Day 12, Thursday, September 5, 2019

Today was an eventful day.  It all started with hitting the road at 7:30am to head to LAX to pick up Carm.  Of course, her flight decided to land half an hour early and since it is rush hour in CA, what could have been a 1 hour and 15 minute ride, took almost 2 ½ hours.  In the drive to the airport, I thoroughly enjoyed taking advantage of the carpool lane.  Being able to use that certainly saved us a bunch of time.  I did use my out-of-state plates as an excuse for driving like an occasional idiot (especially at the airport), but I did not care.

We got Carm without any problems and headed to Santa Monica pier.  Again, traffic is a lovely thing and it took us over an hour to go just a few miles.  But, we made it the and stood under the “End Route 66” sign.  We finally did it!  We made it to the end of Route 66!!!  12 days and 2500+ miles.  It was such an exhilarating experience to know that we accomplished it and saw SO much of our beautiful country.  Of course, we had to get photos of Mom and me under the sign showing we finished, but then we also had to get a picture with Mom and Carm because now their trip back was starting.

Before leaving the pier, we stopped into Bubba Gumps for brunch.  Our waiter, Ray, was awesome and hilarious.  We had an amazing view and a delicious and filling meal.  It was needed because our next venture is heading to San Diego.

On the way to SD, we were going to stop to visit cousins.  Of course, everything in CA is slow-going, so it took much longer than anticipated to get to Brian and Kristen’s.  Adding on to that, getting into their place was a challenge in and of itself.  I’m used to gated communities because of other family and friends, but I’ve never had to turn over my driver’s license and my plate information along with the name and address of the person I’m visiting.  Before we can even get to those steps though, the gate keeper had us sitting waiting for 5 minutes while she futzed around trying to sort out a delivery truck situation two lanes over.  It was such a process!

Finally, though we got to Brian & Kristen’s.  We haven’t seen them since their wedding five years ago, but in true Italian form, the food, wine and conversation were plentiful.  We could not stay too long though, since we still had a good hour and a half drive the rest of the way down to San Diego.  The visit was short, but it was so good that we even had that much time to spend together.

The final stretch down San Diego was easy.  It helped that it was around 9pm when left, so the traffic was a minimum.  After another long day of driving, I was ready to crawl into bed without even changing clothes.

Definitely sleeping in.

Day 11, Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Today was a VERY long day of driving and a bit stressful as well.  Overall, we ended up driving around 500 miles today and made it through all the mountains, desserts and detours that were in our way.

It all started at 8:06am and we didn’t get to the hotel until 7:30pm.  We drove from Williams, AZ saying goodbye to the Grand Canyon and headed through the dessert to California.  When we left AZ, the temperature was 54 degrees, as we drove through California it was over 110.  Since we had such a long stretch to go, we did not make as many stops as we normally would.  So things like the Road Kill Café in Seligman had to be passed

We had to make a quick stop in Kingman to get the stamp from Arizona in our Route 66 Passports.  They had a nice ’66 museum that showed the history of the area going back to the first settlers and not just what happened once the Route was created.  They had a nice display about the Dust Bowl and once again they made reference to The Grapes of Wrath.  I didn’t realize the term ‘the mother road’ was coined for Rt. 66 in that story.  As we see this more and more in the museums we’ve gone through, I think I need to add this to my reading list.

After our stop in Kingman, we were making really good time but just before noon, we hit the part of ’66 that follows the Back Country Byway.  Basically, we go into the mountains and follow tiny roads next to steep cliffs around hair pin turns where we can’t see who’s coming from the other direction.  It took us about an hour and a half to go 40 miles and it may have taken years off our lives.  One of the last landmarks on the Byway is Oatman, where the burros run the town.  Oatman has only one through road and as we pulled in, we came to a dead stop.  Watching the burros along the sidewalks, I thought perhaps one had been hit.  Then we heard the gun shots.  It was noon – high noon, and the town was putting on their daily High Noon Shootout.  Honestly, we did not feel the need to get out and watch.  Once the shooting was over and the bandits were captured, they cleared out of the street and the line of traffic was able to move again.  Our way out of town was a slalom around the burros until we were finally able to make it to the open road once again.

