Day 12

Hey, Wendy and babes of mine, a mighty hug and thanks for the pic's. I miss you all so much. however, we are having a more than a wonderful time. After leaving the Buddy Holly museum we continued through Tex. and we saw miles and miles of new to us agricultue. Peanut fields, pecan & cotton pistachios and a variety of animals too. We stopped @ the National Museum of Route 66. Takes me back to the trip we took as little girls with mom and dad, diners with juke boxes and waitresses in pink uniforms. A hoot.
We spent the night in Oklahoma City then visited the Memorial to the Victims of the Gov. building bombing. One is not sad that the bombers are dead and gone forever. There are chairs made of glass & metal to commerate each person lost, the hell of it is the tiny chairs for each child.
Back on the road we drove into Arkansas which is squeeky clean hilly and the people are so nice 7 WE DIG THE ACCENTS. @ dinner tonight we were treated to comlementary dessert just because we were outlanders. So sweet. Headed for Tenn. tomorrow Home of Elvis & T D Martin. I won't be able to sleep.... By the by, All is decorated for Christmas yet the weather seems more like Sept. Feels all cockeyed to us. In closing for the night, I'm glad for the new direction for the USA and feel very in love with my country especially now that I've seen more of it . This state, every co. went for Mc Cain but then this AM's newspaper carried the headline of a woman being killed by the clan as she tried to join up and how there are bound to be more angry Southern fringe types unhappy. Well there are still foolish older Baldknobbers out here but have not seen Dixie flags or any signs of that disdainful stuff. AM A HAPPY SOJOURNER. Love to all Cin/mom/ grandma

Day 11

Woke up in Artesia .... kim went for a swim, then we enjoyed the hotel's complimentary breafast. Then headed for Carlsbad.

We went down 750 ft in one minute in an elevator built in the 1930's. Spent a couple hours at the center of the earth in a virtual phalic paradise of 'mites' & 'tites'. The caverns are monster big and 54 degrees. No bats where we were.

Sleepy time finds us in Lubbuck, TX .... home of Buddy Holly & two major universities.

We have a very nice room. Tomorrow we head for Tennessee. We're getting in accent country & lovin' it.

Night, night ya'all!

Day 10

Woke up in Globe, got ready early & hit the road, still bound for Carlsbad.

On our way we passed White Sand Missile Range and had to check it out. Got through their tight security and was able to peruse some really cool military shit. Saw fighter planes doing amazing maneuvers. We didn't stay to long as we were only 100 miles away from ground zero and I didn't want to get cooked.

Drove through lots of badlands & then up through some nice mountains with skifts of snow. But came through it to more badlands.

We were tired & chose to crash in Artesia (@30 miles from the caverns) .. we'll hit it in the morning.

Day 9

Said goodbye to Palm Springs this morning ... a windy goodbye, a storm was brewing & it was blowing palm debris all over the streets AND ... it began to rain .. rain in Palm Springs!

We headed east ... destination Las Cruces, New Mexico. We pulled over at one point to give the doggies a potty break. As we were nosing around a huge dust devil was approaching and growing by the second ... as we walked to the car, we began to run because it was big and going to hit us. We jumped in the car and in seconds were in the middle of a tornado .... buffeting the car, the car was completely enveloped .... it was incredible!!! After it passed we grabbed the camera & snapped a few pics ... check it out!

After the tornado, and the adreneline rush, we got back on the road. Drove through the Superstition mountains .... rugged & beautiful ... lots of red rock & yucca. A storm was brewing in the mountains too. Between the weather and Lilly having the worst gas!!! We were gagging & hanging our heads out the window. We decided to call it a night and are holed up here in Globe, Arizona.

Aunt Cinny's reading about the local lore. Pretty rough mining area. There's a historic prison we may tour tomorrow and we're hoping to get to Carlsbad in time to check it out.

Good night :)

Day 7 & 8

Well we like it here in Palm Springs so much we stayed an extra day. May mean a little longer driving days between here & Virginia but we'll make up for it.

Went to the living desert zoo this a.m., really nice ... a little too natural of a setting for Aunt Cinny's taste .... she was afraid we'd run across something that slithers. Saw some magnificent birds of prey.

Then off to the follies with all the geriatrics & geriatric show girls ... Buzby Birkley costumes, the works. The theme was Route 66 so seemed rather taylor made for our trip.

After the show we hit the strip & did a little shopping. Fashion & plastic surgery galore

Boo & Lilly spent the day at doggy day care. Boo was not too fond of it .... surprise.

