Healthvues

Ed. Note: Being a blog, the newer entries are posted at the top. To read this sequentially, go to Older Entries and hunt for the beginning.

We got on the road about 9:00am for the 450 mile drive to Reno. There is one road – through the most beautiful, barren, hostile, incredible moonscape you can imagine. There are very few towns along the way, mostly forgotten old mining outposts left over from the gold rush. Mining is still one the largest industries in Nevada – that and building alien landing strips. Yes, we go by the infamous Area 51. The drive is surprisingly easy. They say it always takes 8 hours to get from Vegas to Reno no matter how fast or slow you drive. When we last did it last June, we averaged about 75-80 mph – we did it in 8 hours. This time, with the trailer we averaged about 60-65 mph and did in… 8 hours. Go figure. Must be some sort of alien time warp.

The trip was uneventful. It got colder and colder as we got further north. When we came into the general Reno area, we were greeted by a frozen landscape, 15-degree temperatures, overcast skies and a light snow..we remarked that it felt like we were entering “The Polar Express”…. All the trees were covered in a fine misty ice and there was (still is) a few inches of snow everywhere. Which begs the question: “We came 4000 miles for this?!” Everyone assures us it is highly unusual, and since it’s precipitation, it’s welcomed. Great. Love to hear it. They LOVE rain. We have an attitude adjustment ahead of us…

So that’s it – we’re here. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make this decision and journey easier for us. From family and friends who helped pack, put us up for a night or two, helped with car troubles and trailer shopping, and just those who called us on our cells and emailed us (when we could get them) – it was an experience. ..Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and we are much wiser for the experience, and as we end this part of our journey, we leave you with the immortal pearls of wisdom that my dear cousins, Paul and Renee, tried to impart on us (who listens to good advice anyways??) when we decided to do this…..SELL EVERYTHING, TAKE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH AND CLEAN UNDERWEAR AND JUST DRIVE!!!!! We miss you all so very much, setting up our new lives feels like an emotional rollercoaster (like we haven’t been on one of those before in our lives!) but we are confident that this is the right choice for us, like all new changes, it just is going to take some time to adjust…….We love you and miss you and will never be far in spirit ( or cel phones!!)……Although we do have a storage unit full of stuff left in Syracuse and we don’t know how we’ll get it out here…Which begs the question, is there another wacky travel email journal in our future???? Stay tuned……

Final Tally:
Days on the road: 19
States covered: 13
Miles Traveled: 4,304
Number of Trailers consumed: 2
Visits to the Auto Mechanic: 3
Gallons of gas consumed: immeasurable
Quarts of oil consumed: surprisingly, only 2
Cost of the move: (let’s not go there, but it’s 5 figures)

Thanks again!
- Alex, Spike and ‘drew

Obviously being facetious…if you’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, you can’t imagine the beauty of this place. Words and pictures don’t come close to doing it justice. We immediately vowed to come back to spend more time exploring, hiking, etc. Being in this park (or any of the National Parks, probably) at this time of year is perfect – no crowds at all, the air is clearer than at any other time (we could see for over 150 miles!) and the light dusting of snow makes it even more beautiful. But there is the cold. After we spent a couple of hours with our jaws dropped open, we got back on the road for final push of our journey – Las Vegas.

We made one Route 66 detour to Seligman, AZ, another old major refueling stop along the old road. I had actually been here almost exactly 20 years ago when I traveled cross country after graduating from Maryland and I remembered some of the people we met and shops we visited. I wanted to see if they were still here – and they were! It’s like nothing had changed. This is also one of the famous stops that are always highlighted in books and videos. It’s a dusty little town and most of the inhabitants were nowhere to be seen.

