Day 35 Riverside to Porterville 215 miles

Highway 60 leaving Riverside

I 5 entering the valley

I 5 looking east

home :-)

Well, as I sit here and write this on Thanksgiving eve, eve, I am overwhelmed and extremely thankful for many things.  First and foremost I am thankful for my husband who drove all 8,232 miles of our road trip!  He was happy driving and I was happy to be is co-pilot.

We had a wonderful trip and as we head into the holiday season I will remember fondly all the beautiful places and people in this country and be thankful for all those past and present that have made it possible for us to live free and independent.  Many lives have been lost in this constant fight for freedom and we are truly blessed to live in such a great nation.

Our trip home today was uneventful with minimal traffic and no rain until we were north of Terra  Bella.  Timing.  Nice to be home.  May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to thank a soldier.

Day 34 Desert Hot Springs to Sun City to Riverside

view from front of Shirley's house this morning

Tim & Meredith's house

building site for Tim's new house

Jake--Tibetan spaniel (too cute!)

dinner spot

Well, we're almost done.  Had a great last day before the journey home tomorrow.  David says he's ready to sleep in his own bed.  That will be nice but this has been a great time.  Memories to last a lifetime for sure.

We left Shirley's this morning on a gorgeous, sunny, southern California morning.  We drove to Sun City and visited with his step-dad and sister in Sun City before rolling on into Riverside.
Tim came home early and took us to what they hope will be the site of their new home if they can clear all the bureaucratic hurdles!  Great spot, with a view of the 10th fairway of the Victoria Country Club.

We also got to meat Jake, the new head of household.  If you think I'm kidding, just ask him, he'll tell you who rules the roost!  He's really a cutie and very smart.

We drove out to Redlands tonight to have dinner at their new favorite bar-b-que spot, Famous Dave's. Delicious!! 

Back to reality and the diet tomorrow.  One more installment of the blog to go.

Day 33 Desert Hot Springs

Awesome rainbow!

clouds over Palm Springs

I needed a 4th pic so David volunteered me!

Chocolate Pecan pie from Cracker Barrel-yummy!!!!

Well, not much to report today.  Shirley and I assisted David with his honey do list. Ran some errands and had planned to take a few good pic, but didn't have much luck.  A very windy day today and it continues tonight.  Supposed to be around until midnight or so.

David took us to dinner in Palm Springs tonight at Las Casuelas on East Palm Canyon Drive (Highway 111).  Really good Mexican food and not too busy.  We've been there before and love it. 

Saw a Facebook posting about snow in Flagstaff last night and today.  We just missed that one :-).  Picked up a Chocolate Pecan pie at Cracker Barrel in Buckeye Arizona yesterday on our way here and had it for dessert tonight.  Best kinda pie ever!!!!!!!

On to Sun City and then Riverside tomorrow.

Day 32 Flagstaff, AZ to Desert Hot Springs, CA 410 miles

100 mile view leaving Flagstaff

Arizona desert

Returning to California

view from Shirley's back porch

Well, we're back in the state. Hum, not sure how I feel about that.  Glad to get a chance to have a visit with Shirley, it's been to long.  She fixed us a great meal and homemade apple pie.

It was a pretty drive close to Flagstaff in the high desert and then returned to it's usual desert look as we came down from 7000 feet.  Just a few sprinkles coming into Palm Springs and a heavier rain later this afternoon while we were sitting on Shirley's back porch.

David has started on his "honey do" list for Shirley and she and I are about to sit down and have a piece of pie.

Day 31 Flagstaff

cool historical building

Catholic Church (native rock and sandstone)

Riordan Mansion

Pluto telescope

A fun day in Flagstaff.  Spent the morning wandering the historical part of town and cruising through some of the shops. The Catholic Church was build in 1930 in the Gothic style and the picture doesn't do it justice--it is beautiful.  Ate lunch at a great Irish pub, (we seem to find those) and then headed to the Riordan Mansion.

The 13,000 square foot house was built in 1904 for two Riordan brothers who married two sisters.  They had a house built with two identical sides and a meeting room in the middle they called "the cabin" where the families spent evenings together.  It is a great example of Arts and Crafts architecture with log-slab siding milled at their own mill and volcanic stone from the area.  It has 40 rooms, probably enough for two families!

