Route 66 – Simply Out and About

Magical Birthday

For my birthday I wanted to ride roller coasters with Micheal, see Radiator Springs, and eat my very own turkey leg. The only place to do that is at Disneyland and of course all my dreams came true.

Our campground offered a shuttle service to the park, so we hopped on the shuttle that morning and in 10 minutes we were at Disneyland. Unlike Disneyworld, both of the park entrances are facing each other. So that means doing both parks in one day is very easy.After learning this we decided to do a park hopper because you can’t go to just one park. (That is what Mike told me anyway).

I think he has forgotten about that long bike ride from yesterday.

We decided to go to California Adventures first because I was so excited to walk down the street of Radiator Springs. First, we had to go get our fastpass for Radiator Racers. It is the most popular ride in the park and we got a time to ride it at 2:00-3:00 that afternoon. Awesome! Now we head to Radiator Springs.I am dying!!! Micheal and I watched Cars so many times when he was little and to get to see the town with him was so much fun. Mater’s junkyard filled with……tractors, of course. Then we see….Fillmore’s fuel station. Next was…..Sarge’s Surplus. Had Micheal been a few years younger, we would have spent a lot of money in this store. Then I turn around and……it’s the Cozy cone!! Mater has made an appearance at the front door. We go on down the street and come to Luigi’s. Guess who was hanging out….Micheal was not happy about this but he humored me…. You know he is to cool for Red. Across from Luigi’s is…..and then Ramone’s next door.We were almost to the end of the street when I saw the founder….Stanley.I love his gold tooth! At the end of the street is the ride Radiator Racers. I know we got a fast pass but I can’t wait all day to ride and the lane didn’t look that long. The wait was 45 minutes and it was worth it! (this was the longest wait all day).Some of the sights along the way….a really cute fountain and then we see it……a racer! Isn’t she cute? These cars hold 6 people in them.Three in the front and three in the back. Just perfect for my sweet family. As you can tell by the seatbelts, this ride is mild but very fun.We are in line waiting for the big race. We headed out side and the Cars music is playing, we round the curve and there is the waterfall from the movie. Amazing!We go back inside and go through town where we see all the characters.We also saw Fillmore, the Sheriff, and all the tractors! But before you race, you have to stop by Luigi’s for a pitstop.We are almost ready….but first we get a pep talk from Doc. We arrive at the starting line with another car beside and 3…2…1….off we go!!!! I think we crossed the finish line first but it was close.
What a great ride.

Once we left Cars Land we went to couple of stores to look around. Mike wandered off for a minute and when he came back, he gave me this.This made the day even more special! Every Disneyland worker made it a point to tell me Happy Birthday. I even passed one guy twice and he said it both times. It was really nice!

Now ever since we went to Hershey Park last year, Micheal has gotten on the “big” rides. So he was ready for a fast one. We headed down to Paradise Pier

and the boys went straight to the California Screamin. Micheal loved every minute. I was very proud of him! I was 15 before I rode anything like that.

We rode a few more rides that really just spun around in circles and then my tummy said enough! It was now time to eat a Turkey Leg!!!That’s right…you go girl! I did share some of it with Mike. Then after all that salty meat I needed something sweet…..Wow! It was the best birthday meal ever! Mike had a brownie sundae and I got a chocolate milkshake. We didn’t do a birthday cake because 1) there is only 3 of us and 2) we had no space for it in the camper. This milkshake was perfect!!

After we came off our sugar highs we decided we needed to get to Disneyland. We did have to get back on the shuttle and take Max potty but that only took 30 minutes. So we get back and head on in.

We get through the gate and start down Main Street.Do you see it? The castle I mean? We could not get over how small it was.

Anyways, we were headed to Space Mountain. Another one of Micheal’s favorites but we stopped when we saw Star Tours.

We waited maybe 20 minutes and it went by fast because of all the entertainment inside.

C3PO was so funny.We got our 3d glasses on…..took a seat, buckled in and thats when things got fun. Well not so much for Mike, he doesn’t do really well with these rides but I think I got to laughing so hard it took his mind off it. We rode this twice. The second time we came out and Micheal was inspired to make a lightsaber.Turns out Mike knows a lot about computers but this was a bit of a challenge…haha. It turned out great and Micheal loved it. Now its time for Space Mountain.I did not ride this ride! I don’t like being tossed around in the dark. The End!

