Hesperia to Sedona

We left Hesperia at about 9:30 this morning and drove through many miles of desert. I guess some people find beauty in the desert, but after awhile we found it to be a tad monotonous. We can’t really fathom why anyone would choose to live in Needles California. (No offense, Needles.)

After driving through the rest of California along I-40, we finally reached Arizona. We’ve heard a lot about the In-N-Out burgers, and when we got to Kingman, we finally tried them. They're good! Fries weren’t bad either, although I’ve had better. (One of my favorite places for fries is the Linn City Pub in West Linn, Oregon.)

We drove awhile longer and ended our day in Sedona. Wow! Spectacular scenery. We stayed in the very quaint little Sedona Motel, and had dinner at Elote – an amazing Mexican place just down the road. I had the lamb adobo and a prickly-pear margarita, Rick tried the pork cheeks. Both meals were delicious.

Tomorrow – the Grand Canyon!!

Day Three – Benicia to Hesperia

Drove to Benicia after dinner on Monday and spent the night at another Holiday Inn Express. We woke up early under sunny skies and went to have breakfast with my cousins Elaine and Janet, along with 3 of their children.

We dined at the 1^st Street Café in downtown Benicia. What a lovely town, and a great little restaurant. We all had a great visit catching up, talking about our departed loved ones, and what’s going on in our lives now. Janet, the older sister, is studying to be a paralegal, Elaine, the younger sister, is a dental hygienist. I’m thinking they have a very proud mama.

After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and hit the road. Drove as far as Hesperia California, bought some microwave dinners at Target and spent the rest of the evening doing laundry. Not too exciting, but we sure are happy to have clean clothes again!

The Road Not Taken

Subtitle: I Love My GPS

In our case, that road would be Interstate 80 from Reno to Sacramento.

So we found ourselves in Redding California, heading to Sacramento for dinner with my cousin Amy and her two adorable daughters. Well, since Redding is only about 160 miles from Sacramento, we had some time to kill. So we decided to make a quick side trip to RENO! Haven’t been there in years! It was a lovely drive with fabulous twisty roads and beautiful scenery. Just a few hours later and we were in the Biggest Little City in the World. Gosh were we surprised. Reno just isn’t the fun, happen’ city we remembered. It’s dirty, smelly, run down, and just overall depressing. But at least there was one bright spot – the Thai Corner Café was great. Friendly service, nice décor, and yummy food. We shared drunken noodles and Pa Nang curry.

Since Reno was such a bust, we decided to head back to Sacramento early – or so we though. I remembered checking GoogleMaps the night before and seeing that we could take I-80 all the way to Sacramento in just a little more than 2 hours. But since I didn’t print that map, or commit the route to memory, we plugged in our Tom Tom GPS and began the long long journey. For some unfathomable reason, the GPS guided us to Carson City, South Tahoe, along Pioneer Trail Road, Highways 397 and 50, up mountains, down mountains, past Incline Village, and finally, more than 3 hours later, we reached our destination. (Glad we left early!) So do I really love my GPS? Unequivocally YES. If we had taken the usual Interstate route we would have missed some truly spectacular scenery – mountains, lakes, rivers, rock formations, along with some beautiful flowers and spectacular trees. I could even overlook the aggravation caused by the total jerk driver that was revving his engine, changing lanes erratically, cutting people off, and generating a host of obscene gestures and verbal insults from other drivers. Don’t know what his problem was, but he needs to slow down and enjoy the journey. (Sometimes we all need to do that.)

We arrived at our destination in plenty of time to enjoy a delightful dinner with my cousin and her two charming daughters. The oldest is 7 going –on 15, the youngest is 5 going-on, well, 5. There are both adorable. They actually seemed to enjoy visiting with us as much as we enjoyed visiting with them. My cousin is a sweetheart, and apparently has a plethora of patience. She teaches fourteen 2 year olds every day at a Montessori school. (Oh please – just shoot me now!)

My take-aways from today: Skip Reno, but consider Lake Tahoe for future vacations and be sure to visit my cousin and her family the next time we’re in the central California area.

On the Road Again - Day One

So long, Oregon!

We left Clackamas Oregon bright and early this morning and drove to Salem for one last visit with the kids & grandkids. Were there by 9 a.m. and took advantage of the morning light with a quick photo shoot. We sure looked cute in our matching purple shirts. OK, they didn’t really match, but they were all purple.

