Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear

The I-10 corridor headed eastbound out of San Antonio was fast on Saturday as we headed home. We had to head back to Atlanta. Alas, finals were upon us. I wanted to stay one more day in San Antonio. I admit, I acted like a borderline 5 year old who didn't want to leave the candy store. I was having too much fun!

But here at Road Trippin', we can have fun in a car. That's the point silly! We knew we were driving toward the rain. We chose I-10 because the serious stuff was north of us on I-20. That and neither of us had ever driven through Houston. So it was another city to check off the list.

This is my artsy picture

I commented driving through Dallas, and I will comment again about the drive through Houston: Texas drivers stink! I know my cousin is going to read this. Oh no, I'm not apologizing. I have never seen such crap driving. Not even in Atlanta. Well, maybe a little. But this was magnified. Repeat after me, "The left lane is for passing!!" The last time I recall such selfish driving was in Minnesota. And ya know, I-35 is connected from MN to TX...I'm just saying.

It was a true test to Rich's driving abilities. Well, maybe not abilities, but definitely patience. I mean really, do you have to speed up when someone is trying to pass you because you are going the speed limit? Who drives the speed limit? 6-15 mph over (depending on which state, what time of day and where you're driving) at least!

And then we saw him:

He was like a little silver bullet cutting through the traffic. We knew we had to join his little party. We stayed on him for about 100 miles, going...well, let's just say we made some good time. We enjoyed watching him zig and zag...nimble little sucker that he is. He did this in ways that, alas, we could not. But we always caught up to him.

We finally decided to back off and let the Porsche ride off into the sunset. We looked at each other and sighed, "That was fun."

Just as I was settling in for some "at the speed limit limit" driving I looked in the rear view and saw this guy:

Ladies and gentlemen the Chrysler 300...uh, well, just a 300. Not a 300 SRT8. Now that would have been a fun little game. He tried to keep up, but failed miserably. When we were in Phoenix a couple weeks ago one of the students was a 300 SRT8 owner. He referred to it as his "Executive Muscle Car". This was a case where the object was not closer than it appeared.

Ah, good times.

Why it's Better to Drive - Reason # 37

While in Phoenix we learned that they do not have an abundance of local cuisine. Well, that is what we were told by the locals anayway. In Atlanta, you look for great barbeque. In Texas, the perfect steak. NYC, the perfect slice of pizza or bagel. But in Phoenix, uh, well they have chains.

So we stopped to fill up with gas and I ran in to ask the attendant where we could find a restaurant. He pointed down the road and said, hang a right and you will come across many restaurants.

As we drove, and enjoyed the scenery, I saw the glow of red neon. Stop the car! We have arrived! This is where we are dining tonight!

When you don't drive, you don't find little gems like this one:



If you have never had an In-N-Out burger, the next time you find yourself in Arizona or west, keep your eyes peeled. They have great burgers and yummy shakes. And, two people can get out of their for less than $20, including a t-shirt, sans hearburn. Good deal!

Hyatt-Richardson – Not so High on Our List

After our initial Hyatt visit in San Diego at the Manchester we had expectations of the level of service we should receive at any Hyatt. We are staying at the Hyatt in Richardson, TX. Although it is not a Grand Hyatt, we assumed a Hyatt Regency would provide a level of service that was…uh, comparable?

The Greeting
My red flags should have gone up when the bellman asked if we were staying a long time, since I had groceries. I had to explain to this person that we drove 12 hours and when people take long road trips it is practical to pack a cooler and snacks. Every time I run this comment back through my mind I get more insulted. And it takes a lot to insult me. Needless to say, we got off on the wrong foot.

The Room
It was a corner room. I thought a corner room would be larger. This was not to be the case. It was L-shaped and cramped. Since the parking lot was empty, we figured we would request to be moved. They accommodated our request and moved us over two rooms.

The second room was better. It was a standard layout. Since we were staying two nights, why not be comfortable? As we moved our luggage into the room I did notice we lost the little fridge (dang-it!) and gained a view of the freeway (shakes head). Karma is a funny thing, isn’t it?

Happy Holidays
Brace yourself—I am getting fired up now.

I am guessing that the staff at the Hyatt is under the assumption that holiday travelers are different from other travelers. There was no paper delivered and no extra services available that are available every other day of the year. I must say, I am not happy about this.

The heater in our room blows cold air, but says the temp is 80 degrees. This is completely unacceptable…in any hotel.

And finally, our breakfast experience. The buffet looked good. But the eggs were cold, the cream curdled in my cold coffee, and my pancakes tasted like they were bathed in oil. And I have a "cast-iron stomach". I asked to receive new coffee and I tried another trip up to the eggs to order station. I ordered a cheese omelet. I thought, surely this should be good. But when I sat down to eat it the cheese was barely melted. And Rich’s omelet was the same.

We ate cereal.

Maybe we should look into a career in hotel reviews. But I have to ask my readers, am I expecting too much?

The Roadtrip to a Family Experience

We decided to drive to Dallas over the holiday to see my cousin Michelle. I have not seen her in 13 years!! Rich proposed the idea and of course I was on-board. Upon calling Michelle and asking her what her thoughts were on us hanging with the family for the holiday she was very excited. Apparently, so was my aunt.

Michelle: My mom did a happy dance when I told her you were coming to visit.

Me: She did a happy dance? I want to see that. So she's OK if we crash her turkey dinner?

Michelle: My mom bought a 20 lb turkey, 3 pies and she's baking a cake. Not to mention she sent me out for 5 lbs of ground beef so she can make great-grandma Laville's stuffing.

Me: Good grief! 5 lbs??! Wait, we have family recipes??????

Family is a funny thing. I can't say my family is close. My dad's side is non existent. So I will not even elaborate on them at this point. But here is how my immediate and mom's side breaks down:

I have 1 half-brother and half-sister. I say "half" because I grew up referring to them as my brother and sister, but clearly into adulthood they developed their own agendas and I am no longer part of their life.

My mom had/has (not sure how to qualify that) 4 siblings. From oldest it went: Uncle David, my mom (deceased), Uncle Bill (deceased), Aunt Nayla, Aunt Debbie.

There are quite a few grandchildren. But I will list the one important cousin in this whole mess, my cousin Michelle. She is the daughter of the youngest of my mom's siblings, Debbie. Clearly, she and I are the only two in the family who care enough to reciprocate communication (never mind those two blips when we lost contact).

The neat thing about Michelle and me is how we have seemed to repeat the relationship our mothers had. My aunt was very close to my mom and when my mother passed when I was 9 it struck my aunt very deeply. I did not know this until very recently. In fact there was a lot I didn't know until very recently.