After the boys got off, we decided to walk around just a few more minutes and go back to California Adventure. We still had our fast pass and when it gets dark all the neon is lit in Radiator Springs and we were told that couldn’t be missed. So,we headed back to Paradise Pier so I could ride California Screamin with Micheal (super fun) and then we went straight back to Cars Land.

That’s when this happened…..Oh hi, Miranda. She was sweet and told me Happy Birthday too.

After my star sighting (Micheal ran to the bathroom because he was so embarrassed) we got back on Radiator Racers. It was still fun the second time around. Then the sun started to go down and thats when it got pretty.

I didn’t take my “big” camera so the neon wasn’t as crisp as I would have liked but you get the idea.

Once we rode the racers again we decided to go back to our camper to enjoy the fireworks. I know it’s not the same as being in the park but we were all pretty tired from the day.

I really, really enjoyed my birthday! Mike and Micheal made it such a special day! Here are some more pictures from the day.

Coming up….experiencing Dutch life in a “sunny meadow”.

Rocks can be pretty too!

I am feeling a little bit behind in my blog. It is hard to get caught up with the internet being so slow in the campgrounds. Sometimes I can only load about 3 pictures a day. So I have tried staying up late and that doesn’t work either. So I have to hit the Barnes and Noble or Starbucks in town to load pictures. I consider it a win either way. Plus it’s always fun to people watch!

Let's go to Sedona! — Let’s go to Sedona!

While we were in Williams we realized that we were a day trip away from Sedona, AZ. I had heard that the drive was beautiful and I love a good drive, so off we went. We were not disappointed, the drive on 89A is spectacular!

You start at the top and go all the way down. It drops a thousand feet. Our water bottles were collapsing on themselves due to the pressure. It was pretty cool!

On 89A, you can stop to hike, play at Sliding Rock State Park, go camping, or just stop and take pictures.

Thanks to the hood of the truck for holding my camera so I could get a family picture

We started to get into the Red Rock! Beautiful!

This one scared Mike just a bit! I might have gotten a little close but it made for a cool picture!

It is so much to take in that your brain has a hard time keeping up. Well my brain anyways. Welcome to Sedona.

When we get into these towns we never know if we are going to find any parking. Parking garages scare Mike and frankly we never know if we are really going to fit. Today God had us a spot right as we pulled into town and it was FREE! Free parking is hard to come by we are finding.

It was still tight but we fold up the mirrors and go. See us all the way down there.

In my own opinion, Sedona is very touristy! There are a lot of shops that sell Indian stuff and t-shirts. It really reminded me of Gatlinburg. But it’s the scenery behind the shops that makes Sedona a really cool place.

Every time you walked out of a store this is what you would see. I loved it! Of course there is the Pink Jeep Plaza. The Pink Jeep tours take you through the Red Rock Park and you can climb rocks in pink Jeeps.

We are being picky about what kind of tours we spend our money on and nobody really wanted to do it, so we didn’t do it. Sometimes just getting into town and sightseeing is plenty.

Well we couldn’t come all this way and not eat, right? If you look past the pink Jeep, you will see the Cowboy Club. I read that they had some different types of food and I thought it would be fun to try it. Not everybody shares my enthusiasm!

He knows he isn't getting chicken fingers. — He knows he isn’t getting chicken fingers.

This place was full of cowboys.

Anyways, all the waiters had holsters with guns, cowboy hats and tight jeans. (Not the sparkly kind that Luke Bryan wears though). Our cowboy was named John and he recommended the rattlesnake sausage. They had a sampler platter so we just decided to go with that and a few other things, just in case the sampler didn’t work out.So here we have onion rings, chicken wings, and our sampler. In the bucket are cactus fries, with the rattlesnake beside it, and buffalo skewers in a cilantro flatbread. First I am not a big fan of sausage but I really liked the flavor of this. It came with a tangy dipping sauce and wow, it was yummy. The cactus fries were not so good though. My favorite was the cilantro flatbread and Thai peanut dipping sauce. ( I bet you didn’t know cowboys ate Thai peanut sauce). I was proud of Micheal for eating rattlesnake that day!

