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Published: October 18th 2008
Day Four finds Kathy driving Pearl. She says as bad a navigator as I am, I am an even worse driver. I can’t believe she got upset because when I checked the gas gage we had 0 miles to go before empty. Our gift yesterday, in my opinion, we that we drove to the exit with no gas in the car. Anyway Kathy is back behind the wheel as we are leaving Santa Fe reluctantly, we are headed to Flagstaff and beyond, hopefully to Lone Pine, CA if we have the stamina to drive 11 hours.
We want to highly recommend Santa Fe Sage Inn as a place to stay. It has a homey atmosphere, free breakfast, friendly folks, clean and neat, and is an incredible value. We anticipated upwards of $200 for the price of a room and surprisingly this room cost us less than a full tank of gas. When I say clean, let me give you an example, on our way to breakfast, they were cleaning off the top of the soda machines. Aaron at the front desk recommended our wonderful dinner restaurant, Venisscia. We were a bit apprehensive as we were delivered to the place, we were along a lonely back alley, we had passed many crowded
sidewalks and restaurants, and there was no one around. Mario, our favorite shuttle driver ever, dropped us off at a big wooden door, promising to retrieve us whenever we called. When the huge doors opened we were entranced by classic Santa Fe architecture, art, and a local crowd obviously having a ball. There was a fabulous piano playing singer, who sang show tunes and standards. Kathy knew all the words, I being far to young to even know who Frank Sinatra was!! He did play Georgia on my Mind. (For you bridge girls, he had just returned from Vegas, saw Bette Midler, said she was “fab-u-lous” we better get our reservations in now!) The food at Venisscia was good, that is after Kathy corralled the shrimp she flung off the skewer into a chair, I swear you can’t take her anywhere (June, I insisted she not eat off the chair)
Also, we highly recommend Mario, from West Palm and his Art Van, free shuttle service around the city and extra helpful if you need him. We plan to call him on our return trip to show us all the “hot spots” and “in places” to go.
Back in our room early, as Mario quits shuttling at 10, we turned on the TV and watched the Smith memorial tribute with Obama and McKain. We both agreed it is too bad that the campaign hasn’t been conducted the same way.
I-40 West is incredibly beautiful. We are now seeing red mesas, red rock cliffs, fantastic rock formations. So very different from Washington, we see huge ranches, real cowboys on horses, old adobe houses, and trailors that are the “new” Indian homes. The Arizona welcome station has “painted rock” just beautiful. As we travel today the weaither is perfect, 73 no humidity, the bluest sky against those red cliffs. Indian crafts are heralded everywhere out here. The jewelry and pottery our favorites. We checked out the Indians at the Plaza with their wares but so far we’ve resisted any purchases. I do have lingering thoughts of a great pair of earrings, a Nativity scene from pottery……
So it is Friday 11:58 mountain time and we’re thinking about our best friends having lunch at the Jockey Club, wishing they were all with us.
Kathy’s exercise regime is falling by the wayside….I’m afraid I am influencing her more than the other way around. She just suggested isometric exercise as we drive…..she never gives up, maybe I will give that a try. She started out the first day doing laps around the parking lot when we stopped for lunch, with me in tow, she is now punishing me by NOT stopping for lunch, I am trying to make my popcorn last for 6 hours…my only hope is an empty gas tank…..service station chow, yum I can’t wait….
(pardon my grammer and spelling, I found out when I go back to correct something I can lose whole paragraphs so I’ve decided to just type away). Also if anyone has any directions on how to load photos, please send us this info…..not that we have taken and single picture yet but we are planning to……
We are driving by the exit for the petrified forest, Kathy is just going to tell me about it since she has been before, that’s ok with me if we don’t stop, it would involve some exercise. She says I need to save some of these sights for when I bring my grandchildren back
Which reminds me Bulletin…….. bulletin…..
Beth and Russell are expecting a baby in early June
I am so excited, our family will be growing in 2009 by two at least with Amy and John’s addition in late Feb. So blessed…..
The desert is beautiful, unlike you would expect, there are many colorful plants, we have yet to see our first cactus though,
I am thinking of Trey as we approach Flagstaff, which was the launching point of his big Canyon trip last winter. It would be an incredible adventure to raft for three weeks through this beautiful land. After Oklahoma and Texas, we have seen no oil rigs. Surprisingly there are lots of cattle along I-40 in New Mexico and Arizona, casinos at exits and Indian stores. The horizon almost looks like the ocean you can see so far out here. How in the world did our forefathers come west by wagon train? We are in the luxury of ole Pearl and we are worn ut at the end of the day, although this could be from laughing so hard.
Well let me sign off for a while, we are stopping at Jerry’s for lunch in Holbrook AZ, this is at least a step up from Circle K food.
Actually, this is many steps up…one of the best hamburgers, everything homemade, we recommend this place as a stop for really good food…..that’s Jerry’s in Holbrook, AZ.
We are filling up while off the expressway, Pearl requires premium gasoline, as she is a high maintenance lady like her travelers. Thought y’all might be interested in the gas prices as we travel, $3.79 for high test here in AZ. The least expensive we have found was in AK and it was right around $2.00.
As we approach Flagstaff the landscape changes drastically, there are trees, even pines, and towering mountains. We are passing the exit to the Grand Canyon we decide to take it in on our way back or Kathy can just describle it for me and I’ll take the grandchildren sometime later…..did I mention the speed limit is 75 out here on the open roadway?
From Kathy: Now we’ve decided to spend the night in Laughlin, Nevada, (casino paradise) so that I can get rid of some of my quarters. My purse is so heavy from carrying them around that I’m getting an indentation on my shoulder from my purse strap. Maybe I ought to buy a backpack somewhere along the way.
We have made it to Laughlin, NV finally, I don’t know about this hotel…….but it is a bargain!
More soon
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jan
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Where is the world are Thelma and Louise
Hi girls, just checking in to see if you're ok. love the comments. keep em coming! love, Jan