There seemed to have been many signs and obstacles during this whole process that might have made other people rethink their decision: the first buyers of our house walking out of the contract; the many movers we’ve gone through; the trailer and truck troubles we’ve had along the way; etc. etc. etc. But every once in a while there’s a sign so significant and profound that you can’t help but interpret its true meaning. Of all places, we gassed up in Kingman, AZ – another old Route 66 stop and our departure point north to Las Vegas – at a dusty, semi-remote truck stop. Hidden behind the tacky $2 souvenirs, Spike found a Maryland Terps football helmet air freshener! It was dust-encrusted, but had the current design. Obviously, she bought it and it now hangs in its place of distinction from the rear view mirror. We ditched the “air freshener” part – it smelled like disinfected men’s room. I guess we’re on the right path after all.

We drove over the Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas and a got a real taste of homeland security. The dam is a bona fide terrorist target, so they take extra care to search all vehicles, including out-of-staters pulling a non-descript utility trailer. We had no troubles, though, after a quick search. They are building a superhighway and bridge over the gorge to bypass the dam (a long time coming, I’m sure) so there was a lot of construction. The actual dam is impressive – again, the videos and pictures don’t do it justice. This is another place I had visited 20 years ago and I remember the water level being right up to the top (where it should be), but now it is disturbingly low because of all the development and demand of the southwestern US. The dam tours have been suspended but there is still a lot of exhibits and such, so this is another line on our “to do again” list.

We pulled into Las Vegas and saw Marge and Maureen (Spike and Annie’s mother and sister, respectively) to visit and drop off stuff we carted across country for them. We all went out to dinner to a new funky-themed restaurant (like those kind who try to out-do each other with variety, colors, over-abundance of helpings and cocky wait staff). The warm glow of the Terps helmet find was tempered by the removal of a large molar filling from my mouth (Andy). To those of you who have had this happen, you know the feeling of impending doom, waiting for the rest of the filling to come out to expose the nerve and incredible pain. (The last time this happened, also far away from home, I needed a root canal to fix it.) Thanks to Mo for thinking of – and tracking down – that waxy stuff you use for braces to help smooth over sharp edges. At least I now know what I’m doing Monday – see the dentist. (Ironically, this is exactly how I found my dentist when I first moved to Syracuse – an emergency broken tooth – history repeats itself.)

We wanted to stay the last road night of our trip close the northern edge of Vegas, near the highway we’d take to Reno tomorrow morning. Spike found another Holiday Inn Express which had a different twist to the “2 queens nonsmoking” request: they had a kid-friendly room that had a single double bed and 2 singles. No problem, we’ll take it. Spike took Alex up first and Annie and I followed with the luggage. Spike met us at the door with a smile, offering that we could change rooms if we wanted. We walked in to discover the other two small beds were actually racecars, that half of the room being a kid’s NASCAR theme! Checkered flags, racing posters, kid-sized NASCAR furniture, and those bright red plastic racing car beds… Annie and I practically knocked Spike over, racing to claim which car we’d sleep in! Spike and Alex took the big bed – Annie had #3 and I had #8. They were surprisingly comfy for this adult to sleep in! It would have been a perfect ending to our road trip, except for the discovery of the active railroad tracks across the street – literally less than 100 yards from our window. The whole room shook every 30 minutes or so when the freight trains blew their horn and rolled through. Despite these distractions, we all had a good night’s sleep in our NASCAR cocoons.

We want to get to Flagstaff, AZ by tonight, and possibly push through to the Grand Canyon if we make good time. We got our earliest start of the whole trip – on the road by 7:30am (a definite record). If you could see the amount of luggage, coolers and electronic equipment we take into the hotel rooms each night, you’d understand why this is an achievement. You would think we’re moving in for a week! We’ve never been good at packing.