From there we continued our long trek through the dessert.  We made it across into California where the heat was sky high.  We pulled in for lunch at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and did our best to keep the car as cool as possible.  In the restaurant, even the waitresses who live there year-round were even complaining about the heat.  We had to laugh though because on the back of their shirts it said, “But it’s a dry heat!”

After gassing up the car and ourselves we headed out to the dessert.  Mom was white knuckled in the scary mountains, but I have to admit this is where I was a little nervous.  It was ridiculously hot getting up to 115 and never going below 105 for what seemed, hundreds of miles.  There were a few times when you could tell the transmission was slipping a little and since there would be no sign of civilization for miles and miles, I was a little nervous we’d break down in the middle of the scorching dessert with nothing and no one around us.

And then… we had to take a 20 mile detour because the Route was closed and “impassable.”  This detour though, took us down through the old lava fields.  That was really interesting to see.  Again, something I have never seen before other than on TV.  Along this stretch was also the original location of the Bagdad Café.  Mom and I did not know the movie and therefore didn’t know the reference to the café, so we just passed the landmark.  I guess in addition to reading The Grapes of Wrath, I’ll also need to watch Bagdad Café.

The vast nothing-ness continued on pretty much until we hit San Bernardino.  At which point the whole game changed.  Here we started to hit the city traffic which combined with the fact that street names and highway interchanges have changed since our guidebook had been written meant things were much slower going.  We had to make a couple of U-turns, but eventually made it to the hotel.

Once again, we are staying in a Wigwam Motel.  This one was a little more modernized though.  Although it had mostly the same generally set-up, the décor was more complete and comfortable (night stands, newer mattresses, etc.), the bathroom was laid out differently (more efficiently), there was a fridge in the room and they didn’t sacrifice one of the two tiny windows for the air conditioner.  The outside was not decorated as well with the old classic cars though.  If we could have mixed together the outside of the motel in Holbrook, AZ with the insides of the teepees in Rialto, CA it would be a perfect Rt. 66 experience.

We were completely exhausted, but after such long day we needed to get food.  We ended up at this cute Mexican restaurant that had no air conditioning and was 90 degrees inside.  We did not care since we just needed something that wasn’t a sandwich or country fried steak.  It was probably the best taco salad I’ve had and the margarita really hit the spot.

Long day, good food, and a touch of alcohol.  It did not take long to fall asleep.

Day 10, Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Today was a nice quiet day.  Our total driving distance was 5 miles.

We decided to take a break from the Route 66 trip and take a trip up to the Grand Canyon.  I am loving the journey on the Route, but I have to admit that it was nice not having to either navigate or drive at all.

The morning started at 9am with a quick old west shoot out to get us in the mood before loading the train that would take us up to the Canyon.  Mom and I decided to splurge a little on the train ride up and we got seats in the in the dome car so we could see all the sights along the way.  Turns out, we were in the front row of all the dome cars so we truly had an unobstructed view of the terrain.  The only draw back to our seats was that there was very little leg room.  By the end of the 2+ hour ride, my legs were starting to get a little cramped.  During the ride, they had refreshments and entertainment.  We even saw the North Pole village they use during the winter months when they run the Polar Express train.

At the Canyon, we hopped on a bus and they took us around to see a few different viewing points along the south rim.  This was not my first time to the Grand Canyon, but I guess my memories have a faded a little.  In my head I know how massive it is, but to see it again I had forgotten just how overwhelmingly large it is.  Standing there on the edge, it does not look like it’s 10 miles across or a mile down.  It’s so majestic.