We hit the road by about 10 a.m. and drove as far as Grants Pass (with the top down) where we stopped for gas and lunch. Lunch was at a place called the Black Bear Diner. Good food. Good prices. Good service. Can’t ask for much more. I must admit, they did take the “black bear” theme a little over the top. There were bears everywhere! We also discovered that folks in Grants Pass are real friendly. Had several folks greet us in the parking lot on the way in and out. And the gas station attendant was quite chatty, too.

We planned to drive as far as Yreka, but by the time we got there it was only about 3 p.m., so we continued on to Redding. Got to Redding about 5 p.m. and decided to call it quits. Had to stop somewhere between GP & Redding to put the top up on the car – it was just too hot. Even with a hat on, I was worried about getting a sunburn. So here we are. It’s 100 degrees out, so we’re just going to hang in the hotel room and eat take-out. We’ll be back at it in the AM.

On the Road Again

OK, I re-read my last post from 2 months ago, and I just had to laugh. I indicated that we were having our cable installed and I would be able to post more regularly. Ha! The cable installation happened, but obviously the posting didn't.

In the last two months the weather has continued to get warmer. In fact, Houston had record setting temperatures in June. There were 7 days of at least 100 degrees, and the even the not so hot days were still in the 90's. Needless to say, our pool has been getting a lot of action!

We continue to work on the house -- still lots of painting to do. We'd like to work in the yard a bit, but that will have to wait for cooler weather.

So this seemed like a good time to "get outta town" for awhile. We flew to PDX on July 3rd, then drove to Lincoln City in that cute little sports car we left behind when we moved away. The weather in Oregon has been fantastic, and we've already logged quite a few miles with the top down.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids were already at the beach waiting for our arrival. It was so nice to seem them -- and hug them! They stayed a few days, and we stayed a couple more - reading and relaxing, before coming back to P-town.

We spent a couple of days visiting old friends, and are ready to hit the road again. We're heading south, stopping first in Salem to see the kids again and have some pics taken. We'll continue our southerly trek through California, stopping to visit some cousins along the way. Then it's on to Arizona for our first visit ever to the Grand Canyon! We figure we should be home in plenty of time to enjoy the unrelenting August heat and humidity in its entirety. Oh boy!

Mocking Birds and Moody Blues!

Since we arrived in Spring a week ago, we’ve got a lot done. We’ve painted, tore out shelves and installed new cabinets in the laundry room, cleaned, fixed the dishwasher, bought a refrigerator, replaced some burned out light bulbs (the hard to reach kind), and installed a shower curtain and rod. There are only about 40 items left on our “TO DO” list. It seems like every time we step out the door it costs another $100 or so in paint and home improvement supplies.

So far, the weather has been wonderful. It was in the 90’s one day, but has mostly been in the 70’s and 80’s. It’s rained a couple of times, but only at night. And the humidity has been quite low, making the air temp very comfortable.
There were several things we were warned about before we moved here. First, the weather. We know, the awful, hot, humid, sticky, summer is just around the corner. I think that’s what it will take to get Rick in the pool. Me on the other hand, I’ve already been in a couple of times. It’s not heated, but it doesn’t need to be. Another thing we were warned about are the cockroaches. So far, we haven’t seen any live ones in the house. There were a few dead ones before we moved in, but they were quickly dispatched. And then there are the fire ants. We’ve been told they’re very aggressive, they bite, and the bites sting and itch like crazy. We’ve seen some evidence of fire ants around the yard, but I don’t think any have bitten me yet. (However, I do have a couple of mosquito bites.)

What nobody told us about are the mocking birds. They are the state bird of Texas. You can guess why they’re called mocking birds. Yep, they can imitate many different sounds. They are abundant, and they are noisy! We’ve been sleeping with our window open, and they usually start their racket at around 4 a.m. Rick insists there are some that sound like a car engine starting. The ones that annoy me beyond measure are the pair that sounds like a whimpering dog!

We’ve had some good meals here. We ate at Tommy Bahama’s on Friday right before we went to the Moody Blues concert. I had the Tahitian Tuna Salad: Blackened Ahi seared rare with baby arugula, carrots, sweet soy glaze, tamarind vinaigrette, wasabi aioli, wonton strips & sesame seeds. It was yummy. Rick had beef. (He’s so predictable!) The concert was held at a lovely outdoor amphitheater in The Woodlands. We thought we’d be sitting on the grass, so I brought along an old fabric shower curtain to sit on. As it turned out, we got VIP seats, so didn’t have to sit on the grass after all. It got a little chilly that night, so my girlfriend and I ended up wrapping ourselves in the shower curtain. We looked silly, but we were warm. The music was wonderful and very nostalgic. (There sure were a lot of OLD people there – including the band!)

