Washington, DC - Day 2 - Sept 18

We had beautiful weather on Day 2 in DC.  We decided to drive into DC and park at Union Station.  The cost was a tad less than parking at Pentagon City and taking the Metro combined.  Plus, it was an easy in, easy out and we didn't get stuck trying to find the car when it was time to leave.

We again took the Old Town Trolley as our ticket was for 2-days.  We absolutely wanted to see the monuments and the National Cathedral.  Our first stop was the Jefferson Monument which was a short walk from the Trolley stop.  Jefferson's statue is quite tall and imposing.  In our Day 2 photos, you will see quotes that are inscribed on the walls surrounding Jefferson.

From there our next stop was near the Lincoln Memorial.  In this area we also visited the WWII Memorial, Korean Memorial and Viet Nam Memorial.  We spent quite a bit of time here as the WWII Memorial is at the opposite end of the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial.  It was a very pleasant walk from one end to the other.  Every memorial is absolutely stunning and unique as well as heart-touching. 

The Korean memorial is a group of statues "walking through the grass".  Alongside is a walking path flanked by a black granite wall.  When you first walk into the area, the wall looks blank but covered in fingerprints.  Those "fingerprints" are actually engraved pictures of men and women who served in Korea.  This was amazing - it's as if you are there with them.

Our next stop was the WWII Memorial which is dedicated to the millions of men and women who served in WWII.  The center piece of the memorial is oval fountain and is flanked on each end by a semi-circle of of tall 'monuments' for each state (in order of their admittance to the Union).  The hole in each state monument represents those men and women who did not return.  The reflecting pool waterfalls over a wall into a smaller pool where there is a wall of 400 gold stars.  Each star represents 10,000 men and women who died in the war.

From there, we went to the Viet Nam Memorial.  This is a black granite wall with the etched names of the men and women who lost their lives in Viet Nam.  This was extremely touching for me as many of my friends fought in Viet Nam.  The names are etched onto the wall but by a computerized typesetting process called photo stencil gritblasting. I do not personally know any who died but being at the wall brought back memories of that time in our history. The wall was built in 1982, but the latest name was added in 2009.

Our last stop was the Lincoln Memorial - very imposing and awe inspiring.  Etched on one wall is the Gettysburg Address.  There's not a lot to say about this memorial as I think it speaks for itself.

We later boarded the Old Town Trolley again and headed for their Welcome Center where we boarded a new trolley on the green line.  From here we went to the National Cathedral (Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul), which is in a completely different part of the city.  Now we went through very residential areas - a change of pace and a new view of the city as it pertains to daily life for those who live there.  The National Cathedral sits on Mt. St. Albans hill and is the highest (not the tallest) structure in DC and can be seen from many miles away.  This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful churches I have ever visited.  It took 83 years to build the church - the cornerstone was laid in 1907 and the final finial was placed in 1990.  The church has no congregation and is fully supported by donations and gifts. 

We arrived in time for the last tour of the day - wonderful tour and we highly recommend it.   One of the stained glass windows is dedicated to the 1969 moon landing and contains an actual moon rock brought back by the astronauts.  Enlarge the picture to the left and see if you can find it.  There are quite a few famous people who are buried in the tombs below and only one is named - Helen Keller.  

There are several small chapels within the church - one is a children's chapel.  Another contains seats with embroidered pillows.  By looking at them, you should be able to tell who it represents.  Do you now who this pillow is for?  Our tour guide kept showing us examples of how you learn its history and stories through the various depictions in the church.  Before people knew how to read, they learned through pictures (icons).

After we left the church, the trolley drove through Embassy Row, Georgetown, Foggy Bottom (the Watergate Hotel is here) and around Dupont Circle.  I was very impressed at quickly he could name each embassy as we passed - to your right is..., to your left is...., to your right is...., to your left is....   This went on non-stop for quite a while.  Some of the embassies are marked and some are not.  We chose not to get off at any other stops on this loop as it was gettng late in the day and we were on the last trolley.  After we got back to the Welcome Center at 10th Street, we walked around that area for a while.  We went to the Old Post Office but it was closed and the restaurants in the lower part of the building were primarily fast food.  We went to Harry's Cafe (very famous in DC circles) but they were very busy and the hostess kept trying to put us at tables crammed up against a wall and in a corner - we decided to pass.  We started walking in the direction of Union Station and came across a restaurant with outdoor seating.  This turned out to be a good dinner choice and the weather was just right for outdoor dining. 

