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Road Trip

June 2015
A 10-day adventure by Ruan Read more
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  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 1

    Lunch in Lampasas

    June 8, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We hit the road with Janet at 11:30, a whole 30 minutes earlier than planned. Yeah!

    Our route took us right past Zoot, an upscale pet boarding place, where Tracie works. We didn't stop. We are on a mission.

    After a time of driving and talking, the traverse indicated it needed fuel and our stomachs concurred. Lampasas happened to be nearby. We filled up the car at the first gas station on the right side of the road and Googled restaurants in Lampasas. We wound up in The County Cafe and the adventures began. Despite it's high falutin' name, the inside was stinky, sort of moldy, mousey. As my nose doesn't work, I was unaffected. We ate there anyway. And the food, homestyle Texas, was really good!    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 1

    Supper in Memphis, TX

    June 8, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    At first we thought we'd eat supper in Lubbock. But the longer we drove, the farther away Lubbock seemed to be. After whizzing by eateries in towns so small that we were through them before we knew we were in them, we got smart and used our phones to search for restaurants in the town coming up, i.e. Memphis. Rock Inn Cafe is where we landed, at 7:45 p.m. There was no one in the cafe except employees, who assured is they were open till 9. While browsing the menu, we discovered there were bible verses printed on the pages. The staff was friendly, other people came in while we were eating and the food was good. We asked our waiter how far to Lubbock and he replied, "About 2 hrs. And watch out for the deer and feral hogs."

    Now we were pretty discouraged as we thought we'd be in Amarillo by 9. There must have been too many stops along the way. We decided to spend the night in Lubbock.

    So I called Bill and asked him to find us a good deal on a hotel in Lubbock. He did. I typed the address into my phone, and Lubbock was even father away AND was SOUTH of us. What? ! Then we passed a sign saying Amarillo was 60 miles away! I thought we had to go through Lubbock to get to Amarillo. Wrong.

    So I called Bill again and explained the situation to him. Then he explained to me that the reservations could not be cancelled.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 1

    Nighty Night in Amarillo

    June 8, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    We did not go back south to Lubbock. And sitting in the hotel discussing what led to our sleeping in Amarillo, we decided that what happens with the sisters stays with the sisters. Unfortunately, Bill knows all.Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 3

    We are in Loveland!

    June 10, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in. . .

    The motel was great, breakfast this morning was good, except for the coffee, and we hit the road about 10 a.m. The first stop was the gas station. Not only did we need fuel, but the windshield was so coated with insect guts that it was hard to see through. Janet scrubbed the window 3 times before it came clean.

    The second stop was Starbucks for two good mochas and a chai latte. Yummy !

    From the coffee shop we drove north for a bit and then turned left onto a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere. The scenery was wonderful, the traffic was non-existent, and the driving was delightful.

    After a couple of direction changes and quite a few miles, we finally got out of Texas. We had lunch at the Dairy Queen in Clayton, New Mexico. The $5.00 special got us each a burger or chicken strips, french fries, a soda, and a sundae. We are living high!

    In Raton we hung a right and headed north on I25. Right away we ran into road work. To pass time while at a standstill for a quarter of an hour, we sang songs from YouTube karaoke style.

    From the Colorado border to Castle Rock we made great time. Joyce and I took a cat nap while Janet drove. Then we sang some more and solved a lot of the world's problems. In Castle Rock we changed drivers and soon thereafter hit Denver rush hour traffic. And rain. And the most spectacular double rainbow! ! !

    At a little after 8 p.m. we parked in front of Patsy and Dennis' house. We walked into the middle of Patsy's women's meeting, but they were happy to see us and wanted Patsy to introduce us. Then we went downstairs with Dennis and ate fresh veggies and rested from our travels. Patsy joined us after the ladies left and we all sat on her patio and started to make plans for tomorrow. But that is another foot print.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 4

    Lazy Day on Chama Ct.

