Way more than a big hole

So nothing to do tonight to get ready for next week. In fact CaDiva spent the entire day preparing for another of my work celebrations. When one of the teams meets a quality measure my team feeds them lunch. Now that means CaDiva has to plan, plot, shop, cook, deliver, pickup, clean-up and collapse into a quivering mass. But I do wear a very blingish chef's hat and tell everyone how much I appreciate their effort.

But I want to stay in the habit of blogging until the trip is finished. As you can see from my earlier posts I have a little problem with sticking to this. I left you, in fact, on my way out to Big Brother's wedding, which was lovely and we adore the new wife, not to mention getting to visit again with the Nephew and two Nieces, and two Jr Nephews and a Niecelette, and the Nephews-in-law.

We drove out the southern route and returned the same way, making certain we had time for a side trip. We wanted to see the Grand Canyon. All the tour book information said the best time to go was off season to the south rim if we hoped to see anything but other tourists. And we wanted to see everything.

We picked Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon Railway to carry us off on this new adventure. We got to the Railway Hotel a little later than we planned, but that is not new. Getting the two of us headed in one direction first thing in the morning is a little like putting a wet noodle up a feral large feline's alimentary canal.

But still it was a lovely room and we slept well. The package came with two dinners and two breakfasts as well as a lunch at the Grand Canyon. After we wandered down to breakfast we toured the the gift shop before we went down to the train depot. The train offers three services and we chose the deluxe car, sans children (sue us, we are crotchety little old ladies) but included music and meals.

It was so exciting to watch the countryside glide past us without either one of us watching the road. Well exciting for CaDiva, I passeng a lot and don't watch the road that much even when I drive. We laughed and ate and just chilled for an hour on our way to the southern rim. Our car steward was wonderfully informed. She kept the car alive with stories and laughter. She even took our National Park Passport to get it stamped since we didn't know if we could make it all the way to the visitor's center before the bus left for lunch.

I can't say much for the lunch, standard cafeteria fare but it got us on the tour in time. Now for our bus tour guide, he literally grew up on the south rim. Did you know they had a school there? It turns out the families who work at the Grand Canyon live there year round. Shopping is a bit difficult given that there there isn't a Piggly Wiggly or Food Lion in the vicinity. But still he loved his life and he shared it with us.  My favorite type of tour is being shown the wonders of a person's home as they describe their favorite places and memories. We got off at every stop, which is not as easy as it sounds for the two of us, but we didn't want to miss a bit of it. 

I know I have used the phrase Mother Nature overdose (I'll have to tell you about the Columbia River Gorge one day) but this was MNO to the Nth degree. As the day wound down, CaDiva rested at the train station waiting for our ride back.  I took the opportunity climbed up to the top of a mountain ... it may have been a foot hill...or possibly a ridge...could have been a hill (how the heck am I supposed to know I live a in prairie remember) but it was way up there and they had a gift shop. We didn't have nearly enough souvenirs yet. It wasn't as easy to shop as it is in most places since HRH instructed us not to bring anything back that said Arizona. Grand Canyon, California, or Colorado was ok. But she has political scruples and Arizona is a little further down her list than Florida was for us back in days of Dade County and Anita Bryant.

Even so, I made it back to the train station in time to catch our ride back to Williams. Our Steward was as good as her word and we had our second National Park stamp in our passport. 

I have to tell you, if you have had a long, exciting day of sight-seeing...end that day with a train ride. We were cradled back to the hotel with a cowboy singer interrupted only by a small train robbery.  We didn't even go looking for another place to eat or try the horse carriage rides (which we almost always try.) We had a great dinner in the hotel dining room and climbed slowly back to our room. I made an offer to the front desk clerk to chip in up to 5 bucks if Arizona would buy some extra air for the tourists. As much as I loved the trip the air is a bit thin from Needles to Fort Collins. 

The next morning we were getting ready to head out when the young man at the gas station came up and said, "Ma'am I think you may need a new rear tire. I'm a AAA station would you like me to put the car up on the rack and put on your spare." Ok, now last fall the dealership said we would need new tires but we could wait until summer and I guess driving cross-country may shorten that up a bit but we were not ready for this.

Well the young man was right....did you know your tire had a warning band that tells you when you have waited a couple thousand miles too long to buy new tires? And it wasn't on one tire, or two, all four tires were showing so much wear we had to have been carried on the wings of angels through those late nights into the mountains on the way out to California.

He quoted us a price that was about 50.00 less than the dealership told us we would pay and they could replace and balance the tires that day. So we left, a half day behind schedule but safe, riding a whole lot smoother and increased mileage about 6 miles per gallon. So all things taken together, we are two lucky ladies.

The sun is out, the food is great and the Continental Divide is finally explained

The microwave clock at the Hampton in Kingman swears it is 12:52 AM but my body and brain are rtain it is almost 3:00 AM and they have a wrist watch to prove it. We started out finding the snooze function on my cell and sleeping in until 8:30. After showers and packing, not to mention the obligatory Venti No-Whip Mocha (hot until we get to warmer climes) we were on the road.

