From Atlantic to Pacific!

Saturday, July 28, 2007. Today we left Vegas and headed to San Clemente, the home of Jane's sister, Lanneau. She had very generously offered to house us for two nights while we accomplished two of our goals -sticking our feet in the Pacific and touring the Crystal Cathedral. This was another great opportunity to get our laundry done for free--thanks again, Lanneau! By the way, Lanneau is now in a battle against colon cancer, so please say a prayer for our gracious host for a full and speedy recovery.

Today's journey took us across a vast expanse of Mojave desert, and we saw Barstow, the city made famous in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as the first taste of California the Joads experienced. We also saw the World's Tallest Thermometer, which we made sure to mention to Betty Jo's sister, Kathy, and her husband Bill. They love roadside attractions, and they had bragged on seeing the World's Largest Frying Pan!

We had our first taste of California freeway traffic just getting to San Clemente, and we started to reconsider one of our destinations, Rodeo Drive. Just how many hours of our trip did we want to spend sitting in traffic? Was there an alternate attraction that might be more appealing?

We started to consider our options as we steamed in normal California coming-home-from-work traffic.

San Clemente is a charming town with beautiful views, temperate weather, and gorgeous homes. No wonder people flock to California. We saw some of our most beautiful scenery there.

Lanneau lived on the side of a hill, which was accessed by a rather curvy road, but when we reached her house, what a vision! Her poolside patio overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and the view is stunning. Lanneau and her son, Christian, took us down to San Clemente's beach, and we got our pictures taken of our toes in the ocean. We wanted proof that we had traveled from sea to shining sea.

We ate supper on the patio of Cafe 207, and I noticed that almost all of the restaurants we saw had outside dining. Very few of the restaurants in our area offer this, but we do not have temperate weather all year round. We ended our sightseeing by driving to an overlook from which we could see the car lights below and the pier lights of Laguna Beach. On this day, we reached the western-most point of our trip, and we knew from this point on, our direction would be easterly; it was a bittersweet realization, but many of our favorite destinations were yet to come, so it was impossible to feel truly depressed.

Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas

We left the Grand Canyon area on Friday, July 27, 2007 and headed towards Las Vegas. It was my day to drive, and it was our first real animal encounter of the trip. Afterwards, it seemed that most of our animal encounters occurred while I was behind the wheel. Our scenery today was breathtaking, and I was glad to be driving because the landscape before me seemed as beautiful as museum masterpieces. Sometimes, Arizona and Nevada can seem a little other-worldly to those of us from the East Coast. We stopped at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to snap a few pictures before going on to Vegas. We did not do the "dam tour" because some of us had done it and the others claimed to be too claustrophobic. While rounding a bend right on the "dam road," a bighorn sheep ran right in front of me. What was even more amazing is that he was catching up to two of his buddies who were lolling around in the "dam parking lot." No pictures of the sheep; he took us by surprise.

We tried using our AAA books to make reservations in Vegas, but the rates we were quoted on the phone were out of sight. Jane called her daughter Iris, who had access to the Internet, and she found us really good rates at the Paris Hotel. I had visited there before and knew we would like it. My husband and I stayed at the Bellagio for our 25th wedding anniversary, and I had taken photos of everything on the strip. That is why I don't have any Vegas pictures to post. I did have my picture taken with an Elvis, but that's on my refrigerator, where it belongs. We went to the Bellagio for the lunch buffet, because Jane and I both swore that Betty Jo and Kristee really needed to see this for themselves. They were suitably impressed.

Kristee and Jane made for the Mirage to pick up tickets for Jay Leno's show, which started at 11:00. Betty Jo and I bought tickets for The Producers, which was right at our hotel. Quite frankly, I didn't want to bet on staying awake that late, as the 106 degree temperature had worn me slam out. Plus, it had been my brainstorm to buy the monorail tickets, which were a big waste of money. The Vegas tourist industry has not yet realized that moving visitors around in a cool, comfortable atmosphere and location would benefit them all. The stupid monorails dropped us off in parking garages from which we had to walk half a mile to the front of the hotel. This place needs a modern subway system, with entrances to each hotel in the lobby near the casino. Hello, Vegas transportation people! Is anyone out there listening? Betty Jo and I were so frazzled from the heat and the hiking back and forth to the stupid monorail that we split the cost of a taxi to take us back to the lobby of our hotel. Money well spent!