From there, we headed to the Metro to get back to Union Station.  On a corner across from the Metro was a group of guys playing jazzy New Orleans-style music so we watched them for a while.  Their "money card" was a little boy about 2 or 3 yrs old with his own pint-sized trombone - he was the hit of their whole show.   This was our cap to the whole day. 

Stay tuned for our final travel day....

Washington, DC - Day 1 - Sept 17

DC - Day 1

We spent two days touring Washington, DC and if you've ever been there, you'll know we only scratched the surface.  My cousin Janet and her youngest daughter Brooke joined us for part of the first day - we took two cars and parked at Pentagon City - a very large mall about 15 minutes from DC.  From there we took the Metro to Union Station.  Brooke had a ball as she never rode on a train and in a very short time, got to ride on two trains.  Once at Union Station, we checked out the tour companies and decided on Old Town Trolley - a very wise choice.   Their trolley drivers actually narrate the tours vs using pre-recorded material.  They also injected their own stories which made the tour very interesting.  Every driver we had was great and I can't say enough about their customer service.

We waited for the Trolley outside in Columbus Circle and Brooke had a great time chasing the pigeons.  She didn't understand why they wouldn't stay still so she could pet them.  She was a little disappointed at that, but she certainly entertained us.

Our initial plan was to ride the trolley around the orange loop, then decide which stop to make our first.  We scrapped that idea fairly quickly and made the Smithsonian American History Museum our first stop.  Our targets here were to see Julia Child's kitchen, Archie Bunker's chair, the ruby slippers and Seinfeld's puffy shirt - I was assigned the task of getting a picture of the shirt for my cousin Jeff.  We didn't get to see the slippers or the shirt as the exhibit area was being re-arranged and those items were in storage - the guard said everything would back by the weekend, which would be too late for us - we'll just have to see them on another trip.  There was an area where Brooke could play a little, then we went to see the First Ladies' dresses.

From there we walked across the Mall to The Castle.  Brooke wanted to see the princesses and didn't quite grasp that no princesses lived there.  We passed through this building on our way to the Metro so we could go to Arlington National Cemetery.  By the time we got to Arlington, Janet had to get right back on the Metro to be home about the same time the boys and Erin would be home from school, so we said our goodbyes until we would see her later that night.

If you've never been to Arlington, please make it a point to go.  The first time I visited Arlington was on a Spring day in the late 1970s and it was a drizzly day - as was the weather on this day.  We rode the Tourmobile which took us to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, to the Kennedy gravesites and to Arlington House.  Our first stop was to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.  This is a very moving ceremony and not to be missed.  The solemnity and the precision are awe-inspiring.  Each time the soldiers make a turn, they swing one leg out wide and tap it against their heel very sharply.  I noticed they each have a block attached to the side of their heel which accounts for the loud crack.

From there we decided to walk to the Kennedy gravesites - a  bit farther than it seemed.  As we walked, we just reflected on the people who are buried here and their contributions to our great country.  Edward and Robert are each buried a short distance from John and their graves are marked by a simple white cross and a small headstone.  I would have to dig out pictures from my first visit for comparison as I didn't remember that Robert's grave was so simple.  Buried alongside JFK are Jackie, his son Patrick who only lived a few days and an unnamed daughter who was stillborn.  The eternal flame is still burning.

On the bus back to the Trolley stop, we met a delightful couple from Calgary, Canada (their names escape me at the moment).  They were in Washington for a few days, then going off to tour more of Virginia and civil war sights. We parted company the at the Trolley and we made our way  back to Union Station.  We had dinner at the American Restaurant on the main level.  We sat on the "patio" so we could people watch.  Since the rain had stopped, we decided to take the night tour to see the monuments lit up.  We chose the Double Decker tour for price and time - not recommended.  They kept us waiting at least 30 minutes before they took off and their customer service was lousy, plus they use pre-recorded narration and you can not get off at all.  The Old Town Trolley also has a 2 1/2 hour night tour that ended about 10 pm and you can get off at the monuments.  Once our bus got going, the tour was adequate. 

