Home Sweet Home

Our mission for today was to get home as quickly as possible.  We woke up and began our new morning routine.  This trip is so different than any other vacation either of us have ever taken.  We haven't stayed at any hotel for more than one night.  That is a lot of packing and repacking and loading and unloading every day, but Rodney and I are a great team and we soon got our rhythm.

For months before the trip, I pondered and researched and asked everyone I knew for advice on how to pack for this trip.  What I ended up with was a plastic set of drawers that we already had and a carry-on size suitcase.  This system worked out great.  Rodney and I each had our own drawer of clothes and the kids shared a drawer.  Each day when we arrived at our hotel, Rodney would check in and bring out a cart for me to load up.  I unpacked our dirty clothes into the large laundry bag we kept in the car and packed up a clean set of clothes for the next day.  Our pajamas and all our socks and underwear stayed in the bag at all times.  We had another bag for all toiletries and a bag with everything we need for swimming.  We had 2 big bags of shoes - one for grownups and one for kids.  I took out the shoes we would need and any other random things and put those in a reusable grocery bag.  By the time Rodney had checked in and checked out the room, I would have the cart loaded and we would head to the room.

One of my favorite packing tricks was this shower bag that I found at Target a few years ago.  It held everything we needed in the shower in one place that could be hung in the shower and then simply zipped up in the morning.

Besides gas and bathroom breaks, our only stop today was for our final picnic lunch of the trip.

Our picnics have been really fun and we've found covered or shaded picnic tables almost every day.  To make things really simple, the kids have been eating Lunchables and Rodney and I share a bagged salad kit with a bag of cooked chicken strips.  I packed a picnic bag that we took out along with grabbing our food from the cooler and our drinks.  The bag included a tablecloth, wipes, a paper towel roll cut in half for napkins, plates, plastic silverware, and even scissors to open the bags of salad.  When we were done, we stuffed it all back in the bag and loaded up.  We ate a picnic lunch every day we were on the road and most of the time we even enjoyed a free scenic view.

Speaking of driving, we traveled 3,320 miles over 14 days.  And Rodney drove every single one of those miles.  He's my hero.  As a passenger, I came prepared with magazines, books, and projects to complete.  I did none of that.  I never read a single word of any of my books or magazines or worked on any projects.  The drive was almost always more interesting than anything I had brought.  It was great.  I did do some blogging in the car because I otherwise would never have gotten it done, but that was it. 

The kids had their tablets, but Morgan went many days without even asking for it or only used it to listen to music while she looked out the window.  During all that driving, no one ever said "Are we there yet?".  Can you believe it?  Caleb would ask how much time was left because he wanted to set a timer, but not to complain about wanting to stop driving.  This was a very pleasant surprise.

In fact, their behavior for the entire trip was surprisingly good.  I don't care what you say about them, these are some good kids. ;-)

In appreciation for Rodney doing all the driving, I was in charge in of all drinks and snacks, including becoming the in-car barista.  One of Rodney's morning duties at the hotel was to go downstairs and bring back a few cups of coffee when we got the cart.  We brought a large thermos that he would pour the coffee into so we could have a second cup on the road.  We filled up our Yeti cups when we went down for breakfast and took those with us.  The cooler in the car had sugar, creamer, and even coffee stirrers.  It worked out great.

This trip was the same length as our usual vacations, but it seemed much longer (in a good way).  We did have some long days and not always a lot of downtime, but we did something amazing almost every day as well.  I don't think we would have even considered an undertaking like this without having followed along on my extended family's road trips across the country through my cousin Steve's blog.  Thank you for the inspiration, Traveling Kings!  It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime!

In other news, Rodney didn't shave his head hair or facial hair during the entire trip.  Looks like we were gone a long time!

We finally made it home in the early evening and started the long process of unpacking.  Before exiting the car, we took one last family selfie.  These are the faces of 4 satisfied vacationers!

Tram and Texas

Our vacation is finally catching up to us.  We all slept until 8:30 this morning.  We ate breakfast at the hotel and headed to the Sandia Peak Tram in Albuquerque before leaving town.  I remember going on this tram with my family on vacation as a kid.  The ride is 2.7 miles to the top of Sandia Peak and takes 15 minutes.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of the tram and they got brand new $1 million tram cars to celebrate. 

The kids loved the ride, especially Morgan.

There is a big tower on another peak halfway up.  I thought that was the endpoint because you can't see the other peak until you get to the first tower.

From our tram car, we could see a lady running up the mountain.  I didn't even see anyone chasing her.

The top is in sight!

We got out at an elevation of 10,378 feet and it was 59 degrees.  It felt great and we explored a little at the top. 

On the other side of the mountain is a ski lift and ski slopes.  Obviously there was no skiing in June, but we checked out the ski lift.

There are some trails at the top and you can even hike all the way down if you want.

The world is like a Ninja Warrior obstacle course to these two.  It is impossible to just simply walk down a path.

After our short hike, we headed back down on the tram.  We have seen a lot of beautiful landscapes and been on the top of many mountains on this trip, but the tram ride was something different and we enjoyed it.  They had a ski lift display at the bottom so we took the photo op.

On our way out of town, we continued the Breaking Bad tour by stopping off at Walter White's house and the car wash.  We noticed another car from Texas at both locations. 

We were on our way to Amarillo and then Palo Duro Canyon today and we were off to a later start than we had hoped so our only stop was for a picnic lunch.  It started sprinkling while we ate, but the cover kept us nice and dry.

