Phoenix Vacation
Day 2 - March 2, 2017
Even though I was in a strange house, and sleeping in a strange bed, I slept like a rock! Travel can be exhausting, but also exhilarating.
Surprisingly, I was up at 8am, but it was the right time to get an early start heading north to Sedona, Arizona. We first went to Jack in the Box and got Breakfast Jacks, then to Costco to fill up the car, eventually heading north on Interstate 17. We encountered mostly flat prairie for the first hour passing exits for places named Bumble Bee and Crown King, and of course the occasional highway patrol officer. Even though the speed limit on the interstate is 75mph, and we were all doing about that speed, when drivers see a cop, they instinctively push the brakes to slow down. Really? I also noticed a tremendous amount of Saguaro (su-war-o) cactus everywhere. These are the tall standing cactus with multiple arms you would traditionally see in an old western movie, or a travel brochure to "visit the Wild West". The cactus can reach 45 feet tall, and that takes 200 years. They are protected by law, and it is illegal to damage them. A ten year old cactus may only be one and a half inches tall. An adult cactus is very heavy because they store water, and can weigh up to 8 tons. They won't bloom until they are 35 years old, and aren't considered an adult until they are 125 years old. This style of cactus' biggest threat is poachers.
Soon, we started climbing up the mountains. Phoenix is about 1100 feet in elevation. Sedona is a little over 6000 feet. That's a lot of climbing! As we climbed, the cactus began to disappear because of the thinner air, and the temperatures dropped quickly. We crested a range near Camp Verde and suddenly saw two of the San Francisco mountains beautifully reaching into the clear blue sky 80 miles ahead of us with their two snow-capped peaks glistening at 12,600 feet. Spectacular, but there was no shortage of spectacular views as we approached Sedona.
Twisting and turning on mountain roads, we finally encountered what makes Sedona very special, and that's the beautiful mountains and cliff faces glowing in the midday sun with various hues of red and orange. Some are jagged, some are smooth, all are beautiful. We stopped at just about every pull-off point and snapped a large amount of pictures on our phones and 35mm cameras. We attempted a couple of hiking trails, but couldn't go too far because of Patti's recent knee surgery.
Up on the side of a mountain in Sedona is Chapel of the Rock, a church actually built into the rock itself. We walked up the short pathway to the chapel, snapped more pictures of the mountain that towers very close and high above the church, then went inside. Candles were being lit, people were kneeling in prayer, and it was perfectly lovely.
The Breakfast Jacks didn't last long and we were then on the hunt for lunch. I asked Siri for the best Mexican food restaurant in town, and it recommended Javelina's Cantina. It, too, was built against the rocks, but now it seemed apparent that most places in Sedona were. When traveling, I have little hope of finding good Mexican food outside of Texas, and that's certainly what I expected here, but I was surprised that it was actually excellent! I had the Green Chile Pork Carnitas with rice and guacamole, and iced tea. The tea was a little on the weak side, but the food was so good, I didn't mind too much.
After lunch we drove slowly through town looking at all the little shops selling souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, and lawn ornaments. A beautiful city, but we quickly learned that it's very expensive to live there. Prices above a million dollars are not unusual.
We were getting into mid-afternoon and decided to take the shorter way home as the sun was quickly heading west. Once again, we had to go over mountains, and decided to go via the mining town of Jerome, Arizona. Lots of haunted buildings and copper mines, and the ubiquitous "red light district" and saloons most early mining and railroad towns were famous for.
Up we went to a little over 7000 feet at the crest, and there was snow everywhere, and a lot of it! As I walked through the snow, Patti took pictures of me in awe of it all and holding the touristy snowball, and we laughed at all the little snowmen passers-by had created on the side of the road. The temperature at the top was 42 degrees, and I was in a short-sleeved t-shirt. Although the sun was bright and warm, I didn't stay outside very long.
Down the other side of the mountains we went, and within just a few minutes the snow was gone and the temperature started to rise quickly. By the time we got down into the Prescott Valley, the digital thermometer in the car said it was 71 degrees.
