Sunday, June 28, 2015

{Road Trip} Day Two - New Mexico

After spending our first night in Amarillo, we grabbed breakfast at Ye Olde Pancake Station...




where they lay claim to the "world's best pancakes"...




While their pancakes were pretty darn good, we unanimously decided that Hubby's are still the "world's best" in our book...

After breakfast, we journeyed on into yet another new state for 4 of the 5 of us (with this one I've almost caught up with Hubby on states - I've got 40 & he's got 41!)...

NEW MEXICO!




Now, one of the reasons that we drive so much is because it is less expensive that it would be to fly ~ most of the time our entire road trip is done (gasoline, food, lodging, and activities) for less than the cost of 5 plane tickets to one destination, but honestly, I've really come to enjoy the process of getting to a city.  I've flown to many places both in the United States and abroad, and while plopping down into a city is definitely nice, I've come to really enjoy driving into a city (and from city to city).  It is so eye-opening to really experience all that surrounds a city or a town, and the miles, sometimes very many miles, that separate it from another city or town.

New Mexico is really something different!

We stopped for lunch at Maria's in Santa Fe...




and continued on from there to Old Town Santa Fe and our first stop, the New Mexico State Capitol...




Known informally as "the Roundhouse", it's actually round, and sooo very different from all of the other state capitol buildings that we have visited before!
After exploring the grounds of the capitol building, we made the short walk over to the oldest house...



and next door to San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church structure in the U.S.A., for evening mass...



After church, we grabbed a (really, really good) pizza dinner at Upper Crust Pizza and started the long-ish trek to Flagstaff, AZ for the night...
I indulged Hubby, a big fan of "Breaking Bad", in a quick stop in Albuquerque on the way where we stopped by a few filming locations (which I don't recognize at all ~ he was all on his own for this series ~ kind of like me and The Bachelor/Bachelorette, I guess!)...
the car wash...



and the house...




Bless the poor people that live here, and their neighbors.  I'm not so sure I'd like a gazillion people driving by my house every. single. day.  They have had to install security cameras and post a sign not to trespass.  I literally said a prayer right then and there and thanked God that my littles can freely play in both our back and front yard without crazy strangers (like my sweet Hubby and the no less than 10 other people we saw in the 2 minutes we were there) taking selfies with my home as the backdrop!  I also thanked God for our yard.  Though I despise the weeds, I love the beautiful green grass, and took it for granted until this trip (another thing I love about driving, really getting to know the landscape of each area of the country)!

But, I digress...

Neither Hubby nor I were really impressed with Albuquerque, but we did swing by this little gem, on the way out of town...




and I have to admit that was pretty cool...
Spending the night in Flagstaff, AZ...

Saturday, June 27, 2015

{Road Trip} Day One - From Running Up Steps to Painting Cars

We left late Friday, after Hubby worked a full day, and to get a good chunk of driving out of the way, we drove through the night making our first stop, Little Rock, AR. 

We passed through Little Rock a couple of summers ago, and while B was already into presidents, his interest in both state capitals and running up the steps of state capitol buildings had yet to be uncovered...

Our first stop was the Arkansas State Capitol...





for a run up the capitol steps...






After a quick photo at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, checking off a stop on our (very comprehensive) list of U.S. Presidential Sites, and a stop for breakfast...





we continued on to a new state for 4 of the 5 of us...

OKLAHOMA

and yes, yes I am that mother that plays "Oklahoma!" and "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" on repeat as we cross over the state line, and for at least a good 15-20 minutes into the brand new state...





"Your doin' fine, Oklahoma...  Oklahoma, O.K.!"

We wandered off the interstate and made our first stop in Oklahoma at Rock Café, along the historic Route 66 in the small town of Stroud, for a late lunch...





The current owner of Rock Café is the inspiration for the girl character, Sally Carrera, in the Disney Pixar movie, CARS...





The littles loved leaving their (respective) marks on the wall...






From there, we continued on to Oklahoma City and made a stop at the Oklahoma State Capitol...




the only state capitol grounds in the United States with active oil rigs!







After driving by the site of the Oklahoma City National Memorial honoring those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, we continued on into the Texas Panhandle.

We veered off the interstate once again for our first stop in the panhandle, this former gasoline station in Shamrock, known as the U-Drop Inn...






Look a little familiar???

This station was used as the model for Ramone's House of Body Art in the aforementioned movie, CARS...

Our last, and most anticipated stop in the Texas Panhandle, was Cadillac Ranch...








Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, and the model for Cadillac Range, the mountain range in CARS...

With that, Day One is officially a wrap!

More on tap for tomorrow... 

More {Road Trip} 2015 Fun

Saturday, June 6, 2015

{Summer FUN} Day 2 - Capitol Steps and Lilly Loving Friends

We woke up early, and trucked it up to both Hartford, Connecticut...
 
and Providence, Rhode Island...



to make a couple of runs up B's 21st and 22nd sets of state capitol steps!

After seriously debating continuing on up to Boston, I decided to turn back, opting to do those steps with Hubby in tow...

On our way back through Connecticut...




we stopped in to visit with good friends S & S, and their sweet little twins, B & R...


{Baby B, L & M in their matching Lilly Warehouse Sale dresses}

Headed home tomorrow...

What a fun adventure!