The Grand Canyon

We set out from Santa Fe the morning of July 26, 2007. Our destination for the day was the Grand Canyon. This might be a good place to explain how we made our hotel reservations, because by no means did we make them before we left home. None of us wanted to live with such a rigid schedule that we felt that we had to drive a certain number of miles each day; even though we knew our basic route, we wanted to give ourselves breathing space. Usually Betty Jo and Jane would look at the map and figure out each day where we would probably be in the evening. We usually knew by lunch or early afternoon where we would stay each night. I would check the mileage and estimated time of arrival of the destination on the GPS, and Betty Jo would call the hotels that looked interesting in the AAA book. Once we chose a hotel, I would log its street address into the Tom -Tom, and most of the time, we drove right up to the front door.

If I were driving, Jane worked the GPS; if Jane were driving, Kristee helped Betty Jo with the AAA books.

We drove through Albequeque but didn't stop to check out the sights. We bought t-shirts with "Route 66"on them from a Gallup, New Mexico gas station/casino/restaurant/gift shop. We ate lunch in a historic Route 66 diner, which still sold hamburgers and fries, although the rest of the menu was decidedly Mexican in flavor.

Passing through the entry to Grand Canyon National Park was a little disconcerting, because there is really no hint of the grandeur you're about to experience at the entrance. Then all of a sudden, there is the first pull-off for a scenic view. WOW! It nearly took our breath away. I will admit it is just as impressive as the first time I saw it, maybe more so, because I was 13 at the time. I don't think I had the deep appreciation for nature at 13 that I have at 54. It was vast, colorful, mind-boggling. I remembered my mother telling me that when my grandfather first saw it, he cried. I understood.

It was 4:00 p.m. when we arrived at Bright Angel Lodge. We caught a trolley to take a few photos before the threatening clouds descended upon us. Unfortunately, the clouds beat our trolley to the first stop, and the second, and so on. Kristee became ill on the bouncy, bumpy trolley, which was the most miserable bus ride we took in 25 days of travel. Once we returned to Bright Angel Lodge, Kristee took a little rest, and we browsed through the gift shop, waiting for the storm to pass. Once it started moving out, the shadows, clouds, and flickers of sun made for some amazing shots. My favorite is hanging on my den wall; it will always be one of my treasured possessions. We stopped by El Tovar to see where Jane's daughter Iris had worked for two summers during her college years, then we returned to our hotel, the Red Feather Lodge, right outside the entrance to the park. Someday I would like to see more of the Grand Canyon, but we were on a cross-country tour, and each destination received a quick once-over and we were on the road again. This was definitely a WOW experience.

Cadillac Ranch to Sante Fe, NM

We ate our free breakfast at our hotel with the lovely lobby and the bare-bones bedding. One of the things we looked for as we traveled was a hotel with a free breakfast. We managed quite often to find hot breakfasts, do-it-yourself belgian waffles, fresh fruit; we had a lot of nice breakfasts. The place in Amarillo this morning actually cooked your eggs to order, not a bad deal for $39 a night, if you don't mind skimpy towels and cheap sheets. We didn't always sleep cheap, but we didn't know what we were getting into that night.

Today's events occured on July 25, 2007, my daughter Melissa's birthday. I called her and all the WOW girls sang to her, but I didn't realize that since she was on vacation in Arizona, it was 7:00 in the morning there. I forgot Arizona didn't recognize daylight savings time. Oh, well, sorry, honey. We had all seen pictures of Cadillac Ranch and looked forward to seeing this piece of Americana. We didn't realize how poorly it was marked; if Betty Joe hadn't spotted it, we would have missed it completely. As it was, we had to go past it, turn around and come back. If you're not familiar with Cadillac Ranch, google it for a complete story. It's pretty fascinating. To summarize briefly, there are several Cadillacs from different years buried nose first along Route 66 and I-40. It was one man's folk art message, but it has become America's folk art message. People spray the cars with personal messages, propaganda, whatever. I heard they were painted Hokie colors after the massacre on the Virginia Tech campus, and I believe someone spray paints them pink during breast cancer awareness month. We were told someone would be there to sell cans of spray paint, but no one was there. We wanted to spray "WOW Girls" on the cars and take our pictures. We took pictures anyway, and took to the highway. This was cowboy country, with all the buttes, mesas, and mountains that any Western movie maker could have desired.

We pressed on to Santa Fe, our next destination. This was Betty Jo's number one; her sister lives nearby. We arrived at our lovely bed and breakfast, The Territorial Inn, which was one of the nicest places we stayed in the entire country. We always found a hotel with two rooms so that we each had our own bed each night. Betty Jo and Kristee roomed together, and Jane and I roomed together. The Territorial Inn had separate bedrooms with a shared bath for Jane and me, and Kristee and Betty Jo each had separate bedrooms with a shared bath. Each bedroom was decorated differently, with beautiful colors and antique furniture. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone traveling to Santa Fe. I wish I had taken pictures of our rooms, but my camera did not do well with indoor shots, and I didn't know how to fix the problem.