After the tour we made our way back to Pentagon City - that very large mall.  I remembered the level we parked on, but not how we came into the mall.  As a result, we spent at least 30 minutes trying to find our way to the parking garage.  The mall stores were closed so there was very few people there and no one we asked could direct us.  Once we got into the garage, we were on the opposite end of the garage.  Thank goodness for panic buttons as I kept hitting mine til we were close enough to trigger my car alarm.  To make our comedy even more crazy, I dropped my glasses while we were exiting the garage and I drove "blind" a short distance.  But... we made it back to Janet's safe and sound.

Day 2 is my next post.  Check out our Day 1 photos - DC Day 1.

Charlottesville and Richmond, VA - Sept16

The first thing we did today was tour Monticello - the home of Thomas Jefferson.  The grounds and home are beautiful.  I first toured Monticello in the late 1970s and there have been some changes.  A beautiful visitor center has been added which house a large gift shop, a theater and a museum.

As we are touring historic homes, we have learned that taking pictures inside these homes is not allowed as a lot of the artifacts are on loan and they do not have permission for picture taking.  This is disappointing because there are so many interesting things I would have loved to share via photos.  We were allowed to take pictures outside the house and those are in our Monticello photo album.  Strolling around the grounds we encountered a few peacocks that have free reign.  The gardens are lovely and I've included quite a few pictures of the flowers.  In this picture, the very large tree in front of the house is a tulip poplar.  We've learned this is a common tree in the South and live a long time.  In the photo album, you'll see a tree stump of a tulip poplar that was cut down in recent years.

When we left Monticello, we went down the road a short distance to Michie Tavern (pronounced Mickie) for lunch.  There are tours of the Tavern, which we did not do in the interest of time, but probably worth the visit.  Inside the inn, they were serving a colonial buffet lunch and we don't recommend it.  

From there we headed north to Fredericksburg to my cousin's house - we arrived about 7:00 pm.  Several important battles were fought in Fredericksburg during the civil war so there is lots to see and do there.  It is also where George Washington's mother Mary lived in her final years.  We didn't do any sightseeing in Fredericksburg on this trip as our timetable only allowed us to focus on DC.  Visiting with Janet and her family was a treat.

Stay Tuned

Olga and I are at my cousin's in Virginia and doing the DC tourist thing. We're so busy, I don't think I'll get my blog updated till Monday - stay tuned.

You can either check back then or subscribe to Posts and I think you'll be notified by email when I update the blog.

Stay tuned - we'll have lots to talk about and many more pictures.

Driving Days 8 and 9 - Troy, IL to Ashland, KY to Charlottesville, VA

Quick note - our Graceland, Beale Street and Missouri photos are now linked.  Please go back and re-read those blogs. 

Drive Day 8

Our plan after leaving my brother's place was to drive to Nashville, TN and then to Asheville, NC before heading to my cousin's house in Fredericksburg, VA on Wednesday.  We looked at a map and decided to keep on an easterly route rather than driving south, east then north.  So...  we headed to Kentucky but hoping we'd get to Charleston, WV.  In Indiana, I kept seeing signs for Marengo Cave so I decided to stop. It was a little farther off the highway than we thought but when got there decided it was worth checking out. It turns out we would have to wait 40 minutes for the next tour and that would take another 35-40 minutes. We decided to pass since we really wanted to get as far east as possible. It was at this point that Olga discovered we were now in the Eastern time zone and we had just lost an hour - so we hit the road.  It was a long day of driving and we only made it to Ashland, KY - fairly close to the KY-WV border.  Rooms were pretty well booked but found a room at the second hotel we tried.  Due to a room issue (that was resolved), we ended up being comped for the room - woo hoo!

Drive Day 9

We left Ashland, KY about 10:30 am planning to get as far into Virginia as we could.  Turns out that wasn't a problem and our drive time was only about 6 hours for the day - with stops.  The drive across West Virginia was uneventful, but the scenery was pretty.  We stopped at a center off the highway called Tamarack - it's a shopping center featuring products made by WV artists.  Very interesting and worth the stop.

While crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains inVirginia, we stopped at a scenic overlook to take in the breathtaking valley views.

