After dropping the boys off, the plan was to head back towards Route 66, picking it up in Holbrook, AZ. I REALLY wanted to stay in the Wig-Wam Motel, a holdover from the days when Route 66 was the way to go. Since Meg and Reid decided two more days on the road with Mamie and Papaw was more fun than flying home when we dropped off the boys (which makes you wonder how bad it is to fly home with over 20 lbs of love sitting on your lap and all that goes with it), I didn't think a 60 yr. old motor inn was a good place to stay. I did get to see it, though, and isn't it cute?
We also did some rock shopping at an old petrified rock place. Nice and cluttered and junky, my kind of store. After shopping we headed to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, numbers 3 and 4 in our bucket list of National Parks.
The real fun began when we left there and headed to Albuquerque. We stopped at a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Place, one of Kenny's favorite things to do. Very underwhelming and disappointing. I think we should have read it as an omen of things to come. I have talked about traveling on parts of Route 66 since the inception of this vacation plan. I thought it ran from ABQ straight to Texas but it cuts up to Santa Fe and then back down to Santa Rosa (in case anyone cares). To be able to shoot what I wanted, we had to FLY to Santa Rosa to get there before sunset. My Nascar skills got us there just in time and I left Meg and Kenny at a park to stretch their legs while I shot. After picking them up just after dark, our plan was to try to make it to Amarillo. Failure. Just outside SR, the Jetta broke down. We limped back to a hotel, got a room and made the most of it, the most being the pool, free internet and a glass of wine.
The beauty of a small town is the laid back atmosphere and slow pace. It was not beauty we were after, it was car repair. That was not to be had on a Saturday when all (2) garages close at noon for the day and the auto parts stores (2) close for an hour at lunch. Kenny was able to get it running by replacing a belt, fixing a pulley, by passing the air compressor and, I'm not kidding, zip tying the air compressor to the side of the car. No ac (which it didn't have anymore anyway) and no power steering, but running, the Jetta made a valiant and successful attempt at a 9 hr drive to Ft. Worth.
Things Learned on This Trip...
- You will always forget the one thing that you thought was the most important thing for you bring, i.e. extra battery and charger for new camera bought especially for the trip. This is the 3rd time I've done this.
- There is nothing more humiliating than not recognizing your own child.
- There are a LOT of things I don't know about farmland, but am not afraid to make things up to sound smart.
- When it comes down to it, outlets and hamburgers trump wine tastings.
- Carpe Diem when it comes to food. Ex 1: A few years ago, Meg and Eddie were able to go to Paris for a few days. She really wanted to try these special macaroons. They were very expensive and because they had just eaten, she decided to wait a while so she could really enjoy them. Well, somehow, they got squished and ruined and were pretty much inedible so they had to throw them away. Ex 2: They bought lots of ham and sausage to bring back with them but it didn't make it thru customs and had to THROW IT AWAY! Eddie wept. Ex 3: On the same trip, we went to a wine cave and Eddie spent more money than he should on a small bottle of wine. They decided a wine so great needed to be saved for a special occasion. Fast forward a year, Eddie graduates from Med school, a perfect opportunity, but Meg is pregnant. One year later, they are moving again and so is the bottle, packed snugly away for the next big occasion. In the wrong bag! When we left Eddie at the airport in Phoenix, he thought the wine was in the checked bag but it was in his carry on. You guessed it...they made him throw it in the trash. From now on, they eat/drink whatever special thing they buy.
- The spectacular beauty of God's handiwork at the Grand Canyon trumps the man made grandeur of Las Vegas.
- Traveling in an un-airconditioned car thru the Mojave Desert in June isn't as bad as it sounds when you are with the people you love.
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