Day 11.0 - Rule # 1: Don't Tempt Fate

We woke up in Tucumcari, NM at a little place called Motel Safari. I found it while doing hotel searches on Google. With overwhelmingly positive reviews, I had to give it a try. It's definitely is a throwback to the classic Route 66 days, with quaint little furniture and jukebox style alarm clack. Also, their claim to have the best beds in town is true true true! What a welcome for us weary travelers.

After cleaning up, blogging and grabbing a bite, we were back on the road. It was nice and warm in New Mexico. In the 90's, but dry. Oh, what a difference it made. This was our first full travel day without humidity.

It was just passed Albuquerque when Mike made a comment about My bad luck and waiting to see what would happen to us today. Ha. Ha. Well, fate didn't take kindly to that and my car started hesitating. Pretty soon we were inching along the highway and we decided to turn right back around to Albuquerque and find a service station. We pulled up to Sears Auto Center and spoke to a nice man there named David. David heard us out and went to talk to his techs in the back, only to find out that they don't work on Volvos. Luckily, David knew the right guys in town to help us out. He referred us to the great guys over at Anton's Auto Haus, Inc. We walked in and told Keith and Gene was was going on. They both listened intently. Gene told us they were only opened for another hour. We asked him to please just take a look. He agreed to and went outside with Mike. They took a test drive, Gene asked Mike all sorts of questions and they drove it back into the garage. Without a word, Gene got the car on the lift and started working on it. It seemed to be a clogged up fuel filter and as soon as he got it disconnected it started to just gasoline. Oh, I was embarrassed and relieved all at once. Thank you, Gene! After putting a new one in, we were on our way again.



I wish I could say it was smooth sailing through the desert. I wish I could say Zelda (my car) behaved the rest of the way. Unfortunately, it was not to be. She started to hesitate again after leaving Albuquerque. The fact that we'd had her checked out made Mike feel a lot better about things, so he wasn't worried about the engine anymore. We focuses our attention on the fuel system. Maybe we got bad gas somewhere? We started to troubleshoot. We have Zelda an octane boost. Then, we gave her some new name brand gas. She behaved for a while, but not fully. We had to stop along the side of the road to let her rest. She behaved for a while after that. She got us to Flagstaff. That's where the gas was almost out and we put in some high octane Chevron gas. We won't know until we set out again if that helped at all. Maybe she needs a new fuel pump? Only time and miles will tell. For now, I hope she makes it one more day, just far enough to get me to my driveway in California.

Day 10.0 - Escape from Texas

Wednesday started a little off. We got on the road at about noon and talked about maybe stopping for food at the next town. The thing was, neither of us was ever really hungry. Once we neared Big Spring we discussed stopping if only to stretch our legs, but that was to be. Sometime just before Big Spring it started to rain and once we got closer it started to pour. In fact, it was pouring so much that Mike had to put the wipers on high and slow down to 20mph. I was scared and before we knew it we were driving down a river in the main part of town. There was no way we were stopping. The only thing in our minds was getting through town. By the time we got back on the main highway, we were both shaken. It continued like that for hours, so we just kept driving and driving. Google maps had us on a route that included a lot of county roads and we saw a lot of flooded plains, which were a result of the rain we'd just driven through. Somewhere in the tiny town of Draw, TX we had to drive throw a lake at an intersection. where a Toyota Corolla had already gotten stuck. I was so thankful that Mike was behind the wheel and knew how to navigate through that.

When we got to Amarillo, TX, I was determined to find a BBQ place in town. Alas, Google Maps kept taking us to places that were not there anymore. After the third one I was getting upset. How rude, right? Well, Mike didn't think so. If fact, we stopped paying attention to me altogether because there was something going on with my car. The engine was not revving like it should and would not take off. He told me we had to stop somewhere, so he could take a look. I searched for some auto parts places and found a Napa nearby, so we went there. After a quick inspection, the verdict was in: I was low on oil. Huh. I knew I should have gotten that oil change before leaving MA. It was just low either. It was 3 quarts low. Ugh. I felt horrible. He said it was okay. I knew it wasn't.