The sun was beginning to set as we hurried back to Phoenix. What a day! Perfect weather, beautiful scenery, amazing structures, and beautiful mountain views. It was the day I hoped it would be, and I was not disappointed. We got home and enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and lovely conversation, and got sleepy.
With the blog entry written, I wish you a very good night.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Phoenix Vacation
Day 1 - March 1, 2017
6am. WAY too early for the alarm to go off for someone that routinely gets up at the crack of noon everyday. I work the late shift and usually go to bed about 1am. Ugh.
I left work early yesterday so I could get home and get some packing done preparing for my journey to Phoenix. I haven't been to Phoenix in a long time, and I'm really looking forward to this trip. My dear friend Patti and her husband Trevor are allowing me to stay at their home, which is very appreciated. In allowing me to stay with them, Patti's son volunteered to relinquish his bedroom for a few days, and he'll stay with his dad. He will be thanked!
Patti contacted me a couple of months ago saying that her good friend Craig had written a new opera called "Riders of the Purple Sage" based on the famous novel of the same name, and they are debuting it this Friday with the Phoenix Opera. What a wonderful treat!
I said goodbye to Lawrence, Desiree and Toby, and hurried to Hobby Airport for my 9am flight. It's foggy this morning, but I'm thankful the forecasted storms are nowhere to be seen. I got to the airport in plenty of time, and security was quick and easy. I grabbed a banana nut muffin and orange juice at the coffee shop and proceeded to Gate 50 for my Southwest Airlines flight to Phoenix, with a brief stop in El Paso along the way. Once aboard the plane, I noticed something unusual. The plane was only about one-third full! This is a first. Every Southwest flight I've ever been on has always been packed. Not this one, and it's nice to have an entire row to myself! I guess El Paso and Phoenix are not popular destinations on a Wednesday. I also guess it would be inappropriate to stretch out across three seats for a needed nap. No pillow. No blankey. I'll just recline my seat and annoy the guy behind me.
It was a very smooth flight into El Paso and only bumpy as we descended near the mountains. Desert winds and mountains always make it rough. A brief change of passengers, except for the four of us continuing on to Phoenix, and we'll soon be on our way. Hey look....even fewer people on this flight! Maybe 30 people? Nice, but I'm still not going to lay out across the seats.
We arrived in Phoenix 45 minutes early, and all 30 of us were very glad to be here, mostly because the plane was incredibly cold. It was like a meat locker in there! The warm Arizona sun felt good as we stepped outside, even though it was 68 degrees. Low humidity was a refreshing change, and it only felt chilly in shaded areas. By the time I got off the plane and got to baggage claim, the bags arrived less than five minutes later. 30 people at a large baggage claim carousel meant no pushing or shoving, just a quick grab and we were all outta there in record time.
A few minutes later Patti picked my up in her Hyundai and we ended up circling the airport a couple of times trying to decide which way to go for lunch. It was humorous. We ended up going into Scottsdale and having lunch at a great pizza joint. We sat inside as the patio was in the shade, thereby chilly. After lunch we walked around and did some shopping, eventually driving north making a big loop around the area. About one hundred miles later, we arrived at her house. If you've never been to Arizona, the yards don't have grass. They have wildflowers, rock and sand. Lawnmowers are not prevalent in the desert.
At 6pm, Patti had to leave and attend church services since it's Ash Wednesday. I stayed at the house and relaxed, updated this entry, and napped. It's been a long day. She and her husband Trevor will both be home around 8:30pm, and dinner plans will be considered at that time.
So, it's been a great day, I'm happy to be here, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we drive about two hours north to Sedona, Arizona, where I hear it's beautiful, and cold, since it's about 5000 feet higher in elevation than Phoenix. I promised Patti I wouldn't google pictures of Sedona...she wants it to be a surprise. I have a feeling I'll be taking a lot of pictures tomorrow. Goodnight!