I am so happy that I am to spend the holiday with my cousin today and see my aunt and other relatives. I am especially happy to share this with Rich and eventually with Alex. My aunt Debbie has already made the proclamation that Alex will call her Grandma Debbie. Because he never knew my mom, she wants to fill that gap. I am speechless about this.

The memories I have of my family on this side is fuzzy and muddled with strange memories. So to hear this from my aunt just makes me feel all that more strongly about how important family can be in one's life.

Well, I'm off to prepare for the big day of turkey and the Dallas Thanksgiving Day Game...in Dallas. How cool is that?

The Smell of Asphalt, the Taste of Glory: Part2

The day started off early on the performance track. Yeah, I know, I'm working backwards! I had to share the best first!

The first SRT vehicle I was introduced to was a manual Caliber SRT4. But that's okay. We all have to start somewhere.
The team challenge in the Jeep was pretty fun. This is how it played out:

Psycho (she was our crew chief): "Okay, we will go in order of tallest to shortest driver. It is easier for me to move the seat forward."

Me: Let me just moved to the back of the line immediately.

Psycho: "So this is how it's gonna work. The first driver will get in and drive the course. When they finish, the next driver will be at the ready to get in the car. The first driver will get out of the car with the seat belt in hand stepping back toward the back passenger door to allow the next driver to get in. They will hand the new driver the seat belt so they may strap in and go."

Alright, it seems easy enough. But some people had a little more trouble than others. I got the pep talk from Psycho (cause who wouldn't want a pep talk from someone named Psycho!) about what I had to do as the last driver.

The Smell of Asphalt, the Taste of Glory! Part 1

This past Sunday was one of the coolest days I have ever experienced. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get a chance to test drive and beat the hell out of several different cars in one day!

The SRT Drive school that Chrysler has is a full day of adrenaline pumping, tire-screaming, engine-revving excitement!!!

They break the day out into several "modules":

• Advanced Car Control
• Autocross
• Full-Throttle Challenge
• Performance Drive
• Hot Laps

Advanced Car Control/Autocross

Of course the first module of the day, 'adv car control', they put me in a Caliber SRT4, which is a manual transmission.

"I can't drive a manual transmission," I lean in with a whisper to my crew chief.

"No worries," she says. "We'll put another instructor in there and get you moving. Besides, you won't come out of 1st gear for this module."

Cool.

Later, with two engine stalls and the worst times recorded, we move onto the Viper course. (I did drive the Jeep in the first module and that was pretty sweet though!)

The Viper. Can I just say how hot of a car this is? I mean...

Tell me that isn't hot. I dare you!

Yep. Stalled the engine in that baby, too. Such is life. I had fun. And I did get better at getting the car into gear, so it wasn't a total bust.

Full Throttle Challenge

The next couple hours were spent getting into Chargers, Magnums, 300's and Jeeps sitting side-by-side. With the call of one of the instructors, "Drivers ready?!?!!" we watched the amber lights count down to green, where we put all of our might onto the gas...and then brake just as hard!!!
We were timed on our reaction time, as well as how long it to to race the track. They averaged the times out and the best drive won. After a few test runs we were assigned numbers, and the competition began.

I did well in my first couple races but then was promptly knocked to the bottom. All kept saying was, "Would someone beat that other guy who keeps winning!" And this is how it played out:

I handed the guy in the Black Jeep his walking papers when I left him in my dust!

The instructor on the right handed me my time and told me to get my rear into the Red Magnum, so I could race in the finals.

This is where I looked directly at Rich and said, "How in the hell did I make it into the finals?"

I quickly sized up the track once last time. Did a little trash talking, which was encouraged!

We raced neck and neck! I put everything I had into the gas!

As I got out of the car begging the guy on the left tell me I was starting down at the time ticket which said, "Winner". But it didn't quite register...

Until here. All I could do was smile as everyone applauded me. The moron who can't drive a stick, but can kick tail in a drag race!!!

I swore the next time we did this (and there will be a next time, oh yes, there will) I will know how to drive a manual transmission.

Cars are cool. Enough said.

Lone Soldiers Guard the Desert

The next time you are flipping through channels on the television and come across an old western, if it takes place anywhere other than the central and southern Arizona (and a little in S.E. CA and N.W. Mexico) and has a Saguaro Cactus in the background, it is not an accurate depiction!

We began our morning early to Chandler, AZ. We pulled out of the resort in Carefree and headed out before the sun began to rise. But it was beginning to make it's entrance. And just as we approached the gate of the resort I pulled to the side of the road and caught this.



I saw these beautiful cacti pepper the landscape in the moonlight. They are equally awesome in the early dawn.

The desert has without a doubt it's own unique beauty that should be experienced! Spring and Fall are the best times of year to visit, too. Especially is you are not a fan scorching heat. I like heat, but I am not sure what my opinion would be if I visited in August.

I like green, lush landscapes. But I find that my imagination dances anytime I gaze into the desert. What a word, "desert". It's so, uh...deserted...alone...peaceful. The peace the desert has is far from desolate. There is so much life all around, and these giants watch over all of it.

From Damp and Cold to Crisp and Dry in 4 Hours

Phoenix Airport

This wouldn't be a road trip blog if I didn't regale you with our experiences of getting our rental car and driving to the resort.

Our flight departed Atlanta late. We ended up in Phoenix well after midnight. The pilot hauled, and we paid for it through some wicked turbulence! We went through the normal luggage ritual: watch the first 5 pieces drop on the turny thing and then nothing for fifteen minutes until the luggage pours out.

On the shuttle drive to the car rental building the driver clued us in on this little nugget of information, "Ladies and gentlemen, the car rental desks all normally close at 1am (it's after that time by this point), but the last drop I did Hertz was still open, so we'll see what happens."

HUH???!!!

Those who know me can probably see what followed my initial reaction, so I'm not going to rehash some of the colorful language that danced in my mind and escaped my mouth (very briefly--I'm on vacation, just let it go Desiree). Let's just say I was surprised by Phoenix airports, uh, small-town-po-dunk approach to taking care of air travelers.

So we pulled up and sure enough a lot of the desks are dark. But fortunately, the company we rented our vehicle through still had the office in the pick up garage open, whew! See, I knew it would all work out (looking around sheepishly).

The Rental

I had reserved a Jeep Cherokee. Well duh, look at the picture on my blog, and all the pictures in our travels. Are you really all that surprised? I was surprised when they said they were all gone. Now what's the point in reserving...sigh...nevermind. We could have opted for the Suzuki XL, or LX, STIX, PIXIE STIX---something like that. But instead we stuck to our guns and upgraded to this:

She a beauty, trail-rated and all! The Jeep Commander. Okay, it's not our SRT8, but it's a Jeep, and that's what counts...to us anyway.