We’ve also had some yummy meals at home, too. Our local grocery store sells fresh cooked crayfish – one of our favorites. A big pot of those and a couple of beers make a darned fine meal! (Don't know what that line is across the middle of the picture. Cell phone camera error.)

We’re having our cable installed on Thursday. Then I won’t have to “borrow” my WiFi connection from the neighbors anymore and will be able to post more regularly. That is assuming I’m not dead-dog-tired from crossing items off my TO DO list. OK, back to the list….

SPRING TEXAS

Oh Happy Day!

We’ve finally reached our destination. Hooray! The last few miles just breezed by. It would be nice to kick back and relax by the pool, but there’s still so much to do. So far, we’ve unloaded and returned the U-Haul ; unloaded my car; unloaded the pickup; fixed the garbage disposal; fixed the dishwasher; bought a fridge, a trash can, and other assorted items, and had dinner with our friend Nancy and her family. The gas is supposed to be turned on and the fridge delivered today. I’ll be happy to skip the COLD showers. Although it was warm enough yesterday that I didn’t really mind all that much. The weather is lovely. Mid 80’s with a slight overcast, gentle wind and only a little bit humid.

Along with lots of unpacking (it’s challenging to figure out where everything will go), I think we’re going to buy some cabinets for the laundry room, and since our washer & dryer isn’t here yet, we need to find a Laundromat, too. I haven’t been to one of those in years!

Time to get busy! But first, check out my hot pool boy. :-)

New Mexico to Texas

New Mexico – TEXAS!!

Do you know the New Mexico state question? Red or green? It refers to your choice of chilies. Makes me chuckle. Tumble weeds make me chuckle, too. New Mexico seems to have a lot of them. I found them amusing until one jumped in front of my car as I was cruising down the freeway at 70+ miles per hour. Hit that tumble-bugger head on! It didn’t fare too well, but I think my car’s OK. Hard to tell, it’s so dirty. At least the massive rain storms we drove through in Utah washed away most of the bugs. For awhile I had bug-soup on my windshield, but that too was eventually cleared away.

Santa Rosa is behind us now, and we’re officially in Texas. As we were cruising down the highway, I was wishing for a rest stop. I saw road side picnic areas (no facilities) and road side parking areas. I don’t know what was up with that. Just an off ramp and back on ramp with a place to park and dump your trash. I’m not sure why anyone would like to park next to the highway to do that. Go figure. We did eventually come across a real rest area. Wow! Texas really does them up right. It was beautiful. Great covered picnic areas, play structures for the kids, vending machines, history vignettes, even the ladies restroom was lovely with its vaulted wood planked ceiling. At one point, as we were driving through Memphis Texas, the song “Deep in the Heart of Texas” came on the radio. (It was one of those rare moments when I hit the SCAN button and the radio numbers didn’t keep spinning like a broken roulette wheel.) Memphis is a very quaint little town (rustic), and coupled with the tune emanating from my speakers, I felt like I’d already arrived.

-- At the Rest Stop --

Click on the picture to the left to see what the informational sign says. An take a look at that blue sky and fluffy white clouds!

And to the right is a picture of the ladies restroom.

------

We were feeling pretty good, so we stopped in Amarillo for a burger, then kept driving. We tentatively set our goal for Wichita Falls, but didn’t feel quite like stopping just yet, so we kept going. I must admit, the panhandle area of Texas really isn’t very pretty. But the further south we got, the lovelier it got. The weather is nice – in the 80’s, there’s lots of green, and some gently rolling hills. Little did I know, my awe and admiration was about to come to an abrupt end.

We timed it perfectly… hit Fort Worth rush hour traffic at exactly 5:30 p.m. Fort Worth is the 5th largest city in Texas, and the traffic didn’t disappoint. I was right behind Rick on the freeway, but that didn’t really matter. In a matter of moments, there were cars between us, beside us, all around us, knowing where they were going, and going there very quickly. We were totally at the mercy of our GPS advisors. Unfortunately, since he was pulling the U-Haul, Rick wasn’t able to maneuver as quickly as required, and missed his turn. I didn’t see where he went, so I just followed my GPS voice commands and end up on a completely different highway. We tried to keep in touch via cell phone, but in the middle of the horrendous traffic, there were times that talking on the cell phone just wasn’t advisable. I kept driving south, and into a gigantic black thunder storm. I felt like I was driving into the belly of the beast!

