Riverwalk: Guadalupe River State Park, 5/29/08

We left Balmorhea at about 9:30 this morning knowing that we had a long, hot drive ahead of us. We were only about half-way thru western Texas and figured it would take 6 or so hours to reach our destination. Once again, we passed the time listening to “This American Life” and local country stations. We finally hit the hill country and were rewarded with lots of trees, some wildflowers and much prettier landscape. We decided to get off I-10 and explore some of the back roads. We took a spin thru Fredericksburg, a German touristy town. We were really close to LBJ’s boyhood home, but decided to take a turn right instead and meander to our night’s destination, Guadalupe River State Park. These country roads and small towns were small and really quite sweet. Some of the homes in this area are beautiful, built out of limestone and set far off the road. I really liked the towns of Sisterdale and Boerne. We pulled into the State Park at about 4ish and you guessed it, hopped on our bikes and went exploring. At the beach and picnic area, the river runs thru a small gorge and the water is quite warm. We couldn’t decide whether to swim tonight and head into San Antonio tomorrow or vice versa. The temp is pretty consistently in the mid-90’s and it’s very humid. We finally decided to head into San Antonio tonight (about a 30-45 min drive), take a stroll along the Riverwalk and eat at a restaurant in the cool of the evening. The mojitos and fajitas were a great way to relax as we did some serious people watching. (Photo is along the Riverwalk.) We also walked over to the Alamo and explored some of the Missions. I was all set to do the Mission Trail bike ride tomorrow, but Ned wanted to check it out tonight to see what we were getting into. Once again, I’m sticking with him. Turns out the “bike trail” was really city streets, not thru the greatest part of town. Instead, we drove to a couple of the missions and decided that was good enough. (I don’t think I could’ve done the ride in this humidity and heat, but don’t tell Ned.) We’ve been fortunate with the evenings cooling off to about 65 degrees, which makes it pleasant for sleeping. However, as soon as the sun comes up it immediately starts heating up. I think the plan tomorrow is to get in as much swimming as possible in the river. We are currently filling up the tank and as luck would have it, I’m able to pirate on another net connection. Sweet! (For the curious, we’ve been averaging a little over 20 mpg. The highest gas was in the middle of nowhere Texas at $4.19 and the cheapest has been $3.81 in San Antonio.)

Desert Oasis: Balmorhea State Park, TX 5/28/08

We headed toward Las Cruces, NM and we’re pleasantly surprised by how green and beautiful the area was. We were so used to seeing brown dirt and cacti everywhere, it was a bit of a shock. As we came down from the mesa, at first we couldn’t figure out why this region was so green – then we crossed over the Rio Grande and it was obviously apparent. We decided to get off 1-10 and take the Juan de Onate trail to El Paso. What a great decision. We went through the town of Mesilla, which had adobe buildings with little stores surrounding the quaint town square. This is the place where Billy the Kidd was tried and hanged, and where Pancho Villa & Kit Carson also hung out. The Juan de Onate drive meanders thru bucolic farmland where chile peppers, garlic, onions, alfalfa and corn is grown. The most beautiful part of the drive was all the pecan orchards. At times, the pecan trees made an arbor overhanging the roadway. There were even a few vineyards and wineries. Our destination for lunch was the Lourdes Pearson’s Little Diner & Tortilla Factory in Canutilla, Tx – on the outskirts of El Paso. We drove around the back roads awhile before finally finding it. By this time we had read the descriptions of the mouth savoring gorditas several times and couldn’t wait to try it. Doh – it’s closed on Wednesdays!!! Plan B again - we decided to drive into El Paso and try our luck there. What can I say about El Paso…if anyone reading this is from El Paso, I apologize for the bluntness, but El Paso sucks. It’s smoggy, dirty, built helter-skelter on bare brown hills, has factories spewing crap into the air (thank you Texas) and is really just the armpit of the US. (So, how do I really feel about it?!) I was so shocked as I imagined colorful plazas and charming architecture surrounding the Rio Grande. Ned just kept laughing at me saying I shouldn’t believe everything I read off the internet. After a lunch at a roadside café outside of El Paso, we spent the next several hundred miles driving thru vast open land, with occasional rolling hills. We passed the time by listening to podcasts of “This American Life” with Ira Glass. The terrain was different from Arizona and New Mexico. Not cactus and desert, but more grassland and scrub brush. We finally arrived at Balmorhea State Park, at about 5ish – including the hour time change, amongst a thunderous shower storm. It was actually quite exciting and exhilarating with the winds blowing and the sky ominous with crackles and an occasional ka-boom. The temperature had dropped from 99 to about 80 degrees. By the time we got checked in and at our campsite, the weather was balmy, but not raining. We couldn’t wait to check out the pool area. We hopped on our bikes and headed to it. For those of you who don’t know about Balmorhea check out this link. It’s a neat video on what’s it all about. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/videos/state_park/big_bend_country/balmorhea.phtml We nearly had the pool/springs to ourselves. It felt great to be swimming, especially after so many hours in the car. It’s pretty strange to see a pool being fed clear water from an Artesian spring, as well as various fish swimming around. I particularly liked when Ned swam like hell to get away from the giant turtle! The photo is taken at dusk at this very unlikely desert oasis.