The Drive to the Resort

I am going to spare you all the details about how we got lost, with a navigation system that was an extra charge, after market device. And yes, commanders, like all Jeeps comes standard with their own navigation system, but the rental joint doesn't use them...racket! I'm going to spare those details, cause they could go on for another 5 paragraphs.

There wasn't a soul on the roads. It was approaching 2am, so I guess that had something to do with it. It was refreshing. The roads are very well maintained!!! And something we noticed on Operation Griswald (see earlier posts from March) was that out west when they build bridges, they incorporate art into the concrete. I didn't snap a picture (maybe tomorrow if I see any), but they had mosaic geckos into the bridges! Cool! And when we got to the city of Carefree (yes that is the name of the town where the resort is!!) the intersection and lighting was done very well. It was very obvious that city planners thought all these details through before building.

Again, I said it was late, so it was difficult to see a lot of landmarks. But the one thing I noticed on our last leg of the drive was that the moonlight put off a glow in the sky and what I could see were cacti outlined with a deep purple/black back-drop. Gorgeous. And that was in the dark!

Until next time.

Traveling at its Finest!

So here I sit, in the busiest airport in the world. Well, that's what I hear over the loudspeaker. "Welcome to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport."

To my left is a woman who clearly doesn't know the volume of her own voice. And periodically an airport worker shuttles individuals in cadillac-esque golf carts to and fro of individuals either incapable, or unwilling to walk. "Beep-beep, toot-toot, excuse me!"

Just in case anyone ever wondered why I prefer road trips.

Operation Test Drive - T-minus 2 Days!

Tickets Purchased - No Turning Back!

I have to honestly say that even after my last post I wasn't convinced it was going to happen. The time has been ticking away and we had a lot of planning to do. Not because it would be hard to actually book the SRT Drive school. But because between the two off us we had to coordinate schedules that included work, family obligations and school. Sigh, yes, we considered our academic progress...or regress should we decide to take this trip.

The SRT Drive school has three more dates for 2008 available.

• Phoenix, AZ this coming weekend
• Willows, CA November 20-21
• Northern CA the 1st weekend of December

We would really like to go to Northern California, but not in December. Willows, CA was truly our first choice. We could fly into Ontario airport and go to Hollywood and be total star-struck tourists! But it just wasn't meant to be. Instead, it is off to Phoenix for this road-trip crazed duo.

NASCAR, Indy, Monster Truck Rallies - Aren't They All the Same?

It didn't dawn on me where this school would be held. A raceway of sorts I guess. I should probably let everyone know, I am not a NASCAR fan. The whole sport has never captured my attention. I may anger someone with this next statement, but I put NASCAR in the same bucket with golf. Watching cars go round and round in circles is about as exciting as someone trying to sink a hole-in-one.

As I was saying, I assumed we would be going to a a NASCAR track. When I investigated further (because we need to know how to get to the track after all), I discovered our day would be spent at the Firebird International Speedway. Like I said, I'm not up on racing, but I am pretty sure this is not a NASCAR speedway, but more of a drag racing, Indy-type raceway. Regardless of where it is, I am pretty stoked about what we will be doing. So I plan to have oodles of pictures and video next week!

Because we decided to go this weekend, we had to be creative in our planning of the trip. Rich has an exam Monday he cannot miss and I have a presentation on Tuesday, so we are doing a weekend, and that's it! The last minute nature did not make for cheap plane tickets either. However, I discovered if we took a red-eye flight back home Sunday/Monday, we would save $100 on each ticket. This extended our trip too!

The Itinerary: Operation...Test Drive

Initially, we would fly in on Friday...late, and do the drive school on Saturday (8 hours!!). then fly out late Sunday afternoon. But now that we are taking the red-eye, we have all day Saturday to be tourists and go to the driving school on Sunday.

I booked our stay at the The Boulders Resort and Golden Spa. I don't know about you, but I feel relaxed just looking at the pictures. And we will be renting a Jeep (well, duh) so we can explore on Saturday.

Let's just chalk this ridiculous weekend up as an early Christmas present.

The Experience of a Lifetime

The time is nearing us. The clock is ticking. Time to take the trip of a lifetime. With the purchase of any new Dodge SRT8 series vehicle, the owner has an invitation to visit a race track of their choice and learn from the professionals how to drive these awesome vehicles!

The SRT8 Track Experience is said to be an "entire day of full-throttle action for SRT vehicle owners and performance enthusiasts alike."

Who wouldn't want to go?

But I'm not the owner, Rich is. When I told him he should just go ahead and do the driving school and the track experience, he wasn't having it. He said he wanted me there to. It's not exactly a cheap day at the races! But when does anyone get a chance to test drive: Dodge Viper SRT10, Charger SRT8, Caliber SRT4, Grand Cherokee SRT8, Magnum SRT8, Chrysler 300C SRT8, all in one day!!!!

Well, when you put it that way, where do I sign up?

It's looking like we may be taking a trip out to Arizona for a quick (in more than one way) weekend of motor head fun!

Check them out, the Track Experience would make a perfect holiday gift for that man who has everything!!!

Peaceful Drives

Can I just say how excited I am that the gas prices are falling. To drive through Atlanta and see they are below $2.50 gets me pretty excited, which is pathetic. When I first moved to Atlanta in 1998, I remember prices hovered around .89-.99!! Now those were the good old days.

Time to hit the road soon, but to where? There are too many commitments that I have to attend to. So in the meantime, I will have to think back to a few short weeks ago when I was camping in North Georgia. My Sunday morning drive just begged to captured.

Close your eyes (don't worry--I'm driving), turn the radio off and just listen as the wind blows in your hair. Feel the sun peeking through the trees and and floods through the sun roof. Nice, isn't it?

Have you been on a long drive recently? What are you waiting for???

Roadside Beauty

Who doesn't love this time of year? The season is changing and the colors of the fall season become vibrant! Flaming oranges, purples, golds and red begin to blanket the landscape.

I was fortunate to take a wrong turn toward my camping destination. Well, not so much a wrong turn...it was Google's fault, I later discovered. What I discovered drive me to pull to the side of the road and stand along a property line so that I may view this blanket of beauty!

If you want to experience this beautiful site:

• Take 75 north to exit 306, GA 140.
• Turn left and head about 2 miles
• Turn Right onto GA-3/Joe Frank Harris Parkway
• Travel about 2 miles until you see Miller Ferry Road on your left.

It appears to be a sunflower farm in full bloom!

How Do You Roll?

This article had me chuckling. I have to admit, I am spoiled! Rich has completely ruined me. A few short years ago I was content with driving long stretches in a moderate vehicle. I didn't care if it had all the bells and whistles. As the years have gone by, our taste in vehicles has become more and more refined.

In the Beginning

When I first drove the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the 5.9 liter engine, I fell in love. Some of you may be thinking, uh, who cares? And I get it. I was like that once too. Until I experienced it's supple leather seats that I could sit cross-legged in for eight hours if I chose to. We have fond memories of tearing up the terrain, too.