Day 1 - March 1, 2017
6am. WAY too early for the alarm to go off for someone that routinely gets up at the crack of noon everyday. I work the late shift and usually go to bed about 1am. Ugh.
I left work early yesterday so I could get home and get some packing done preparing for my journey to Phoenix. I haven't been to Phoenix in a long time, and I'm really looking forward to this trip. My dear friend Patti and her husband Trevor are allowing me to stay at their home, which is very appreciated. In allowing me to stay with them, Patti's son volunteered to relinquish his bedroom for a few days, and he'll stay with his dad. He will be thanked!
Patti contacted me a couple of months ago saying that her good friend Craig had written a new opera called "Riders of the Purple Sage" based on the famous novel of the same name, and they are debuting it this Friday with the Phoenix Opera. What a wonderful treat!
I said goodbye to Lawrence, Desiree and Toby, and hurried to Hobby Airport for my 9am flight. It's foggy this morning, but I'm thankful the forecasted storms are nowhere to be seen. I got to the airport in plenty of time, and security was quick and easy. I grabbed a banana nut muffin and orange juice at the coffee shop and proceeded to Gate 50 for my Southwest Airlines flight to Phoenix, with a brief stop in El Paso along the way. Once aboard the plane, I noticed something unusual. The plane was only about one-third full! This is a first. Every Southwest flight I've ever been on has always been packed. Not this one, and it's nice to have an entire row to myself! I guess El Paso and Phoenix are not popular destinations on a Wednesday. I also guess it would be inappropriate to stretch out across three seats for a needed nap. No pillow. No blankey. I'll just recline my seat and annoy the guy behind me.
It was a very smooth flight into El Paso and only bumpy as we descended near the mountains. Desert winds and mountains always make it rough. A brief change of passengers, except for the four of us continuing on to Phoenix, and we'll soon be on our way. Hey look....even fewer people on this flight! Maybe 30 people? Nice, but I'm still not going to lay out across the seats.
We arrived in Phoenix 45 minutes early, and all 30 of us were very glad to be here, mostly because the plane was incredibly cold. It was like a meat locker in there! The warm Arizona sun felt good as we stepped outside, even though it was 68 degrees. Low humidity was a refreshing change, and it only felt chilly in shaded areas. By the time I got off the plane and got to baggage claim, the bags arrived less than five minutes later. 30 people at a large baggage claim carousel meant no pushing or shoving, just a quick grab and we were all outta there in record time.
A few minutes later Patti picked my up in her Hyundai and we ended up circling the airport a couple of times trying to decide which way to go for lunch. It was humorous. We ended up going into Scottsdale and having lunch at a great pizza joint. We sat inside as the patio was in the shade, thereby chilly. After lunch we walked around and did some shopping, eventually driving north making a big loop around the area. About one hundred miles later, we arrived at her house. If you've never been to Arizona, the yards don't have grass. They have wildflowers, rock and sand. Lawnmowers are not prevalent in the desert.
At 6pm, Patti had to leave and attend church services since it's Ash Wednesday. I stayed at the house and relaxed, updated this entry, and napped. It's been a long day. She and her husband Trevor will both be home around 8:30pm, and dinner plans will be considered at that time.
So, it's been a great day, I'm happy to be here, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we drive about two hours north to Sedona, Arizona, where I hear it's beautiful, and cold, since it's about 5000 feet higher in elevation than Phoenix. I promised Patti I wouldn't google pictures of Sedona...she wants it to be a surprise. I have a feeling I'll be taking a lot of pictures tomorrow. Goodnight!
Saturday, July 23, 2016
July 23, 2016
Alaska Trip - Day 1
7:30am (Central) - I was right. Not much sleep, and that alarm going off at 4am was almost painful. I got about 4 hours of sleep, and I'm definitely dragging this morning. Otherwise, I was right on time arriving at Hobby Airport at 6am. Met my party, got the bags checked, ate a little something, and got through security quickly. Now we're just sitting at the gate waiting to board. We'll be on the plane for about 6 hours because we are stopping in Albuquerque on the way. Arrival in Seattle at 12:05pm local time. I usually can't sleep on planes, but as tired as I am, there's a good chance I will. That is, of course, if this flight isn't the Screaming Baby Express. I have my Bose noise-reduction headphones at the ready!