Our tour guide was full of information and even took the time to show us some ancient footage of when the Canyon was just being formed (Fred Flintstone).  We had to constantly stop the bus so the other passengers could view the deer along the side of the roads.  Seeing as I have to avoid the deer on an almost daily basis at home, I did not share in their enthusiasm.  I will admit, it is cool to see those types of things when they are not part of your normal daily life.  Our tour guide enjoyed pointing out the tiny packs of homo sapiens and they’re movement patterns (i.e. usually the one leading is lost).

It was not a long visit, but enjoyable none-the-less.  On the train ride back to Williams, Mom and I decided to opt for a lower class so we did not have dome view we had going up, but that’s alright since the long day and walking around in the hot sun was very draining.  I will admit, the entertainment on this car was better too so that was another plus.  Of course the train got robbed on the way back, but fear not, the sheriff caught the bandits.

Back in Williams, we enjoyed dinner at the Route 66 diner where I finally was able to get my Strawberry Malted Milkshake.  Mmm mmm good!

Tomorrow is going to be a loooooooong day.  At least 400 miles to get to San Bernardino.  Time for some shut eye.

All too quickly, we had to say goodbye to our Wigwam.  It was quaint and cozy, but we must be off to see quite literally bigger things.  Today we head to Williams, AZ where we’ll be staying for TWO WHOLE NIGHTS!  Tomorrow, we’ll be taking a train up to the Grand Canyon and it’ll be nice to have a day off from driving.

Today (Labor Day) we were a little concerned we were going to have to visit Denny’s again because everyone would be closed for the holiday.  Luckily, Joe & Aggie’s Café was open.  It is a typical old school dive-y type Route 66 restaurant.  The booths are old and ripped, the décor is monochromatic brown and everyone who works there is obviously related.  But these are some of the best parts of the trip.  The food was good and we were even supplied with some light breakfast reading, “How To Cope When You Are Surrounded By Idiots.”  As we were leaving though, the owner was telling us that she took over the restaurant from her parents who had bought it from her grandparents (Joe and Aggie).  Joe and Aggie are the real life individuals the creators of Cars used to base the characters of Stanley and Lizzie on.  She showed us some pictures and articles about it.  It was really touching to see their memory live on not only in the restaurant, but in the movie as well.

After gassing up, we headed out and found ourselves at the Jackrabbit trading post.  For those who don’t know (like me) the Jackrabbit is a store that had billboard after billboard advertising their location for up to a hundred miles away.  Similar to Wall Drug, or according to Mom, like South of the Border on the East coast.  It reminded me of the billboard overload on I-70 just before the Indiana & Ohio border advertising “Tom Raper RV’s.”  This store definitely had everything, and I was able to pick up a couple souvenirs.  If I had been a little taller, I could have climbed on the giant jackrabbit that sits outside, but alas we had to settle for a picture of us sharing a kiss.

Moving along (just plugging away today!) we finally made it Winslow, Arizona where could take a picture at that infamous corner.  On the way into town, we stopped at their 9/11 memorial where two beams from the towers stand along with a flag that flew at the Pentagon.  Simple and touching all at once.

In town, we got some good pictures together at The Corner.  Everyone was trading off taking pictures for one another.  I think the locals who live there, try to avoid that section of town as much as possible.  It certainly wasn’t crowded, but there was a constant stream of people milling about in the middle of the street trying to get the best shots.

Sadly, because of the holiday, we didn’t get a chance to visit the Chamber of Commerce and see their ’66 museum.  I guess we’ll just have to come back and check it out another time.

Our next stop was open though (thank goodness) at the Meteor Crater just West of Winslow.  This is the sight of where a meteor impacted with the Earth some 40,000-50,000 years ago.  It was fascinating to see this massive divot in the middle of the flat dessert.  The museum has some interesting displays of how fast the crater was moving and how big it was and the kind of impact it made, but I can’t help to wonder how they can be so sure of any of this since they never actually found the meteor itself.  In the end, it’s still totally amazing.