From there we headed toward Williamsburg, VA when we decided that we should stop to see Monticello since it was on our route.  We got there at 4:00 pm - plenty of time for a tour - but they closed early today for a private function.  The guard gave us 1/2 price coupons and we'll go tomorrow morning.  From there, we headed to Ash Lawn-Highland which was the home of James Monroe, our 5th US President.  Our docent was very knowledge and made the tour very interesting.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos inside the house which is too bad as there were many wonderful furnishings and paintings.

Then we went to the Jefferson Winery down the road - wines are pretty good and we each bought some.  The man who was pouring recommended that we go to the Historic Downtown area for dinner.  We did and had an enjoyable dinner outside at an Italian cafe.  We were also treated a little entertainment by the Albermarle Morris Men who were doing a Morris dance which dates back to the 1300s in England. 

Tomorrow, we go to Monticello and Williamsburg (depending on the weather).  Then we head to my cousin Janet's house in Fredericksburg.  Stay tuned and check out today's photos.....

Missouri - St. Louis and St. Charles

Saturday was a busy, fun day and the weather was perfect.  We all got up about 8 am, had a leisurely breakfast and headed out a little before 11 am.  Our first stop was to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis for the noon tour - free.  As part of the tour, you go to the stables where some of the Clydesdales are housed.  In my next life, I want to be an A-B Clydesdale - they are very pampered and their stables are very elegant.   

The entire brewery was very elegant and exceptionally clean - amazing for the number of people who go through there every day.  We didn't get to see the packaging process as the line was down for cleaning. The St. Louis brewery buildings are all brick and they are very impressive.  It's in the middle of downtown right near the Mississippi River. 

My brother and I are reflected in the sign - he's the tall one.  At the end of the tour, there is a tasting room where you get two free drinks.  You're supposed to leave the glasses, but we didn't - I'm sure many others before and after us did the same.  There is an Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield, CA that I've never been to, but now I'll make it a point to go to compare the tours.

From there we went to the Italian section of town called "The Hill" - very residential, lots of old houses and old restaurants.  We ate at a little sandwich shop called Amighetti's - very good.  It was across the street in one direction from Milo's Bocce Garden and in another direction across from St. Ambrose Catholic Church - all brick.  There was a wedding going on at the church so we only peeked inside for a minute - it was beautiful and I wished we would have been able to spend more time there.

After lunch, we went to the Gateway Arch.  I had seen the arch while crossing the Mississippi River on a road trip in 1975 but never stopped.  The park grounds are very lush and well maintained.  We didn't take the tram to the top as it was getting late in the day and it would have taken at least 1.5 hours (or longer) - it will keep for another visit.  There is a fantastic museum chronicling the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which we did enjoy.  You could spend a whole day there just reading all the wall plaques and learning more about that time in history. 

We headed home about 4:30 to relax a bit and get ready to go out to dinner.  We ate at the rooftop restaurant at the Millenium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.  It rotates and takes 90 minutes to make a full rotation, that's about as much as time as dinner takes - I think they plan it that way.  Again, we had a wonderful meal.  After dinner we headed to the Lumiere Casino - also downtown.  Sherry had a bit of good luck.  Olga managed to play for about 2 hours on $3 and I was up/down, but in the end donated.  I told Sherry I left it there for her next visit.

On Sunday, we again had a leisurely breakfast and headed to St. Charles in the late morning.  We strolled along the historic street and visited a few of the shops housed in the historic buildings.  The feel of St. Charles reminds me a bit of New Hope, PA but not quite as artsy.  St. Charles is along the Missouri River and there is a beautiful park and trails along the river.  Our day was very relaxing and we ate lunch at the Trailhead Microbrewery - very delicious..  I tried to find postcards from the area, but there were none to be had - this was puzzling since we were in a tourist area.  We made our way home about 4:30 and along the way stopped at several places to look for postcards - none.  Later in the evening, Sherry talked with her daughter Jill and mentioned our hunt for postcards.  About an hour or so later, Jill and Christian stopped by with postcards in hand that they found at a gas station.

My brother Tony and his wife Sherry were fantastic hosts and I look forward to a time when they visit me in California and I can host them.  Meeting Sherry's daughter and son-in-law was also a treat.  Her younger daughter Tiffany lives in Chicago with her husband Joel and daughter Lila so I didn't get to meet them on this trip.