We drove through Albuquerque, NM and some of the most spectacular desert scenery you could imagine. We’re now officially in the desert so we’re treated to clear, cloudless skies, the wind has let up but it is still pretty cold – but it’s the good kind of cold. Our next Route 66 stop was Holbrook, AZ, another old motel stop, notable now mostly for the restored Wigwam Motel. They have individual free-standing structures that are shaped like teepees! You may have seen them in photos. We originally wanted to stay here one night, but it didn’t work out that way – we passed through at midday. But we stopped and took some pictures anyway. (We’re going to come back to this area for a driving vacation through the Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Arches, etc. so we’ll make this one of our overnight stops then.) The owner has placed antique cars at each wigwam, so it’s easy to imagine when this place was booked to capacity in the ‘50s.

After a misguided Rt. 66 detour (it’s sometimes very difficult to find the original road) that required a 3-point turnaround with the trailer down a deserted stretch of road (almost put it in a sandy ditch, but was successful in making the U-turn – only took about 2 dozen turns instead of 3, but I was proud of myself nonetheless – even the steers which stopped to stare at us seemed impressed), we finally found the famous JackRabbit Trading Post – a tacky souvenir shop operating since 1948. They used to have a huge rabbit out front, but apparently too many tired travelers ran into it over the years and they had to deep-6 it. Now there’s a smaller concrete version set back from the road. But the original “Here It Is” sign is still intact. A few trinkets later and we’re back on the road. The rest of the day was spent driving – going past huge mesas, red rock canyons and crumbling concrete dinosaurs and teepees left over from the curio and rock shops along the old 66 highway.

The scenery out here is breathtaking – we’ve said it but can’t stress it enough. We’ve been treated to some of the most beautiful sunsets you could ever imagine – big sky, neon colors, rugged landscape – the highway at dusk is almost surreal, with the headlights and taillights of the cars and trucks stretching out for miles straight ahead with us literally driving off into in the sunset. We made it to the Grand Canyon for the night and anxiously await our visit tomorrow. I’ve been there before (Andy), but Spike and Annie have never been, so it’s going to be a special day. And while the “Service Engine Soon” light still keeps nagging at us, the Family Truckster is still chugging along – turned 99,000 miles as we drove into the hotel tonight!

Sidenote: Traveling with our 3-year-old is not as bad as we had originally expected. Alex has been incredibly adaptable, well-behaved and mostly patient. Having 3 adults to “tag-team-play” definitely helps, as has the portable DVD player I bought for this trip! And traveling in the off-season, even during the Holiday season, has made the trip very pleasant – hotel rooms are easy to find, the decorations all across the country are beautiful (we’ve added a few small ones to our traveling home), and of course not enduring triple-digit temperatures in the desert. The Suburban thanks us for that!

Lesson #4: Choose your words carefully when booking hotel rooms. “Two Queens, non-smoking” takes on different meanings as we travel further west (especially coming from a New Yorker named Spike – sorta like a mobile Queer Eye for the Straight Guy).

Go figure – everyone tries to eat healthy at that Denny’s (even Alex) and everyone gets sick. Except Andy, who had the greasy “SuperBird” and fries. But some clear, cold 8000-foot mountain air and retail therapy proved to be the best remedy. Santa Fe has a posh town square area, filled with high-end shops, funky trinket stores and more galleries per square foot than you’d find anywhere. And Route 66 actually went through here before it was realigned in 1937, so there was something for all of us! You could spend a week going through them all, but we only had a day. Our hotel was right off the square, so it was very convenient. If you’ve never been to Santa Fe, mark it on your wish list. With a light dusting of snow and whole place decked out in holiday attire, it was almost like being in DisneyWorld. Most of the architecture is the classic adobe style and they’ve outlined the tops with thousands of luminaries. We spent the whole day walking and shopping (didn’t even look at the Suburban – definitely not a travel day). And people watching – the money was just dripping off some of these people. Not bling-bling money, but Sundance money. Turned out there was a film festival going on and we thought we’d run into some celebrities. We sat next to Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn) in the Haagan-Das shop and I swore Reese Witherspoon was staying in our hotel – until I saw her checking out, carrying her own bags. But still not 100% sure it wasn’t her.

