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!