we finally made it. we got home about 6:30pm Sunday. it was a long drive, but not as long as Saturday. melissa drove the bad part from Amarillo to almost Wichita Falls.
just wanted to let everyone know we made it.
the first thing i wanted was chips and hot sauce, so we went to el chico. :)
...a good ending to a great trip!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day 8 - are we to Albaturkey yet?
editorial note: no pictures in this post. (you wouldn't want them anyway)
sorry for the late post. we drove from corona, ca (just east of LA) to Albuquerque, NM on Saturday. google maps says that's about 760 miles. i know it was too long - and we have to do the same on sunday.
we wanted to make it to santa rosa, nm, but that didn't happen. when we hit albuquerque, i pulled off at the first "hotel cluster" and made a bad choice. i pulled into the super 8 (they are hit-and-miss on quality) and got a room. the room was non-smoking, but that doesn't do much good unless the whole "wing" or floor of a hotel is non-smoking. the hallway just reeked of stale cigarettes. the room smelled weird (i now think it was dog pee), and we found dog food on the floor between the bedside table and the bed. it was terrible - but we just fought through and went straight to bed.
i tried to watch a little CNN to see if there was any news on the mine accident in Utah, but was too sleepy, and it was keeping the kids up. when i turned off the tv, jaden said he could see a face in the tv. that's all it took to scare the monkey and i had to lay down with him to calm him down. an hour later i finally got to get back in bed (after he was asleep) and got to sleep myself.
i slept longer than i wanted to and we didn't get out until just after 7am. we have 623 miles to go today yet - and the stretch from amarillo to home is killer - usually 6 hours or so i think. that's probably worse than driving in the desert, but i'm not sure.
as i type this, we're nearing the texas border. yeah. i'm glad to be getting closer to home, but not looking forward to what that means. this has been one of my favorite vacations. it's right up there with montana (but not quite). having the kids on a long road trip has actually been fun. we've been able to bond alot and have (i think) lots of fun. not knowing where we would end up at the end of the day is fun - and lets us relax a whole lot more than having a set schedule. maybe this means the eastern half of "the mother road" is in our future. i hope so.
i'll post when we get home. rheanna says we have bananas on our banana tree. that's exciting! maybe we'll have fried plantains this week. :)
live from exit 369, i-40 eastbound, in New Mexico, this is jerOmey signing off. catch ya later.
sorry for the late post. we drove from corona, ca (just east of LA) to Albuquerque, NM on Saturday. google maps says that's about 760 miles. i know it was too long - and we have to do the same on sunday.
we wanted to make it to santa rosa, nm, but that didn't happen. when we hit albuquerque, i pulled off at the first "hotel cluster" and made a bad choice. i pulled into the super 8 (they are hit-and-miss on quality) and got a room. the room was non-smoking, but that doesn't do much good unless the whole "wing" or floor of a hotel is non-smoking. the hallway just reeked of stale cigarettes. the room smelled weird (i now think it was dog pee), and we found dog food on the floor between the bedside table and the bed. it was terrible - but we just fought through and went straight to bed.
i tried to watch a little CNN to see if there was any news on the mine accident in Utah, but was too sleepy, and it was keeping the kids up. when i turned off the tv, jaden said he could see a face in the tv. that's all it took to scare the monkey and i had to lay down with him to calm him down. an hour later i finally got to get back in bed (after he was asleep) and got to sleep myself.
i slept longer than i wanted to and we didn't get out until just after 7am. we have 623 miles to go today yet - and the stretch from amarillo to home is killer - usually 6 hours or so i think. that's probably worse than driving in the desert, but i'm not sure.
as i type this, we're nearing the texas border. yeah. i'm glad to be getting closer to home, but not looking forward to what that means. this has been one of my favorite vacations. it's right up there with montana (but not quite). having the kids on a long road trip has actually been fun. we've been able to bond alot and have (i think) lots of fun. not knowing where we would end up at the end of the day is fun - and lets us relax a whole lot more than having a set schedule. maybe this means the eastern half of "the mother road" is in our future. i hope so.
i'll post when we get home. rheanna says we have bananas on our banana tree. that's exciting! maybe we'll have fried plantains this week. :)
live from exit 369, i-40 eastbound, in New Mexico, this is jerOmey signing off. catch ya later.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Day 7 - Q: What's better than going to the beach?