Check out my St. Louis photos.  Tomorrow we get back on the road, headed to Nashville.  Stay tuned....

Driving Day 7 - Memphis to Troy, IL

Today was another 5 hour drive day and nothing eventful happened.  The weather was very comfortable and we arrived in Troy at my brother's house about 4:00 pm.  We visited with him and Sherry, then went into St. Louis for dinner at Landry's.  Sherry's daughter Jill and son-in-law Christian joined us.  We had a very delicious dinner and wonderful conversation.  After dinner, we stopped by Jill and Christian's for a short visit.  Christian is a hunter and we got to see the elk and the deer that he shot and has mounted - very beautiful animals.  The elk was bagged in Colorado and the deer in southern Illinois.  Tomorrow, Tony & Sherry have an outing planned for us and we'll treat them to dinner.

Sorry I didn't get our trip to Memphis posted until just a little bit ago.  I was trying to get all our pictures organized so I could link them, but it was getting late and I was tired.  There are a lot of them and I will get them linked before the weekend is over - I promise.

Does anyone remember that I mentioned putting an offer on a house the day we left California?  That one fell through as another offer came in that netted the seller a little more money, so she went with that one.  But...  there are 2 other houses on the same street and the same floor plan.  One was priced at $230k - too high.  The other one is a short sale and I'm in the process of submitting an offer on that one.  It will take a while before I know if it's accepted or we have to negotiate, but I'm in a good position in that I have time on my side.

That's it for now - sleep well.

Driving Day 6 - Clarksville, AR to Memphis, TN

Today was another drive day but a lot shorter than previous drive days.  Once we got to Memphis, we also had plenty of time to visit Graceland and Beale Street.

Last night about 12:30 am CDT, a pretty loud thunderstorm lulled me to sleep - I miss a good thunderstorm - even if they are a bit spooky during the night.  When we left Arkansas, it was raining pretty heavily and tapered off the farther east we went.  But it did rain on and off all day - a nice change of pace weatherwise.

The more east we go, the landscape gets greener and the gas prices get cheaper.  Right now, the average gas price is $2.29/gal for Shell. 

Of course, we passed some interesting things.  One was a sign to Toad Suck Park - no kidding - click the link to find out how the name came to be.  We also passed a lake that looked like it might be an overflow area as there were a lot of trees in the lake and it looked like they might not always be under water.  We saw a lot of religious billboards - Jesus Saves, the 10 Commandments, Scriptures, etc. - one sure way to know you're passing through the Bible Belt.  Along with these, there are also billboards for adult stores - guess the sinners need to be saved.

Coming into Little Rock along I-40 we spotted a beautiful church right along the freeway.  It was the First Pentecostal Church of Little Rock.  Had I been in the exit lane, I would have pulled off to check it out - by the looks of the linked pictures, I can see we missed something special.

When arrived at Memphis, we were in 3 states in a space of about 20 minutes.  We crossed the Mississippi River from Arkansas to Tennessee.  Then as we were looking for the exit to get downtown after our Graceland tour, we ended up in Mississippi.  I knew MS was close but never realized how close.  We had a good laugh about that - it was our bonus state.

Before I talk about Graceland, I want to urge anyone reading this blog to get out and see our country - we have so much history and beauty - you won't be disappointed.  If you've ever wanted to take a road trip - short or long - don't wait.  The best thing to do is get off the interstates as much as possible.  Because we have a timetable, we're planning our stops along the interstates but no less disappointing.  Many years ago, I read a book titled "Blue Highways" written by William Least Heat Moon.  I plan to re-read it when I get home.  If you've got wanderlust, I highly recommend this book.

Now....    Graceland

No trip to Memphis is complete without a visit to Graceland - whether or not you're an Elvis fan.  The house itself is not as grand as you would have expected, but nonetheless impressive.  It is still decorated the way it was when Elvis died in 1977.  The pool room is decorated with 350 yards of fabric - floor to ceiling, including the ceiling.  In one room, he even had the ceiling carpeted with the same carpeting as on the floor - it helped the acoustics for his jam sessions.  Even the kitchen is carpeted. 

We took the Platinum Tour which includes the mansion and grounds, his car collection, his airplanes, his movie museum and a look at the private Elvis (we didn't get to this one).  There is one building dedicated to his gold records and other trophies - very impressive.  The upstairs rooms of the mansion are off limits as Elvis always visited with his guests downstairs.  Plus the upstairs is kept private out of respect for Elvis.