Mud...must drive through the mud.

But not to worry! We made sure we cleaned the old boy off!

The 5.9 (as Rich and I affectionately refer to it as) was the best road trip vehicle, ever. And we still wonder why Jeep had to try and improve on perfection. But the day finally came when we had to say goodbye to him (yes, the Jeep was a boy).

The Brief Interlude

So, we bought the 2007 Jeep Overland. This baby was loaded. Alas, the ownership was to be brief. Although it had terrific off-road capabilities she was not to remain ours. Yep, it was a "she". She rattled and squeaked. She made weird noises that no new car buyer should have to put up with.

She was a pretty Jeep, though.

Excess at its Best!

Enter the "Mac-daddy" of Jeeps. The 2007 SRT8 in Red Rock Red. There isn't an option that is not part of this baby. And I had the fortune of working the deal. We were glad we got him (oh, do you think it could possibly be a girl?). He got to stretch his legs on the open road just one week later.

And of course we had to use the Red Rocks of Sedona Arizona as a back drop for this picture.

I admit, reluctantly that the SRT8 is not made for off-road adventures. But be warned! It is not for the faint of heart either, even with it's rain sensing wipers and indifferent female voice turn-by-turn navigation system.

Car buying is a sticky business, gas prices aside. My only piece of advice is, Buy what you like. Get out on the open road and enjoy life. After all, you can't take it with you!

Gas Vampires

Over the last couple weeks, I like many other Atlantans had to really put forth the effort to find gas. It wasn't until this past Monday that it really hit home for me.

I have to give props to my man for letting those primal "hunter-gather" instincts kick in. Rich has been a great sport, and quite accomplished at finding gas when most gas stations were dry 99% of the time.

My car was down to 3/4 and since I had to make the cross-town Alpharetta-Kennesaw trek on Tuesday night for class I decided I would go out and look for gas. At 11:00 p.m. Three days prior this was the way to go! Smart drivers were crawling out from the protection of their suburban (and urban) dwellings to search for gas like cockroaches searching for food...or vampires for blood. It is October after all!

Apparently, the secret was out, along with me and many, many other desperate drivers. Well, I wasn't desperate. I guess I could be classified as one of those people who were causing the gas shortage by "topping off" their tank. Yeah, whatever.

I weaved my way through Alpharetta and Johns Creek only to pull up to the BP on Haynes Bridge near The Varsity, at what can only be described as a ridonkulous line! A very nice man in front of me had hoofed his way to the station and back and told me they had 40 minutes left of gas. I was sitting at the 2-hour point. Nice.

I didn't really need gas all that bad anyway...even after burning an eighth of my tank searching. The good news is I chatted with my cousin for 45 minutes and that help passed the time. My heart was running a little low on family connections, and she helped top it off!

My Top 10 Favorite Road Trip Movies..ever

I had to lighten things up around here. I was poking around a few sites with top movie picks and thought, "Hey Desiree, you've seen some pretty cool movies. How about sharing with the world yet another top 10 list!"

There was no scientific criteria used in the selection of this list or the order. It's what I like. I highly recommend all of these movies as must sees, for several different reasons. There is something for everyone - angry women, car fanatics, families, action and comedy junkies! And Tom Cruise fans who long for the "pre-Katie crazy" days.

And we list...

10.) Road Trip (2000) – Need I say more than the movie title? Oh yeah, and Tom Green? This should be required in that KSU1101 (how to be a student) class. Thankfully, I never had to take it.

9.) Dumb and Dumber (1994) – This is classic stupid humor at its best. What better way to turn your brain off than to watch Jeff Daniels' character suffer through what could possibly be described as the most twisted, sick, disgusting bowl movement every portrayed on film. Juvenile? Absolutely! It’s a must see.

8.) Duel (1971) - This movie is what helped propel Steven Spielberg from obscurity to his status as one of America’s greatest film makers, ever. Dennis Weaver says very little throughout a suspense-laden nightmare, as he is stalked by the driver of a huge (and in very much need of a bath) tractor trailer.

7.) Convoy (1978) – O.K., if you never did the “fisted arm pump in the air” to a trucker that signifies your adolescent desire for him to blow his horn, you won’t even appreciate this movie. However, there was an episode of ‘King of the Hill’ that honored the Convoy theme titled, “Living on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane.” If anyone can find this on the internet, they will be my hero!

6.) Mad Max (1979) – If you can get your hands on an original version of this film, do it! The version released in the U.S. does use Mel Gibson’s voice, but it is not nearly as good as the original with his rough Aussie accent!

5.) Death Race 2000 (1975) – I’m almost certain this is where the idea of, ‘hit the old person and score 100 points’ came from. The hospital scene is too good not to share!

4.) Vanishing Point (1971) – A motor head’s wet dream. Just a guy running from the law, trying to deliver a 1970 Dodge Challenger, in a cross-country trek from Colorado to San Francisco.

3.) Rain Man (1988) – Yeeeaahh, Tom Cruise is hot, definitely hot! Much hotter than Wapner! Yeeeahh!

2.) Thelma and Louise (1991) – The quintessential chick-flick. Enough said.

1.) Vacation (1983) – Road trips don’t get any more American than this.

So there you have it. I am sure some may protest to my choices. What can I say, I like variety! I must give honorable mention to Easy Rider. Sadly, I have not seen this great film...yet. I would love to hear some of my readers' choices. I always appreciate film suggestions!

My First Official Rant

This post will mark the first in possibly a long string of rants regarding the economy and it's effects on my ability to take road trips.

Due to the current "gas crisis" we Atlantans are facing, we have to be creative with transportation. I am fortunate to have a short commute to work. I live and work in Alpharetta. I am also fortunate to work for a company that has begun to allow employees telework. For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it simply means work-from-home. I began this chapter in my work career a couple weeks ago. I telework twice a week, every other week. That equates to 20%. It is definitely something that takes some discipline. But enough of that, cause I have commented on the perils of blogging about work.

Rich is not so fortunate. He must endure an awful commute to Tucker! I have driven this route with him on the weekend before and I must say, Tucker is an ugly area. And I do not apologize if you live in that area because, yuck. What a hole. On top of the undesirable commute, his Jeep SRT8 is a pig. So, he takes my car on occassion to ease our fuel costs.

Last night was my one night I have class at Kennesaw. For those readers who are not Atlantans my commute from Alpharetta to KSU and back works out to roughly 40 miles round trip. I started my haul with 3/4 tank of gas and was feeling optimistic. I mean, come on! I should be able to find a station with petrol on my 20 mile cross town drive! Come to find out, I wasn't the only person out hunting. I wasn't worried. After class I would take a slightly altered route and will surely be successful. Wrong, yet again.