a: going to the beach with a friend!
we met up with Michael today. he moved to California about a year ago, and we were fortunate to be able to see him on our last day here. first, he took us to In-N-Out for burgers and fries (more burgers!). according to Michael, you're supposed to have an In-N-Out burger when you visit California. i liked mine alot - at least as much as Tommy's from the day before, but melissa thought Tommy's was better. the fries weren't that great. i like crunchy fries, and theirs were more soggy.
after we filled our bellies, we headed over to newport beach. caution: if you're going to go here (to the free beach, anyway), bring plenty of quarters. the parking meters only take quarters and you're going to need 4 for an hour. we tried to park for free on the street but after just 3 streets, i was ready to pay 10 bucks just to get to the beach.
we parked (luckily, someone was leaving) and fed the meter all we had and headed for the water. jaden was able to spend the rest of his "pocket money" (thanks maw-maw!) on a boogie board at the corner store so he was ready to go. we stayed for 2 or 3 hours and had a blast! the kids wore themselves out (me too) and we got to see M.P.
...and that's it.
...well, almost. i wanted to get out of the city before getting a room, but after an hour and a half on highway 91 (we only moved 15 miles in that time), we decided (melissa decided) to find a place and start again in the morning. taking some wise advice from our ez66 guide book, we've started looking at the room we're about to get before taking it. i checked the one at the travelodge in corona, ca. even i could smell the "badness" (if you know me, you know i can't smell much except coffee and dessert) and the bathtub/shower was gross. luckily, the place next door had a room for only a little more - and it's JUST SUPER, eh? no, really, it's super. (not super 8 - just good. or great. whatever.) we're staying at the Dynasty Suites. this is the best hotel we've been in our entire trip. melissa is threatening to steal the bed covers. the room smells like paint, but that's because they just remodeled it. they have real sheetrock and paint on the walls (not icky hotel wallpaper) and nice fixtures like you would have at your house if you were remodeling (and spending some money). they have granite countertops, nicely tiled entryway, decent carpet, and super-cool art on the walls. i wish this were a chain. we would stay there every time. ...oh. and we ate at Denny's next door.
that's it. really. i have to get up early and drive all day. now go away, or i shall blog you a second time! (you silly american types)
we met up with Michael today. he moved to California about a year ago, and we were fortunate to be able to see him on our last day here. first, he took us to In-N-Out for burgers and fries (more burgers!). according to Michael, you're supposed to have an In-N-Out burger when you visit California. i liked mine alot - at least as much as Tommy's from the day before, but melissa thought Tommy's was better. the fries weren't that great. i like crunchy fries, and theirs were more soggy.
after we filled our bellies, we headed over to newport beach. caution: if you're going to go here (to the free beach, anyway), bring plenty of quarters. the parking meters only take quarters and you're going to need 4 for an hour. we tried to park for free on the street but after just 3 streets, i was ready to pay 10 bucks just to get to the beach.
we parked (luckily, someone was leaving) and fed the meter all we had and headed for the water. jaden was able to spend the rest of his "pocket money" (thanks maw-maw!) on a boogie board at the corner store so he was ready to go. we stayed for 2 or 3 hours and had a blast! the kids wore themselves out (me too) and we got to see M.P.
...and that's it.
...well, almost. i wanted to get out of the city before getting a room, but after an hour and a half on highway 91 (we only moved 15 miles in that time), we decided (melissa decided) to find a place and start again in the morning. taking some wise advice from our ez66 guide book, we've started looking at the room we're about to get before taking it. i checked the one at the travelodge in corona, ca. even i could smell the "badness" (if you know me, you know i can't smell much except coffee and dessert) and the bathtub/shower was gross. luckily, the place next door had a room for only a little more - and it's JUST SUPER, eh? no, really, it's super. (not super 8 - just good. or great. whatever.) we're staying at the Dynasty Suites. this is the best hotel we've been in our entire trip. melissa is threatening to steal the bed covers. the room smells like paint, but that's because they just remodeled it. they have real sheetrock and paint on the walls (not icky hotel wallpaper) and nice fixtures like you would have at your house if you were remodeling (and spending some money). they have granite countertops, nicely tiled entryway, decent carpet, and super-cool art on the walls. i wish this were a chain. we would stay there every time. ...oh. and we ate at Denny's next door.