He was a very generous man and there is one wall displaying checks he wrote to various charities.   Elvis, his parents and his grandmother are buried at Graceland in the Meditation Garden he had built on the estate.   There is also a memorial marker for his twin brother who was stillborn.  The mansion is in an area that looks to be on the worn side and not altogether savory.  I'm sure when he bought the mansion at age 22, the area was quite different and probably rural.  The mansion sits on about 13 acres.  His daughter Lisa Marie still owns the house and all artifacts, but she sold 85% of her interest in everything else, including the land, to the company that manages it all.

After our Graceland visit, we went to Beale Street Entertainment District which is a 3 block section of the street dedicated to blues clubs and restaurants.  It wasn't at all crowded while we there, but we could see that it probably gets pretty crazy.  The 3 blocks are closed off to cars.  Of course there was music everywhere. 

We also walked to the Peabody Hotel as I wanted to see the Peabody Ducks in the hotel lobby fountain  - turns out they're only there at 11 am and 5 pm daily.  We probably won't see them on this trip as we're headed to Troy, IL tomorrow to visit with my brother and his wife.

Check out our Graceland photos and Beale Street photos.  Stay tuned...

Driving Day 5 - Amarillo to Clarksville, AR + Odds & Ends

Today we drove about 500 miles from Amarillo, TX to Clarksville, AR.  It was an uneventful drive so my blog today is odds and ends.  Several things have come to mind that I wanted to write in earlier posts, but they escaped me at the time.

New Mexico

- After we got to Santa Fe, we found out there is a commuter train that runs between Albuquerque and Santa Fe called the Rail Runner and costs about $7.  Once you're in Santa Fe, there is a free mini bus service called the Santa Fe Pickup that you can ride to get around town. A good thing to know for a future visit.

-  Another thing that fascinated us was watching severe rainstorms over the mountains while the area we were in was completely dry.

- We also enjoyed seeing the art along the freeways out of Albuquerque and the painted overpasses.  As we were leaving Albuquerque, there were two very large Indian pots along one median and a very large sterling silver aloe plant.

- Our tow truck driver Dennis asked the usual questions: where are you from, where are you going, etc.  He also asked when we left home and we said Sept 2.  Remember it was Sept 8 when we met him and he just gave us a funny look and said "what have y'all been doing".  When we told him that we'd drive to a destination on one day, spend a whole day at the destination, then take off on the third day.  That made sense to him.

- We saw lots of windmill farms outside of California.  Two I remember are atop the Plateau Mtns in NM east of Tucumcari and one along I-40 in Oklahoma between Clinton and Weatherford.  Some were close enough to the freeway, you could almost touch them.

Texas
We arrived in Amarillo at night so didn't see much of the landscape till this morning when we left - nothing spectacular.  One goofy thing we encountered was crossing the same two counties 3 different times - Gray and Donley Counties.  First we saw the sign for Gray County and about 5 or so miles later, we saw the sign for Donley County - then Gray, then Donley, then Gray, then Donley, then Gray.  They were all spaced a short distance apart - very odd.

Oklahoma
- Going past Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City we watched an AWAC plane heading off into the wild blue yonder.  My cousin Janet's husband Chuck was stationed at Tinker for a few years and flew on the AWAC planes.  It looked beautiful against the clouds and I tried to get a picture from the car, but no luck.

- Most of I-40 through Oklahoma was was being repaved which slowed us down a little bit.  We also encountered more traffic than we had since we left California, probably because of the construction zones.

-  Of course, we passed through a few Indian reservations.  The oddity was that we didn't see signs as we entered a reservation, but saw them saying that we were leaving.

- We passed over a very large lake called Lake Lotawatah - get the pun?  It was really the first sizeable body of water we've seen since Lake Havasu City.

-  The bead artist we met in Adrian, TX gave us a flyer for a place called Harley & Annabelle's in Erick, OK.  We got to that area just in time for a break so we went.  It was a very crazy place filled with lots of stuff.  Harley & Annabelle were there and they are characters - especially Harley.  Erick was also home to Roger Miller ("King of the Road") and a Roger Miller Museum was down the street.