We had lunch at the Tia Sophia Restaurant, and I had my first taste of something Jane had been raving about, Navajo fry bread. It really was quite good. Then we headed to the plaza where the native American craftspeople sell their wares. We all bought some jewelry, most of it silver and turquoise. Santa Fe is a beautiful place, and the colors of the sunsets and the desert make it a mecca for artists. Georgia O'Keefe discovered this years ago, and many others have followed. Tourists can see artists at work and buy their work at many of their studios both in town and along Canyon Alley (I believe this was the road's name.)

We took a trolley tour around Santa Fe, and had the displeasure of having one of the most arrogant tour guides of our entire trip. He was obnoxious and rude and accused us of being rude when one of our group didn't understand what he had said and asked one of the others to repeat it. We saw no other tours getting ready to leave, so we stuck it out. We did learn that Santa Fe is the highest state capital, although Denver bills itself as the mile-high-city. Santa Fe looms over the country from an altitude of 7,000 feet plus.

We visited the Loretto Chapel, which has the famous spiral staircase with no means of support. It is the object of scientific study and Ripley's Believe It or Not television crews. Legend has it that a carpenter arrived, having heard that the nuns at this chapel needed access to the choir loft. The man built the magical staircase and disappeared without pay. Was the carpenter Jesus, the son of Joseph, the carpenter? There are many who believe.

Santa Fe was Betty Jo's meeting point with her sister Peggy, and we met for supper at the Coyote Cafe, an expensive, classy restaurant where the waiters size me up when I enter as one of those who would rather eat at Golden Corral and then behave rather patronizingly all evening. Betty Jo's grand-niece had the most appetizing meal on the table, the kiddie mac 'n cheese.

Oklahoma City memorial, Route 66, Big Texan Steakhouse

Before I begin our day in Oklahoma City, I had promised some "tips" along with the "tales." One of these tips was passed along to us by Betty Jo, and this tip saved my relationship with the WOW girls for over three weeks. You see, Kristee had told everyone to bring only one suitcase, so I naturally bought the largest one I could afford that had rolling wheels. It fit just fine in the van, but once I had loaded it with clothes, I could barely lift it off the ground. Betty Jo showed us how she had packed for the trip with each day's outfit, bra, and panties in a 2 gallon zip-lock bag. Each night, she unzipped her suitcase and pulled a bag out. The next morning she slid the used bag to the bottom of the suitcase. Her other necessities were in her carry-on. The other three of us went to a K-Mart and bought enough 2 gallon zip lock bags for a week's worth of clothes apiece. That night, I unloaded my monster bag and repacked everything one day at a time. My bag stayed at the bottom of the pile, and all I had to do was unzip one side and slide new things out and old things in. Once a week, we found a hotel that had a laundry room, or we did laundry at Jane's sisters. No more lugging the monster bag every single night! On to Oklahoma City!

The memorial to those who lost their lives in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City was beautiful and touching, especially to those of us who had watched the news that day on April 19, 1995. I still remember the news showing the fireman carrying out a child, whose legs dangled helplessly; I later heard that child did not survive. It is a fitting tribute to those who died and those who risked their lives to try to rescue them. One nurse did lose her life trying to rescue someone; she has a special chair by the reflecting pool. The Survivor Tree is a symbol of hope to the people of Oklahoma City in particular and people everywhere; the tree should not have survived the blast, but it did. The statue of the weeping Jesus across the street was a gift to the people of Oklahoma City from the country of Italy. It portrays Jesus weeping for his children and turning his head away from the devastation. Kristee had brought something from Virginia Tech to pin on the fence which is covered with memorabilia from visitors, and Betty Jo had brought a cross to hang on the fence.

Once we left Oklahoma City, we headed down Interstate 40 until we reached Route 66. We stopped at the Route 66 museum in Elk City, which had a lot of Route 66 nostalgia. We made it to Amarillo in time to eat supper at the Big Texan Steakhouse, the home of the 72 ounce steak--eat it all in one hour and it is free! Several people were attempting it while we were there, but we didn't see any winners. Once again, we were serenaded while we ate, this time by an elderly cowboy trio with guitars and fiddles. This restaurant is worth a stop just to see the waiters and waitresses dressed as cowboys, cowgirls, or Indians, the giant rocking chairs to have your picture taken in, and other cool stuff.