Tomorrow morning we're heading out early, going to be a driving day. Destination Las Cruces, New Mexico.

We're having a wonderful time, really starting to get in the grove .... every day presents something new & fun!

Day 6

Sitting here in a sleeveless top & shorts .... oh ya! It's evening & 70 degrees outside .... we're in Palm Springs!!!!!! Very, very nice I must say. Palms, perfectly manicured everything, shops, sunshine ... it's where all the beautiful people go.

We decided to eat the buffet dinner at the casino. Aunt Cinny was primping a little in the car. She said something about making an attempt at looking tasteful. I responded with "what? what do you mean, I'm tasteful!" ... she looks at me & laughs.

Buffet was fantantastic!! Excellent food.

Coming in to Palm Springs there were vast expanses of gigantic wind mills, which were interesting.

Day 5

Said goodbye to the City by the Bay and hit the road again. Drove all day but didn't really see much. Industrial areas then I5 all afternoon ... mostly brown, brown, brown with an occassional cotton field or almond grove. Accomplishment for today was driving to Bakersfield ... which, by the way is a very ugly town set in a smog ridden valley. So we're just hittin' the sack so we'll be refreshed in the morning to head out into the mojave.

Day 4

San Francisco .... wow! Love this city. Had to track down a battery charger for my camera (left mine at home), thus no pics to post today. We had a great day though! Explored Fisherman's Wharf then went up to Haight & Ashbury where I had my ears pierced, then off to the Castro district. Tried to find a rainbow patch to sew onto my backpack but couldn't find one anywhere. Apparently patches are passe' these days. Never seen so many perfect men with perfect dogs in my entire life.

Scads of people were on street corners passing out No on 8 and OBama stickers. It felt great to be in San Francisco on a politically revolutionary day. The energy was incredible!

Day 3

Woke up in Eureka, CA ... we both rise really early, especially me ... I keep peeking out the curtains looking for some sign of sunrise ... then it's fair game to wake up Aunt Cinny.

Under hurricane conditions, We drove through the Avenue of the Giants redwoods, then through Napa, Mendocino wine country and finally over the Golden Gate Bridge into beautiful (but very wet) San Francisco.

Checked into our room and hit the wall. Staying in tonight, but tomorrow ... watch out San Fran! Will be interesting being here when Barack wins the presidency ... hopefully there will joy & celebrations all over Castro ... cuz that's where I'll be.

PS -- Ate at an old loggers mess hall called the Samoan Cookhouse yesterday ... it was fantastic. Here's a pic.

Day 2

Slept soundly in Bandon by the Sea. Woke up to a lovely complimentary breakfast .... stoked up & ready to go, we hit the road. Travelling along the Redwood Highway is breathtaking and humbling ..... these magnificient trees demand reverence from even the most irreverent hearts. Spent some time with the ancients in the Trees of Mystery and saw the works of many basket weaving native tribes .... true craftsmanship & Pride.

Then drove on to Ferndale with it's Victorian homes, wide streets & upscale shops. Lovely for the weekend wine taster / shopper. But was a little too plates, jellies & pomp for me. Great cemetery though!!

Viewed some amazing Victoria homes in Eureka (William Carson mansion) was very impressive. Then we sought shelter & slumbered awaiting the next days adventure.

Two Broads Cross America

Hello everyone,

Here we are on the brink of a grand adventure. It's been a rough year but we're about to make a dream come true.

For those who don't know us. We are niece & aunt - Kim & Linda and our pooches Boo & Lilly. We live in a small town on the Washington coast and are about to cross the country (AND BACK) in a `96 toyota corolla.

We've never had a blog before or driven cross country .... so we're open to tips and suggestions on just about anything.

Let's get rollin .....

DAY 1 --- We drove 300 miles along Hwy 101 from Astoria to Bandon, OR. Was a beautiful drive, took a wrong turn just out of Coos Bay which led us on a 17 mile long road into a spectacular coastal park where we saw a stunning rainbow, which we would've missed if not for the wrong turn. One dispute between the dogs today, Boo was left looking guilty with a tuff of Lilly's fur in his mouth ... the little shit. Got a great room at the Best Western with hot breakfast buffet in the morning. We did stop of at a casino and promptly lost $20 in a penny slot, so ate lunch at the casino buffet & did not hasten to get back on the road. Also toured the Sea Lion Caves gift shop to see if it was as I remembered it as a kid ... pretty much still the same.

Tomorrow -- the Redwoods. nite, nite