From there we headed to Flagstaff, and talk about a culture shock.  At the Meteor Crater, it was near 100 degrees, blue sky and complete dessert.  About an hour or so later, we were in the Mountains, surrounded by trees, where it was starting to rain and the temperature had dropped at least 30 degrees.  A little brisk!  Lunch was another adventure.  After some false starts, we decided on Howard Johnson’s.  A classic old school road trip stop, and place I had never been.  It certainly wasn’t the icon I knew it to be from Mad Men, but it did retain some of its old school charm.  I enjoyed the model train that circled the restaurant constantly.

A quick stop in the Flagstaff visitor center to get our Route 66 Passports stamped and we were off Williams, AZ.  The Gateway to the Grand Canyon.

Williams was the last town to be bypassed from ’66, plus with its proximity to the Grand Canyon it is one of the most intact small towns remaining on the Route.  The town is filled with shops and restaurants, not to mention the fact that the trains to the Grand Canyon depart from here.

Tonight’s hotel is another kitchy one.  At the Canyon Motel and RV Park, they turned a few defunct railroad cars to motel rooms.  The have one passenger car and two cabooses that you can choose from.  Mom and I are just staying in the passenger car, but when Mom is driving back with Carm they’ll be staying in one of the cute red cabooses.  This is probably one of the most spacious non-standard hotel rooms we’ve been in.  Kind of like the wigwam, I was not expecting that.  There is even a huge porch to sit on, but seeing as it’s raining that is not an enjoyable option.

We had a few hours to kill, so we wandered in and out of the shops and had dinner and found out that every night they perform a gunfight in the middle of the street.  So, we stuck around for that.  It was campy and predictable, but I found the cow jokes hilarious.  I can’t do ‘em justice, you had to be there.

Tomorrow is the Grand Canyon, so we’ll be up and out early.  It’ll be our first day off from driving in over a week.  It’s been around 15 years since the last time I’ve been to the Grand Canyon and I can’t wait to see it again.  Hopefully the rain pushes off and we get a nice bright day.

Day 8, Sunday, September 1, 2019

So much for a “short” day.  We only had 90 miles to go to get from Gallup, NM to Holbrook, AZ.  Granted, we had a few hours this evening to relax (thankfully I was able to get at least two entries completed).

This morning we actually had breakfast in the hotel.  We try to avoid hotel food at every chance since it is usually so expensive, but for all the gripes I had about this hotel the breakfast was quite good.  We made sure we fueled up since the plan was to take a slight detour off the Route through the Painted Dessert and the Petrified Forest.

The way out of town was easy-peasy, but as we were trucking along our path was stopped by a line of construction cones.  Some of the rocky cliffs are right up at the edge of the road and in this one instance the cliff decided to lose a few pounds.  Right in our path!  Thankfully, the route runs along closely to I-40 so it was easy to backtrack the 4 or so miles to the nearest entrance ramp and hop on the highway.  As soon as we got into Arizona (8 miles later) we were able to hop back on 66 and continue the real journey.

As we’re tooling along, Mom slams on her breaks because suddenly a horse just starts meandering in front of our path.  I guess he did not like the patch of grass his friends were working on, so he decided to partake in the deliciousness on the other side of the road. 

After waiting patiently for the local to grab his snack we continued on. After some ins and outs and an occasional jaunt on the highway where the route was not able to stand the test of time, we ventured off and headed into the Painted Dessert & Petrified Forest National Park.  The National Park is 28 miles of ancient natural wonders.  We thought it would take us an hour or two to go through the park, but 4 hours and one sunburn later we finally finished our little tour. 