that's it. really. i have to get up early and drive all day. now go away, or i shall blog you a second time! (you silly american types)
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Day 6 - Life's a Beach, then you Thai
dude.
really?
dude.
no way.
dude.
sweet.
after getting up at 7-ish (pacific time), i still didn't finish the blog until after 9, so everyone was waiting on me to leave. so, you're getting the blog about 7-8 hours early this time. i've got to get this done before i go to bed so we can "hit the beach" as early as possible tomorrow!
right. so - we started our journey by driving from barstow to with our sights on the beach (or supposedly, the "end" of route 66, but we knew we were going to the beach). driving from barstow to san bernardino was not that bad -- if you like roller coasters through scary fun houses. the freeway turned into a free-for-all fun house for raving lunatics with vehicles for weapons the further south we went. since we were doing route 66, some of the way was 2-lane throw-back blissful driving. the rest of it was like a bad dream from a solitary confinement patient in a mental ward. if you ever feel the need to drive in LA, i recommend swinging from high-voltage power lines first.
from the time we entered what i consider "town", it took us 3-4 hours to get to the other side (the beach). this is like driving through 4 Dallas's lined up back-to-back. we stopped once for a picture, once for bathroom, once for lunch, and then at the end (the beach). what other "town" would you make 4 stops driving across (not to mention the kids took a full nap)?
the picture notes say that this picture was taken in Upland, CA. i have no idea. i know i drove there and i remember taking the picture. the rest is fuzzy. oh, it *is* in front of a starbucks. i won't bore you with an anti-corporate rant. here's the picture. Jaden took it for me. :)
we ate at "The Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers" (we've had a lot of burgers). i was skeptical, but this burger was GREAT. it's bun, meat, cheese, mustard, pickles, onions, and chili wrapped up in paper and served fresh and fast. (mine had no onions) Melissa and I agreed they were well worth eating again. sadly, i have no pictures. there was a crazy guy there so we hurried up and left.
the next thing i can tell you is, we made it to the "end" of the road. that was pretty anti-climactic, but the beach was only a few blocks away, so we celebrated by taking the kids there. this vacation has always been "about the journey, not the destination", but c'mon. for all the innovative, modern, forward-thinking things that california purports to demonstrate, they could at least put up a marker or sign or statue... (maybe remembering the past is not cool)
...and now i will say something i never thought i would say....
I like the beach in California. I like swimming in the ocean here. The cool ocean breeze and the cool water with the hot sun is awesome. It's very invigorating like no other beach I've been on. I usually hate going to the ocean beaches. I dislike salt water greatly and hate the way the sand sticks to you. For some reason, those things don't bother me here. I hate everything else I've seen of LA, but the beach was worth coming here.
...with that said, here's some pictures:
...so after we got a couple hours of beach in, we packed it in and found a hotel. the whole trip, we've just been "finding" a hotel when it's time for one. i can't recommend this here. the hotels actually fill up and the good ones are usually too expensive. so... we drove some more. we drove down Pacific Coast Highway (hwy 1) for another hour or so and finally found a Best Western that was reasonably priced and nice too. technically, we're in Wilmington, CA - but it's still just LA.
anyway, we were so tired that no one wanted to go out for dinner. so, we ordered food from this Thai restaurant that had menus at the front desk of the hotel. it had really good flavor but was pretty oily for my tastes (melissa's too). the kids liked their sweet and sour chicken and Jaron ate all of his (most without much prompting). i heard the eggrolls were good, but you'd have to ask Jaden. i think he had 3.
i think we're going to the beach tomorrow. that's going to put us driving back the whole way in 2 days. i'm not looking forward to that. but, i'm not going to think about that now. i'm just going to think about going to the beach again. maybe i'll just stay. ;)
gotta get some sleep.
thanks for the comments! it's fun to read your replies.
sleepers tight - don't let the beach bugs bite.
really?
dude.
no way.
dude.
sweet.
after getting up at 7-ish (pacific time), i still didn't finish the blog until after 9, so everyone was waiting on me to leave. so, you're getting the blog about 7-8 hours early this time. i've got to get this done before i go to bed so we can "hit the beach" as early as possible tomorrow!