Tourists beware!! We used a coupon for a hotel just down the road from the Big Texan; our hotel lobby was beautiful with white sparklling lights decorating the trees, and the breakfast area looked inviting. Upon receiving our coupons for $39 a night, we were sent to the back of the hotel, which was so far removed we really did need to drive. The room looked like the rooms my family stayed in when we crossed the country back in 1966; however, we saw no bugs, the towels were thin but clean, so we stayed.

JFK 6th Floor Museum, Dallas, to Oklahoma City

I'm rather glad that I'm doing this blog in retrospective mode. I chuckle over some of my journal entries, and I'm not the least bit sorry that I didn't take time away from the enjoyment of each day to detail each sight and download each picture. Now I have more time to reflect and savor the entire experience, and writing this blog is allowing me the pleasure of reliving one of the most satisfying travel opportunites I have ever had.

I was chuckling to myself over the first line of today's journal entry because it begins, "We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and I had Uncle Hershel's breakfast." Need I say more? I remember watching Regis and Kelly shortly after Kelly Ripa had discovered Cracker Barrel. She loved it; in fact, she adored it. She said if she had known about them earlier, she would have had her entire wedding reception there. We Southern folks know the delights of Cracker Barrel, and the WOW girls stopped at a few before we headed out west.

We arrived in Dallas and drove through the city, following the guidance of my Tom-Tom, which led us right to the parking lot next to the museum. This museum was one of Kristee's top three choices, but once again, all four of us were taken in by the history and painstaking detail given to this memorial to the late president. We made a smart move in renting the headphones which give you the audio tour; the authentic voices of the president, Walter Cronkites, and many others added so much to the experience. If you're not familiar with this museum, this is a must see for students of American history. The museum is the site of Lee Harvey Oswald's hiding place in the Texas Book Depository, the place from which he assassinated President John F. Kennedy, and it is very professionally done. It really brought back moments from my childhood, as I am old enough to remember the principal's voice over the loudspeaker telling us that our president had been shot. Watching the videos and exhibits in the museum made me feel like I was 10 years old again, sitting in front of my TV while little John John Kennedy saluted his father's casket. Far from macabre or sleazy, this memorial is a fitting tribute to the 1960's, the people, the president, and those who loved America during the age of Camelot.

We made tracks for Oklahoma City, Kristee's third choice, the site of the bombing of the federal building. People told us to be sure to see the outside of the memorial at night, so we ate supper at Abuelo's a great Mexican restaurant, and went to the memorial afterwards. Everything about the memorial is symbolic of something from that day, the small chairs represent the children, the larger ones represent the adults. They are placed in areas according to the floors on which they were found. Each chair is lit and the whole reflecting pool is lit, and the glow gives an other-wordly effect. I was moved to tears in the face of so much grief, when my own grief for my daughter seemed still so fresh and painful. We are coming back in the morning to tour the inside, but seeing this outside memorial at night has set the stage for what is to come. What a beautiful tribute to the innocents of Oklahoma City. I wish I had pictures of the memorial at night, but my camera was giving me trouble that night.

New Orleans to Longview, Texas

This was basically a travel day; we explored some of the bayou area of Louisiana and saw a sign that led to Kate Chopin's house. I was the only one who had read her, but everyone was willing to see her house. Our docent was quite well-versed but she was equally well-pickled in alcohol. The back of the house was in terribly disrepair, but the interior was in good shape. We ate at a delightful restaurant for lunch, Copelands of New Orleans, although we weren't in "N'Awleans" anymore. Once again, we were serenaded by a great jazz quartet while we ate. Music, churches,crosses seem to be a recurring theme as we travel from state to state. We saw some plantations on the Cane River and a place called Natchitoches (or something like that)

The hotel in Longview, Texas, was the pits, but we were tired. They had a grasshopper infestation, and I actually killed some in the room with my tennis shoe. Grody!

I am posting my New Orleans pictures separately because I couldn't download them on the previous page.

New Orleans 9th ward to the French Quarter

Saturday, July 21,2007

After reviewing my diary entry for this day, I realized that I spent quite a bit of time detailing my menu for each meal. I will attempt to spare you the more mundane foods, but I will point out ethnic and regional fare that I probably would not eat at home.