9:15am (Mountain) - Right on time into Albuquerque, and a very smooth flight. And thankfully, no screamers. People off, people on, and soon on our way to Seattle. It's sunny and 71 here. Nice. I'll be enjoying my banana nut muffin in lieu of peanuts during this segment. Yummy!
11:45am (Pacific) - Another very smooth segment, but we had a little screamer as we descended into Seattle. Luckily, he's in the very back, I'm in the very front. Perfect. We landed 20 minutes early, and typical for Seattle, it's very cloudy. Southwest has a great free TV service onboard, so I was able to catch up with the news. The signal was great and only stuttered a couple of times. Ain't technology great?
10:00pm - Finally settling down for the night. We had a lovely day here in Seattle looking around, but we didn't make it to the Pike's Market yet. We'll do that in the morning since it's very close to the cruise ship terminal. I took what was going to be a short nap that ended up being two hours! I was beat. We later had a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and enjoyed good conversation and making new friends. Gotta get up early, so off I go. We all look forward to getting aboard the ship tomorrow. So much to see, experience, and most importantly, EAT!
Alaska Trip - Day 1
7:30am (Central) - I was right. Not much sleep, and that alarm going off at 4am was almost painful. I got about 4 hours of sleep, and I'm definitely dragging this morning. Otherwise, I was right on time arriving at Hobby Airport at 6am. Met my party, got the bags checked, ate a little something, and got through security quickly. Now we're just sitting at the gate waiting to board. We'll be on the plane for about 6 hours because we are stopping in Albuquerque on the way. Arrival in Seattle at 12:05pm local time. I usually can't sleep on planes, but as tired as I am, there's a good chance I will. That is, of course, if this flight isn't the Screaming Baby Express. I have my Bose noise-reduction headphones at the ready!
9:15am (Mountain) - Right on time into Albuquerque, and a very smooth flight. And thankfully, no screamers. People off, people on, and soon on our way to Seattle. It's sunny and 71 here. Nice. I'll be enjoying my banana nut muffin in lieu of peanuts during this segment. Yummy!
11:45am (Pacific) - Another very smooth segment, but we had a little screamer as we descended into Seattle. Luckily, he's in the very back, I'm in the very front. Perfect. We landed 20 minutes early, and typical for Seattle, it's very cloudy. Southwest has a great free TV service onboard, so I was able to catch up with the news. The signal was great and only stuttered a couple of times. Ain't technology great?
10:00pm - Finally settling down for the night. We had a lovely day here in Seattle looking around, but we didn't make it to the Pike's Market yet. We'll do that in the morning since it's very close to the cruise ship terminal. I took what was going to be a short nap that ended up being two hours! I was beat. We later had a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and enjoyed good conversation and making new friends. Gotta get up early, so off I go. We all look forward to getting aboard the ship tomorrow. So much to see, experience, and most importantly, EAT!
Friday, July 22, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
I'm feeling anxious. Not because
anything is wrong, but because a lifelong goal of mine is coming to
fruition starting tomorrow. I'm heading to Alaska, on a cruise,
departing out of Seattle.
Since I was very young, I've had this
strong draw to go to Alaska. I've never been able to explain why,
it's just always been there. I've told family and friends all my life
that if I ever make it there, I may not come back. Of course, I will
come back since I have a job, home, and the usual adult
responsibilities, but one day I may not.
Was I a gold miner in a previous life
that struck it rich up there, or maybe a naturalist admiring the
breathtaking beauty of that state? Whatever reason...I'm finally
going.