right. so - we started our journey by driving from barstow to with our sights on the beach (or supposedly, the "end" of route 66, but we knew we were going to the beach). driving from barstow to san bernardino was not that bad -- if you like roller coasters through scary fun houses. the freeway turned into a free-for-all fun house for raving lunatics with vehicles for weapons the further south we went. since we were doing route 66, some of the way was 2-lane throw-back blissful driving. the rest of it was like a bad dream from a solitary confinement patient in a mental ward. if you ever feel the need to drive in LA, i recommend swinging from high-voltage power lines first.
from the time we entered what i consider "town", it took us 3-4 hours to get to the other side (the beach). this is like driving through 4 Dallas's lined up back-to-back. we stopped once for a picture, once for bathroom, once for lunch, and then at the end (the beach). what other "town" would you make 4 stops driving across (not to mention the kids took a full nap)?
the picture notes say that this picture was taken in Upland, CA. i have no idea. i know i drove there and i remember taking the picture. the rest is fuzzy. oh, it *is* in front of a starbucks. i won't bore you with an anti-corporate rant. here's the picture. Jaden took it for me. :)we ate at "The Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers" (we've had a lot of burgers). i was skeptical, but this burger was GREAT. it's bun, meat, cheese, mustard, pickles, onions, and chili wrapped up in paper and served fresh and fast. (mine had no onions) Melissa and I agreed they were well worth eating again. sadly, i have no pictures. there was a crazy guy there so we hurried up and left.
the next thing i can tell you is, we made it to the "end" of the road. that was pretty anti-climactic, but the beach was only a few blocks away, so we celebrated by taking the kids there. this vacation has always been "about the journey, not the destination", but c'mon. for all the innovative, modern, forward-thinking things that california purports to demonstrate, they could at least put up a marker or sign or statue... (maybe remembering the past is not cool)
...and now i will say something i never thought i would say....
I like the beach in California. I like swimming in the ocean here. The cool ocean breeze and the cool water with the hot sun is awesome. It's very invigorating like no other beach I've been on. I usually hate going to the ocean beaches. I dislike salt water greatly and hate the way the sand sticks to you. For some reason, those things don't bother me here. I hate everything else I've seen of LA, but the beach was worth coming here.
...with that said, here's some pictures:
...so after we got a couple hours of beach in, we packed it in and found a hotel. the whole trip, we've just been "finding" a hotel when it's time for one. i can't recommend this here. the hotels actually fill up and the good ones are usually too expensive. so... we drove some more. we drove down Pacific Coast Highway (hwy 1) for another hour or so and finally found a Best Western that was reasonably priced and nice too. technically, we're in Wilmington, CA - but it's still just LA.
anyway, we were so tired that no one wanted to go out for dinner. so, we ordered food from this Thai restaurant that had menus at the front desk of the hotel. it had really good flavor but was pretty oily for my tastes (melissa's too). the kids liked their sweet and sour chicken and Jaron ate all of his (most without much prompting). i heard the eggrolls were good, but you'd have to ask Jaden. i think he had 3.
i think we're going to the beach tomorrow. that's going to put us driving back the whole way in 2 days. i'm not looking forward to that. but, i'm not going to think about that now. i'm just going to think about going to the beach again. maybe i'll just stay. ;)
gotta get some sleep.
thanks for the comments! it's fun to read your replies.
sleepers tight - don't let the beach bugs bite.
Day 5 - the word for the day is, "Contrast"
when you set out to travel route 66, you find out that alot of the "newer" road was taken over by the Interstate when it came roaring through (progress and demolition - it's the American way). this, however, gives you the chance to experience some of the earlier roads that made up route 66. some of them are now state highways, some are gravel roads, and some simply don't exist any more - which forces you to drive on the Interstate. ick. i say this to tell you what a joy we had driving down a gravel (dirt) road after leaving Flagstaff, AZ. this road winds along and through a national forest and over the hills and through the woods. what a beautiful drive this is! if you're not in a hurry and can stand to drive 20-50 mph, i highly recommend this option. here's a picture of what it looked like driving this road.==================================
Dear Doug,
Hi. This is Williams, AZ. I know you don't know me, but I have a message for you:
Sincerely,Williams Air Izona
==================================
We slowed down in Ashfork, AZ just long enough to take some "retro" pictures.... because there's not much else to do there.