Exploring Old West Arizona: Rockhound State Park, NM 5/27/08

We left Tucson and I-10 for the side trip on old Highway 80. This took us 160 miles on the Tombstone, Bisbee, Douglas route before reconnecting with I-10. It was a round-about way to get to New Mexico and well worth it. The first town we stopped at was Tombstone, famous for Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the OK corral. We visited Boothill Graveyard and read the rather poetic and pathetic wooden headstones. Supposedly, they are authentic, but kitschy nonetheless. An example of one is: “Here Lies George Johnson. Hanged by mistake 1882. He was right we was wrong. But we strung him up and now he’s gone.” (The above photo was taken at the Graveyard and in front of the Indian Trading Post). Once we entered Tombstone proper, we took our bikes out and did a little ride around town. It is really more like a Hollywood set than a real town. Imagine a stagecoach that rides thru town, cowboys dressed up and, periodically gunshots heard from around town, as various re-enactments of the famous gun battle ensue. Our big meal of the day was a Buffalo Burger at the OK Café, located next to the OK Corral. The décor was apropos with a huge relief map of the US, adorned with twinkling lights and a gigantic buffalo head mounted around Montana. The best part of the day was visiting the Tombstone Courthouse Museum. We spent well over an hour reading about the real Wyatt Earp, the mining history of the town and viewing the artifacts of that time period. Further on down the road was the town of Bisbee, Queen of the Copper Camps. Much to my surprise it was really cool! It was much bigger than I imagined, built in a small canyon and constructed mainly of brick and Victorian buildings. It’s a true thriving area, unlike the fabricated Tombstone. It’s an artist community with a lot of interesting looking buildings, eclectic shops and character. As we drove out of town, we visited the Lavender Open Pit, named after Harry Lavender. It’s a huge 1000 ft. deep pit, cut into the side of the mountain that provided 8 BILLION pounds of copper. It wasn’t shut down until 1974. On the one hand I was completely repulsed by this huge gaping hole in the ground, and on the other hand I was completely fascinated with how methodically it was mined. We then drove to the town of Douglas, right on the Mexican border. Really, this place was just pathetic. I wanted to visit a historical hotel that was known for its Tiffany mural and gold-leaf lobby. It was beautiful, but, completely out of place in this town. Back in the winniemobile, we wandered for awhile in search of the highway and instead hit a dead end road. Suddenly it occurred to us that the large wall and fence in front of us was the Mexican border. The Mexican side of town contains the “maquiladora” plants and the US side is a sprawl of dust covered well-worn residences. (I’m trying to be politically correct). The temp reading was 99 degrees. We then traveled for about 1 ½ hours on a road where we saw only half a dozen cars, before joining up again with I-10 in New Mexico. The highlight of this strip of road was stopping at the historic marker where Geronimo surrendered. (The Federal Gov’t was obsessed with capturing him. It took 10 years! When he finally surrendered this marked the end of the Indian Wars.) We are currently camped outside of Deming, NM at Rockhound State Park. It has about 20 or so campsites situated in the middle of the desert on a mountain slope. Campers are encouraged to pick-up/collect as much as 15 lbs. of semi-precious stones. Our campsite has a great view of the entire valley with the lights of Deming twinkling in the distance. We saw a great sunset from our site.