Tomorrow we're headed to Memphis with a visit to Graceland.  We'll be back on track from our little setback and still plan to arrive in Troy, IL for a visit with my brother Tony and sister-in-law Sherry.  As always, check out our photos and stay tuned....

Driving Day 4 - Albuquerque to Amarillo, TX

When we set out today, we thought it would just be a long, boring drive.  We were very wrong.  Upgrading my AAA membership to the Premier level paid for itself today and for the next 2 renewals.  We are fine but had a slight setback in our timetable.

We left Albuquerque about 10 am MDT and we expected to arrive in Oklahoma City about 7 pm CDT.  We stopped in Tucumcari, NM for lunch and Olga took her turn at the wheel.  All was well for about an hour, when we started losing power - first the radio, AC and windows.  We saw a sign for a Stuckey's & Shell station 9 miles ahead in Adrian, TX.  I told Olga to keep driving but stay in the slow lane and just as we were pulling into the gas station, the car died completely in the driveway - it was the alternator.  We were an hour away in either direction from Tucumcari and Amarillo, so it took the tow truck driver a little over an hour to get to us.  While we were waiting, we met a woman who was traveling from Chicago to Tucson and she had the cutest Yorkie with her - Diablo was his name.   We chatted with her for quite a while and learned that she was a bead artist - jewelry and Indian power dolls.  The man who managed or owned Stuckey's took a look under the hood to see if  the problem might be a belt, but they were all intact and looked new. 

We also met 2 guys who were towing 3 horses back to Texas.  The horses were mustangs and the guys said they were good mountain horses.  Bear, Crow and Vegas (l to r) are their names and I took this picture mainly for my niece Amy because she loves horses. 

Dennis from All Right Towing was our tow driver and he was sent from Tucumcari rather than sending someone from Amarillo.  He was a character but quite fun to talk with - this made the hour drive back to Tucumcari enjoyable.  He's from Alabama but has lived in NM for about 17 years - he got there by way of working on the highways and towing cars in the winter.  The tow truck wasn't your typical AAA yellow - it was pink and red because the company is owned by a woman.

Going back to Tucumcari turned out to be a good decision as my original thought was to be towed to a Ford dealer in Amarillo.  The first reason is by the time we would have gotten to a dealer it would have been about 6 pm local time - the time changes at the TX-NM border.  We would have had to wait until tomorrow to have it fixed and who knows how long that would take.  Since Dennis came from NM, I hated to see him drive an hour to Amarillo, then 2 hours back to NM - so I asked him if he knew a mechanic in Tucumcari who could help us out.  He made a phone call to a man named Chris who said he work on the car and would stand by for us.  The Stuckey's manager/owner was outside talking to the lady we met and asked where Dennis was taking us - he approved the choice.  This man also has the Stuckey's in Palomas, NM and said he sends people to Chris' Auto which is where Dennis took us.  The second reason is we got to a mechanic I knew wouldn't gouge us and he didn't.

Chris is 70 and his wife Ida is 63 and they are very interesting and kind people.  Ida is Chris' assistant and helps him out - we called her the "surgical nurse".  First Chris replaced some parts on the alternator, then Ida and I went to Napa Auto Parts to have it tested - it failed.  So, I bought a new one and we went back to the garage - actually Chris has all his tools and parts in his truck and he worked on the car in the parking lot.  There was a storm approaching and we all hoped it would hold off till he was done.  After about 2 hours we were on our way and saved well over $100 from a dealer repair - Chris only charged me for one hour's work and I have a new alternator.

While Ida and I were gone, Olga and Chris had quite a conversation.  He talked about his great-grandson Devin who lives in Las Cruces and showed us his picture - very cute with a devilish grin.  You could tell that Chris and Ida adore him.  Chris' Auto is an old shop and looks like the kind of place you'd find in out-of-the-way places.


We got out of Tucumcari just as the storm was about to hit and we got ahead of it.  We are staying the night in Amarillo.  Instead of getting to Memphis on Wednesday, we probably won't get there till Thursday.  Our primary interest is to tour Graceland so we'll be fine.  We have plans to get to my brother's house in Troy, IL on Friday.

Anyway, we are both safe and we had an adventure today.  We had 4 caring people looking out for our welfare and everything turned out okay.  Stay tuned....