Later in the afternoon we went to the Lowell Observatory and went on two tours.  An amazing experience.  The planet Pluto was discovered using the red telescope you see in the above picture and it and several others on site are still in use and working today.  They are open until 9:30 pm and your ticket is good all day and you can come back at night and look through one of the telescopes.  They are looking at Mars this time of year, and we planned to go back but there is a cloud cover tonight so it didn't work out. Darn.

California here we come tomorrow...............

Day 30 Santa Fe, NM to Flagstaff AZ 378 miles

How 'bout that-Maloney Avenue!

Entering Arizona

a control burn in Flagstaff

living room

our view

A good driving day for David, not much traffic, clear skies and no wind.  Not a lot to see along the road, New Mexico and Arizona look pretty much the same, except New Mexico has an Indian casino about every 25 miles-I'm not kidding!

The Maloney Ave. sign was in Gallup, New Mexico.  I almost missed getting a picture of it, I was so excited to see such a thing.  Amazing.  Gonna hafta do a little research and find out if it's a relative or not!

We were about 20 miles outside of Flagstaff when David pointed out a column of smoke.  We thought they had a fire going, which they did, but we found out it was a control burn and it would be put out at the end of the day.  The U.S. Forest Service was doing it and they apparently do them this time of year.  The eastern side of town was pretty much covered in smoke, but they put it out and it was quite clear by 5 o'clock when I took the picture off the deck.  Hopefully they won't do one tomorrow.

Our plans are to go and investigate old town in the morning (late morning, as David plans on sleeping in).  The Grand Canyon is tempting, but an 83 mile drive one way, so we'll probably save that for another trip.

Day 29 Midwest City, OK to Santa Fe, NM 553 miles

a BIG cross in Texas

Loretto Chapel 1863

miraculous staircase

oldest church in America

San Miguel Church

A long and VERY WINDY drive.  David had to keep both hands on the wheel for much of the morning.  We made good time and got here about 1:45 which gave us time do do some walking around.  It was especially nice after leaving at 6:45 this morning. We went from Central to Mountain time so the trip was 8 hours.

Texas was 176 miles of miles and miles and one very big cross.  Of course I guess this should be expected as things are always bigger in Texas!

Santa Fe is a very old city and it is evident in the historical parts of the city, especially the churches.  Inside the San Miguel Church is a bell with the date December 9, 1310!  Amazing.

It is also an artists community full of designer clothing shops, spas, and many, many jewelry and artists galleries.  Fun to look at but definitely not in my price range.  We ate dinner at one of the local establishments recommended to us and it was great.  Many places to chose from and they all looked excellent.

Day 28 Memphis, TN to Midwest City, OK 467 miles

church in Little Rock, Arkansas

Arkansas River in Oklahoma

Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma

U.S. Air Force AWACS

Left Memphis this morning in 40 degree weather and pouring rain on Interstate 40.  And I do mean pouring--couldn't see the road ahead of us a couple times!!  Arrived in Midwest City this afternoon with blue skies and 62 degree temperatures. 

The trip was good and we stopped about 30 miles from our destination to have a late lunch, early dinner at Cracker Barrel, our new favorite place!  We ate at one for the first time in Williamsburg, Virginia after seeing many, many of them on the road.  We enjoyed it so much we went back again the next night.  I think we have one or two more shots at them before we return to California, so I'm sure we'll stop again.

Midwest City is the home of Tinker Air Force Base and on our way in, I was able to get a picture of the Airborne Warning And Control System plan on it's final approach to the air base.  Not the best picture, but quite a sight!  No plans for tonight but resting and a workout for me in the workout room.  A long day tomorrow-553 miles to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Day 27 Afton to Memphis, TN

love these old barns

Nashville on a foggy day

pool at our hotel

Elvis pics over the bed!

our dinner spot

Had a long but beautiful today on Interstate 40.  Tennessee is truly a gorgeous state, I can see why these folks are so proud of it.  We left our friends this morning at 9 and arrived here today at 3.  Sounds like 6 hours, but due to the change from eastern to central time, it was actually 7.  Very little traffic and all in all a smooth trip.