Since Lawrence doesn't fly, he won't be
joining me on this adventure, but I assured him that after we retire
in a few years, we will go to Seattle via car or train and take our
own cruise. I will be traveling with a group of friends that go on a
bunch of cruises every year, so I will follow their lead on what to
do and experience. I've been on cruises before, but always out of
Galveston, and always to the Caribbean where it's always hot. Now I'm
going north where it's almost always chilly. I've been watching the
weather up there and it gets pretty cool during the night, even
though we will have about 20 hours of daylight the whole time. That's
gonna be weird.
My suite mate is a lady friend of mine
that has never been on a cruise, and never been on a train, so I
arranged this week and a half adventure to include the cruise, which
has a train trip as a shore excursion, then when we arrive back in
Seattle we will jump on Amtrak and ride along the Pacific Coast from
Seattle down to Portland. We will fly home from there after a night's
stay. We are both excited about the trip, but for different reasons,
but I guess that's what adventures are all about. Although we will
both see and experience the same things, we will react and feel
different emotions as they happen.
I'm doing some laundry and getting
ready to pack. I'm getting the cameras ready, and the electronics all
charged up. I'm giving a lot of attention to the dog as I know she
will miss me a lot while I'm gone, and I will miss her more.
My mother knew I always wanted to go to
Alaska, and she always wanted me to go to Italy. It was her favorite
destination, and I promised her I would someday. Maybe next year?
I'll work on those plans when I get back.
I don't know if I will do a daily
update or not. I'll have to see if the inspiration hits me, and if I
have the time. I may write a daily report, but being that I will be
on the ocean, I may not be able to post it every day. I'll also post
a picture or two.
I have a feeling I won't get much sleep
tonight.
Friday, June 17, 2016
2016 Minnesota Vacation - Day 3
The day started out pretty normal. Woke up early to let the dog out, then went back to bed. It was in the 60's as the sun was rising, which was a nice surprise. We ended up leaving Osceola, Iowa at 10:20am and headed north. Another beautiful day as we went about 45 miles into Des Moines and started looking for fuel and food, but once again we hit some roadwork causing a bit of a backup. It seems we're hitting a lot of that this trip, and then I remember why. In this area of the country they have a limited window of opportunity to do things like road repairs and other outdoor stuff because you can't very well do those repairs with extremely cold weather and large amounts of snow and ice on the roads. In Texas, they do roadwork, and just about everything else, year-round.
We pulled off and filled up the car. What's very strange and hard to get used to in Iowa is their pricing of gasoline. In Texas we have regular, unleaded plus, and premium. The higher the grade, the more it costs, right? Not here. The cheapest fuel is super unleaded with the same amount of ethanol as we get in Texas (10%). Next highest is the regular unleaded, and the most expensive is just gasoline with no ethanol at all. This is big corn country and ethanol is king. Even the pumps are hard to figure out because they have 5 different grades and 3 hoses. I paid $2.25 for premium. Nice!
We found some lunch next door and again proceeded north. Today we traveled 308 miles and got to Lawrence's brother's house a little after 3:30pm. We unloaded the car, did some visiting, and I decided to take a nap. I drove a total of 1,273 miles over three days, and it can be exhausting. I have a friend Greg who drives an 18 wheeler all over the country, and it's not unusual for him to do somewhere in the area of 600 miles every day. Respect.
I got up from my nap and quickly noticed that it was getting dark outside. A storm was brewing and it was heading right for us! There were all sorts of warnings up for our area, and the radar showed a big blob of red and purple close by, and it was moving fast. 70 mph winds and blinding heavy rain put on a heck of a show. We were supposed to be heading out for dinner, but we decided to wait for the storm to pass. It did pass, but then it curled back around for another swing at us. After it had mostly died down, we eventually headed out. There was lots of debris on the roads, and we saw a patch of trees that were snapped in half. I'm talking tornado-snapped in half! I can believe it after those high winds.
We took two cars because we had a lot of people. On the way, the front car went over debris and started to lose air in one tire. We all got to the restaurant just in time and decided to change the tire after dinner. We went outside and it was still raining (and about 67 degrees) and decided we would leave the car overnight and fix it tomorrow, so we all piled into the CRV and headed back to the house. One of the kids rode in the back hatch area. She's small-framed and had no problems.