This morning, Rich left early to fight traffic and locate some go-go juice for my thirsty little Honda! I just received the following message and felt I should share.

"No luck on the gas yet- I had stopped at a Citgo over this way and
after seeing that I needed to pay inside and pay cash, I should have left.
I instead gave the attendant/owner/criminal 20 bucks. I go out to the
pump and 1 penny barely registered. I then went back and told him it did
not work and give me back my money-he gives me 15 back and then I told him
to try again. I finally got the other 5 after having to yell. Then.....(I cut this part
out because the encounter he had could have been borderline disastrous. Let's
just say he had to stare and individual down to get him to move out of his way
so that he could leave the parking lot of the station...mkay?), he sped off. All of that just to get some gas.......unreal. But hey, my lunchtime will be another adventure!"

So there you have it. My story is not unlike many others. Care to share your adventures with me? I'm listening!

Am I Just Allergic to Apples?

I have developed quite a liking for Facebook recently. Never in a millions years did I think I would succumb to it's "crack-esque" addictive quality. Some days I have to say to myself out loud to log off and do something else! Despite this I have reconnected with more people than I ever did through MySpace.

Throughout my school years I was a music and theatre geek. And I am quite proud of this! I had great friends and was involved in loads of activities. Through Facebook I discovered a lot of my friends persued their interests in music and theatre and are working in those fields today. I could not be happier for each and every one of them. But this has led me to look at my own path in life and ask, "What corner did I turn that took me to a corporate job, sitting in a cubicle crunching numbers?" And I was able to answer it very quickly. I like being able to pay my bills. Does that make me a sell-out? Well, a little.

Enjoying the thrill of taking road trips and traveling is something that I love to do. The job I have has enabled me to pursue my interests. But I cannot help but look back at my own life and be a bit disappointed in myself.

Okay, I don't want to turn this into some gooey soul searching mission. But my discovery of old friends had me looking at where they ended up and where I have ended up.

But here is the big mystery. I have driven across country quite a few times. The first was from Minnesota to California in 1990. I have made the drive from Minnesota to Pittsburgh, PA twice and then from Pittsburgh to Georgia in 1998. Just this past March Rich and I road tripped from Georgia to California and back. In all my travels, the former music and theatre geek I am have experienced, be it through leisure, relocation or business I have not stepped foot in New York City! The theatre and entertainment capital! How is this possible? Of course I say this with a bit of a smirk on my face. After all, it is funny, or ironic may be a better word. However, it has made me evaluate the list in my head of places I want, no need to visit. New York has just skyrocketed to the top of that list. And I will make it a personal goal to make that trip happen within 1 year.

So I ask my readers, what is the #1 location you want to visit? And why?

"Massive" Wine Drinking!

Living in the Atlanta area makes it easy to find things to do. A short drive up I85 and one can find themselves at Chateau Elan, Georgia's very own winery.

I attended a shower for my friend Ruth this past weekend. She's a foodie. So what better way to say buh-bye to her single days than consuming free wine and learning how to cook a tenderloin with asparagus and hollandaise to perfection? This was the first cooking demo I have ever sat through. I must say, I had a very nice time. We had the pleasure to watch as Executive Chef Marc Suennemann prepared a lovely meal right before us with the ease of assembling a pb&j sandwich.




Following the demonstration was the wine tour. This was not my first wine tour at Chateau Elan. In fact the last time I was here I enjoyed a facial and an evening at the Inn. That was 9 years, 9 months ago. My son just had a his 9th birthday, so do the math!

I recalled the wines at Chateau Elan to be okay. I am not a wine snob, but even back then at the tender age of 24, I wasn't thrilled by the product. But this time around, I was impressed.

We began our tour overlooking the production area, but this is where the typical tour ended. After giving several tours that day, we were last, and Peter Kasprzak (with wine glass in hand) was feeling pretty loose and open to questions. He shared with us his philosophy of what makes a good wine "good". I must say, it was perhaps the best wine tour I have ever been on, never mind it was only my 2nd wine tour!

I highly recommend making a day trip to Chateau Elan this fall. The chef will be demonstrating some German cuisine paired with German beers.

To end this entry I will leave you with Peter's opinion about port wine.

Short Summers!

Hello to all 3 people that read my blog! I had grand intentions of updating on a regular basis but that has not happened...yet. So instead, I will give a brief update of what happened this past summer. Look for updates in the future of more detail, like the completion of Operation Griswald posts! I am a little rusty with my blogging so work with me!

Summer 2008 in Pictures

Cub Scouts Twilight Camp

Webeloes Encampment

Destin, FL

Upcoming

SRT8 Experience - location TBD!

Busy Busy!

To anyone who has been following the wacky adventures of Diz and Rich on Operation Griswald, don't fret! I'm not done posting about it! I've been consumed with work, school and stuff.

I've been asked if there are any road trips on the horizon. Well, that's the great thing about this site. I drive everywhere so yeah!

I need to post about camping with the scouts, and y'all that know me best know that Rich and I will be headed down to Destin soon!

I am excited to say my cousin Michelle and I reconnected after a few years and who knows...maybe a trip to Texas is on the horizon. Or at the very least, she may travel this way! Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Mormons and Strippers in the Horizon

It makes me ill to think 30 days ago we were waking up to the crystal blue skies of San Diego, ugh! But I will not let it become a distant memory. After all, I haven't even shared all the fun things we saw and did on our adventure.


Let's see...we last left our adventurers dining at the Green Flash. Time for the haul to Las Vegas. And well, y'all already know what happened on the way. So let's talk about more upbeat stuff, mmkay? The drive took us out on Hwy 5 towards L.A. It was very difficult to not take a eensy bitsy detour west and set up camp in the "City of Angels". After all, we were on a schedule.

"Mormon Temple, Mormon Temple!" I shouted this as Rich was zooming up Hwy 5. "Ooh, ooh, photo op!" And I snapped this photo. I wish we had known about it sooner. I wish we had stopped and taken more pictures. Did you know that when a new LDS Temple is dedicated that it is quite an event in their community. It is a very momentous occasion to be present when the golden angel is lifted and placed at the top of the temple. This, along with the stark white exterior are calling cards for the LDS structure, no matter what city (in the world!) you are in.

How do I know this? Well, I have quite an interest in other religions. Rich has an aversion to religion. Poor thing. His days in the catholic church really did a number on him. And he's not the only person I have met who has been soured because of the catholic church.

Anyway, this is suppose to be a road trips, right. Well, just bare in mind, it's my blog...so there. so where were we? Oh yeah, "Zooming up Hwy 5."

Oh yeah, California is cool alright!