We pulled off the freeway as soon as we could, and checked into a Best Western. We RAN to the entrance because it was raining and blowing so hard. It wasn’t until we got inside that we found out that we were also in the middle of a tornado outbreak. WHAT??? Still not sure if we’re out of the woods, but I sure hope so! We’re only about 3 hours from our final destination so should arrive early and ready to work (unloading and unpacking). I’m hoping this final leg of our road trip is quiet and uneventful. I’ll post as soon as I can, but we won’t have internet for awhile, so I’m at the mercy of my unsuspecting neighbors and their unsecured networks. :-o

UTAH-COLORADO-NEW MEXICO

We woke up Easter morning in our Holiday Express Hotel room in Green River. It looked just like our hotel room in Ontario. Kind of made us wonder if we’d actually gone anywhere – or was this just our own private version of Ground Hog’s Day.

We went to our free breakfast, and I found myself pondering two questions. First, who thought up biscuits and gravy? That person should be awarded a golden spatula! And second, how did that lovely French couple with a small child find themselves in Green River Utah? I don’t think it would be high on my list of “Places I must visit in a foreign country.”

We got on the road a little earlier this time. Saw more fantastic scenery in Utah, especially in the Moab area. I would have liked to stay and explore a little, but we’re on a mission and it was raining buckets!

There is a place in the canyon that has a HUGE hole in the cliff. You couldn’t really miss it, but just in case, the kind people of Utah have provided advance notice. OK, the sign really applies to a house that has been blasted out of rock and is open for public tours. But the sign cracked us up. Click on the picture -->



We drove only short distance through Colorado, and then entered the Land of Enchantment. Or as some of my former NM friends say, the Land of Entrapment. We stopped at an Apache Casino for a bite to eat and to donate a couple of dollars to the cause via their slot machines, then headed out for Albuquerque.

I learned an important lesson in Albuquerque. One I’ve learned many times before, but for some silly reason it never seems to stick. The lesson? Don’t be a smart ass. Let me explain. We met with my cousin Di and her husband Paul for a cup of coffee and a good visit. When we were ready to go, Di wanted to take our picture with her new iPhone. We waited and waited, but for some reason it just wasn’t working for her. So I took HER picture with my LG cell phone. Thought I was pretty smart, until I got to the hotel and realized I hadn’t saved the pictures, so I came away empty handed. Rats. Serves me right.

Another lesson I learned today – don’t try to grocery shop at 8 pm on Easter Sunday in a small town. Everything was closed up tighter than a new pair of jeans. I ended up at the Shell station and bought a 6 pack of beer and a subway sandwich. Yum! So now we’re in our 3rd Holiday Express, this time in Santa Rosa, getting ready to call it a night, and plan for tomorrow’s adventure. I must admit, I was somewhat dreading this road trip, but as is often the case, the reality is much different than the anticipation. I’m really enjoying the journey, and find it at times to be rather relaxing and serene to drive those long straight drives through the canyons and valleys and open range land. More tomorrow.

ORE-IDA-TAH

Oregon - Idaho - Utah

I’ve driven almost a thousand miles. I’m tired and achy. I had a banana, Ritz Bits and red wine for dinner. And I’m enjoying every minute of this road trip. First, let me share that we are driving two cars – well, a car and a pick-up pulling a U-Haul. And in each vehicle there is a GPS unit – one Sony and one TomTom. So basically, there are FOUR opinions about how to get from point A to point B, and rarely do we all agree. Add to that, we’ve also consulted MapQuest and GoogleMaps, and made a last minute change of plans due to a snow forecast in Rawlings Wyoming. So it’s a wonder we know where we are. In fact, when we got to our motel tonight, Rick did ask me “where are we?” I was way ahead of him… I read the signs as we pulled into town. We’re in Green River Utah!

Mountain View from Tremonton

We slept well last night and didn’t get on the road until almost 10am this morning. Just a few miles from Ontario, we entered Idaho. I like Idaho. Their speed limit is 75 mph… which of course means I was going almost 80 – sometimes even faster when I had to scoot past a semi. Our first stop was to gas up in Boise. Then again in Tremonton for gas and lunch. We went upscale this time and had lunch at Denny’s. The view of the mountains there was wonderful. So was the view of this most interesting “Scottish” Ford Escape. And you should have seen the driver!! See… it’s stuff like this that makes road trips fun!

(Click on the picture and see it in all it's Tartan Glory!)

I think that anyone who is interested in geology, which I am, would fall in love with Utah. The rock formations, green soil, plateaus, mountain ranges, are all spectacular. And add to that, a sunset to light the stage and a rainbow for window dressing and it just doesn’t get any better than this. Our drive through the Wasatch Mountains was beautiful, but a little nerve wracking as we watched the temperature drop until we hit the Soldier Summit. Fortunately, there were only a few snowflakes and no icy roads.