At this point, everyone was dozing off and ready for bed. I headed downstairs to the basement (where we sleep) and started to write my daily entry. A big bolt of lightning and BOOM - all the power is off. I'm sitting here in the dark, on the couch, with nothing but the glow of my iPad lighting my corner of the room. I'll use that same glow to make my way to bed in a moment.
No definite plans for tomorrow. We'll probably just do some visiting with various people around town and goof off. To me, that's perfect, and what vacations are for.
I may or may not write additional entries throughout our two week stay. It all depends on what we do, and if it's worth telling. I wouldn't want to bore you with what we eat every day and where we went shopping, which may be all we do. I'll definitely write again on the trip home.
Hey! The lights just came back on! Good night......
The day started out pretty normal. Woke up early to let the dog out, then went back to bed. It was in the 60's as the sun was rising, which was a nice surprise. We ended up leaving Osceola, Iowa at 10:20am and headed north. Another beautiful day as we went about 45 miles into Des Moines and started looking for fuel and food, but once again we hit some roadwork causing a bit of a backup. It seems we're hitting a lot of that this trip, and then I remember why. In this area of the country they have a limited window of opportunity to do things like road repairs and other outdoor stuff because you can't very well do those repairs with extremely cold weather and large amounts of snow and ice on the roads. In Texas, they do roadwork, and just about everything else, year-round.
We pulled off and filled up the car. What's very strange and hard to get used to in Iowa is their pricing of gasoline. In Texas we have regular, unleaded plus, and premium. The higher the grade, the more it costs, right? Not here. The cheapest fuel is super unleaded with the same amount of ethanol as we get in Texas (10%). Next highest is the regular unleaded, and the most expensive is just gasoline with no ethanol at all. This is big corn country and ethanol is king. Even the pumps are hard to figure out because they have 5 different grades and 3 hoses. I paid $2.25 for premium. Nice!
We found some lunch next door and again proceeded north. Today we traveled 308 miles and got to Lawrence's brother's house a little after 3:30pm. We unloaded the car, did some visiting, and I decided to take a nap. I drove a total of 1,273 miles over three days, and it can be exhausting. I have a friend Greg who drives an 18 wheeler all over the country, and it's not unusual for him to do somewhere in the area of 600 miles every day. Respect.
I got up from my nap and quickly noticed that it was getting dark outside. A storm was brewing and it was heading right for us! There were all sorts of warnings up for our area, and the radar showed a big blob of red and purple close by, and it was moving fast. 70 mph winds and blinding heavy rain put on a heck of a show. We were supposed to be heading out for dinner, but we decided to wait for the storm to pass. It did pass, but then it curled back around for another swing at us. After it had mostly died down, we eventually headed out. There was lots of debris on the roads, and we saw a patch of trees that were snapped in half. I'm talking tornado-snapped in half! I can believe it after those high winds.
We took two cars because we had a lot of people. On the way, the front car went over debris and started to lose air in one tire. We all got to the restaurant just in time and decided to change the tire after dinner. We went outside and it was still raining (and about 67 degrees) and decided we would leave the car overnight and fix it tomorrow, so we all piled into the CRV and headed back to the house. One of the kids rode in the back hatch area. She's small-framed and had no problems.
At this point, everyone was dozing off and ready for bed. I headed downstairs to the basement (where we sleep) and started to write my daily entry. A big bolt of lightning and BOOM - all the power is off. I'm sitting here in the dark, on the couch, with nothing but the glow of my iPad lighting my corner of the room. I'll use that same glow to make my way to bed in a moment.
No definite plans for tomorrow. We'll probably just do some visiting with various people around town and goof off. To me, that's perfect, and what vacations are for.
I may or may not write additional entries throughout our two week stay. It all depends on what we do, and if it's worth telling. I wouldn't want to bore you with what we eat every day and where we went shopping, which may be all we do. I'll definitely write again on the trip home.