OMG! I said I would find the World's Largest Ball of Twine. But never in a million years did I think the this existed. "The World's Tallest Thermometer AND a Bob's Big Boy!" Pinch me please!!!! Golly Gee what should we do? The "City of Sin" is just a short drive away. Or the "City of Polygamy?". Ooh, did I go too far? Come one, the contrast was begging for a joke like that.



Hmmm, what did our adventurers decide to do?

Coolest grocery store, ever.

Our our way out of San Diego we drove up the coast to eat at The Green Flash. We got there a lot earlier than anticipated. So rather than Rich getting to eat those buckets of clams he was craving, he opted for breakfast instead.

I insisted on eating a breakfast a bit out of the ordinary and it paid off. Mmmm--a Chile rellenos omelet, refried beans and (warm) corn tortillas. Heavenly.

It was time to make a stop for water and snacks as we had dwindled our supplies. So, we headed out in search of a local supermarket and found this little gem!

And they have escalators leading to the front door. Would somebody pinch me?! How kitschy is that!!!

Yes, we went up and down the escalators in true tourist fashion snapping pictures of ourselves.

It's called cheap entertainment.

Dream Come True

This moment was a long time coming for Rich. Before this trip if you asked him where his top vacation location was, without skipping a beat he would say San Diego. I snapped this photo to record that moment his feet touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 30+ years. I know it meant a lot to him.

The next time anyone asks me why on earth we would drive for two and a half days cross-country, I will direct them to this picture.

Vacation Rule #637

When on vacation, eating full sit-down meals can get expensive. Especially when visiting upscale neighborhoods, like the entire state of California. When we were on Coronado Island we could have easily stopped in a local eatery and dropped $40 on lunch. But instead, we opted to stroll through "Boney's Bayside Market" and share a quick afternoon snsck. After all, neither of us look as though we miss any meals!

A lovely pasta salad and cold beverages (Rich went for the energy drink) and we were satisfied until dinner! The weather was perfect for al fresco dining, too!

Fuming!

The drive from Barstow, CA to Las Vegas is a pretty uneventful trip. Once you escape the haze that is Los Angeles it is a slow uphill drive into the mountains. I believe at one point we were at 4000ft elevation.

Yep--it may be uneventful to many. But for us lowlanders...or whatever people who live near sea level are called, a sign like this is pretty cool.

Although I said the drive should be uneventful, the landscape was anything but! The sky was so crisp and blue. The last time I was in this area I truly did not appreciate the beauty the desert landscape held.

So, I said this trip (Barstow to Vegas) should have been uneventful, but it was not. This was the inaugural trip for our new Jeep SRT8. This is an awesome performance SUV, I will admit. Its 6.1 liter engine has a menacing rumble when idling. Why am I telling you this...I'm getting there. To this point the performance of the vehicle was spectacular. It maneuvered the mountains like they were speed bumps. Accelerating was effortless.

All this equates to...it is a pig on gas consumption (I affectionately refer to the Jeep as "the pig"--and now, so does Rich). On our barstow to Vegas leg I had the fortune of driving, and watching the gas gauge go down...and down.

As I scanned the landscape for the next gas station, I would turn to Rich and said, "Do you want to stop at this station?" Only to hear--"No, let's go to the next station." But it didn't come. I looked at the gauge that read 30 miles until empty, 20, 18, and oh my god there was nothing but desert ahead of us!!! And then the gauge read 3 miles to empty. I was near panic, but in the distance was an exit. As we approached it we were about to breath a sigh of relief. But when we got off at the exit the buildings were abandoned. All I could think about was which one of us would have to walk to the next exit.

But I did not stop the Jeep and re-entered the highway. There was another exit in the distance that I had to reach. And now came the drive of my life as I like to refer to it. I placed my foot firmly on the gas peddle and kept the Jeep at a rock-steady 55mph. I watched the gauge bounce back and forth from "3 miles to empty" to "0 miles to empty".

And this is how it played out:

"Don't stop."

"But there are two effing FedEx trucks in the right lane that are going to turn and the light is still red!!"

"Just keep going, the light is about to turn green."

"And then what?!?!!"

"Ride the shoulder, just don't stop."

"What?!?! OMG!!!"

"Do it!"

"OK!" (and I proceed to ride the shoulder--but the FedEx truck is trying to make its legal right hand turn). "Shit--he's trying to turn!"

"Go around him!"

"OK! (crashing up over the curb) You told me to keep going--you're not allowed to get mad at me!!!!!!"

As I coasted into the parking lot of the gas station I stopped the Jeep, peeled my white-knuckled hands from the steering wheel, turned to Rich and said, "Never ever again will we let the tank dip below a quarter tank! Are we on CRACK!?!?!?!"

I stepped out into the dry Vegas(well, just over the border into Nevada) night air and snapped this photo, as a reminder of how "terrible" that moment could have been!

Arches & Barbeque

Now that we have done the cross-country haul I decided to set our sites closer for the next road trip. I have never been to Memphis. Haven't even driven through enroute to another locale. On this last trip I made it clear I wanted to avoid driving through it because I wanted my first visit to be special--fresh--virginal--you get my point.

Yes, I'm an Elvis fan. I want to go "Walkin' in Memphis", eat a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. I'm not a total Elvis freak or anything like that. But I know his music pretty well and do get nostalgic when I hear the blasting horns of "CC Rider" and "The King" does his karate poses.

So, I suggested we make our next road trip to Memphis, TN. That was received...well. As well as Rich can receive a road trip that doesn't include the sun or west coast. This is where it went terribly awry.

"We could do a 3-day trip to Memphis and St. Louis."

(blank stare followed by) "What the hell is in St. Louis?!"

"Well, the St. Louis Arch for one...silly."

(silence)

"And what about that whole "St. Louis barbeque thing? Wouldn't you like to know the difference between that and Memphis barbeque?"

"No."

"We could see a baseball game too."

(and more silent blank staring)

"You have no sense of adventure."

Final Driving Stats

This just in...Rich pulled the driving stats from the navigation and this is how it all shakes out:

• Total distance: 4,805.8 miles
• Total driving: 74:05:08 hrs (and yes, this is a lot of time in a car with one person)
• Avg speed 64.88 mph (a whole lot of good 80 mph did for us in Texas!)

Back Home: Day 1

Well, Operation Griswald has come to an end and what a trip it was. I have oodles of pictures to post and stories to tell.

I did catch a cat nap or two in the car ride home yesterday so I am not completely wasted today. Although, I have the attention span of a gnat! (Slightly shorter than my normal attention span!LOL!)