I decided to try for a BBQ place again before getting on the road. This I thought would make me feel better. I found one along the frontage road and we went in to give it a try. It was mediocre at best and Mike didn't like it at all. Ugh. I think that nearly put me over the edge. I could do nothing right. We drove away with me visibly upset and all I wanted to do was keep heading west to get out of Texas. Mike felt much the same. Back on the interstate we were both fairly quiet for a while until I remembered the reason I had wanted to go up through Amarillo in the first place--The Cadillac Graveyard. Oh, no! Had we driven passed it? I Googled. Yes! Seriously? Yes! I went full speed over the edge now. What could we do? Mike stopped and we talked. He said we could go back. It would put us an hour further behind, but we could go. So sweet. I was stressing the whole time about making it there before dusk when it closes.

We drove back and found the Cadillac Graveyard just outside of Amarillo as had been described. It's such a cool sight. People drive on up and take pictures all day. There are spray paint cans there for people to use on the cars. Mike guessed there's probably an inch of spray pain on those cars by now.









I was really thankful we headed back there. After finally succeeding at something for the day we headed west again and did finally make it out of Texas. Amazing! New Mexico was a glorious sight even though it was already dark and there was a thunderstorm overhead. Who cared? We were free!!

Day 9.0 - Late Start and More Driving

We got a late start this day because we were at my sister's house. We slept a lot. Got up. Ate. Slept some more. I didn't really want to leave, but we had to get going. I felt like we needed to make some progress as far as distance was concerned. We left at about 4pm with the plan to at least make it to Austin. Once in Austin we headed straight for Chuy's. My friend Jeremy said it would be a good place for Tex-Mex and it helped if we like Elvis. He wasn't kidding! It's a lively place, which means quite crowded and we had to wait a while for a table. I didn't take my camera in because of the crowd, so you'll just have to imagine. You know, like people used to do when reading books with no pictures? I know, it's difficult. Just try. Chuy's looks like a beach shack in the middle of Austin covered in photos of people wearing Chuy's t-shirts in vacation spots all over the world. There's wooden fish all over the bar area--hundreds of them. In the section where we were sitting, there were hubcaps hanging over us. It's all very...eclectic. Food-wise, it was pretty good. I had a tasty tortilla soup and garden salad and Mike enjoyed his beef taco and cheese enchilada (that was supposed to be beef).

We drove around Austin for a bit, just to take in the sites. We did some walking and then headed back out on the road because it was still light out. It was decided that we'd try to make it all the way to San Angelo that night and that meant a lot of driving on small county roads. It was spooky and kind of X-filesy. I was expecting to see something hovering in the horizon, but it never appeared. What I did see was more stars than I'd ever seen before in my life. It looked like an Astronomy book! Amazing. We did make it to San Angelo. It was uneventful for the most part, but the next day...more than made up for it.

Day 8.0 - Family Fun, Sun and Heat

July 5th was our day of celebration at my sister's place. My sister Jessie and brother-in-law Luis planned a party for their 2 year old, Viviana. Mike and I were more like an extra pair of hands for them and we were glad to do it. I helped my sister clean the house and do the shopping for the party and Mike...well, he risked his life in the name of childhood fun!

Luis and Mike went down to pick up the gift for the kids--a brand new trampoline! Exciting, right? Well, what might not know is that the weather in Houston that day was not exactly trampline-building friendly. It was hot and miserable at about 95 degrees and 1000% humidity. They were really brave souls to do that out there. I was sure Mike was close to heat stroke by the time they were done. Thankfully, Luis' brother Rafa came by to help and Mike was able to come in while they were putting on the finishing touches. Here's the fun they helped create!!






