ThayerRags

Well, actually it was a Sewing Road Trip with a “Flip”. The “25-cent Vacation” that I mentioned in an earlier thread got renamed to “Flip-Out Vacation” by my daughter (as in: “Flip the coin, and let’s get out of here!”).

My wife and I just returned from one of the most enjoyable vacations imaginable. We embarked on a 5-day road trip without any destination, itinerary, or schedule. We simply gathered three changes of clothing, his and hers Featherweight sewing machines, and some cash, got into the car, and flipped a quarter to see which direction we would go down our street. At the first highway, we flipped the coin again to determine the direction of travel from that point. We continued flipping the coin at diverging highways for the next 4 days. We had a blast!

The rules were simple:
- Avoid major routes such as Interstate Highways or busy divided highways.
- Never travel on the same section of road twice (illuminates going around in a circle).
- At points where multiple roads intersect, the coin toss was “heads: straight ahead”, “tails: turn”. If “tails: turn”, flip for which route number, and then flip for which direction on the winning route.
- Once the section of highway is determined, keep all eyes out for fabric stores, quilt shops, antique shops, junk shops, and historical markers. And for food, watch for small cafes or diners that have pickup trucks or horse trailers parked outside (locals know the best places).
- At mid-afternoon, with plenty of day left for doing a little sewing, find a small non-chain motel or auto court for the night.
- At some undetermined point, when we felt like we’d had enough fun, hop on the fastest highway to return home, getting a fast-food fix along the way.

We managed to travel through both Comanche Oklahoma (once) and Comanche Texas (twice, on different routes), were delighted to find a sewing retreat going on in a small Quilt Shop in Henrietta Texas that included two quilters that we knew, shopped at numerous Antique/Junk Shops, shopped at numerous Fabric/Quilt Shops, and read a plethora of historical markers along the way. It was such a leisurely trip that we can’t wait to do it again!

Photos of days 1-3:

(continued)

ThayerRags

My wife sewed with her Featherweight each evening in the motels, but I never did sew with my machine. Hers is electric and mine is handcrank, so we were ready to sew at about any place that we wound up. Instead, I watched cable TV (we don’t have that) or read the 1954 Reader’s Digest that my wife found early-on at a junk shop. One of the stories in the “Life In These United States” section began with: “One day as I was driving in New York, the woman in front of me turned right without putting her arm out to signal.” You don’t see stories that start like that much any more....

The treasures that we found along the way included matching fabrics for a quilt that my wife is planning to make. She took along two fabrics that she had, and then bought matching/complimentary fabrics to go along with them. She bought something at every shop, and will decide which fabrics go into the quilt and which fabrics go into her stash for another project. I came home with an empty Singer attachment puzzle box ($5) in excellent condition, a pair of rusty Wiss shears ($12) that should clean up nicely, and a three-legged adjustable wooden stool ($10) that is a little wobbly but might be tightened up to be useable again.

The other treasure that we found that might be the most important, was a giggling good time with each other, totally void of any pressures to be anywhere at any time. We recommend a “Flip-Out Vacation” to anyone who wants to get away from their daily grind for some much-needed relaxation. In four days, we ended up only 7 hours from our home, but saw a nice piece of rural Oklahoma and rural Texas, and met some very interesting people.

CD in Oklahoma

GEMRM

Great trip - sounds like a wonderful way to see people and places that are interesting.

SteveH

OK, Now THAT is Cool!!!!!!

I have done that as a day trip planning method, but never for a week or so! Awesome! We will have to try that (once I have some vacation time saved up again....)

ManiacQuilter2

WOW, that took a lot of confidence to flip a coin. Hope you didn't loose that lucky coin. Did you stop by Hobbs batting which I think is located in Waco?? Always wanted to go there.

ThayerRags

I think that you'll enjoy it. My wife and I thought that we would soon grow tired of the “coin toss” method of selecting where to go, but we didn’t. It was a little bit hectic in the beginning when we would wait to flip the coin until we were approaching the intersection though. The wife would begin to panic when I’d flip the coin only to miss it and have to find it in my lap or on the floor, while she was rapidly approaching the point where she needed to decide which way to go. LOL!! Once we began flipping the coin well ahead of the possible change in routes, we were able to relax and enjoy the trip more.

BTW: Steve, I liked your challenge with the close-up photo of your newest machine acquisition, and I have a non-sewing treasure that I picked up on this trip that I need help identifying as to actual name and use. So, I have a “what is it?” too. I’m hoping someone on the QB knows about this tool. I know it’s something associated with shoe repair or construction, but I’d like to learn what it is called and how it is used. Is it an anvil, or a last? What type of shoes is/was it used with, and for what purpose? It’s 12-inches long, tip to tip, and weighs over 6 pounds. It’s got the number “4” on it. It’s heavy enough that it seems to me like it should be some kind of anvil, and I’ve seen different sizes of them around before, but I’ve never seen one in use. Any help?

CD in Oklahoma

soman2

CD,

Looks as if you and your wife had nothing more than a two bit vacation!!

Soman2

T O Rodney

ThayerRags

LOL! Before leaving, my wife told customers that she was going to be closed for a week, and then would have to fill in the why, what, and where. Upon learning of our coin-toss trip, it was about a 50/50 split between those who were appalled and those who thought is was a terrific idea.

During our trip, it was interesting to see the facial expressions when we were asked “How did you find our shop?” and we would answer “With a coin toss”. Or when ready to leave, we would usually ask if there were more Fabric/Quilting or Antique/Junk shops in the area, and they would usually then ask which way we were headed. The times that we had to say “We don’t know yet” sometimes drew blank looks. Of course, then we had to explain about our coin toss method of navigation....

No, we didn’t stop by Hobbs. We need to go there sometime too. We need some more batting (we stock the big rolls), but we have a place in McKinney Texas where we get our Hobbs Batting. It’s a little closer to us. Besides that, we were in the car, and we usually fill the back of our pickup and camper shell when we make a batting run. I’m not sure that those big rolls will fit into our little car, especially with all of our travel junk already taking up space.

CD in Oklahoma

ThayerRags

You’re absolutely correct!!! I had thought of that name for it about the same time our daughter came up with “Flip-Out”, so we used her name for it.

CD in Oklahoma

barny

I can't think of a better way to take a vacation. You two re-learned about each other. This is the smartest thing I can think of. I've always told people I'd like to just get in the car and leave. But DH and everyone wants it all PLANNED OUT! Yuk! Can I go with you next time? I would even flip the coin for you.