All-in-all we accomplished what we set out to doand learned the following:

1. Atlanta to San Diego can be accomplished in 2.5 days.
2. Ate breakfast at the Green Flash and had an awesome view while dining.
3. It is possible to drive through Texas in 1 day--never mind what that big-haired lady in the welcome center told us!
4. Don't discount the quirky towns along way--that is where some of the best memories are made.
5. San Diego is fabulous (and expensive).
6. Again I say--you cannot make it to Vegas from Barstow on one tank of gas(in a Jeep SRT8)...oh yes...there is a story to this...coming real soon.
7. Vegas is just as fabulous (and expensive).
8. Hotels should not charge for wireless.
9. Sedona is a slice of heaven on earth.
10. You must experience the Grand Canyon yourself--pictures never do it justice.
11. Tumble weeds are cool!
12. I-40 and old Route 66 is waaaaay too cool. Here is just one example. My pictures will be up real soon.
13. Amarillo to Oaklahoma City suuuucks.
14. Rich is a better pilot than co-pilot.
15. I must be fed regularly or I turn into a real bitch (I'm big enough to admit that)! Low blood sugar is not very becoming for me.
16. Rich needs his rest or he turns into a real (ahem)!
17. The west is dry--the south is humid--and it definitley was a culture shock when we arrived back in Mississippi.
18. There's no place like home. But that's just my opinion.

Conversation in New Mexico

Me: Hey, the Atomic Museum is here in N.M., right?

Rich: Yep.

Me: I wonder how many Japanese tourists visit that museum each year.

Rich: ...That's a really sick thought.

Me: Yeah, well, a lot of holocaust survivors visits concentration camps.

Rich: I can't argue with you on that.

Me: I'm just saying...

Back on the open road!

Well, our stay at L'Auberge in Sedona came to an end way too soon. The highlight of staying at this resort was that they have star gazing on Friday nights. An astronomer brings his cool high-powered telescope and we got an awesome lesson about the stars. The best part was viewing new stars being born and the show-stopper...seeing Saturn--rings and all. It was sweet! OF course the day trip tour we took to the Grand Canyon was unbelievable. But I will save that for another post.

I have posted a few pics on my flickr account that I took with my phone. I need to weed through over 1000 pics when I get home. So these will have to do!

I gotta say, there are some crazy sights along our nations highways. I-40 (aka old Route 66) near the Petrified Forest is a trip!

It is quite possible I will be posting about this trip for a while!!

Unobstructed View

One of the selling points for this resort was that they had a star gazing class on Friday night. Imagine that, we had to drive over 1000 miles to look a the stars without the glow of the city lights. But it was worth it.

Our instructor had the coolest laser pointer too! When he pointed out the stars we were all amazed at its point-ability than the stars he was able to identify that. "I have the capability of showing you different stars in the universe and all you guys want to see is my pointer." Well, it was cool.

The show-stopper...I get chills just thinking about it again. He had a pretty kick-ass telescope and once he had the final coordinates adjusted we were able to view Saturn (yes--the big ringed monster in our solar system) and it's rings!!! Eeeeeeee! It was amazing! And...(yes there's more) we could see two of it's moons.

A truly out of this world experience!

Heaven is in Sedona, AZ

Well, it has been a couple days since the last update. Hotels actually have the nerve to charge for wireless interet! So, many attempts were made from our 26th floor overlooking SanDiego Bay to ping off some millionaire's yaht with little luck. The few times Rich had a successful connection at 9:30 p.m. I was passed out cold exhausted! It takes a couple days to adjust to Pacific Coast time. So alas, no posts. But much has happened! I will keep it abbreviated because I want to elaborate in more detail when we arrive back in the ATL! So, I will update y'all in list form. San Diego to Sedona, AZ is broken down as such:

• The Gas Lamp District has fabulous shopping and dining, but at around 4:00 p.m., it is very likely you will be approached by a homeless individual as such: "Excuse me, do you have any spare change for a beer--yeah a beer, or a joint--a joint would be great!"


• When visiting San Diego for the first time it is advised to visit Coronado Island and walk from the water taxi to the Hotel Del Coronado. Don't be a pansy and take the bus--it's only a mile or so and it is very beautiful. And walk back--because we all need the exercise!

• Sent Danise a text that she must not have received cuz I didn't hear from her (sorry Danise!!!!)


• You cannot get from Oceanside, CA to Las Vegas on 1 tank of gas in an SUV---period. And that is all I will say about that fun adventure right now!


• The Venetian Casino on a Wednesday night during a "recession" is pretty quiet. And the video poker/blackjack machines do not pay out well either.


• If you stay in Las Vegas--stay at the Venetian. You only live once so close your eyes and just friggin' book it people!


• The Hoover Dam is just as cool the second time as it was the first time!


• God must have modeled Sedona, AZ after a piece of heaven because it is just jaw dropping.

When we walked into the L'Auberge Hotel this evening we were greeted by the bell hop who immediately offered us complimentary wine and cheese, which is the norm here. We come to find out the unlike Las Vegas where if you pick up the bottled water you'll be charged or in San Diego and everywhere else Internet is not free...it is all complimentary here. We should have just come here and stayed because--gosh--this place is just short of perfection! I got good and snookered on two glasses of wine and struck up a conversation with a lovely couple from the UK. Since I really couldn't hold a conversation with Rich after 30+ hours in the Jeep (love ya babe but you're driving me crazy--literally!) I had to ask them to join us for dinner. We just had a blast--and shut the place down! Hey 10:00 p.m. in Sedona is late!!!

Tomorrow is our tour of the Grand Canyon and holy hell y'all the low temp is 9 degrees--WTF! But the high is balmy 45 degree--so um---yay--I'm glad we packed our ski jackets.

So much for the abbreviated version! I promise to elaborate when I have more time. What an adventure this has been. It's still not over yet.

The Long Haul: Tucson to San Diego

What can I say? Tucson is the armpit of Arizona. My thoughts as we drove through, demolish the whole town and start over.

Tuscon is pretty close to Phoenix and the sun had a polluted haze around it that made me feel like I was at home in Atlanta.

We couldn't get out of that area fast enough. And although several people have told me how horrible a drive west Texas is, it does not compare to the drive from Tucson to Sand Diego. I admit, once we crossed into California the mountain views improved. but this is based on past experience as we did not roll through the mountain pass until after dark. The winds were extremely high, which made for stressful driving for Rich.

But we made it to our hotel by 10:00 p.m. This is later than I had hoped. However, let's not forget we left at rush hour on Friday. Not bad.

Time for bed. We have massages and sightseeing to do in the morning. I will post pictures later this week.

On Road Trips in General

Everyone has a role to play on a road trip. I am a firm believer of this. Some are suited for long stretches of driving. Others are best utilized as a co-pilot, map reader, snack and beverage opener. That’s me. But today was my day to drive. Although experiencing west Texas at obscene speeds has been the highlight of my experience thus far, my co-pilot needs some training. When it came time to eat breakfast we were in El Paso and had a wealth of choices for local gastronomic satisfaction. Alas, Rich was not up for the task of making a decision about where to eat and before we knew it, we had passed the entire city.