We stopped at another "tourist trap" just before Peach Springs, AZ. At least this one was only 1 mile off of the highway (the meteor crater was 6). The Grand Canyon Caverns sounded really cool, but the tour was going to be $12.50 each for Melissa and I and not sure about the kids - but it was a "guided tour" that only lasted 45 minutes. What a racket. How did all of these cool natural things end up as tourist traps instead of "public" parks? We did get some pictures and wandered through the gift shop. The food at the restaurant looked and smelled good, but it wasn't time for lunch yet.
We took a couple of shots of the "desert in action." We saw several "dust devils" or, more properly,
"cyclone dust." The other desolate desert shot was just to show the CONTRAST between the Flagstaff area and the Mojave desert. It's only 2 hours from Flagstaff to Kingman (where we snapped these photos). I was amazed.Most of the desert looked like this, but some was more interesting. We saw some mountains with nice colors and rock formations. One place where we stopped while driving the back road through the mountains even showed some evidence of recent donkey/horse visitations. :) Here are a few random shots of desert fun!
Just before we got up into the "high desert" roads, we stopped and took this shot of the boys walking down the road past one of the many "route 66" symbols painted on the road. Melissa is responsible this awesome picture:
We passed through Oatman, AZ. This is a small "tourist trap" town with no other industry. It used to be a mining town, but that's long since gone. Now they make a buck off of people stopping to feed the "wild burros" and buying t-shirts (which were $3.50 according to the sign), but we didn't stop.
Between Danby and Amboy (neither town should really be on the map), people have been leaving their names in the dirt berm along the side of the road for years. Most are just plain rocks, but we saw some with bottles, sticks, and even some with painted/colored rocks that really stand out. Being tourists, we just had to leave our mark! (hey, at least it's not destructive) There were large snake holes around and it was super, super hot. I can't imagine trying to cross the desert in a wagon or on foot!
Oh, by the way, we *did* make it to California! We were disappointed in the border, though. First we had to pass through an "Agricultural Inspection" where they ask you if you have any animals, plants, or fruit/vegetable products and search your car just to make sure. Reminded me of driving to Canada and then trying to get back into the US. Then, the "Welcome to California" sign was just a boring, green and white sign and was situated at the end of a busy bridge/interstate with absolutely no chance of stopping to take a picuture. Boo to you, California!
We ate at a truck stop Dairy Queen (bad) and stopped at the first decent Motel in Barstow to get a room. Jaden and I swam and then straight to bed. What a long day! We drove from Flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA, but it seemed like twice as long because the desert is a lonely, boring place to drive - especially when you get outside of the mountain-ish area.
We're off to LA today. Pray for us. I'm going to try to avoid the traffic, but I hear that's impossible.
until tomorrow,
...may your desert ride be short, your donkey fast, and your water cold.
vaya con Dios.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Day 4 - Look, ma! I glow in the dark!
leaving Los Lunas, NM, i noticed it didn't feel as hot. in fact it felt downright nice even though the temperature was up there. we got up and out fairly early (partly because we're going back in time going west).first stop was the Mining Museum in Grants, NM. this area of NM is known for its mining (historically, anyway) - and especially mining Uranium. The Chamber of Commerce there has converted half of their building (or more) into an interactive Museum display for mining history and education. this was really interesting to me - not so much for the kids, but they suffered
through pretty well. in fact, the "basement" part of the exhibit (where you ride an elevator to the basement that they've completely remodeled to look very much like being in an underground mine) scared Jaron at first. it took quite a bit of consoling to persuade him that we were going to be ok - and as soon as he saw the elevator again, he was all about getting back "up top." i have to give the city their props - this exhibit was super-cool, especially for a small town.
on the road again, we stopped at the Continental Divide sign when we passed. sadly, it was located at a broken-down Indian Gift Shop along the way and the sign looked hand-painted. this wasn't nearly as nice as the signs we've seen in Colorado. it did give me a chance to take a picture that was pointed out in our route 66 book. it shows a historic route 66 sign next to a "road closed to thru traffic" and a "dead end" sign. framed in the background is an old service station/hotel sign that is just a memory of the old route. i thought it was cool, but i'm odd. :)
woo-hoo! made it to Arizona! not that the part we drove through was that interesting, but it's good to feel like we're making progress. eastern Arizona was very desolate - and having to drive on the Interstate made it even worse. the Interstate makes me feel disconnected from the places through which we're driving - and it seems that almost none of the original route 66 is in tact in eastern Arizona. traveling is much more fun and interesting when we can take our time and drive through all of the small towns to view the old buildings/signs.