This was an amazing experience.  We started on the north side and saw the Painted Dessert.  The colors in the rocks are unbelievable.  So clearly you can see each level and change in the rocks. Next , we drove along the path to see the ancient petroglyphs which even included a sundial.  Then, we wove around to the southern end of the park and made it to the Petrified Forest.  I must admit, I did not know what to expect.  All I’ve known is that they are ancient trees that have turned to stone.  In my head that meant they were gray fossil kind of structures.  I did not expect them to be so colorful and almost fake looking.  The way the stones looked, they almost appeared to be made out of Lego’s. I love that we were able to see and touch so many. No, I did not take any rocks with me. I do not need the bad luck that follows Petrified Forest thieves.

Definitely definitely, if you have not been here, check it out.  It is such a fascinating wonder to see.

Exhausted and starving, we headed away from the park and towards Holbrook, AZ in search of food and our latest home.  Being on the road for a week, it does mess with your sense of timing though.  When we got into town, we realized that most of the restaurants were closed.  Not only is it a small town where most things close on Sunday’s but it’s also a holiday weekend.  Sadly, we had to settle for fast food or Denny’s.  Denny’s won.

Tonight’s motel was truly a “Cars” experience.  We stayed in the Wigwam Motel!  It was so cute, and more spacious than I would have thought.  There were about 16 teepees in the complex and each one also had a classic car parked in front to give it even more of an old Route experience.  If they had been orange, it totally would have been the Cozy Cone from the movie.  The room was good, but the shower cracked me up a little.  Since the structure of the building is circular, the wall of the shower is somewhat rounded.  Because of that, you had to be careful not to bang your elbows against the one wall.  Also, the way the plumbing was, the showerhead was so low that even I had to do a bit of back bend to fit under it.  It was the perfect size for Mom though.

We didn’t get to enjoy the sunset this time because a storm was threatening.  It never actually rained, but the sky was completely dark and the wind was horrendous.  Oh well. Enjoying my time in our cozy little cone catching up on my journal.

Until tomorrow!

Saturday, August 31, 2019 (Day 7)

A short mileage day, only went about 195 today.

The day began with a quiet walk through downtown Albuquerque to grab some breakfast. The loud shenanigans of last night were over and we were some of the only people out and about.

The Standard Diner was pleasant for breakfast, although it was a bit modernized. Some of that classic charm has been replaced by a modern ambiance. but the food was still good. As we walked back to the hotel, the sun was at our backs and we got a perfect shot of our shadows below the shadow of a Route 66 sign. When I figure out how to add photos, I’ll definitely be using that as the cover page.

On our way out of town, we stopped in an old RV park to check out some ’50’s and ’60’s style RV’s. It would have been more interesting if we could have gone inside, but it was a nice little jaunt none-the-less. I chuckled at the one that even had a doorbell attached to it. My RV experience is extremely limited; I never knew they had doorbells!

The ride out of Albuquerque to Gallup was filled with a lot of wide open road. Of course there were some interesting geological structures, but in general it was a lot of straight road out in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. The only sense of civilation was the constant stream of freight trains chugging along next to us. The Route goes along the main BNSF tracks and we rarely saw a break between one four engine train after the next. Thank goodness any time we had to cross the tracks, they had the forethought to build a bridge.

A little more than halfway to Gallup, we stopped in Grants. Mainly for food and gas, but Grants was also a booming mining town up until the mid ’80’s. After our boring Pizza Hut stop (there weren’t many options) we checked out Grant’s Uranium Mining Museum. I only vaguely remember going down to the coal mines in Pennsylvania when I was a kid, but from the bits that I can remember this was completely different. The main point being that there seemed to be so much space and light. For a tiny little town, their museum was quite nice. It was a good quick stop along the Route that was different from all of the classic motels, diners and shops we see so many of.

After Grants, it was time to finish the jaunt to Gallup. Gallup is a MUCH larger town (probably in part because the University of New Mexico has a campus there). We stayed at the El Rancho M/Hotel. This was an adventure. The hotel was originally THE go to place where movie stars would stay when they were in town filming old Westerns. Each room in the main hotel section is named in honor of an actor who stayed there. We were in Dennis Morgan’s room (honestly have no idea who that is).