After our snack, that’s what the boys called it, we headed back down the other side of the street to look at more Indian stuff and decided to head back to Williams.

Just one more of downtown. — Not a bad view if you are staying at the Best Western!

It isn’t a long distance from Sedona to Williams but because the road is so curvy it takes longer. So by the time we got back the boys were hungry, that’s where Mike always come to the rescue!

Grill master! We do have a grill table but the wind was so bad at times that Mike has to grill from the truck to block the wind.

The next morning we decided to lay low and hang around Williams. We heard about a really nice golf course so we went.

This was a beautiful course! Not really busy either, so it made for a relaxing afternoon.

San Fransisco Peaks behind him. Love the snow and we are in shorts.

Our time in Williams was great! I think it is a great home base for the Grand Canyon.

Next stop, Boulder City, NV.

Same to you! — Same to you, Tumble weed Willie!

Hello, Arizona

We have stopped at every welcome center along the way and this is the first time I have gotten a picture of all of us. A sweet man offered to take our picture and I didn’t turn him down! The Arizona sign is behind the pink tree. You can see the red and yellow from the sign.

As you pull into the visitors center. So big!

We were a bit far from Williams, AZ, so I looked on the map to see if there was a place we could stop for the night and not have to drive so far. That’s when I saw the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. That sounded interesting, so we made a reservation for one night in Holbrook, AZ at the OK RV park.

This campground is exactly that, OK. It was safe and just what we needed for one night. We unhooked and Mike had some work to do so Micheal and I headed back east 20 miles or so to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.

We got to the park, stopped at the visitors center and realized that you drive about 18 miles through both The Painted Desert and into The Petrified Forest. There are places to stop off and take pictures or go on small hikes along the way. We started in the Painted Desert. I have never seen anything like it.

As you keep driving the colors start to change.

Then we get to The Petrified Forest. I could not capture in a picture what these logs are like so I will try to explain. (with Micheals help of course)

It looks like it has bark, right. That may have been bark at one time but it is now smooth rock. The inside looks like crystals or quartz rock. It is truly one of the weirdest things I have ever seen! We couldn’t stop touching it. Of course they want you to believe that it took millions of years for this to happen but we know the real truth.

This is called the Long Logs — This is the trail to the Long Logs.

After an hour at the park, we head back to Holbrook to get Mike for some food. You have to feed Micheal to keep him happy. I read about a place on Route 66 that was the inspiration for the movie Cars. I love that movie and luckily for us the restaurant got great reviews.

This restaurant has been on Route 66 since 1943. It is owned by a man named Stanley. (Anyone remember the name Stanley from Cars?) John Lasseter came through town and stopped by to eat. He met the owner and was inspired so Stanley became a character in Cars.

Joe and Aggie memory book — John Lasseter on one of his many visits.

The owner’s son was working the night we were there and he was so welcoming, like we had come to his house to eat. They showed us all the memoriablia that Pixar had sent and were more than happy for us to look through their scrapbook and their memory wall.

It also helped that the food was good too! I had the fry bread filled with meat and cheese and the boys had chicken fried steak with fries. So the sign was true when it said American and Mexican food.

Holbrook also is responsible for inspiring the Cozy Cone Motel in the movie Cars with this fabulous Route 66 hotel, The Wigwam Hotel.

This was the sixth wigwam hotel built on Route 66

Now funded by the government, this hotel is only one of three original wigwam hotels. There are antique cars permenetaly parked in front of the wigwams to give it that special Route 66 feel.

Two old cars — This car looked like the one from The Mask with Jim Carrey….it was called the loaner.

This is the old charm of Route 66 that I had been looking for.

The next morning we hook back up and head out for Williams, AZ. The landscape changed much to our delight and went from dirt to trees and some grass. Oh how we have been missing the trees and the grass!

Flat and dirty, with the exception of the beautiful San Fransisco Peaks in the background.

We kept our eyes set on the mountains and kept driving….

We finally arrived in Williams, AZ, the Gateway to the Grand Canyon…

That's what the sign said anyways. — That’s what the sign said anyways and see the trees!

Williams is about 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon. Due to Mike working on this trip (you didn’t think we were just on a long vacation, did you?) we have to have Wifi and Grand Canyon is not the place to stay for that. Anyways, we got to our campground and we were very pleased. The Railside RV Ranch is owned by two delightful people, who will go out of their way to help you. Think of the Four Seasons with concierge service, that’s the service I am talking about.