    June 11, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today we visited and talked and talked some more. In the morning we sat on the patio, drank coffee, and watched the golfers parade by. Amy came by to visit us on her way to class. She's looking good.

    We kept talking, moved back into the house, and had breakfast. In between talking we somehow managed to get dressed before Tim arrived. (Of course, the sisters wore their shirts.) He talked to us about his disease, Charko-Marie-Tooth Syndrome, very matter of factly. He thinks Patsy has it, also, though she doesn't agree. The 5 of us made plans for tomorrow.

    Paige and Jesse came and went during the day. Paige had volley ball camp and flute lessons. Jesse gave us a trumpet concert. He plays well for a beginner.

    Chrissy and Wes joined us for supper, as did Stasi. Gary is working on the west side of the mountains. And all the while we kept talking.

    After a delicious steak and swordfish dinner with salad, veggies, baked potato, bread and cheesecake for dessert, we all played Left ,Right. Then we took a lot of pictures of the 5 siblings with lots of different devices. And we talked some more. Tim played piano for us off and on during the evening.

    We kissed and hugged everybody goodbye till no one was left except the sisters and Dennis. Dennis played the player piano and the sisters continued talking. Finally we began to run out of energy and any more talking has been postponed till tomorrow.

    Btw, the chocolate man is a little worse for the wear. He didn't like being left in the hot car. I'll have to post a picture of him tomorrow. We can't decide what to name him; but like Flat Stanley, he'll go with us everywhere.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 4

    On the road again

    June 11, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Excitement filled the air this morning as the 4 sisters got up, got their coffee and tea and got ready found the big trip.

    The first order of business was to take a photo of chocolate man. Then we were off to visit Tim and Jamie at their house. They have worked hard to make their house and yard beautiful, as you can see in the photo from their back yard.

    At 11:30 a.m. we were on the road headed south. In Westminster we took a detour to find Grandpa Pomeroy's house. And we found it! There is a little garden wall in front of the house that wasn't there originally. The field that used to be across the street was full of houses and a gated community. Still it was neat to see the old house standing with a family living in it.

    By now the stomachs of all 4 sisters were singing in unison about hunger. We had passed a lot of restaurants on the way to Grandpa's house. Google led the way to Nancy's Cafe. The outside was non-descript, the inside was no better, but the food and the service were excellent!

    Patsy brought a book along to read aloud, Love Does by Bob Goff. We started reading and discussing what we read. Our plan was to take a second detour in Pueblo and find the house we all used to live in. But we were so engrossed in the book that we drove right through Pueblo and didn't even notice. Ah well.

    There was lots of rain and some hail as we traveled down I25. Joyce was driving, so it didn't bother the rest of us at all. By sunset the storms had moved east of us.

    Somewhere along the way, after we had called Richard and Judy, we decided to spend the night in Santa Fe. We filled up the gas tank in Raton (thanks Dennis for filling it up yesterday when you washed the bug guts off the car) and had supper at Dennys. I asked the gas station attendant how long it would take to drive to Santa Fe from Raton. He said 2 hours. Boy did that sound familiar. It actually took a little longer than that. We stopped at a rest stop about half way to Santa Fe, and while waiting for everyone to gather together we were attacked by a pair of birds who were sure we were a threat to their babies in the nest. They did us no harm, but scolded us for a long time and flying at us and all around us before settling down in the nest.

    We pulled into the comfort in about 10:30 and have settled ourselves down for a long spring nap. Tomorrow is art in Santa Fe.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 5

    Play day in Santa Fe

    June 12, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    We woke up hungry and tired of traveling. Breakfast in the hotel was disappointing. . .the coffee was made from concentrate! It was not freshly brewed! ! And it didn't taste good. That meant the first order of business was to find a coffee shop. There were some other items we needed so we decided to go to the outlet malls. That was an adventure.

    One sister thought the outlet mall was to the right; one sister knew it was by the interstate; one sister thought we should Google the destination; the sister who was driving was going crazy. We did eventually make it there, without using any of our devices, and without becoming enemies. It was close, though.

