's just up to the individual.
I've had individuals and small groups get together and send in some reviews before. Just take some photos (one of the exterior of the restaurant, one of the Reuben and one of the dining area/diners if possible) and send in the rating form!
Chris
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Wow, you guys have real Matrices. I've just got a Sears Matrix and it's not even the right color.
But I still like my Vibe just fine. 60,000 miles and it's been nowhere near Yellowstone or Oregon but it has seen Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Missouri, and a few points in between. And I have slept in it.
Haven't had major trouble with the Matrix yet--it's hard to start some of these cold mornings, though. I had to replace the brakes around 90,000. The rubber gasket on the driver's window is worthless--had it replaced under warranty and it's all torn up again. Never lost a wheel cover, though!
I do wish it had a larger trunk though. For my family of four to travel, I have to install the roof rack to hold our suitcases. That cuts the gas mileage quite a bit.
My other car is a 2000 Echo. I'm addicted to Toyotas, having also had over the years 3 Corollas, a Tercel and a pickup.
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What I do a lot of is pursue breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. I've sampled over 80 in diners and restaurants in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Virginia and Texas over the past two years.
It is a great way to hit the American road as far as I am concerned.
I guess I'm on somewhat of a similar track. I actually am on a quest to review Reuben sandwiches and do so on my Reuben Realm web site. I've got 110 Reuben reviews posted so far. Next week, WFYI is scheduled to tape me for a segment on their Across Indiana television program.
Chris
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Just out of curiosity, is that a red Matrix in your avatar??
Yes! It's our 2003 Matrix on US 16 heading west through Tensleep Canyon, west of Buffalo, Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. This canyon is beautiful. My wife still talks about how amazing it was to drive through.
We've got 102K miles on the Matrix now--on different trips we've taken it from Indianapolis as far as Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; Key West, Florida; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's been a great little car.
Chris
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Thanks for the welcome! I'll write something up in the near future to add to the "introductions" thread...
I did enjoy your photos of sites along the old highway alignments inside 465 in the "In The Loop" gallery. I did want to ask you further about the photo taken at what looks like Southeastern Avenue looking Northwest at the intersection with English and Rural... Your comment said "Old US 421: Intersection approaching downtown from the southeast. 421 angles left at this point and shares pavement with old US 52 (coming in from the right)." I wasn't sure what you meant by "421 angles left". Did that mean that 421 turned off of Southeastern onto English? I had always thought 421 kept straight up Southeastern until it hit Washington.
Also, that traffic light is horrible because of the 6-way intersection. I came through that way yesterday morning during the "big" snowstorm and it took 3 or 4 cycles to get through that stop light. Other than that, Southeastern isn't such a bad way to get downtown.
Chris
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...What this suggests to me is that this is directing drivers to branch off at where Rockville Ave. branches off, since it involves going under the RR, not at Rockville Road, which avoids it altogether. Maybe Rockville Road didn't exist then? That idea excites me. It looks kind of "tacked on," after all, on the satellite map....
I think you've got it. Have you been on Rockville Avenue under that bridge? Pretty cool. One of the pages you linked to earlier at the FHWA shows this to be correct:
PPOO - Indianapolis to Chrisman You can see that this map shows both the PPOO and the railroad. You can watch Washington Street cross the railroad and then Rockville branch off and cross the railroad back again. You can even see the stub at that intersection of Holt Road. Pretty cool.
A Fine Northwest Reuben
in Dining
Posted
Yes... somehow I doubt that the video accurately represents the ordering of the sandwich.
I'm still excited because our local PBS station is filming me for a segment this coming Tuesday. I'll keep you all informed as to how it turns out and when it will be on TV.
Chris