Took this picture with my cell phone @ 70 mph. (Shhhh -- don't tell).

The road construction, on the other hand, I could do without. At one point, the road narrowed to the point that it was necessary to drive on the shoulder with the right side tires hitting those annoying “rumble strips”. They’re a great feature for keeping sleepy drivers awake, but for miles on end – OYE!

I love to keep an eye out for the wild life too. Today I saw an antelope, a prairie dog watching the traffic go by, and a ground squirrel (chubby little fella) playing Russian roulette. That is to say, he ran across 3 lanes of traffic buzzing by at 80 miles an hour, to get to the other side. Hey! He made it! Which is more than I can say for the fascinating assortment of road kill I’ve seen. Including a bloated elk, miscellaneous birds, and something that looked like an albino opossum.

I can hardly wait for the adventures awaiting us tomorrow. We have less than 1300 miles to our destination. Yeah!

ON THE ROAD -- Finally

Finally! Everything is packed, loaded, swept, vacuumed, dusted, double checked, triple checked, and locked up tight. The POD has most of our inside furniture, the U-haul has most of our outdoor furniture, the truck bed has miscellaneous furniture (including my beloved oak card-catalog that’s destined to be my new wine rack), and my car is full of crap. We are seriously questioning our sanity. First, for deciding to move – and second for deciding to move all this worthless junk!

But we’re happy to be on the road and taking the next step of our journey to adventure. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we made it as far as Ontario Oregon. Not too bad, considering we didn’t get on the road until 11:30. I had forgotten how really beautiful the Columbia River Gorge is – especially this time of year. The apple trees are in bloom, there were mountain goats on the hills, lots of green in the valleys, little to no wind making the Columbia River as smooth as glass, just an overall spectacular sight.

We stopped at a gas station restaurant in La Grande. Sounds risky, huh? I was hungry for a bowl of clam chowder, and they didn’t disappoint. As we started up Cabbage Hill, there were patches of snow along the side of the road. Then I started noticing – what – snowballs? Giant hail stones? No, silly… they were ONIONS! I had a good chuckle to myself when I figured that one out.
We’re spending the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Ontario. It’s OK, but not as nice as the Gladstone Oxford Suites we stayed in last night, or the HIE in Seattle back in January. But the WiFi is free, and breakfast is included, so as long as the bed is comfy, I’m good.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures to post, but since I’m driving solo, I thought it better to keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel. I can hardly wait to see the sights tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.

AWAY WE GO -- EVENTUALLY

I received a wonderful send off from Marylhurst last week. There was a fun fare well party with carrot cake (my favorite), lots of kind words, nice cards, gifts, and many hugs. And so many great emails – I can’t thank everyone enough.

But as the sadness of leaving fades, the pain in my back and knees is all too vivid! I’ve decided that moving is a lot like having a baby. Over time, you forget the pain involved and foolishly do it all over again. The POD arrived on Monday. We started loading it on Tuesday. Shortly thereafter, we found we needed more boxe$. By Wednesday we determined that we have TOO MUCH STUFF and had to rent a U-Haul for the exce$$. We hope to finish loading both POD and trailer on Thursday, cleaning on Friday, and then hit the road! As excited as we are for our new adventure, I’m ready for this part to be over.

We're moving to Texas!

What in blazes are we thinking?

After numerous trips to visit our friend Nancy in Texas, we decided to move there! After my dear husband unceremoniously retired in September, we decided it was time for a new adventure. We've lived in Oregon our entire married lives (and most of our childhoods) and wanted to experience something different. On the plus side, real estate is cheaper in Texas. On the negative side, the summer is going to be killer - HOT and HUMID. But back to the plus side, we bought a house with a pool. On the negative side, we're going to REALLY miss our daughter and her family in Salem. But on the plus side, they can come visit and swim in our pool! (The picture is of ME in our pool - in March!) We plan to come back to Oregon to visit often, too.

We've already moved a load of stuff to the new house and will be moving the remainder in mid-April. My last day at Marylhurst is scheduled for April 15th. It' going to be a sad day -- leaving behind 14 years of achievements and friends. Marylhurst has been "very very good to me." But it will be tempered with the promise of an interesting future yet to be discovered.

I'll try to make regular posts to let anyone that may be interested know about our journey. I'm sure there will be many things to learn and share. I've already learned not to sort the mail by the pool on a windy day. :-o

-kk