In the lobby, they certainly went all out with the western & American Indian themed decor. There was even a woman there weaving a blanket. Our room… let’s just say it had a lot of character. First off, it was on the second floor. Normally, I like being on the second floor or higher. But when you have a car load of stuff to bring up it kind of is a big deal that the elevator is currently out of service (I suddenly feel like I’m back at home). We get in our room and at first glance it seems like a decent enough room. Plenty of space, comfortable beds, etc. We notice the temperature in the room is currently 79. A little warm, but understandable that they don’t pay to cool unoccupied rooms. The bathroom was a little small, but it had all of the necessities.

And then we return from dinner and the ugly truth comes out. First off, it turns out they don’t have air conditioning. They have air coolers which are supposed to push cool air into the rooms, but it’s all based on the water temperature. Well, when the air temperature is over 95 during the day, you can imagine it doesn’t do much help temp of the water or the air coolers to cool the rooms. When we asked the front desk about the room temperature they told us to open the windows and since the sun has gone down the temp in the room should go down. That’s a great idea since our hotel faces another hotel and it’s not like we have any type of sheer curtains to keep people from looking in (there are also no screens on the windows to keep the bugs out). We can have privacy and be hot or we can open everything up for all the world to see in an attempt to cool things down. We opted for a half and half version, but since there was no breeze our room never went below 79. Apparently, the air coolers cool the 1st floor first. That must be where the A-listers stayed.

It didn’t end there. The room had one plug, so so much for charging anything overnight. And the bathroom mirror is so high Mom can’t see into it. Honestly thought, the bed was really comfortable. If it wasn’t so damn hot, I could have ignored the rest. Oh well. This is an adventure.

Dinner was at the well advertise Earl’s Family Eatery. Imagine one of those typical Greek restaurants back home that offers everything under the sun, but with a southwest flair added. The food was so-so. Nothing spectacular, but edible. From there we drove around town seeing the sights. We missed their famed neon Route 66 sign initially because part of the neon wasn’t working. We got a better glimpse of it on our way out of town the next morning when we could see all of it in full daylight.

Next adventure is on to Holbrook, AZ. One week down, one more to go!

Day 6 (Friday, August 30, 2019), made it from Tucumcari, through Santa Fe and to Albuquerque with enough time to write a proper entry.

Before I begin, I do have one question. Why do Broadway musicals think Santa Fe is THE place head west destination? Newsies and Rent both have songs about heading west to Santa Fe and now having been there I honestly don’t get it. Granted, we did not have much time to explore, but the traffic at 1 pm on a Friday was horrendous, there is zero parking, and the sidewalks were packed. It was like Chicago but the buildings are shorter and there’s less steel. We had lunch (once we could find a decent place that had seating or didn’t cost an arm & a leg), wandered around for a bit and then headed out because our parking meter was up. We tried to check out the basilica but there was a wedding going on, so no outsiders allowed. If shopping for heavy wool blankets in 95 degree heat is your thing, then definitely check out Santa Fe.

On a more pleasant reflection, the highlight of today was watching the terrain change from flat dust to sharp cornered mesas in the distance to the beginnings of softer edged mountains. Keep in mind, I’m a complete midwestern plains girl, so to me they’re mountains. To anyone else, they’d probably just be considered hills.

This morning, we enjoyed breakfast at “Kix on 66” and so did everyone else who stayed in The Blue Swallow. This really is becoming a community of travelers. On our way out of town we stopped at the Tucumcari Route 66 Museum, but not before having to make our first U-turn. It’s not our fault! The museum is BEHIND the Tucumcari Convention Center and the signage is really poor. But they did have a great collection of classic cars, with a couple even for sale. Unfortunately, I don’t think a 1931 Buick would fit in my luggage on the plane home.

As we headed out, we noticed the red Challenger of the people who stayed next to us at the hotel following behind us. They followed us for a few hours until we had to pull off and get gas. WORD OF WARNING, if you ever do this trip, be sure fill up often. You never know where you next gas station (or bathroom) will be.

