On the Road Again

This is the last night on the road for while. Tomorrow we head into LA. And I can't wait to get my hands on Maverick. We got up early and had breakfast in Williams in a little cafe and then lunched in Kingman at Mr. D's ( named after Andy Devine). We had a little rain and saw a little tornado far off to the side of us just before we entered CA. We are currently having pizza in our room and I am washing my hair to be ready for lots of play time with little Maverick. We'll send pictures of him after I get through kissing those little baby cheeks.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

Today we will let the pictures do the talking. We were in the Grand Canyon National Park. We were on a jeep tour with three other couples and enjoyed their company as well as the beauty of the canyon.

Folks we meet on the road.

Today was a short trip to the hotel near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We made one stop on the way in the small town of Williams, AZ. Once here we watched an IMAX on National Geographic's Grand Canyon and drove through the National Park. It is a good thing we booked a jeep tour for tomorrow as all of the parking lots were full. This way they will drop us off at each lookout to take pictures and then move on down to the next one. Not much else to do here, so we are resting in our room and catching up on our paper work, advanced map reading, etc. Last night we did two loads of laundry and in the launday room met a lawyer from Atlanta who is bicycling from Amelia Is. to Los Angles. We meet all kinds of people along the way. Mike and I chatted with two couples driving Rt. 66 from LA to Chicago in a 40 Ford and a 56 Chevy. Lot's of bikers doing the same thing. For the majority of you who are wondering how Bonnie and Mike are surviving so much togetherness...we found the secret for getting along. The trick is to not over do. We do get cranky at the end of a long day, but rest or a new adventure calms the nerves. Mike is still doing all of the driving...fool that he is, and I am getting tired of being the tour guide and map reader. We have two more nights on the road and then a weeks rest and visit with Little Maverick in Santa Monica. Yeah!

We left very early enroute to Flagstaff, AZ. We stopped in several little towns along Rt.66 and then visited the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. A beautiful and majestic site. From there we went to Winslow, AZ. made famous by the Eagles( "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, what a fine site to see") and stood on that very corner. We are now in our room in Flagstaff and will go to the Grand Canyon in the morning. Good night to all!

A day in Santa Fe

We had a pleasant Sunday in Santa Fe. Lots of people due to the holiday weekend but not too bad. Many art shows and Indian exhibits to see and art galleries to visit. We had nice lunch at a small restaurant on Canyon Road which is the home of many art galleries and were fortunate to be inside when a major thunderstorm came up with lots of hail. A dinner in an Italian restaurant finished off the day.More touring is scheduled for tomorrow.

Oklahoma City to Santa Fe

Ola from Santa Fe. Yesterday was an easy traveling day and we stopped for only two small museums. One was of Rt. 66 and the other was a car museum in Santa Rosa. If it is cars and guns, Mike is a happy camper! We had our first small town diner experience with strange looking truckers and locals. Mike had trouble eating for facing a fellow diner who looked like he had no pants on when he sat down! We have a picture you won't see for now. The famous "Cadilac Ranch" was a good vintage Rt. 66 marker. Tucumcary was a good town for old Rt. 66 signs and buildings, like the teepee curio store and the Blue Swallow Inn.

We walked through an art show near the hotel while we waited for a room in Santa Fe. Mike bought a concho belt he really likes and bought me a necklace for a belated birthday present. Once we walk Canyon Rd. I expect more presents!!! We walked up to a wonderful restaurant and shared our lamb and Australia Barrundi fish. We will stay in town today...we need a break from truckin and need to streach our legs. Bye from New Mexico. We will be here until Tuesday.

We made Amarillo by evening

We left Branson early and hit Rt66 where we found in the town of Claremore the Will Rogers Museum and the J.M. Davis Arms Museum (world's largest private collection of firearms). Mike loved all the guns, but there were so many he was overwhelmed. In Oklahoma City we visited with Mike's mother's family. Seventeen of them showed up for dinner and a nice visit. Uncle Dale hosted us in his home and was a great tour guide around the city our first morning. We enjoyed the National Cowboy Museum. Wonderful art...and more guns, of course. Today is my birthday and I enjoyed all the calls from friends. Bella and Scarlet called to sing "Happy Birthday" and I Skyped with Maverick and Ethan this evening. Mike said the highlight of today was lunch at Jiggs BBQ found in the Road Food book. We walked through a small Rt. 66 Museum. That is where we get our walking in. We are doing better at reading maps and jumping on and off the Interstate to avoid tricky routes, one week out. We have our feet up in Amarillo and are resting this evening nibbling on peanut butter crackers. See you down the road!

It's tuesday...so this must be Branson, MO

Mike is just beginning to relax and go with the flow. On the road from Memphis, I wanted to stop at a local restaurant for lunch where the Road Food book ( the girls gave us this book) said that the Wagon Wheel had mile high rolls and the nations best pies. Trying to use the car guidance system we over ran the turn off. Mike would not turn around. The Sizzler in Clinton was... OK. Now we are going up the road pass the lawn jockeys and I tell Mike we just passed a herd of cows lying under a tree with a camel. NOW, he turns around and pulls off and says..." you were right it is a camel." Lesson #1...we are retired. We have all day, no schedules. Let's not miss what could have been a pleasant experence. I predict a lot of "turn a rounds" from here on out.

I had no idea what to expect Branson to look like. It looks like Hwy. 17 in Myrtle Beach, SC. Yesterday we went to the Strait Show and were pleasantly entertained by a trio singing George Strait music and some gospel music. We wandered through the largest toy museum and an antique barn. I bought, " The Angel of the Hills" book to read along the trip. Today, we are attending two shows- 12 Irish Tenors and The Jim Stafford Show. Tomorrow we begin the Route 66 leg of the trip. We miss our friends, but know you are praying for us. Alive and well in Branson.

Bonnie is learning how to post the blog, so bear with us. Our last dinner was with APAC friends at Folks Folly Steak House. After our fun visit in Memphis with Jo and Chris Lodge, we headed out Sunday morning for Branson, MO. Mike let me drive 0.0 miles through the rolling green terrain. The road side was dotted with Pentecostal churches and for sale signs for lawn jockeys. We streched our legs in a small state park in Clinton, AR which touted a natural rock bridge. I left out the picture of Mike by the old moonshine still. We were so well fed in Memphis that we stayed in last night and skipped dinner. We are off today to look around Branson. We have shows scheduled for today and tomorrow.

The first day began at about 4:30 am on Friday, May 15th. We had loaded the car the night before under the watchful eyes of Dawg Gnome. We got an early start to get ahead of the traffic in Atlanta and after breakfast in Tallapoosa, GA, we began our trip to Memphis. We arrived in Memphis in time for lunch with our good friends Jo and Chris Lodge. We had a great dinner at Big Fish. On Saturday we went to the Peabody to watch the ducks walk from the elevator to the fountain in the lobby. Were late and missed the duck walk but got to see them in the fountain after the crowd retired. Plans are to go to a steakhouse for dinner and retire early, we will see.