This campground is most definitely rail side. The Grand Canyon Railway runs past the campground twice a day and it is always on schedule. The train leaves the Grand Canyon Hotel at 9:00 and returns at 5:00 everyday.

You can't miss the train. We did stand and wave at the people going by one day. — You can’t miss the train. We did stand and wave at the people going by one day.

The owners of this campground will stop what they are doing and go out on the porch and wave to the train passengers as they are leaving.

I saw the owner waving fro her apartment one morning on the top floor — I saw the owner waving from her apartment one morning on the top floor

This campground also had a free shuttle to and from town. When you got ready to come back you would call and he would come pick you up. Also, from 8-10 every morning there was a continental breakfast and waffle makers for fresh waffles. We helped ourselves to that a couple of mornings. I told you this was like the Four Seasons.

Williams is a nice little town where you can park your car and wonder around looking in all the shops, or you can eat at one of the many restaurants in town.

If your lucky you might even meet Elvis!

Williams is full of history and has a great visitors center/museum. If you ever get out that way and you don’t mind staying in a town with no Target, this is your place.

Up next we take a visit to Sedona and the biggest hole in the United States!

Welcome to “Kirk” and “Fe”

Welcome to Albuquerque or as we like to call it the “Kirk”. This city is full of history with the Indian Cultural Center and fun attractions like the Sandia Tramway. We didn’t visit either of these attractions. As a matter of fact the more I looked back at pictures I realized this visit was about food. New Mexico is all about the chilies. I mean red and green chilies are all over the New Mexico signs, burgers, and burritos. So on a recommendation of my sweet Uncle Steve, we went to Nexus Brewery for a green chili burger.

I did get the burger with my chilies on the side. Haha, you will notice a trend with this. We also ordered the fried zucchini which was out of this world yummy. I was really hungry and ate my burger before I got a pic so just trust me that it was good. Thank you Uncle Steve!

The next day Micheal and I got out to cruise Route 66 and possibly find a market that I saw on the map. There were parts of Route 66 that were charming and other parts not so charming. Nob Hill was a section that I loved with trendy shops and small eateries. Then downtown had the historic theater that is still showing pics today. We came to almost the end of Route 66 and there was my market. I was thinking it was a flea market but when we got inside it was a grocery store.

Once inside I was amazed at all the food I had never seen before. As we entered the produce section, there they were…..green chilies!

We saw 10 lb bags of pinto beans and small bags of dried shrimp. (complete with head and eyeballs) We also saw this…

That is caramel, cherries, and homemade cream (sour cream to us southerns). I can understand buying sour cream by the pound but I have to admit confusion on why you would buy some of these things in bulk. Although this wasn’t a flea market, it was still very exciting!

Before we left on this adventure my Uncle Steve gave me a spreadsheet that he has been putting together on places to eat around the U.S. Sadly, there weren’t any for the “Kirk” so I started doing some research and found El Pinto.

This place did not disappoint! I would drive back today for the guacamole! Anyway, Mike has gotten better and he is hungry. So we order the chicken quesadilla to share for appetizer….

See the guacamole? Then for dinner we got the Green Chili Burger (mild chilies on the burger) and a Chicken burrito. Shockingly, Micheal ordered the rice. Wow! This food was delicious! I added it to the spreadsheet and then highlighted it….haha.

So I bet your wondering if we actually went to see anything and yes we did. First Micheal and I went to the aquarium and botanical gardens.

This was something Micheal was interested in so we went. I have to say we were kind of disappointed because it really was small, but we did see some marine life.

He stood there for a minute and was done.

There was a whole section on the Gulf Coast which we thought was funny. We were only in the aquarium for about 20 minutes and that was looking at everything.

Sharks are cool but only if they are in the water and you aren't! — Sharks are cool but only if they are in the water and you aren’t!

After the aquarium we decided to stroll through the garden. You pay for both when you buy a ticket so to Micheal’s dismay we walked through. Nothing was blooming but there was a children’s castle to walk through that was fun. First, the dragon outside…..

then as we walked thru the tunnels, we found mushrooms…….

and then the last tunnel we walked through I looked up and saw this.