I watched the weather as CaDiva showered and it said there was a dense fog advisory with visibility down to a mile. A MILE???? seriously you call that dense. In the midwest we don't call it dense until you have to slice off hunks to see past your hood ornament. Well butter my butt and call me biscuit. Did you know fog could fall on you? I told  CaDiva it was raining on me, and she said no that's just the fog. Well to me, calling drops of water hitting you fog is like calling anything over a 3.5 an aftershock.

But I digress. We drove out of the western Texas plains just as the "fog" started to clear. And BOOM we were in the western Texas hills. I tell you the changing terrain in Texas is like the spring and dusk, they don't take long when they are ready. We drove into the welcome center of New Mexico just as the sun broke free and the temperature climbed into the high sixties. I got pictures of the reproduction of a dinosaur bone bit by a bigger dinosaur. And we got the name of a restaurant three miles down the road with a car museum and well recommended food. 

I'll post the pictures when I get to California, but the food was grand. CaDiva had chicken enchilada - spicy by her taste (of course I already told you she was a weenie) but still she finished every bite, with a significant amount of sour cream to cool the heat.  I had a mushroom Swiss burger and rings. YUM! I also had some of CaDiva's refried beans - oh goodness they were rich and wondrous tasting. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the views and the heat and the sun. But as the day drug on we realized how late we were going to be. This wore on us a bit but not so much that we stopped sight seeing. We pulled into the Continental Divide and historic Route 66 scenic view. Did you know that the Continental Divide means that rain fall on one side goes to the Pacific and on the other side goes to the Atlantic? Well I didn't either.

I'll tell you more tomorrow, but now, I'm going to collapse in a heap and sleep until, well until today.

One day to go - I think I should pack

Tomorrow morning CaDiva will drive me to work. She'll pack the car and tend to the last chores, pick me up 4:30 (or as close to that as I can get out of the office) and then we are on VACATION.

The weather is turning nasty tomorrow and coming up from the south, I hope it passes before we are on the road, but come heck or high water, we are eating Sheridan's Frozen Custard by 8:30 tomorrow night. The good one too, at 119th and Metcalf, next to where Backyard Burger used to be before they went all McBk.

I am so ready for this vacation. Well not ready in the sense that the computer is packed and my clothes are folded or even that I know what shoes I should take, but the important stuff like OH Dear Lord in Heaven please don't let the world come to an end before 4:30 on Friday, thank You in advance for Your consideration. That kind of ready.

And this is to remind me when I wonder why I glow in certain light, all the "officials" assure me that the amount of Japanese radiation over California and Colorado is too small to worry about.  Of course they are officiating and not worrying someplace not California or Colorado.

I borrowed my niece's digital camera. The Easy Share served us well, but I'm just ready to try something with a few more chimes and tweets. I will keep you informed as we progress. See you all tomorrow, when my fingers will be sticky with chocolate soft serve and my eyes heavy with relaxation.

Getting Ready

Well, CaDiva started her packing list today.

But first she had to go to the post office to stop the mail
Then to the Register to stop the newpaper
And the dry cleaner so I would have something to wear to the wedding
The the drug store so I wouldn't sneeze all the way through Arizona
And the grocery store for travel snack food
Then the pet supply store to get food for the puppy/kitty sitter
But she won't do laundry until tomorrow.

I fed my cows on Facebook and, if I time it right, should be able to mention my vacation at two more staff meetings before we leave on Friday.

What? Did you think I was going to make her do it all?

It's beginning to look a lot like vacation...whoo hoo.

Big Brother's Wedding Road Trip and the Blog Begins Again

Ok so it has been a year or so since I wrote. There are reasons. But since reasons aren't required among friends let me fill you in on what has happened since 2009. We came home and our Mom decided she wanted to move into her own home. I took a new job and have my filing seasons less committed than they have been in 23 years. CaDiva started working with a temp agency. HRH became a grandma and so won't be traveling with us on this trip. This trip? Didn't I start with that?
So let's start there. CaDiva has two siblings she wasn't raised with since they were both from prior marriages and 11 years older than she is. But her BigBro has always been near and dear to her heart. He took that special place when he nicknamed her Hank but kept it when he married a charming elfin woman who presented her with two charming nieces and a dandy nephew. COPD took SIL from us all too soon. And now, after five years BigBro has found a new woman who has the stamp of approval of the afore mentioned nieces and nephew.
So we decided with my newly uncommitted March/April to drive out for the wedding.
The plan is to drive out of Des Moines on March 25th after work and spend the night in Kansas City. From there we'll drive to Amarillo and we had thought to stop in Williams AZ for the third night. But CaDiva found an In-&-Out Burger some miles past Williams so we'll probably find a hotel near that. Then up to Walnut Creek to visit with the nieces and roam CaDiva's old stomping grounds. Then down to Monterey for the Wedding and another whale watching cruise. Oh, we'll miss HRH for that but a niece and the nephew with grandniece will come, so we are planning a memorable day. We'll start the trip home on Monday and, provided the government stays open, stop by the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the way home.
I plan to take the laptop and camera to keep you all informed as we move along. Hope you have as much fun as we plan too.