We ate lunch at the Cowgirl Barbeque Café (right next to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame), one of Rachael Ray’s picks on her $40-a-day show on the Food Network. Very worthwhile! The food was fantastic and the ambience was what you’d expect with a name like that. More shopping, eating and walking exhausted us by the end of the day. We all slept well that night. Don’t even want to look at that VISA bill…

Andy gets up early to meet the tow truck (still 10 degrees wind chill, who thought that Texas could be so freaking cold??? But now at least it is brilliant sunshine) and misses a great complimentary breakfast, hot eggs and all the fixin’s (been in the south tooooooo long) and goes off with the tow truck driver to determine our next financial fate…..Amen, there is an angel on our shoulder (yet again, poor angels, we have definitely put them on OT during this trip…..thank you thank you thank you…) and the damages are only $250 for the previously diagnosed alternator problem…..We hit the road again, after Mary has a meltdown over the whole situation….Ya know, things just kind of build up after a while….the little things in life like having no home, not knowing if your car is going make it to your destination, realizing how much you’ve uprooted you’re life, etc…… As much fun as all of this is, it still has it’s stresses, as does everything ….Having said that, we are very flexible people and adjust fairly quickly to our circumstances…..Drop back and punt….We hit the road again just a few hours off schedule (as opposed the dreaded few days) and the road is open before us, the sky is bright blue for as far as you can see, which seems like forever in this open prairie country and none of us have killed each other and left the bodies for coyote bait…I’m thinking that this day has promise….. But man this place is FLAT – you’ve never seen flat and desolation like this. This is not “Florida” flat – there are absolutely NO natural visual reference points. No trees, no hills, no lakes – it’s indescribable in words and photos – it’s like an IMAX of nothing! You can almost see the curvature of the earth, it’s so flat. And no signs of life for miles. When it does appear, it’s an isolated ranch in the middle of nowhere. Where’s the Starbucks?! Even a Cracker Barrel (we’ll lower our standards out here)?!

Made it to Tucumcari, NM and were glad that we didn’t make it our destination last night…..Every thing happens for a reason….believe it….Pretty disappointing. We had this romantic notion that we’d spend the night in the famous Blue Swallow Motel – one of those quintessential neon Route 66 motels (there were many such motels here – and several still exist: The Pony Soldier, The Apache Motel, The Palomino, etc.). We also thought that Tucumcari would be more restored that it actually was. Route 66 is the main drag and it’s a real contrast in time periods. You have the old rusting abandoned diners, the surviving establishments and the group of new Holiday Inns and such. It’s easy to imagine this place in its heyday – with the streets filled with travelers and the motels booked to capacity. But seeing them in daylight now, we’re glad we didn’t push through last night.

We did stop of a famous Rt. 66 establishment: TeePee Curios (yes, shaped like a giant teepee) – the kind of tacky souvenier shop that dotted the route. Of course we dropped $30 on glow-in-the-dark, dashboard Virgin Marys (seriously, we did!), Route 66 root beer and a keychain pig that does things that are unsuitable for description here. We briefly considered eating at one of those surviving diners (untested, smoking and Mexican equals a bad combination), then a Sonic Drive-in, but opted for the “safe” bet: a Denny’s diner…..Suffice it to say we will suck it up and eat those dreaded power bars that we have packed in case of snowstorms next time…..ughhhh…

Our next Route 66 stop was Glenrio, an old watering hole that became a ghost town when I-40 bypassed it. Glenrio now has about 2 human residents, 100 feral cats and several very decrepit buildings and structures that were once bustling with travelers. Route 66 is actually a 4-lane highway here, so it was very eerie standing in the middle of this “superhighway” with no one else in sight, the wind making strange noises in the old buildings. I swore I heard strains of “Dueling Banjos…” A few pictures, a few thoughts and it’s back on the road again.

