Texan Oasis

 Friends, Recreation, Travel  Comments Off
Feb 092012
 

ToTexas_001_thumb.JPGTexas was the place I most dreaded for our road trip. I think of long stretches of straight, flat road under an endless sunny blue sky. No animals, no trees, just fellow travelers on the interstate. This was fueled by memories from past roadtrips, such as when several of my college friends piled in a van and drove from Nashville to the Grand Canyon. And when Clayton and I drove to San Antonio so he could ask for my parents’ permission to marry me. Those trips were fun because of the people and purpose, not the scenery.

We started by cruising through North Texas, specifically Amarillo (the “armpit of America” as one of my college friends dubbed it), then dipped down just skirting below the border with Oklahoma. We ended that first Texas day in Wichita Falls, a suburb without the burb. We will always think highly of that little place because we stumbled upon good shave ice and because of the Texas-shaped waffles we ate for breakfast the next morning. But not because of the scenery.

This all changed when we hit the town of Montgomery just north of Houston. We were meeting our friend’s Mike and Tami and staying at his parent’s house. I’m not sure what I imagined the house to be like, but it ended up being a little oasis. Off a back road in the middle of the woods, within sight of a lake, we were treated to some amazing hospitality and lovely scenery. They are both master gardeners so have an extensive green garden in their wooded backyard, complete with tall flowering arugula and red and yellow Swiss chard. Just one lot down was a horse that we could feed carrots to. We could view woodpeckers and chickadees on the bird feeder from the kitchen window as we ate a breakfast of baked oatmeal and thick cut bacon. Autumn followed the path in their backyard to the tire swing or on bug hunts for roly polies. It was a wonderful respite to see so much greenery and enjoy the company of laid back people.

Blast from the Past

 Family, Travel  Comments Off
Feb 022012
 

“An Indian Travel Stop?! We NEED to stop there and get some fry bread”, said Clayton. Thus is was decided where our next gas tank was going to filled. We pulled over and were greeted by giant arrows stuck in the ground around the vaguely pueblo-style travel center. We hopped out and immediately went in search of fry bread. Clayton began a circuit around the store while I was caught off guard by some of the items for sale. Looking at the turquoise jewelry I began to have memories surface in my mind from my childhood.

My family lived in San Angelo, Texas when I was 4-6 years old and in Alamogordo, New Mexico when I was in 7-12 years old. So I spent a significant part of my childhood in the Southwest. As I looked at the turquoise jewelry on display I was reminded of when I wore my silver and turquoise bracelet to preschool. Like any good 4 year old, I promptly buried it in the sandbox never to be seen again. They also had stone bear figurines. After one of my grandparents visits, my grandfather decided to try to make some of his own. He went on to make several bears and other animals. Sometimes I would find rocks I thought were pretty and give them to him to carve. He died when I was in college, and while I was there for the funeral my grandmother gave me a large stone bear and unfinished buffalo pair that he had started from a rock I had previously given him. This past June for my birthday she sent me a pink hued owl he carved, because owls are one of Autumn’s favorite animals.  Looking these and several other items in the Travel Center store, I felt pangs of longing for this part of my life long ago. It was completely unexpected.

Perhaps because I grew up moving frequently as a military kid, there many places and objects that spark memories for me. But the Southwest holds a particularly special place in my heart, specifically New Mexico, because I was there during such formative childhood years. In no way would I have thought that a simple stop for fry bread (which they ended up not having anyways) would have brought these things up. But once I became aware of them I enjoyed reflecting while we visited my sister Sarah and Blair and toured Albuquerque.

Arizona

 Family, Travel  Comments Off
Jan 282012
 

Arizona_016_thumb.JPGWe have reached the desert! The land is flat and dusty. The sky is blue. People grow cotton. And we can go outside without jackets.

Tonight is the last night of our time in Arizona where we got to visit with my sister Mary’s family. The thing I looked forward to the most was getting Autumn together with her cousins. There have been a few challenges, mostly to do with the need to share and hitting when sharing wasn’t happening, but overall it has been awesome.

We all had a great day at the Goldfield Ghost Town. It was a cheap, entertaining place to visit and really beautiful next to  Superstition Mountain. The kids enjoyed dressing up as cowboys, watching a gunfight, and exploring the different places in the town. That night we went to San Tan Flats to eat “cowboy food” (as my sister called it). This ended up being burgers, potato cakes, and an awesome margarita. Everyone lit fires in barrels and listened to a guy sing country music. Very fun place to dine outside!

We also had fun around the house. Mary taught Clayton and I how to make espresso on her machine and we have had tasty lattes every morning (and most afternoons too). We also made a “volcano” for the kids by combining mentos and diet soda. This is something Autumn has looked forward to for a long time. It was a brief explosive volcano experience, but a lot of fun. Tonight we made a fire in their backyard firepit and ate s’mores. Bonfires are always fun, especially when none of the 6 children get burned or their eye poked out.

Thanks Broussards for letting us crash your house and relax with you these last couple of days!

Road Tripping

 Travel  Comments Off
Jan 232012
 

ToCali_016_thumb.JPGI probably wouldn’t have chosen to endure 3639 miles in a car with 2 small children if it weren’t for necessity. But there are certainly advantages to road trips.

1. Seeing People
This is the most obvious benefit to a cross-country road trip. We planned our route to see as many family and friends as we could. It’s helpful as we endure long days in the car to know that at the end we will see people we love.

2. Seeing Countryside
The United States is a massive country. I have been reminded of this the last two days as we drove south through 3 states. Weather changed from snow, ice, and cold slush in Washington to dry, sunny, high wildfire alerts in L.A. We started in city, meandered through mountain passes, and then ended in the flatlands of almond growing country in California. Town names varied from Grants Pass and Rogue River to Los Banos and Grapevine.

Living in Hawaii for the last 3 years I completely forgot about Rest Areas, “Next Gas 30 Miles” signs, and cruise control. And I know in my head that chain stores are everywhere, but it’s really amazing to see the same stores repeat across 1000 miles. We’ve gone to Starbucks every day and gone to Targets twice to restock supplies. Driving through the Sonoma area Clayton remarked, “It’s strange that we are in one of the culinary capitals of the country and our only options for lunch are McDonalds and Taco Bell.” Part of the road trip experience I guess!

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