It scared Micheal. That always makes me laugh. — It scared Micheal. that always makes me laugh.

I wouldn’t recommend going to either of these places but sometimes you don’t know unless you try it.

We are so close to Santa Fe that I can’t help but go. I found a route that is kind of a back road (which is my favorite) called the Turquoise Trail. It is simply lovely!

Steep and curvy. — Steep, curvy and watch out for cows!

This drive takes you through some small towns, like Madrid. Madrid is very important to the movie industry. Movies have been filmed here and on the Turquoise Trail since the 1960’s.

It's only about a city block long. — It’s only about a city block long.

The only movie we kind of knew was Wild Hogs. I was going to tell you about the movie but I didn’t watch all of it. Anyway there is a place called Maggie’s Diner that has been made famous from the movie.

We thought we would stop in for a quick bite to eat but we were quickly told by a sign on the door that it was not a diner. Instead it is kind of a raunchy t-shirt shop. That was a little disappointing but we did get a good cup of coffee at the Java Junction

and we saw some funny things from different artist.

Some of my favorites, if the bone is wet it is raining, if the bone is moving it is windy and if the bone is gone….run!

When we finally get to Santa Fe we found some parking behind the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. (it’s not always easy finding parking for the big truck)

The church is downtown and wow! the whole area was beautiful. All the buildings were pueblo built. I think that is how you would say it….but any how, I loved it.

After all this walking we had to eat. Well we actually have to feed Micheal or he gets cranky. So we referred to our spreadsheet and found two places in Santa Fe. One, The Shed and the other, Bobcat Bites. We walk to The Shed and it is closed. So we go to Bobcat bites, which is now called Santa Fe Bites.

We picked you second, but don't take it personally. — We picked you second, but don’t take it personally.

I bet you can’t guess what we tried, you got it, the Green Chili Burger (chilies on the side)

It was a good thing the chilies were on the side, I can smell them through the photo they were so hot! Once again the food was yummy! Good job Uncle Steve!

On our way back to the truck we passed the Loretto Chapel. This chapel was built in 1872 for the nuns. During construction the architect suddenly died and the builders realized there was no stairway to the loft. During that period of time ladders were usually used but the nuns didn’t feel comfortable with this. So for nine days the nuns prayed that someone could help. On the tenth day a straggly stranger appeared and told them he could build a staircase but he would need total privacy to do. So for three months he locked himself into the chapel and with some primitive tools and non-native wood he built a spiral staircase. When the work was done he vanished without being payed, the nuns did not know his identity and to this day no one knows who he was. This staircase has come to be know as the miraculous staircase. I am telling you all this and we didn’t even go inside to see the staircase. I guess the pictures on the internet were sufficient for me.

You can get married here and have special events.

That was our day in Santa Fe. It was great and I think I liked it better than the “Kirk”.

Now back in the “Kirk”,I kept reading about Old Town and you know if there is shopping involved I have to go check it out. Micheal and I loaded up and headed down Route 66.

We went over the Rio Grande…..

and realized it wasn’t so Grande. I think the Mississippi River has got our standards high! We came into Old Town and parked on the square.

Some statue of a guy that probably did something for the city.

There were a lot of shops with Indian stuff.

We just walked around and went into some of the shops. Like this one…

and all of a sudden I am surrounded………

now this is my kind of shopping. I did try on a couple but left with nothing. You know the camper life is supposed to be a simplified one, plus I all ready brought 15 pairs of shoes so I don’t know where I can put anymore. Here are some more pics of Old Town.

I hate to say I wasn’t impressed but this really isn’t my kind of shopping. Of course it is always fun to look.

The time has come to say goodbye to New Mexico. I really enjoyed the beauty of this land. It really did live up to my expectations and the food was yummy!

In the morning we head to…..Arizona. Yay!

West bound and down….

If you aren’t singing this title, something is wrong with you! Well it is day 5 in Little Rock, my toilet is working like a champ, Mike has the flu and it is raining…again! But it is time to move on, so we get the camper hooked up in the rain…boo…and we take off. I am ready to be out west so we decided to travel for 3 days and try to see what we can on the way. First stop is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma, where the winds come swiftly across the interstate!

I don’t have a lot of photos due to driving and Mike was sleeping. However, he did get a picture of the one thing we saw a lot of…..