Our motel is just across the street from Graceland and the whole area is all about Elvis and Graceland, including the music blasting from the speakers in the lobby and hallways!!!  They also have 3 Elvis only movie channels on the TV.  We opted not to go to Graceland as it's a little pricey and we're not die hard Elvis fans.  Fun to see all the stuff, though.

We ate dinner at a great spot recommended by the lady at the front desk.  It's a local landmark and if you want, they'll come pick you up in a pink Cadillac limo!  Marlow's makes the best pork dinners around these parts according to her.  She's right, the ribs were awesome!  On to Oklahoma tomorrow. 

 

Day 26 Williamsburg to Afton, TN 494 miles

rest stop color

beautiful countrside

more beautiful countryside

an old barn

Didn't post a note last night as we were having too much fun with David & Gina Cates!!  Thought about it a couple of times and thought about taking pictures of them and their beautiful house to, but just sat and talked with them instead.

Went to dinner at a great local place called The Farmer's Daughter.  Family style dining at it's best.  You order two meat dishes, we had fried chicken and fish and then they bring at least 8 side dishes (creamed corn, cornbread salad, green beans, cole slaw, carrot casserole, melon, mashed potatoes, gravy and fried squash) and this is after they start you with corn bread and biscuits and then when you're stuffed, bring dessert!  I shoulda walked home!

They took us on a quick tour of the area as it was getting dark and we could see why they like it so much--it's beautiful and very peaceful.  Greenville, the town next to Afton, and the closest larger town was the home of President Andrew Johnson (he became President after Lincoln was shot).  There is a lot of history in the area as well as a National Cemetery.  Wish we would of had more time.  We're going to have to come back.

Day 25 Williamsburg

Swords in the Governor's Mansion

food preparation-colonial style

authentic apothecary jars

kitchen for Wetherburn's Tavern

Another beautiful day here in Virginia.  Spent a couple hours this morning at an antique mall--quite a large one at that.  Lots of fun stuff to look at but nothing I couldn't live without.

We spent the rest of the day at Colonial Williamsburg again.  Really had a great time.  With it being a Saturday and beautiful weather the place was quite busy.  Glad we had a slower pace and less people to share it all with yesterday.

The Governor's Mansion was quite spectacular.  Well appointed and had all the luxuries of the time.  Not quite as luxurious as mansions in Europe but quite nice for the colonies at this point in time.

We also spent time watching cobblers, a cook, had hot chocolate in the Coffeehouse (a gathering spot for the colonists), lunch at Raleigh Tavern, and enjoyed tours of the local Parish Church and Wetherburn's Tavern as well as the apothecary.  All work is done in true colonial style with authentic tools and materials.  A walk back in time that we enjoyed very much.

Pointing the truck in a new direction tomorrow--west!  On to Tennessee.

Day 24 Colonial Williamsburg

Gunsmith's house

Blacksmith shop

Color Guard

"Benedict Arnold"

Fife & Drum Corp

What an amazing and fun day.  Colonial Williamsburg is a real treat.  The entire town is a living reenactment.  They actually make guns and ammunition in the gunsmith shop, nails, hardware and other necessities in the blacksmith shop and do all the these things the same way they did them 200 years ago. 

They were building an outdoor kitchen behind one of the houses and they had hand milled all their own lumber and were framing it the same way they would have back then.  Very interesting to watch and everyone was willing to explain what they were doing and why.

The day ended with a 2 hour reenactment of different times in the 8 year war for independence.  It began with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and continued in different parts of the town with all of us walking to these locations for each of 7 reenactments.

There were probably 300 people there today watching all of this with us.  I can only imagine what it must be like during the summer when the place is jammed with tourists.  Our weather was perfect and we had plenty of time to see things and ask questions.  We were also fortunate in that the War for Independence is only reenacted 2 days a week and today was one of the days!

We bought a 2 day pass and are looking forward to returning tomorrow.  We are also hoping to make it to Jamestown.