We decided to take the older Route along the “Santa Fe Loop” instead of the newer Route that goes along I-40. It’s a much longer drive, but it took us through some really cute towns. Of course there were a few not-so-cute ones too, but that’s what you get on this ride. There were not really any viable side trips today, unless we had a good off-roading vehicle. The side trips options were to a lot of dead end spurs on dirt or gravel roads. I know, I know, where’s our sense of adventure.

As we get closer to the New Mexico/Arizona boarder, I have noticed the NM has the cutest Route 66 signs, but the state/counties are severely lacking in their use. We’ve gone over 300 miles in the state and I can probably count on my two hands the number of signs I’ve seen. And they are not exactly in helpful locations either. Thankfully, todays route was fairly direct so I think we only had to turn around 3 or 4 times.

Albuquerque is an interesting town. At first glance, it kind of has the feel of an adobe covered Schaumburg. But then, you start walking down Central Avenue and realize it has more bars and clubs to create the feel of a college town, and then add to it the guy using rolling down the side walk on his pimped out Divy scooter. He literally had a two foot tall speaker perched on the scooter which was blasting out his tunes while he sat on top of it and just rolled along.

Dinner was at Lindy’s Diner. A diner (partially turned bar) that was originally opened in 1929. It is the oldest diner still in operation along the New Mexico section of Route 66. What has been lost in its retro feel, was made up for with the delicious food and good service. When we asked for ginger ale, our waiter (Steve) said they didn’t carry any so he ran to the store next door and got a bottle for us. My burger was simple but fantastic and Mom’s BLT was bigger than her head. Her plan to have something small failed miserably.

Back at the hotel we were greeted by a concert going on in the lobby. Not sure who or what their style was supposed to be, but it sounded good and carried all the way up the 7th floor where our room is. Thankfully, the sound had faded by the time we got into our room. I love a good concert, but not after driving ALL day long. Only some good zzz’s keep the road rage monsters away.

Tomorrow we head to Gallup, NM. I have no idea what’s in Gallup or what’s on the way, but that’s the point of the adventure. Until the next chapter!

Well, I had every intention of trying to keep up with our journey on a daily basis, but it has been jam packed. I’m not sure whose task is harder – the driver or the navigator.

It has been a constant journey of left turns, right turns and u-turns. This is the first day where we actually have had time to sit and reflect.

It’s day five (Thursday, August 29th) and we are sitting outside our motel room at The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM. The sun is setting, the breeze is blowing, the cicadas are humming softly in the distance and the neon is glowing. It is so calm, why would you ever want to leave? The guests are walking around, hanging out in each other’s garages (yes, each room has its own garage), getting to know each other. In some ways, it feels like camp.

I just spent an hour chatting with two of our neighbors. Turns out, Nancy and Bob (a couple from North Carolina) have been travelling with us the whole way since Chicago. They too left Sunday morning from Chi, and have stopped in many of the same stops as Mom and I have. We will see them again in a couple of days when we make it Holbrook, AZ as we are both staying at the Wigwam Motel. It’s funny how this trip brings people together. Over the span of thousands of miles and multiple weeks, we’re bonding with strangers on a daily basis without even realizing it.

I promise to give more details, but at the moment I need to catch up on my zzz’s. There is just not enough time and too much to see. Mom and I are trying to post an occasional photo on facebook. I’m doing my best to take copious notes so that I can post more.

See you in the next town with reliable internet!!!

Welcome!

This will eventually be an ongoing journal of my adventures both near and far, but to kick things off it will be a recording of a simple road trip. One mother, one daughter, one PACKED Honda CRV and 2500 miles of open road.

To anyone who wants to join us along that great highway called Route 66 and experience a true piece of Americana, put on your driving gloves and get comfy. We’re about to embark on something truly epic.