if you're an Eagles fan (the band, not the team), you'll recognize this reference... we had our picture taken on a corner in Winslow, AZ. notice the girl in the "flat-bed Ford" in the background. (she's checking me out) ;) (we had someone else take the picture, so forgive the sun dots)
we almost went to a huge meteor crater, but they wanted $15 for melissa and i, and $7 for jaden - and they were only going to be open for 2 more hours when we got there. seems like a big rip-off to me (reminded me immediately of the Royal Gorge in Colorado).
we rolled through Winona, and didn't even realize it except for an old abandoned bridge that was part of the original route. right down the road a few miles is Flagstaff, AZ. we stayed at the super 8 near downtown. it's ok but nothing special. you can tell they really put some effort into remodeling, but it's super old and the lack of a proper air conditioner (we had a window unit) made me hot all night long. i wanted to open the window, but couldn't.
the best thing i've found about Flagstaff is the Flagstaff Brewing Co. we ate dinner there last night. we tried their sampler of beers. i liked the porter and melissa liked the golden ale. the porter had a distinctive "campfire" flavor - but with no burn or char flavor. the golden ale tasted like butter or buttered popcorn. they were both excellent. they also had Moose Drool on tap, but by the time I finished 1 porter, it was time to go. walking in Flagstaff is fun. this is an "outdoors town" and would be a great place to live -given that i know absolutely nothing else about the town except for the beer and the weather... but hey, what else do you need to know?
gotta run. melissa and the kids are already up, dressed, and fed. i think i'm slowing down ;)
wish us luck - we're California bound today! until next time, same blog time, same blog channel.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day 3 - it's been a hard day's drive...
dear diary,
remind me to never stay at the best western adobe inn in Santa Rosa, NM ever again. the owner was not very friendly and neither were the rooms...
...we got up and out as soon as we could to get to the Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa. they had many fully restored classic cars on display. the kids thought they were really cool (especially the mustangs)! jaron took this picture:
i like the woody:
movin' right along... we hit the road again taking the "pre-1937" route 66 option that goes up north to Santa Fe, NM before heading back down to Albuquerque, NM. i stopped at I-40 and Hwy 84 to take some pictures of some clouds coming over the mountains in the distance.
some of the "side trips" on this route included stopping at several old church buildings. we stopped at this one in Canoncito, NM. there were some really old grave markers here.
nearly into Santa Fe, NM, the view was spectacular and there was a pull-off, so i had to stop and take these pics.
melissa snapped this bumper sticker in traffic in Santa Fe, NM. is says, "isn't a smoking area in a restaurant like a peeing area in a swimming pool?"
here are some pictures of more mountains just outside of Algodones, NM.
we stopped in Albuquerque, NM just long enough to snap these pictures of the "Madonna of the Trail" statue.
the traffic on the route 66 roads was bad because it was nearly the end of the work day. we had hoped to make it to Arizona today, but alas, the Santa Fe drive combined with the Albuquerque traffic destined us to find a place for weary travelers asap.
we got a quick bite (good pizza!) at Dion's in Los Lunas, NM. we even got a Supreme and convinced the kids to eat most of the "stuff" that was on it. (wow!)
melissa made a great hotel pick - the Western Skies Inn and Suites. clean rooms, decent breakfast (with real, hot, fresh waffles), and super friendly staff! put this one on your short list!
we walked across the street and i got some ice cream at cold stone while the kids rode their scooters and let out some energy. the monkey hit a rock and smacked his head into the asphalt, but he's ok. (it wouldn't be a good day without a head injury for him) :)
more tomorrow!
remind me to never stay at the best western adobe inn in Santa Rosa, NM ever again. the owner was not very friendly and neither were the rooms...