R: “I was busy taking pictures of Mexico.”

D: “You know, if we had stopped somewhere to eat we could have taken better quality pictures of our neighboring friends to the south.”

It all worked out in the end. We stopped in historic Mesilla New Mexico and had the most amazing brunch ever. The Double Eagle is in the oldest building in Mesilla and the buffet brunch was excellent. With beautiful décor and great food, my eyes and stomach were very satisfied. Rich opted for an omelet with everything in it. I went for, Enchiladas, steak rancheros, potatoes and cheese blintzes

After our first real meal on this entire trip we strolled through the little town and went into Wild Bill’s Gift Shop, which is the same building that once housed the courthouse that tried Wild Bill. Very cool man, very cool.

Truckers

Me: “Look, a JB Hunt truck. Hey, where are my POD’s!”

Rich: “Run him off the road and made him give you all of his paperwork.”

Somewhere on I-10

Rich: “Can you imagine traveling across this in a covered wagon?”

Me: “Especially without paved roads.”

Rich: “Native Americans waiting at the top of that butte waiting to ambush your ass!” Rich impersonating a Native American scout, “Hey, we’ve got another band of 50 idiots…get ready!”

Big Bend Region - Sunday

It’s my turn to drive today. We didn’t quite reach our goal of El Paso, TX. But we came darn close! We ended up in Monahans, TX, about 3 hours from El Paso. I must say—we were right—it is possible to drive through Texas in a day. Had we begun our day earlier from Vicksburg, we would have made it.

The best part about driving through West Texas on I-10 is driving legally at 80MPH! Even better than that you ask??? Driving 115MPH and not getting pulled over!!!

Go West!

We started the day in Vicksburg, MS…just on the border of Louisiana. Our day started a bit later than I had hoped. But we were both exhausted and the bed was so comfortable that it was hard to leave! But we had a big day ahead of us---Texas! It doesn’t get much bigger than that!

I was on the first shift to drive. LA was easy to drive until we hit Monroe. That’s when I got a real taste of what it was like to drive in the deep-south. But what gave me a real laugh was when we hit Shreveport. OMG—I’m clipping along and a pick-up stacked to the hilt with stuff pulls onto the highway. And there is a dude nearly handing off the back! I wish we had taken a picture—it would have been a classic.

We reached the Texas border at high noon. Way behind my desired scheduled—alas—we dealt. We stopped at the first welcome center and this is where I got the indication that they do EVERYTHING bigger in Texas! The rest stop was big…heck, all the brochures they had…they had them divided by region. See what I’m saying…bigger. With an array of reading materials in hand we took a couple tourist pictures and we were off! However, I was relieved of my driving duties.

We made the decision to fore go any formal sit down meal. From my one past experience of being in Texas I told Rich that the Whataburger is a pretty fine burger---as fast food burgers go. It’s been 10 years since I last had one so I knew it was a risk. But it was either that or a Carl Jr.’s. That’s just Hardees with a different name…and well….yuck.

We walked into the Whataburger and you would have thought we had just stepped off a space craft and had four heads a piece because every eye was on us. I though OMG—do we look THAT much like tourists?? How do I explain what I saw? The place was packed. What I found interesting was that each table was occupied by multiple generations of families. Like this was the hot spot to eat. Everyone had full value meals and the rate they were eating one would have thought some of these people had not eaten in days. I must say—Texans are serious about their beef. Kudos to me though, Rich really dug Whataburger.

We passed through Dallas/Ft Worth. This metro area makes Atlanta look like a small hick town. It is sprawling! We broke free of the Dallas area and made up some time between there and Abilene.

As I type, the sun has set and we are still driving. I must comment on the sunset. The location we stopped, in my opinion had such a unique beauty. There were windmills as far as the eye could see, generating natural power. The sun was dropping just below the horizon and the breeze was very nice. The sky went on forever! Just 24 hours prior to that moment we were fighting our way out of Atlanta. Rich and I just looked at each other, took in this beautiful sunset and tried to wrap our brains around this moment. It was perfect.

Mississippi or Bust!

Escaping the confines of Atlanta at rush hour on a Friday can be compared to a scene in Cast Away, with Tom Hanks. He has his little craft built and loaded with supplies, eager to escape the island that held him captive. He begins to paddle and the waves beat him back. But he doesn't let up and eventually he breaks free. That's exactly what we went through last night when we decided to depart at 6:00 p.m. Every turn we made we were greeted with gridlock. But, after an hour of fighting traffic we made it to I-20 and broke from of Atlanta.

The weather could have been better...it rained. The goal was to make it to Meridian, MS and bed down for the evening. We made it to Meridian with no problems and decided to push on to Jackson. I guess this is where the fun really began.

I guess my standards are not as high as Rich's. I'm not sure what hotel he was looking for because we passed a lot of perfectly good options. With no luck in Jackson, we pushed on to Vicksburg and ended up in this beautiful Hampton Inn. We are on the secured 5th floor--in a suite with a computer, fabulous bed and beautiful amenities.

But, it is time for me to end this and prepare for Texas. Hopefully, my next post will be from New Mexico.

I'm posting pics to my flickr as we go. Click here!

"Operation Griswald"

Chances are you've seen the movie National Lampoon's Vacation. If not, please crawl out from that rock you live under and watch it!

What's more American than loading up the family into a new wood-paneled station wagon and driving cross country? How about loading up two road trip enthusiasts into a brand new Jeep SRT-8 and driving from Atlanta to San Diego in two days?

Can't be done, you say? Sure it can!! And that's how Rich and I will spend our Spring Break vacation. We've done the short day trips to the mountains and 24 hour marathon trips to the beach and back! It's time to put that training to use!

The Best Little Pub in Asheville

We have made it a tradition to visit the artsy town of Asheville, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The small downtown area is not very large but the old federal building features art galleries and quirky food shops. On a crisp spring afternoon the town center is bustling with excitement.

It can really make a girl hungry! That's why whenever we are in Asheville we rest our weary feet on the stools at Jack of the Wood.

They brew some yummy beer, and their fish and chips are terrific. If you visit on a holiday, you too may become a part of their quirky history!

Roads Less Traveled

I like to consider myself a road trip enthusiast! While some people shy away from hours behind the drivers seat, I thrive! And it helps to have a companion you don't feel the desire to push out of the car, while it's in motion!

How often do you turn a corner in a small town and see an old filling station with signs from decades past? We found this surprise in Alabama on a recent trip to Destin, Fla.

I admit, we went looking for this adventure in the North Georgia Mountains. But I swear, that stream was begging to be crossed!

Road trips have become a lost art. But with a little patience and curiosity, the rewards that come with traversing the countryside far outweigh flying!