Albuquerque and Santa Fe

Our third destination has been just as memorable as the first two have been.  We started out our day yesterday by riding the Sandia Peak Tramway which is the world's longest aerial tramway.  It was about 58 degrees at the top, but was a nice change.  The valley was hazy but the views were still spectacular.  We had lunch at the High Finance Restaurant and when we got back outside encountered rain and colder weather.

After coming back down the mountain, we headed to Santa Fe which is a lovely city.  Along the way, we drove through three reservations - San Felipe, Santa Ana and Santo Domingo.  Also while driving across I-40 toward Albuquerque, we sometimes felt like we were in the SF Bay Area as we passed the cities of San Mateo, Santa Rosa and San Rafael.

Santa Fe will celebrate its 400th anniversary next year and is the oldest capital city in the US.  The architecture is exactly what you would expect. 

We started at the Plaza where an arts & crafts festival was in progress - right up our alley.  I purchased a small iron cross.  From there we walked around town to see the sights.  There's a multitude of museums - that we didn't get to, but would warrant a future visit.  There is also art everywhere - even the outdoor trash barrels at the state capitol are decorative.  Look for the cat sculpture in the 2nd picture.

We also visited the Cathedral Church of St. Francis Assisi.  Hopefully, my pictures convey the beauty of this church.  It's hard to put into words just how magnificent it is.  In the plaza outside the church, there are several statues and one is of Kateri Tekakwitha who was the first Indian of North America to be promoted a saint.   

On the way back to Albuquerque we stopped at the Sandia Resort & Casino, had dinner and played the slots for a little bit.  I didn't hit any jackpots, but only "donated" $25 so felt lucky at that.  In Arizona and in New Mexico, there is an abundance of Indian casinos.

This morning we head off toward Memphis.  Since it's a 2-day trip, we'll just drive today as far as we feel like driving and stop along the way for the night.  We hope to get at least as far as Oklahoma City.  Stay tuned and check out our NM photos.

Drive Day 3 - Flagstaff to Albuquerque

Hi Everyone...   Our journey continues and we hope you're enjoying being an armchair traveler with us.  The weather is definitely cooler now and much more comfortable - yay!

About 2 hours out of Flagstaff is the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert.  Our drive took us along Historic Route 66 a good part of the way and past the Wigwam Hotel in Holbrook, AZ.  The rooms are actual tepees and I had planned to take a picture of it on the way back from the park.  Alas, not to be - as we made our way through the park, we exited on the Painted Desert end and we would have had to backtrack quite a bit.  So, you only get a web link of it - it's very unique.

We spent about 3 hours at the park and what a fascinating place this is.  Walking around the Petrified Forest, you see logs and pieces strewn about as if thrown there, but they occur there naturally.  We watched a movie about how the trees became petrified and it all started about 225 million years ago when the area was tropical.  It amazes me how they figure all this out.  The downside is that they lose about a ton of petrified pieces each month due to people taking them - shame on them.  Petrification has occurred in most of our states so it's not unique to Arizona, but I think this is the largest area.  This area was also inhabited by quite a few different dinosaur species.

The drive is 28 miles through the park (actually two parks in one) beginning at the Petrified Forest and ending at the Painted Desert. There are many scenic areas and the landscape is incredible. Once you start entering the Painted Desert, you see how it got its name. The colors are layered as if they were painted.

Along the way we stopped at Newspaper Rock where these rocks had petroglyphs on them - they were hard to see after many, many years of exposure to wind and weather.  Another stop was at the Tepees - these are rock formations in tepee shapes.  Our last stop was at the Painted Desert Inn - quite interesting with its Indian murals and beautifully painted skylights.

As we left the park, we gassed up at the local Chevron and they had old style gas pumps - anyone old enough to remember these? 

At about 4:00 pm, we were on our way to Albuquerque - a 3 hour drive.  The topography was constantly changing and totally fascinated us.  As we crossed into New Mexico, we saw the welcome sign but going too fast to get a picture of it - I tried.
 

Tomorrow the car gets a bath - we zapped more bugs in NM than we have since we started out.  We've also encountered rain along the way but not enough to clean the car off.  Then we head to Santa Fe and to Sandia Peak - stay tuned and definitely check out our photo album for more pictures of the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.