It is truly amazing how much a day can improve with the change of terrain…..I can’t tell you how beautifully impressive and calming and comforting the New Mexico road has been….Ohmmmmmm…. The flatness of Texas gave way to the mesas and then mountains of New Mexico – the picture postcard kind. I (Spike) spent most of the late afternoon watching the endless sunset over the horizon and soaking up all of the many hues that accompany that very phenomenon as I once again was very grateful for this wonderfully, complicated, emotionally charged day that I call my own reality….and as a general cure, I can only tell you that the patience and mutual love of my traveling compadres and Springsteen in my headphones once again lifted me back to reality…..I’ll let Springsteen take it from here…

“well I’m no hero, that’s understood, all the redemption I can offer is beneath this dirty hood/ with a chance to make it good somehow/ hey what else can we do now? Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair …well the night’s busted open these 2 lanes will take us anywhere…we got one last chance to make it real, to trade in these wings for some wheels…climb in back heaven’s waitin’ down on the tracks….ooooh come take my hand, we’re ridin’ out tonight to case the promised land…ooooh thunder road, oh thunder road, thunder road…it’s lyin out there like a killer in the sun, I know it’s late but we can make it if we run…sit tight, take hold thunder road….tonight we’ll be free…….”

You get the drift….. ‘Tis a beautiful country we call our own and may you all be blessed to see and appreciate it the way that we have, or more importantly, everyday in your own way, in your own routine, big or small……. Our next multi-day stop is Santa Fe, NM. On the desolate desert road through the mountains, the crystal clear sky offered billions and billions of stars – a sight not seen in metropolitan areas. Annie saw our first shooting star. We pulled into Santa Fe’s Inn and Spa at Loretto (definitely NOT your average Holiday Inn Express – we’re treating ourselves) at night and began to feel the effects of that damn Denny’s.

They weren’t kidding when they said the wind comes whipping down the plain! It was cold, rainy and very windy when we awoke and started out. The flat landscape offers no buffers to break up the wind, so the trailer acted as our sail yet again. We were getting bounced around pretty well. Actually, it was a very strong headwind – don’t know if you’ve looked at a utility trailer lately, but they’re not exactly aerodynamic.

For those who know me (‘drew), being on the actual Route 66 puts me in pig heaven. Aside from the historical aspects of the road, being in a place of living history is very cool. We began to see and touch the actual places I’ve been reading about in books and seeing in videos: the old gas stations, Lucille’s (been selling gas since 1941), the Rt.66 Drive In (abandoned), the leaning water tower… For much of OK and TX, Route 66 serves as the frontage road for I-40, so we were able to follow it for quite a while. Its distinctive orange-tan concrete is in stark contrast to the superhighway. Our first official Route 66 stop was Clinton, OK where the Oklahoma Route 66 museum is located. We figured we’d find things to help plan our stops. You could tell you were on the old highway almost immediately – abandoned, run-down motels and diners with their rusted neon signs out front. Sad in one respect, but very retro cool in another. After the museum we ate in that famous Rt. 66 dining experience: Subway.

It is COLD out here – and FLAT. It’s hard to imagine travelers in the 1930’s making it out here in their “primitive” cars, let alone imagining trying to get across this place in a covered wagon. Our next stop was Shamrock, TX – a short section of 66 that was a major refueling stop. There were the usual rusting old places, but the chamber of commerce has restored a classic art deco Conoco gas station to its original magnificent glory. I could live in this place! (The structure, not the town.) Our goal today was to push through to Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM – another major stop on the old 66, originally boasting 3000 motel rooms, gas stations galore and curio shops. But more on that later. We never expected to spend the night in Amarillo…

Amarillo is home to a few famous Rt. 66 attractions, including the Cadillac Ranch. You may have heard about it – those line of Cadillacs stuck into a field at an angle. We found it just as darkness was settling in, but I (‘drew) was the only one would venture out of the comfort of the Suburban, into the blizzard and across the 300 yards of bumpy, muddy, cowpie encrusted field to the cars. It was a struggle, but most worthwhile things in life are. It was very eerie, standing there in this field, in the freezing dark, right next to these cars. Almost a religious experience. Almost – but for the smell of cow and the feeling that I was being watched, it would prove to be a highlight of my cross country trek (those who know me will understand – for those who don’t, this may give them pause to get to know me!).