Hanging a Left: Catalina State Park, AZ 5/26/08

After graduation our plans were always to “hang a left” and head East. Well, the day finally arrived. We pulled out of the Lake Jennings County Park at 10ish and headed on I-8 toward Arizona. We drove thru long stretches of desert, sand dunes and over a couple of mountain passes. Ned and I love to get off the beaten path whenever possible and if we encounter some cheesy tourist attraction all the better. Well lo and behold the town of Felicity, CA. Population 4. It claims the title of “Center of the World.” From our road book: “Local resident Jacques-Andes Istel, author of a children’s fairy tale…convinced France, China and Imperial County that Felicity is, legally and officially, the center of the world. A 25 ft. high pink terrazzo pyramid stands above the exact spot.” The above photo is the mighty Ned literally being not only the center of my world, but the center of THE world. We finally arrived in Arizona, which had miles and miles of Saguaro cacti. Plan A was to camp at Picacho Peak State Park near the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm. It was about 4:00 when we pulled in. We took a quick spin around the campground (we were the only ones there) and decided to stay, if and only if, we could get an Ostrich Burger. There were ostrich feather dusters, ostrich eggs, ostrich beasts and other ostrich by-products but no ostrich to eat. There was a huge monster tractor truck in the parking lot giving tours of Picacho Peak. Needless to say, we opted for Plan B, which was Catalina State Park about 15 miles north of Tucson. Good choice, as we were not disappointed. It’s a beautiful desert campground at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains with roadrunners scurrying all around (beep-beep). The campground is nearly empty, we have water & elec hook-up and the showers are brand new! (Yes!!) Nancy gave us the book “Road Food” (It’s our 2nd Bible, next to “Road Trip USA, Cross-country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways”). We looked for diners, shacks or dive joints in Tucson. Of the 700 restaurants reviewed by the book, we found their favorite Mexican restaurant in the whole USof A – Pico de Gallo. It was about a 30 or 40 minute drive from the campsite, but hey – we traveled this far how do you not try this place out?! It’s a very colorful tacqueria in South Tucscon. The sweet girl behind the counter didn’t speak any English, and I couldn’t really recognize the food, so I ordered by pointing at a photo. I had a bowl of beef soup, Ned had carna asada tacos washed down with horchata, and we split a Pico de Gallo. This is spears of fresh fruit (coconut, pineapple, mango, watermelon & jicama) served in a large red plastic cup sprinkled with a salty chile powder mix & lemon juice. I’ve never eaten anything like it – both the fruit spears and the soup. We walked next door to a Mexican ice cream shop, but we couldn’t understand any of the selections so once again pointed - to a chocolate ice cream bar. It was more like a frozen custard/popsicle dipped in chocolate. Very different. After dinner we drove around Tucson. The University of Arizona is really beautiful and the area around it appeared similar to a typical college town. The adobe homes in this area are stunning and blend in nicely with the landscape. Time to get some shut-eye, tomorrow we are exploring the old west in Arizona.

Chillin' with the Kids: San Diego, CA 5/25/08

Ned and I hung out with Molly, Megan and Josh today, having no specific plans, just letting the day unfold. While Ned and the girls ate breakfast, Josh and I hopped on our bikes, rode over to SDSU and took one last spin around. It was the final completion of the full circle. We reminisced about our college tour in search of the perfect campus during his junior year in high school and where we were when he knew this was the place he wanted to attend. As we rode our bikes, he showed me the various spots he attended classes, studied, hung out, etc. The highlight was when he took me to KPBS and gave me a private tour. I saw the TV sets, the radio studio and, best of all, his cubicle. I was delighted by his enthusiasm and obvious pride in his work and the culture he so much enjoys at the radio station. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed that he lands the internship position as a news reporter this summer. Afterwards, with everyone in tow, Josh thought it appropriate to visit my grandparents’ grave site – befitting Memorial Weekend. The kids never met their great-grandparents, but I have very fond memories of the years my Big Papa lived with us, and the kids have heard these stories for years. He was a superstitious Portuguese (pronounced “port-a-gee”), who entertained my brothers and me with his folklore. Remind me sometime to tell you about burying the potato outside at midnight to get rid of warts… Balboa Park was our next destination. We were watching the lawn bowlers, in their Sunday whites, when one old guy took a fancy to Molly and Megan. Before you knew it the girls were getting a very involved lesson in lawn bowling. It was pretty funny to see these two out on the manicured lawns learning the intricacies and rules of the game. Who knew that the balls weren’t round? We spent the next several hours walking around the park, people watching and munching on leftovers from the party. We made several trips to the airport dropping the girls off, visiting Mission Beach and going out to dinner with Josh. We finally left his place around 10ish giving the kid the peace and quiet he so desperately wanted. Good luck Josh on your interviews this week!!