Rebecca, Jane's sister, was our host and our tour guide on our jaunt to New Orleans. This was one of Kristee's top three destinations, and she requested a tour of some of the devastation from Katrina. Rebecca used to live in one of the neighborhoods by the levee, and she drove us through some of the hardest hit areas. We saw a huge pile of rubble that used to be a mall and a vacant Methodist hospital that had been condemned. We saw the symbols search and rescue workers had made on houses: huge X's, "gas turned off," numbers (body counts?) and others. Many, many people were still living in FEMA trailers in the front yard of their homes. Some had finished restoration and had moved in; other houses were obviously abandoned and looked as if no one had been back at all. Kristee and Betty Jo got out to speak to one family that had a sign in their yard, "We will rebuild! We are New Orleans."

Then we drove towards the French Quarter, passing the Superdome on the way, the scene of the fiasco following Katrina that showed government mismanagement at its worst. Rebecca took us to the Courtyard of the Two Sisters for a jazz buffet brunch from 11-3 (we didn't stay quite that long). I did, however, at least taste many of the traditional Cajun and Creola dishes I had heard about, including turtle soup, shrimp etoufee, jumbalaya, shrimp pasta, king cake and ice cream with praline sauce. A jazz trio played trumpet, snare drums, bass and guitar, and we dined outside under large umbrellas.

Then we walked around the French Quarter and admired many of the beautiful wrought iron balconies with hanging baskets, street performers, Royal Street with its antique shops, and Bourbon Street with its loud, raucous music and shops full of Mardi Gras beads and masks. We entered a historic church near the New Orleans visitor center; we seemed to happen upon beautiful churches across the country. I said a prayer for Amanda and for each of us. Then we took a carriage ride around the French Quarter with a thoroughly entertaining driver. We ate beignets and drank cafe au lait (the others did) at the famous outdoors cafe.

We walked down to the Mississippi River and saw the steamboat and ferryboat. Jane, Rebecca and I went to Harrahs for half an hour and Kristee and Betty Jo listened to the calliope on the steamboat while they sat in the shade on the river. A beautiful rainbow graced the river as we left New Orleans and returned to Slidell. We took it as a sign of promise for New Orleans and for the WOW girls. Rebecca was a gracious hostess, and we had a flower arrangement sent to her as a thank you.

Gadsden, AL, Birmingham, AL to Slidell, LA

Friday-July 20, 2007

This morning we visited a city park in Gadsden, AL named Noccalula Falls, named for an

Indian princess who jumped off the falls rather than being forced to marry a man from another tribe to please her father. Unfortunately, the falls were rather weak because of the drought. Little did we know that this was the first of many waterfalls on our trip that were nearly dried up by this year's drought. The city park was just a bonus; we saw a brochure in the hotel, and it turned out to be a lovely way to start our day. There were several historic buildings preserved at the park, and one happened to be a one-room schoolhouse/church. I gave the sermon for our morning devotional; the WOW girls declared me a natural preacher!

We stopped in Birmingham to see the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of a bombing during the 60's that took the lives of four young black girls. We took some pictures in the sanctuary and met some of the current members who were folding bulletins.

Our destination that evening was Slidell, LA, which is right outside of New Orleans and is the home of Jane's sister, Rebecca and her husband, Sonny. Their home backed up to the bayou and we spotted an alligator from the backyard. During Katrina, they were forced to evacuate. Their entire first floor was flooded; 75 to 80% of their trees in their yard were destroyed; and Sonny's first edition books and teaching notes (he was a college professor) were destroyed.

Day 2 - N.C to Alabama

Day Two of our trip - July 19, 2007

We woke up in the beautiful Smoky Mountains and went to the outdoor amphitheater at the base of the cross for our morning devotions. Jane presented us with our visors and spoke of the significance of our "WOW" girls nickname. We were indeed embarking on a walk, even though we used a Ford Explorer; we were going to see many wonders throughout our country, both natural and man-made; and we were all Women of Wakefield. She also thought "WOW" was most appropriate because we would be using that word quite often as we traveled. She was right. We took pictures with our new visors, and we were off.

First stop was Cherokee, because we were only a few miles away, and Kristee had never been. We didn't have time for a major tour so we took in the museum and the Ocanaluftee gift shop. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant with an outdoor patio that fronted a bubbling stream with an occasional person in an inner tube floating by.

Then we drove across the NC/Tennessee border through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We went through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg before turning south. Both of those towns were jam-packed with tourists and every type of Ripley's attraction, gift shop, and gimmicky business known to man. Please remember we did not head straight out west, or Interstate 40 would have been our main route. Instead, we dropped south for New Orleans, one of Kristee's top three choices, and traveled through a section of Georgia and then into Alabama before calling it a day. Four states in one day, beautiful mountain scenery, really scary hairpin curves-we were the WOW girls. WOW! What a day!