Amarillo can be a fine place to spend the night after all….We thought that maybe we would push on thru to Tucumcari, NM, but our faithful (?) Suburban had other plans yet again….As we pulled into Amarillo with our sights set on having a very fun, but tacky dining experience at The Big Texan, a very famous Rte 66 eatery that boasts a free 72 oz steak with all the fixin’s if you can eat it in less than an hour (yes, people do it – they have a white board listing those who do, and it’s surprisingly full – they even have a head table, like that you’d find at a wedding, with a large digital clock set to 60:00, read to go), we hit horizontal snow with a wind chill of 10 degrees…. So much for leaving that all behind in Syracuse…Okay, you guys can stop laughing at us…. Or not….Anyways, we have a great dinner at The Big Texan complete with a strolling cowboy trio serenade singing “On The Road Again” and when we leave to find our hotel room (as of yet unbooked) the Suburban that has been whinier than a 3 ½ year old on this trip with all of its breakdowns and warning lights, Krakatoa blew - now it decides it needs an new alternator….. We are mildly panicked knowing that as we drive away in this blizzard in Texas that we have very little time to secure accommodations for the night before we lose complete battery power….We all watch the idiot light on the dash as we creep along, which begs the question “who are the real idiots here?” This sort of turns out to be a blessing in disguise. The storm turned worse and they actually closed I-40 down the road a ways. Imagine being out in the middle of the desert, in pitch black darkness, with no lights and battery power, in a gale-blizzard. Not pretty – so that’s the silver lining – that we were forced to decide to stop overnight anyway. Unsure of how long we may have to enjoy Amarillo’s hospitality with a car in the shop for an unknown amount of time, Anne and Mary feel the need to suck it up and visit Walmart supercenter once again (we’ve spent way too much time there over the past few days) to stock up for the, as of yet unknown, hotel room….After securing enough sufficient food and alcohol (duh!) purchases to survive a couple day drought, we move on…..The good news is, if you ever need a great hotel, we found it….Homewood Suites, ( a Hilton prop) was wonderful in every respect of the word….We checked in, called AAA and had an appt for first thing in the morning to have the truck towed…..Ahhhhh, so we sleep and wait for the ball to drop, yet again, on the climbing costs of driving cross country with a (?) roadworthy Suburban…..

Lesson #3: Three words: AAA, AAA, AAA

We expected to stay here another day and get going tomorrow, but I finished my work early. We did a little housekeeping (aka cleaning out the Family Truckster) and went over to Dena’s house (a ranch) in the early afternoon. Alex had been invited to ride one of their horses some time ago, so she was looking forward to this. We drove through their herd of longhorns to arrive at the house. What a cool place! It was so good to visit with Dena, her husband Gary and their daughter Lauren. Alex took to her instantly, wanting to play soccer – but avoiding the horse at first. She finally got on with Gary leading Sally (the horse) and Lauren walking along side Alex. Alex wasn’t quite sure, but we think she loved it. She even helped Lauren take Sally back to the pasture. It was a great visit, getting caught up and revisiting the places that meant so much to us. We’re really glad we were able to make this part of our cross country trip.

We decided to put some more miles behind us tonight. We headed out for Oklahoma City just before dinner, going through Tulsa. We made our official first ride down Route 66, even though it was the modern super highway, but Route 66 nonetheless. We did see our first Historic Rt. 66 sign, so we’re on the right track.