    At the outlet mall we discovered a little eatery called Tres Colores. Actually, it was the only place to get food in the mall. We asked if they had fresh brewed coffee, they said yes; so we had our second breakfast. What a good decision that was! The coffee was excellent, the food was delicious, organic, and local. We left our praises on the comment board and promise we would give them a good review on Yelp. Of course, none of us knows how to do that. Janet thought she had the Yelp app on her phone, but she didn't. Someday we will figure it all out and keep our promise.

    Then it was back on the car to find the art district in Santa Fe. We had a little trouble, but saw parts of the city we would never have seen if we'd gone straight downtown. Public parking was a challenge to find, yet we eventually found a very full parking garage with lots of spaces on the roof.

    We wandered all over downtown Santa Fe. We found a great toy store, a wonderful shop that sold purses, dresses, and accessories. Joyce bought the most beautiful hand painted leather purse! Lunch was at the Plaza Cafe which had been there since 1908. More delicious food. I tried a pear cactus lemonade. Yummy, not too sweet.

    A jewelry store had caught my eye as we were headed to the cafe so we headed back there. On the way we saw a man sitting on the sidewalk with a big dog wearing sunglasses. People were stopping and taking pictures and giving the man some money for the privilege. We had no small bills, so we just took a picture. In the jewelry store were some of the most unique wedding bands I have ever seen. I wanted to buy one for Bill for an anniversary present. Unfortunately, i don't know his ring size, and neither does he. But the sales lady, Maggie, is going to send me pictures of the rings I liked, and Bill and I can order on line.

    Our last stop was at Yogi Berri, a frozen yogurt shop. They had opened up just that day. They were very kind to us and let us use their private restroom. In return we bought $18 of frozen yogurt. It was worth it.

    Happy and full we piled into the car and headed west. The Comfort Inn in downtown Gallup, New Mexico provided a comfortable room for a good night's rest.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 6

    From Gallup to Phoenix

    June 13, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Having arrived late in Gallup, we were a little slow heading out. However we were on a mission to make it to Phoenix by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The free breakfast in the motel was the same as it had been in other motels, sustaining but not quite satisfying.

    After breakfast we hit the road with our goal in mind and stopped only for gas or the bathroom. At one of our stops, Joyce discovered a blacksmith plying the anvil a short distance from the food mart/gas station. We all went over to investigate. I love to watch a craftsman working his magic with metal. He had all sorts of iron and brass items for sale, from key chains to dinner bells. The thing that caught our eye was an iron cross with a brass heart around it. We decided that was a perfect gift for Rich and Judy. So we bought one.

    The drive through the mountains was wonderful. The air was cool; the smell of pines, delicious. Off and on there were rain showers. Mostly the sun gently beamed on us.

    As we descended into the desert, the temperature began to climb. Before we knew it, it was hot, hot, hot! The temp was 111 when we pulled into the parking lot of our Comfort Inn in Goodyear, a suburb of Phoenix.

    We had been in contact with Richard and Judy a few times. The plan was to freshen up in the hotel and then drive a few minutes to their house in Buckeye. While we were changing into our sister shirts, Janet was talking to Tracie, and Joyce was complaining about her spider bite. After a close examination, it was decided that we should take Joyce to an urgent care clinic and check it out. The bite looked the same, but her skin was hot and hurt when it was touched. Patsy and I took Joyce to a nearby clinic while Janet finished talking with Tracie and then called Richard and Judy to let them know what was up.

    While Joyce was filling out paperwork, Patsy kept her company and I walked to the Safeway and bought a pretty bag to put our iron and brass cross into. It turns out the spider bite was infected and had turned into a boil. The doctor lanced it, gave Joyce a prescription for antibiotics, and sent us on our way. We drove by the hotel to pick up Janet and headed for Buckeye.