Graduation: San Diego, CA 5/24/08

Josh and Sara picked up Megan and Molly from the airport the night before and they all spent the night and Josh’s house. The morning of graduation we ran into the kids – at where else? – Windmill Farms, of course! Ned and I were getting the trays of food for the party and the kids were foraging for breakfast. Eventually, Marc & Sean (Josh’s Dad and step-mom), Nana & Popy, the sisters, Josh & Sara and Ned and I all met up at Josh’s house. Aunt Linda was hung-up in a car rental line at the airport. It was a bit like herding kittens getting to the ceremonies, but we finally managed to all sit together! We really had too much fun catching up with each other while passing kettle corn, trail mix, pretzels and other snacks around as we listened to the speeches and over 2000 names being called! (Yes, we were the family doing “the wave” and various Josh & Sara cheers in the stands.) We also kept calling Josh on his cell phone – making sure we were “keeping in touch.” Still, the moment his name was called and he walked across the stage I have to admit that my eyes swelled up and it was an emotional moment… As on cue, when we exited the arena (where it had been raining on and off most of the day), the clouds had parted, the sun was shining and it turned into a perfectly gorgeous afternoon. After lots of picture taking, we all headed back to Josh’s and fired up the barbeque for a fun party in his backyard! Sara’s family joined us and we had a really great time getting to know everyone. There were bio-parents & step-parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles and siblings. We were also celebrating my dad’s 75th birthday and Ned & my 4th anniversary – all happening on the 24th! Sara’s grandmother (a really sweet and adorable woman who we all fell in love with) was celebrating her 93rd birthday on Monday. That evening, when everyone had left, and it was just Ned & I and the kids (Josh, Megan, Molly, Sara & Sara’s sister Katie), Josh thought it would be fun to play a game of poker. For several hours Josh patiently and tactfully taught 5 women how to play Texas Hold’em. I had to admire his perseverance and good nature as the “girls” were not quite doing things in the true competitive spirit of poker. Josh was battling against things like, “I knew I had a good hand, but I didn’t want to bet against my sister” or “what do you mean I not supposed to look at your cards when you folded, I was curious.” When Ned and I finally headed back to the campsite after a very long day, we found a sweet handmade card from Molly wishing us a great trip across the US and celebrating our anniversary. I was also holding Josh’s graduation cap where he wrote me a very touching note. We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful family.

Prep Day: San Diego, 5/23/08

We did in fact have breakfast at the Village Café in Arroyo Grande with Polly and Eric at 6:00 am! It was a good thing we left early because the traffic and weather conditions for this holiday weekend were pretty intense. Traffic thru LA was really heavy and the rain was coming down in torrents. We took a round-about way to get to San Diego and it was a good choice. (Thanks for the tip, Nancy.) Other family members heading down from the Bay Area took much longer in stop and go traffic on Highway 5. We finally met up with Josh in San Diego and headed out to the “much beloved” Windmill Farms, the Josh approved grocery store for the after graduation party. We stocked up on lots of beer, party trays, etc. in preparation for the big day. Coincidentally, we ran into Sara on the shopping spree. The picture is the three of us shopping at Windmill Farms. (When’s the last time any of you have had your picture taken in a grocery store?!) As I write this, Ned and I are tucked in at the campground, nice and cozy in the Winniemobile. It is continuing to rain and we have the front seats turned around and a cup of tea brewing on the stove. We are feeling a bit smug as we are watching our fellow campers attempt to set up their tents in the rain, wearing their yellow slickers. (Don’t worry we’ve paid our dues, been there - done that). We have a nice site overlooking Lake Jennings. We’ll probably do a little reading out loud & maybe a pre-grad pedicure for the graduation festivities. Tomorrow’s the big day!