Siloam Springs is only about an hour or so away, so we took our time getting up there. We stopped at the University of Arkansas to impress Annie with our knowledge of Razorback sports facility identification – in other words, we showed her where we went to the Arkansas/Tennessee basketball game while waiting for Alex to be born. There was a game about to start, so we had our 3rd opportunity to go to a Div. I men’s ball game. But we passed.

It’s amazing how much we remember about getting around this area. We went to the same Atlanta Bread Company that we first went to almost 4 years ago – and knew exactly where it was. We drove into Siloam Springs using the same route we got know to like the back of our hand – the antique shops (including the one where we got our flat tire), the paintball grounds, “the” Wallmart – but alas, Mike Mulligan was no longer there. We instinctively took the right streets to the house. Max and Mattie (the Dobermans) remembered us like it was yesterday. It’s always a good thing when big Dobermans like you. We showed Annie and Alex her “first home” – the little guest house we lived in for 5 weeks. Everything was the same: the furniture, the layout – it was very comforting being in this place again. So many memories came back.

Unfortunately, Gloria and Mike were not able to be there when we came through town – they were out of town and couldn’t change their arrangements. We were really looking forward to seeing them again but sometimes that’s the way things go. We walked around downtown Siloam Springs a little, visiting the same shops we frequented before. The photographer who almost did our portrait when Alex was born (but we balked, not wanting to jinx the revocation period at the time) remembered us! We made an appointment to actually do this time, but we eventually cancelled again – this time because we wanted to get on the road again sooner than we had planned. We had about 20 pounds of take out barbeque back at the “big house”, broke out one my computer systems and actually did some work for a client back in Syracuse.

We watched the Boise St./Nevada (Reno) football game on ESPN and learned that Reno had 8 inches of snow this day! It was all over the Weather Channel, how much snow Reno got. I thought we left all that stuff behind?! We’re going 3000 miles for this? They always say you should take a little something with you to remind you of “home,” but this is ridiculous.

We all didn’t sleep well last night (except Alex), so we knew today was going to be slow, lackluster travel day. And it was. Our plan was to get to Fort Smith, Arkansas, just south of Siloam Springs (the place we lived when we adopted Alex and our next multi-day stop). The weather was sunny but windy, making driving a bit challenging with this big sail we’re dragging behind us, but really not bad. The only thing on our itinerary was to check out the newly opened Clinton Presidential library in Little Rock. We weren’t sure if it would be open, being the day after Thanksgiving, but when we pulled off the highway, we were met with throngs of people trying to get in and no place to park. (Later that night in our hotel room, the news said that there were over 9000 people waiting to get in!). All the bleachers were still up from the opening ceremonies. The place looked impressive – at least from the vantage point of the Suburban – but we turned around and kept driving. Next time.

This is the same route we took to Siloam Springs almost 4 years ago when we flew into Little Rock to adopt Alex. It’s funny how many of the TV commercials, names and places we remember from our last trip. Interstate 40 is MUCH better this time – we remember it being a washboard drive. We ate lunch at the same restaurant, El Chico, in which Spike almost choked 4 years ago* - even pointed out the exact table to Annie. The food was great and went down easily this time.

(*For those who didn’t read our adoption journal, Spike choked on a piece of beef at this Mexican restaurant on the first night we landed in Arkansas to adopt Alex. I had to perform the Heimlich several times to get it dislodged. A cruel irony to the start of our adoption journey at the time.)

Found a pizza place and pulled into our hotel room fairly early. We were all pretty beat so an early night was welcomed. We watch the Weather Channel every night and we realized we picked the best day to travel across Arkansas – severe thunderstorms blew through during the night, in fact there was a tornado watch just south of us (funnel clouds were spotted). Of course we miss our friends back in Syracuse, but seeing those lake effect bands makes us glad we’re not there! Sorry people… Maryland spanked Memphis, so it was a good day.