    Rich and Judy have a huge white dog, a pyranese (?). When we knocked on the door, the dog stood on its hind legs and barked at us. He was as tall as Janet! We could see him through the side glass right by the door. Richard put him outside before Judy opened the door. That was too much dog for the sisters.

    By this time it was after 7 and we were all pretty hungry. Because we had unloaded all our stuff at the hotel, we were able to put up the way back seats and all 6 of us climbed into the Chevy and headed back to Goodyear to eat.

    Richard told us he was being tested for Parkinson's Disease. We told him about Tim's diagnosis of Charko-Marie-Tooth, and that both Patsy and I had tremors. We suggested he talk to his neurologist about that. CMT isn't any fun, but it is not fatal like Parkinson's. I think Richard was glad to hear all of this.

    We looked at photographs that Richard had hanging, and took pictures of them. They were from his and Judy's wedding. We also looked at his scrapbook of pictures of the castle. It was pretty late by the time we got back to the motel and fell into bed.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 7

    The longest day

    June 14, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    On the way home from Richard and Judy's, Joyce discovered she'd left her brand new hand painted bag she bought in Santa Fe at their house. She called and made arrangements to pick it up on our way out of Phoenix.

    Our days and nights are getting mixed up. We are staying up later and getting up later. This morning we barely made it up in time for breakfast. At this hotel they had brewed coffee and it was good! Still we fiddled around and didn't get back to Richard and Judy's until noon. Joyce got her purse and visited with Richard for another half hour.

    We decided to go to the Grand Canyon. On Star gave us directions and off we went. We arrived at around 6ish. And, oh, the beauty, the grandeur! We walked along the rim trail and took dozens, maybe hundreds of pictures.

    The park store closed at 8pm. The 4 sisters managed to get in and shop and get out just before they locked the doors.

    There is a small town just a few minutes away from Grand Canyon National Park, Tusayan, and that is where we stopped for supper. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and had a reasonably good meal at fairly high prices. As we were leaving, sometime around 9:30, they were hanging the closed sign and locking the door behind us.

    Going to Las Vegas seemed like an excellent idea. However we had no idea how far away it was. We drove and drove. There was no phone service for any of us so we couldn't look for a motel via Google. The night turned into the next day and still we drove and drove. Finally data returned as we neared Henderson, and we booked a room at our favorite chain, Comfort Inn. We were so tired, we decided to ask for toothbrushes at the front desk and to leave everything in the car. And that's what we did. We fell into bed at 3:30 am, tired and happy to have a place to sleep.    Read more

  • Ruan LulynnRoad Trip
    Day 8

    What happens in Las Vegas. . .

    June 15, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Groan. It was a short night. However, we woke up eager to get going. Betsy had never been to Vegas, and the other 3 sisters were eager to show her the sights.

    Once again we each offered directions to the driver. And once again the directions were all different. It is a miracle we are still friends.

    Still we made it to the strip and drove up and down. Hmmm. It seemed awfully short. We offered more advice to the driver and at last found The Strip. Once again we drove up and down the street, this time Betsy was all agog. Las Vegas is certainly over the top.

    Joyce wanted to eat lunch at a restaurant owned by Gordon Ramsey. After more advice to the driver we found a parking spot at the Planet Hollywood Casino. We went inside and once more Betsy's neck was craned and her jaw was hanging. It looked like we were outside on a pleasant afternoon. But we were inside and it was hotter than blazes outside.

    There were shops galore. We did a lot of pickin' and puttin'. But we did buy some stuff, too. Mostly we had a great time. We found Gordon Ramsey's restaurant, BurGR and stood in line to get in. Boy, was it worth the wait, which was very short.

    We had sweet potato fries for our appetizer. They were dusted with powdered sugar and served with honey mayo. They were the best sweet potato fries I have ever eaten.

    Each of us ordered a different sandwich. Each of us had a delicious meal. I highly recommend the restaurant.

    After a little more shopping we headed back to the car, loaded up all our purchases, and began the last leg of our trip. California here we come!    Read more

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