We continued toward Amarillo and the rain turned into a downpour.  This was not good news considering our plans to attend the outdoor musical "Texas" tonight, but the weather forecast said that Palo Duro Canyon would be dry for the night so we held out hope.

The rain did let up as we got close to the park so things were looking better.

We entered Palo Duro State Park and took a few pictures.  Then we saw a flash of lightning and the rain started up again so we ran for the car.

We arrived at the park a few hours before the show with plans to do some hiking and exploring in the park, but the rain changed those plans.  Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the US, after the Grand Canyon of course.  That means we have visited the 2 largest canyons in the country in the past 3 days and this is the 3rd canyon we've been in in the past 4 days. 

Since we were now in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, we decided to eat the BBQ dinner that they offer next to the amphitheater.  The food was in a building and the picnic tables were covered, but the two were not connected by a covered walkway.  This was not an ideal place to eat in the rain but it worked out and the food was good.  They were playing live music and people were two-steppin' in the rain.  Ahh, it's good to be back in Texas.

We were sitting at our picnic table after eating when suddenly a little girl sat down right next to Morgan and said "Did your mommy make your dress?"  The girl's mom prompted her to ask what she was supposed to ask us, but instead she looked at Rodney and said "I love you!".  Eventually she got it right and said "Programs!".  Let me tell you, this girl is adorable.  And she doesn't have a shy bone in her body.  Turns out she is in the show and her name is Ginger Rogers.  Yes, that is her real name.  This girl is destined for stardom.  We bought a program from her and she even signed it.  She is only 4 so it's mostly a scribble, but this could be worth a fortune someday when she's a big star.

The rain let up and then started back again.  The show goes on even in the rain so we waited.  There was some lightning in the area so the show was delayed by about 20 minutes. 

Photography is not allowed during the show, but we took this pic of the stage before it started. 

We brought one poncho on the trip and bought 3 more in the gift shop.  This is high fashion.  We also got our jackets out of the car because it was chilly in the rain.

We were mostly dry for the first Act and even took off our ponchos.  At intermission, the rain started again and continued through the end of the show.

In spite of the rain, we really enjoyed the show.  We had great seats and it wasn't too crowded due to the weather.  They put on a great performance, complete with a patriotic grand finale that included fireworks and a mini-version of the fountains at the Bellagio.

The show didn't start until almost 9pm and it was nearing midnight by the time we got to our hotel in Amarillo, but the kids were amazing.  The show was captivating and kept them entertained and awake the whole time.  They were even really patient with the rain and the delays.  It was a great night and a great way to end our vacation.  Tomorrow we will be traveling home!

Route 66

Our destination today was Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We woke up in our Best Western in Grand Canyon Village and got on the road.  This was the most expensive hotel room of the trip and we spend the least amount of time there and had fewer amenities than any other hotel.  Location, location, location I guess.  It did look fancy in the lobby area, though, and it was the biggest room.  Morgan was very impressed, but her hotel experience is pretty limited.

Breakfast was not provided at the hotel so we headed south to Flagstaff.  An hour and a half later we arrived at our first stop on our Route 66 tour for the day - the Galaxy Diner.

When you enter a really cool 50's diner, you should of course run right to the dirty fish tank and look at ordinary goldfish.  Our kids have their priorities right.

It was a really cool diner on Route 66 and the food was good too.  Caleb enjoyed a pancake shaped like a bear.

We continued on Route 66 toward Albuquerque.  Route 66 is no longer an actual road, but many parts of it have been preserved and we tried to follow it as best we could.  At one point, we exited to follow the old 66 for a little ways, but found it to be a dirt road.  We got back on the interstate. 

Our next stop was supposed to the Barringer Meteor Crater but when we discovered it would cost $45 for our family to stop and look at this big hole in the ground, we decided to save our time and money.  When we told the kids how much it cost and that we thought it wasn't worth it, Morgan's response was "That's more than the Grand Canyon!".  Good point. 

The next Route 66 attraction was the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ.  It was pretty cool.  Each room is it's own tipi shaped building and there are lots of classic cars parked outside of them.  We walked around and took a few pictures and got back on the road.

We noticed a few other old Route 66 hotels in town as well.

We had a long way to go today so we mostly stayed on the Interstate the rest of the day.  We stopped at the Arizona welcome center rest stop for lunch.  Not very welcoming if you ask me.

The picnic tables were nice, though, and had a view of the Painted Cliffs.

The Arizona welcome sign was right there so we took a picture.  We have spent more time in Arizona on this trip than any other state.

A note on Arizona road signs.  I like the signs here.  On their city limits signs, instead of listing the population, they show the year the town was founded and its elevation.  I thought that was pretty cool and I guess they save money by not printing new signs every 10 years.  They also have signs discouraging drunk driving that show a picture of a person who died in a drunk driving accident with their name.  I thought this was a good approach. 

Good bye, Arizona!

And hello, New Mexico!

We were driving through New Mexico and started noticing black rock everywhere.  We thought it looked like lava, but that couldn't be right.  Turns out it is.  The last lava flow in this area was 1,000 years ago.  You can see the lava rock just beyond the road.

The sky was gorgeous.  This was probably our most boring day of the trip, but we did have beautiful weather.

We arrived in Albuquerque and went swimming at the hotel.  Then we headed to dinner at Twisters.  This is the site of Gus's restaurant, Los Pollos Hermanos, from Breaking Bad. 

Rodney wondered if it might be crowded because of its Breaking Bad fame and said we could just take a picture and leave if the line was long.  This was not a problem.  We were literally the only people there.

They are no dummies here and have capitalized on their TV stardom.  They are even selling posters.

We ate at Walter White's table.  Gus never showed.