Thanksgiving Day – what better way to start it than in a hotel room somewhere east of Nashville? We started this holiday by continuing our tradition: watching the Macy’s parade on TV. Not quite the same as being at home, watching it while decorating the house for Christmas – so perhaps we’ll hang a wreath on the trailer. We got a later start than usual, our next destination only a few hours away. The drive was easy and flat and weather was sunny and calm. Of course it couldn’t be completely carefree – the “check engine” light is a constant reminder that Krakatoa could blow at any moment.

Added note of interest to our daily travels. Now that we have Mary sufficiently back in the daily groove of needing (not wanting, needing!) some coffee concoction of espresso delights, ( I pledge allegiance to my Starbucks….) we hit a snag outside of Memphis on Thanksgiving Day when we spotted, like eagles, a Starbucks sitting off in the distance amidst a completely empty strip mall (it is 2pm Tday, after all)…I had just finished my phone call with Stacey, in which she warned us that if it wasn’t opened, not to do anything drastic…Does she know something that we don’t, or does she just understand that delightful espresso treat carmel macchiato skim venti,please….No sooner had we hung up and I had jumped out of the truck singing the praises of my fav coffee drink, when I got to the door and tried to open it…..LOCKED???? No way…I look @ my watch, 1:58 cst, store hours til 2pm….No way was this happening…..I sunk back, but not before pressing my pitiful, espresso denied, disappointed face against the glass and giving them my best parched look…..No way were these people giving in, and yes I had to leave, no carmel delite in hand…..What is a girl to do, no Wegmans coffee bar, no Starbucks in sight??? Sad and dejected, we move on to the next town, always in search of my carmel macchiato skim venti please…..All this from a girl who can’t stand coffee, but got hooked on coffee drinks from her sis, Mo….So, Stacey, no macchiato, no ugly scenes, no local jail time…..Hmmmmmm……..

And what better way to spend Thanksgiving (if you can’t be home with family) than to spend it with the King? Yes, our major holiday destination, our Mecca #2, was Graceland in Memphis. We arrived about 3:00pm to a golden sunset. We literally pulled up those famous front gates and parked (they have a small pullout). The front walls are covered with graffiti, notes from people all over the world. It was very cool to read them – and of course we left our mark on a small naked rock. “Thanksgiving Pilgrimage ’04 – on our way to Viva Las Vegas baby!” Muchos photos later and we had to find the perfect memento. Unfortunately, being Thanksgiving, EVERY place was closed – except one small tacky souvenir shop run by a very strange Asian gentleman. After much consideration, we bought a refrigerator magnet. Annie had found some fantastic rib joints for our Thanksgiving dinner on Beale Street (the famous street in Memphis) but all were closed. The shop owner suggested the only open place right down the street (“a lot of Elvis fans go there”): a barbeque joint named Marlowe’s. We knew we were in the right place when the first thing you see when you pull up is an old Airstream trailer painted pink and sporting a huge snout and ears to resemble a huge pig (their catering vehicle). Inside, the place was decorated with old gas signs and huge trophies won for their barbeque. The food was absolutely fantastic! Ribs, pulled pork and the turkey special hit the spot. Most definitely one of the coolest Thanksgivings we all spent! Over the urinal in the men’s room, they hung the day’s sports section – there was big article about Maryland basketball that I just had to finish reading (Spike and Annie thought I fell in, I took so long). Maryland was coming to play Memphis the next night. We drove back past Graceland (now after dark) which was all decorated with Christmas lights and with the full moon rising over Graceland, we swore we saw the ghost of Elvis waving goodbye. We briefly considered staying at the Heartbreak Hotel across the street (not making this up) but decided to put a few more miles behind us, pulling into a nondescript Hampton Inn halfway to Little Rock. Alex finished off this memorable holiday by puking on the floor. (By the way, it’s not because she’s sick – it’s because she got so rambunctious jumping on the hotel’s beds that she upset her stomach. One “purging” and she was a happy clam again – and promptly fell asleep!)