The party went really well and everyone had a great time, including Viviana!! Below are a couple of shots to commemorate the day :)

Day 7.0 - Let's Blow Some Stuff Up!!

On this July 4th, Mike and I are celebrating this country's independence the way it was intended - by blowing stuff up! We're in Texas and as you all know--everything is bigger in Texas :) As a Californian I am not accustomed to anything but safe (a.k.a. pointless) fireworks. Not so in Texas. My sister took us out today and we went to a Fireworks warehouse!

Yes, it was complete with a Superman and an Elvis! Inside were were treated to aisles of fireworks, the likes of which I had never imagined. They had M-80's, M-100's, real firecrackers, mortars and all sorts of rockets that shoot into the sky. Wheee! We grabbed a shopping cart and filled it up!

We're going to have a great time with these tonight and tomorrow. Mike's also doubly excited because he'll be lighting his firecrackers with his new lighter-- Fire Duck!

We found him in a sporting goods store this afternoon. I honestly and truly have never seen him happier. Let the games begin!

Day 6.0 - South Into the Web

Saturday was the day for our longest time yet. Determined to make it to my sister's house in Houston, we drove for 13 hours straight. It was a cloudy and rainy day, so we did not have the sun beating down on us. It was great to get a break from that, but the gray skies made me yearn for blue and a little more contrast.

It was a few hours into our trip through Oklahoma when we started noticed some webs on the trees.
Sure that they were giant spiders, we were mesmerized and horrified by their presence. I had to take photos. After a while I was curious enough to google them on my phone. What I found was that the webs are NOT created by spiders, in fact they are nests created by caterpillars. Commonly known as "webworms," these caterpillars are native to North America and come out in the summer to early fall. With that knowledge in hand, we were brave enough to get a little closer and take some more shots.


Those nests were pretty much gone once we got into Texas and a little while in, the sun set and we were left with night roads and twinkling lights. Mike was tired and we were both hungry, but we managed to keep driving until reaching my sister's house just past midnight. We got a warm welcome and hot food. We'll be staying here for a few days before moving o. It's so great to be here at home with my sister and her family. I will enjoy every second I get to spend with them :)

Day 5.0 - To Nowhere and Beyond!

We left Louisville and drove on into Illinois and Missouri today. Our destination was Mike's friend Marcus' house in Windsor, Missouri. It is exactly and precisely in the middle of nowhere. The drive was a little brutal in the late afternoon as the sun was directly on us. It spread an orange hue on everything and made us both sleepy. We were heading west on I-70 before finally turning south. Mike exclaimed, "Finally! Contrast!"

We got into Windsor just before 7pm.Marcus was so thrilled to see Mike! They've known each other online for an eternity and this was their first meeting. It was very sweet. He showed us around his place, then took us "into town", which meant a 30 minute drive to Warrensburg. Warrensburg is home to the University of Central Missouri where Marcus got his bachelors in psychology and also taught photography for a few years. He drove us around campus and pointed out some key areas like the photo department :) Then we stopped and ate atMexico Lindo, which had pretty decent Mexican food, picked up some wine and beer and then headed back. By the time we got back Marcus' wife Lorena was getting home and we all sat around and chatted for a good long while. I showed Marcus my portfolio and impressed him with not only my skill (haha), but also the amazing quality of the Epson printers we've been using. Marcus pulled out some boxes of amazing 4x5 slides and negatives as well as an 8x10 negative. We went through boxes of his portfolios and he talked about attending the John Sexton Photography workshop several years ago. It was a great photography night and what could possibly have made it better? Well, books, of course :) Marcus is currently cleaning out his library and is giving books away, but they have to go to the right person. Lo and behold, the right photography person showed up :) I was gifted several books on Ansel Adams and one on Edward Weston. Can you believe it?!



It was a really great night. Marcus and his wife Lorena were wonderful hosts and I am truly happy that we made the trip down here to visit.

Next stop: Texas!