Hey! The lights just came back on! Good night......
Thursday, June 16, 2016
2016 Minnesota Vacation - Day 2
We slept-in this morning since we were both worn out from yesterday's drive from Houston. I did get up early to let the dog out, and then I had a bite of the free breakfast the hotel offered, but then I went back to bed for a few hours. I felt a lot better today, even though I do still have my head cold.
We departed Ardmore at 11:20am and headed north on I-35 towards Oklahoma City. We stopped for lunch at Arby's and I had a turkey sandwich, Lawrence had a Beef & Cheddar, and the dog got bites of both, of course. Close to Downtown OKC, we once again hit construction with a heavy backup.
The weather was beautiful all day with clear skies and lots of sun, but boy was it hot! We hit 101 today in northern Oklahoma, and it stayed in the 90's all day until we got close to Iowa when it dropped to the upper 80's. You could definitely tell we were headed north.
In Kansas, I was surprised by two things today. First, their gas was only $1.81 per gallon. Second, I saw a new casino in the state. I know Kansas is a very conservative state like Texas, so I didn't think they allowed casino gambling, just like Texas. Interesting.
Not much to tell about Kansas or Missouri. Traffic wasn't bad and the weather was good. Lots of wheat and corn growing, but that's not unusual. We made a number of potty, food and gas stops along the way, and finally reached Osceola, Iowa just after 9pm. Osceola is about 45 miles south of Des Moines. We found a Quality Inn here, and it's a bit dumpy, but they allow dogs, so we're good with that. A lot of places don't allow dogs, which kinda sucks, and limits your choices. None of the door locks work in the rooms and the front desk clerk had to let everyone into their rooms.
Once we got settled in our room, we quickly found out there were no food places open after 9pm, including pizza delivery. The only thing open with food is the truck stop next to our hotel, so I wandered over there to see what they had to offer. Their offering, other than the usual c-store fare, was freshly made pizza! It was surprisingly not too bad. Back in the room with pizza and lemonade, we had our dinner, and found out the dog likes pizza. The again, she's likes everything, as evidenced by her fluffy rotundness. Is that a word? It is now.
We traveled 371 miles yesterday, another 594 today, and a couple of hundred more tomorrow will get us to our destination. We'll be in Minnesota for two weeks before heading back to Houston, and so far we have no definitive plans while there. Just what the doctor ordered.
We slept-in this morning since we were both worn out from yesterday's drive from Houston. I did get up early to let the dog out, and then I had a bite of the free breakfast the hotel offered, but then I went back to bed for a few hours. I felt a lot better today, even though I do still have my head cold.
We departed Ardmore at 11:20am and headed north on I-35 towards Oklahoma City. We stopped for lunch at Arby's and I had a turkey sandwich, Lawrence had a Beef & Cheddar, and the dog got bites of both, of course. Close to Downtown OKC, we once again hit construction with a heavy backup.
The weather was beautiful all day with clear skies and lots of sun, but boy was it hot! We hit 101 today in northern Oklahoma, and it stayed in the 90's all day until we got close to Iowa when it dropped to the upper 80's. You could definitely tell we were headed north.
In Kansas, I was surprised by two things today. First, their gas was only $1.81 per gallon. Second, I saw a new casino in the state. I know Kansas is a very conservative state like Texas, so I didn't think they allowed casino gambling, just like Texas. Interesting.
Not much to tell about Kansas or Missouri. Traffic wasn't bad and the weather was good. Lots of wheat and corn growing, but that's not unusual. We made a number of potty, food and gas stops along the way, and finally reached Osceola, Iowa just after 9pm. Osceola is about 45 miles south of Des Moines. We found a Quality Inn here, and it's a bit dumpy, but they allow dogs, so we're good with that. A lot of places don't allow dogs, which kinda sucks, and limits your choices. None of the door locks work in the rooms and the front desk clerk had to let everyone into their rooms.
