Cross Country 2
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 02:18PM By the way, the Giraffe and I basically split the driving the whole week. I'd say overall he did more than me, but we switched every couple hours generally. And we listened to audiobooks almost the whole time which is a brilliant way to a) read a book, b) make driving more interesting, and c) not have to talk to each other when your fiance is driving you mad (and by "your fiance" I mean the Giraffe's fiance. Poor guy, I can be grouchy.).
Next stop was Amarillo. We had selected a restaurant online, and I swear we checked to make sure it was open Sundays, but when we pulled in we were denied. Closed. Second restaurant fail in two days. We asked the GPS to find us a nearby Mexican restaurant and there was one less than a mile away. I can't tell you how delicious those damn burritos were. I love you El Tejavan.
Final stop for the day was Santa Fe. We got there late so didn't do much, unfortunately.
Monday we didn't linger in Santa Fe because we had a full day ahead, so we took off for Albuquerque where we stopped in Old Town. It was Labor Day, so there were only a few shops open, but it was actually perfect because the parking was free and there were almost no people around. After shopping, we drove to the Petrified Forest where we bought an $80 Annual National Park Pass since we were planning to visit four on this trip alone. The Petrified Forest was pretty cool. I love land that is preserved and undeveloped, so we made a few stops, took a lot of photos, went to the Visitors Center and went on our merry way.
We had dinner in Flagstaff at the Galaxy Diner on old Route 66. Burgers, fries and a chocolate malt? Yes please.
After Flagstaff it was off the to the Grand Canyon where we got in just before the sun went down. But alas, we didn't get to see it set over the canyon because we were too busy setting up our tent with one small flashlight and the trace amounts of sunlight left. Sleeping that night was rough. We had to sleep diagonally in the small tent because of the Giraffe's giraffe-ness, we only had one pillow, the ground kept punching knots in our backs, and all night we heard strange noises that the Giraffe thought were elk calls but that turned out to just be cars running over rumble strips on park roads.
When we saw the Grand Canyon the next day though, we decided it was well worth the terrible night. More on that later.
Reader Comments (5)
The dude and I did this trip when we were about your age. We were bringing a car from NH to L.A. We had to go a bit quicker, though, we had a deadline in L.A. Everyone told us if your relationship could survive the trip, you were meant for each other. So there's that.
When we drove from L.A. to PA in 2005 (again a quick trip; the dude was starting a new job) we were on the same roads as you. Wish I had known you'd be in Albuquerque--we had a fabulous meal there. And I spend a few days every year in Tulsa, I could have told you to skip Cherry in favor of the Philbrook.
Did you ask, and I missed it?
I didn't ask. I wanted to but I got all paranoid about the "they'll break into your house if they know you're on vacation" thing. Since we were both gone for a week, thought I better play it safe. Don't want anyone stealing our big-screen TV that won't pick up a digital signal!
My husband won't let me blog about being away from the house until we've returned because he thinks people will steal our stuff.
Aaanywho - sounds like your trip got better (after Tulsa). I've always wanted to check out the Grand Canyon so I can't wait to read about it. It's one of my 101 in 1001 items although I don't think I'll make it there anytime soon.
Dude you were the reason I got paranoid! I saw how you didn't post about your vacation until you got back and why, and I was all, Shit I never thought of that! That could happen! So thanks a lot for making me paranoid.
This sounds like a marvelous trip. We once went to see the Grand Canyon. We had two days scheduled, and it rained and was foggy the whole time. Did you know you can't even see the Grand Canyon when it's foggy? You can go in the park and stand on the edge, but you can't see more than five feet in front of your face. The whole Canyon - GONE. It was SO disappointing. So, the hubs and I joke that there is in fact no Grand Canyon until we get back there and see it for real.
I love road trips and this one sounds awesome.