...we got up and out as soon as we could to get to the Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa. they had many fully restored classic cars on display. the kids thought they were really cool (especially the mustangs)! jaron took this picture:
i like the woody:
movin' right along... we hit the road again taking the "pre-1937" route 66 option that goes up north to Santa Fe, NM before heading back down to Albuquerque, NM. i stopped at I-40 and Hwy 84 to take some pictures of some clouds coming over the mountains in the distance.
some of the "side trips" on this route included stopping at several old church buildings. we stopped at this one in Canoncito, NM. there were some really old grave markers here.
nearly into Santa Fe, NM, the view was spectacular and there was a pull-off, so i had to stop and take these pics.
melissa snapped this bumper sticker in traffic in Santa Fe, NM. is says, "isn't a smoking area in a restaurant like a peeing area in a swimming pool?"
here are some pictures of more mountains just outside of Algodones, NM.
we stopped in Albuquerque, NM just long enough to snap these pictures of the "Madonna of the Trail" statue.
the traffic on the route 66 roads was bad because it was nearly the end of the work day. we had hoped to make it to Arizona today, but alas, the Santa Fe drive combined with the Albuquerque traffic destined us to find a place for weary travelers asap.
we got a quick bite (good pizza!) at Dion's in Los Lunas, NM. we even got a Supreme and convinced the kids to eat most of the "stuff" that was on it. (wow!)
melissa made a great hotel pick - the Western Skies Inn and Suites. clean rooms, decent breakfast (with real, hot, fresh waffles), and super friendly staff! put this one on your short list!
we walked across the street and i got some ice cream at cold stone while the kids rode their scooters and let out some energy. the monkey hit a rock and smacked his head into the asphalt, but he's ok. (it wouldn't be a good day without a head injury for him) :)
more tomorrow!
Day 2 - better late than never
production note: the reason this wasn't posted yesterday is we broke ANOTHER piece of doug's electronics. (the card reader for the compact flash)
the air conditioner works really well at the irish inn; the place we stayed in shamrock, tx.
we also increased our luck when melissa kiss a piece of the blarney stone - also at the irish inn.
we stopped at a couple of old landmarks. first, was the old lela high school built of brick in 1928 after the first school (built around 1902) burned. it closed in 1992 after the school district was annexed to the shamrock school district.
then a little further down the road in mclean, tx, we stopped and took some shots of an old phillips 66 station that's been fully restored. (at least on the outside) it was built in the 20's as the first phillips 66 station in texas.
continuing with the restored gas station theme, this is a texaco station in alanreed,tx. built by bradley kizer in 1930.
now if you look to your right, or should i say, lean to your right, we have the leaning tower of groom. yes i am holding the camera straight. the tower is leaning. that is why it is called the leaning tower. they built it that way on purpose. side note: this is where they got the idea for the "leaning tower of tires" in the movie cars.
next time we will know to bring our bug spray... paint that is. for the bug farm located in conway, tx.
yay! we made it to another state!
these stretches of route 66 have shown to be interesting...
yes, that sign is for us. and yes, we have to go through that gate and over several cattle guards. also keeping us on our toes was this new mexico underpass that the book warns *not* to attempt if it is raining.
we made it to santa rosa, nm. our experiences here were of wide range. the food at the comet II restaurant was wonderful!
and, well, let's just say the best western wasn't.
the air conditioner works really well at the irish inn; the place we stayed in shamrock, tx.
we also increased our luck when melissa kiss a piece of the blarney stone - also at the irish inn.
we stopped at a couple of old landmarks. first, was the old lela high school built of brick in 1928 after the first school (built around 1902) burned. it closed in 1992 after the school district was annexed to the shamrock school district.
then a little further down the road in mclean, tx, we stopped and took some shots of an old phillips 66 station that's been fully restored. (at least on the outside) it was built in the 20's as the first phillips 66 station in texas.
continuing with the restored gas station theme, this is a texaco station in alanreed,tx. built by bradley kizer in 1930.
now if you look to your right, or should i say, lean to your right, we have the leaning tower of groom. yes i am holding the camera straight. the tower is leaning. that is why it is called the leaning tower. they built it that way on purpose. side note: this is where they got the idea for the "leaning tower of tires" in the movie cars.
next time we will know to bring our bug spray... paint that is. for the bug farm located in conway, tx.
yay! we made it to another state!
these stretches of route 66 have shown to be interesting...
yes, that sign is for us. and yes, we have to go through that gate and over several cattle guards. also keeping us on our toes was this new mexico underpass that the book warns *not* to attempt if it is raining.
we made it to santa rosa, nm. our experiences here were of wide range. the food at the comet II restaurant was wonderful!
and, well, let's just say the best western wasn't.
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