Once we got settled in our room, we quickly found out there were no food places open after 9pm, including pizza delivery. The only thing open with food is the truck stop next to our hotel, so I wandered over there to see what they had to offer. Their offering, other than the usual c-store fare, was freshly made pizza! It was surprisingly not too bad. Back in the room with pizza and lemonade, we had our dinner, and found out the dog likes pizza. The again, she's likes everything, as evidenced by her fluffy rotundness. Is that a word? It is now.
We traveled 371 miles yesterday, another 594 today, and a couple of hundred more tomorrow will get us to our destination. We'll be in Minnesota for two weeks before heading back to Houston, and so far we have no definitive plans while there. Just what the doctor ordered.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
2016 Minnesota Vacation - Day 1
Surprisingly, we actually got out of Houston a lot earlier than expected this morning at 11am. I was thinking that's perfect so we would miss afternoon rush hour in Dallas. That realization came to a screeching halt early on as we got stuck behind a huge accident on I-45 just south of Conroe. It involved an overturned 18-wheeler, a haz-mat spill, and the freeway shut down. That's an hour and a half I'll never get back.
Once we got through that mess, we stopped at Buc-ees in Madisonville for a break. Potty breaks for everyone, including the dog, sandwiches, drinks, chips, and of course, beef jerky for me, and we're back on the road. All the way to Dallas, and after Dallas to almost the Texas border, there was road construction everywhere, thereby causing more delays. Right on schedule, we hit Dallas rush hour promptly at 5:00pm. It was also 101 outside. It took a little over 71/2 hours to get out of Texas and into Oklahoma, and I was exhausted. I'm also suffering from a major head cold and not in the best mood. We were planning on staying in Oklahoma City tonight, but we stopped in Ardmore for gas and noticed the La Quinta across the street. Close enough! We're all checked in for the night, I'm finishing this entry, and we'll be on the hunt for dinner soon.
Oh, you'll be proud of us. We actually passed the Winstar Casino when we crossed the border. It was difficult, but we just kept staring forward and keep my foot on the gas! Our gambling budget is very limited this trip, so any gambling will be with Lawrence's parents in Minnesota. If we have any money left on the way home, we may stop in at Winstar.
Tomorrow we traverse Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and into Iowa where we will stay the night in Des Moines. We should arrive in New Ulm, Minnesota sometime mid-afternoon Friday. It will be good to see everyone up there, and we have a lot of catching up to do!
Surprisingly, we actually got out of Houston a lot earlier than expected this morning at 11am. I was thinking that's perfect so we would miss afternoon rush hour in Dallas. That realization came to a screeching halt early on as we got stuck behind a huge accident on I-45 just south of Conroe. It involved an overturned 18-wheeler, a haz-mat spill, and the freeway shut down. That's an hour and a half I'll never get back.
Once we got through that mess, we stopped at Buc-ees in Madisonville for a break. Potty breaks for everyone, including the dog, sandwiches, drinks, chips, and of course, beef jerky for me, and we're back on the road. All the way to Dallas, and after Dallas to almost the Texas border, there was road construction everywhere, thereby causing more delays. Right on schedule, we hit Dallas rush hour promptly at 5:00pm. It was also 101 outside. It took a little over 71/2 hours to get out of Texas and into Oklahoma, and I was exhausted. I'm also suffering from a major head cold and not in the best mood. We were planning on staying in Oklahoma City tonight, but we stopped in Ardmore for gas and noticed the La Quinta across the street. Close enough! We're all checked in for the night, I'm finishing this entry, and we'll be on the hunt for dinner soon.
Oh, you'll be proud of us. We actually passed the Winstar Casino when we crossed the border. It was difficult, but we just kept staring forward and keep my foot on the gas! Our gambling budget is very limited this trip, so any gambling will be with Lawrence's parents in Minnesota. If we have any money left on the way home, we may stop in at Winstar.
Tomorrow we traverse Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and into Iowa where we will stay the night in Des Moines. We should arrive in New Ulm, Minnesota sometime mid-afternoon Friday. It will be good to see everyone up there, and we have a lot of catching up to do!
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