We also got to see parts of Route 66. One of the attractions is Lucille’s Service Station. It was built in 1929 and was renamed in 1941 after the new owner, Lucille.

Oklahoma is VERY flat. I mean we almost thought we could see Canada at times…..Haha. We finally made it (safely) to our campground, Council Road RV Park. It was right off of I-40 and easy to get into so that worked for us. There was no unhooking tonight due to the rain, the flu, and we were leaving early the next morning.

It is Saturday morning, the rain is gone and I have had my coffee….It is time to head out. Look out Texas, here we come.

So, just to let some of y’all know, when you pull a camper and transfer trucks come by you (because I will only go about 65 mph) they will suck you in and spit you out. It is a feeling you get used to and you just hold on but when you are driving across flat states, there are winds that blow…gusty winds. As a matter of fact they have signs warning you of this. Which, is why they have these…windmills.

Mike loved seeing these windmills and we have about 50 pictures of them.

They start out very small and the longer you drive the bigger they get. I bet we looked at the same windmill for 100 miles! So you got your warning here! When driving through Texas, hold on!!! I had to peel my hands off the steering wheel a few times due to the wind gust! Anyways, our next stop was Amarillo. We had two places we wanted to see, Cadillac Ranch and The Big Texan. Mike was feeling a little better….Yay…so we got to our campground early to unhook and sightsee. We stayed at Oasis Rv Resort, which was right off I-40, easy to get in and out of. You see I don’t want to run over anybody in our big truck!

Guess what, this was a flat campground and really clean! We could have stayed a few days to explore, but I had to get to New Mexico.

Look at the flatness! You can see it for miles!

We unhooked and headed to Cadillac Ranch. I don’t know what I was expecting but it it basically in the middle of a field and it’s free. You just pull your car, truck, or rv right off the road and bam….you are there. People were coming into the “park” with cans of spray paint.

We didn’t need to paint that day so we just decided to take our photo and get out of the blowing dirt.

After all this excitement we needed food. I had read about a restaurant that has a 72 oz steak. If you can eat the steak, a baked potato, a roll and shrimp appetizer in an hour, you get your meal for free. The record holder is a 120lb lady who ate 2 of these meals in 14 mins. WHAT!! If you are so inclined you can watch it on youtube. If you have watched the movie The Great Outdoors, Chet Ripley (John Candy) puts away the Ole 96’er and gets a free T-shirt. So naturally I had to go check this place out. It was a fun! (I am easily entertained)

The dining hall with the contest table and timers....so nobody cheats. — The dining hall with the contest table and timers….so nobody cheats.

Mike said that he would have tried to eat the 72 oz steak but it was to soon from being sick. (Remember, the camper is small)

My sweet boy! His eyes are closed because he is embarrassed to stand in front of the big bull. I thought it was because of the sun.

So, I bet you are wondering what we ate? Well, Mike got a steak, I got steak sliders, and (drumroll) Micheal got chicken fingers. The plates all came with these..

Aren't the Texas flags cute? — Aren’t the Texas flags cute? I could eat another bowl of that Mac N’ Cheese right now!

We rolled ourselves out of that joint and went to sleep. We have one more travel day before we stop and hang out. Travel days are exciting and exhausting! But, the very next morning I was ready to go! Get up everybody, Momma’s got to get to Alburquerque, New Mexico!

You can't imagine my level of excitement! — You can’t imagine my level of excitement!

We had been looking at flat land for two days so I was anxious to see what awaited us. I was not disappointed.

I mean how amazing! Look at the difference between the two pictures. Then when we go through town, all the overpasses are decorated.

Alright, I am going to calm down now……We were staying on the west side of town at a campground called American Rv Park. It was a lovely park with some nice people and gorgeous weather! We had a really nice site!

When checking in the nice lady told us that they had a coyote problem but that had been fixed. Ok, good I guess. She also stated that there were bunnies that ran around the park too. Bunnies I can handle! Max, not so much!

Max was out of his mind! Bunnies, that he couldn't chase around. That's hard for a dog to understand. — Max was out of his mind! Bunnies, that he couldn’t chase around. That’s hard for a dog to understand.

It was nice to be parked for more than a night. We all slept really well and couldn’t wait to explore!

Up next….Albuquerque!