This morning we learned that our trip north to Lodi wasn't really necessary. Would've been nice to figure out before we spent 9 hours driving through insane traffic, but live and learn, I suppose.
So instead of continuing, we turned around and headed south to San Diego.
It was a long drive, but good. I finished The Waste Lands, book three of the Dark Tower series. It was good! Much better than book two.
Check out this joker. This is something that has become a pet peeve of mine over the course of this trip - cars that park in RV spots. What's this guy thinking? That he found an enormous and legendary parking spot - the most spacious spot of all, told of only in myth?! Come on! Park in a car spot, stupies.
This isn't the first time it's happened - I've run into it all over the place. These must be the same people who take a cart, full to brimming with groceries, to the self checkout kiosk. They're also almost certainly the same people who spend 30 minutes at the redbox browsing and reading every movie's description. Ugh ...
We ate dinner in Burbank at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse! I was excited because Nealy used to work at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Greenwood! This was the first time I'd been and I really enjoyed it. The parmesan crusted chicken (which I ordered on Nealy's recommendation) is excellent. Gram enjoyed a turkey club. Pop ordered the spaghetti, despite Nealy's advice to the contrary. He decided that the noodles weren't good, but the meat sauce was tasty.
We're at another Walmart tonight! This was our last big drive. We'll be in San Diego for a few nights and then we'll leave the Born Frees here and fly to Omaha Thursday afternoon.
Woke up at 4:22am, hopped in the shower, and then blearily climbed in Amber's truck.
We made it to the airport in good time - probably got there about 5:45am. The line for Southwest was out the door and down the sidewalk! It was incredible! I jumped out of the truck and asked someone what the line was for. They said it was the line to check bags and that the line inside was even longer. Fortunately, I didn't check any bags! Checking bags is for chumps - especially if you're just gone for a long weekend (ie Thanksgiving).
I skipped the lines, both inside and out, that were by now at least a block or two long and queued up for the security screening. The line was long and moved more slowly than I would've liked, but I had plenty of time.
I like to think of myself as an expert flyer. I don't arrive 2hrs early because that's ridiculous. I get to the airport an hour before my flight, and before I even get to the xray conveyor belt my shoes are off, my pockets are empty, my belt is in my backpack, and my laptop is out. I don't mess around, and I tend to get frustrated with people who aren't on their A-game. For instance, the guy who forgets to take off his watch, then has to go through the metal detector again only to discover he's left something metal in his pockets. Idiot.
So, you can imagine my chagrin when my backpack went through the xray machine and the guy operating it shouts "We've got a 29!"
Immediately, the entire security process shuts down. Not just my line - every security line in the airport ... on one of the busiest (if not the busiest) travel days of the year.
Two Dallas PD officers and a TSA supervisor come over, eye the xray, then reopen the security screening process. I put my shoes and belt back on and one of the officers approaches me.
"Sir, is this your backpack."
"Yeah."
"Do you have anything in here that you shouldn't?"
"... No."
"Are you sure? No weapons, no ammunition?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Do you mind if we look through your bag?"
I told him it was alright, and he began fishing through it. He couldn't find what he was looking for, and after what seemed like 20 minutes (but was probably only five) he started emptying all the contents. Eventually, his face lit up, and he pulled out a loaded clip ... In case you're as sheltered as my friend, the Princess (she knows who she is), and don't know what this is exactly, it's the part of a pistol that holds the bullets and inserts into it's handle.
So ... yikes. The Dallas PD officers and I had a discussion about why I was carrying a clip filled with five .380 caliber hollow points. At this point, I'm positive that they're going to "ask" me to accompany them to a small, brightly lit white room with a stainless steel table, two chairs, and a two-way mirror.
But, it actually went pretty well! I explained that it was an accident and that I didn't know it was in there and they didn't seem too incredulous. It probably helped that I didn't have the rest of the gun with me. They ran a quick background check on my name, kept the loaded clip, and the TSA agent took down my info.
One of the officers, who seemed to sympathize with my conundrum was asking the TSA agent if there would be a fine. He said that some administrative TSA agent would review the file and then decide on a fine from 0-$1500. I'm hoping for 0 :) The TSA agent told the officer that if you bring gun into the airport, loaded and with a round in the chamber, it's an automatic $1000 fine. It was at this point that I piped up ... In retrospect, I realize that (as Mike Birbiglia observes) what I should have said was nothing. But, I couldn't help myself and I said, "I suppose if you bring a loaded gun into an airport, a fine is gonna be the least of your worries!"
No one found this amusing ... even after I repeated it when one of the officers asked, "what?"
Start this video at the 3:30 mark!
But, they let me on the plane! Didn't even frisk me (though I had come through the metal detector so this probably wasn't necessary).
In retrospect, the surprising thing is that they didn't find the clip at LAX ...
I made it to my gate five minutes before the plane boarded. On both of my flights, I felt like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I felt like the flight attendants were keeping an eye on me the whole time :)
After arriving in Los Angeles at 10am without incident, I spent the next eleven hours driving ... Post-Thanksgiving traffic was so bad that we came to a dead standstill on interstate 5 several times! The good news, though, is that we had In N Out for dinner! I got an animal style burger and it was delicious! Way better than I remembered!
Everyone left Waxahachie today except me. I fly out Sunday morning.
Check out this couch full of cousins!
After everyone was gone, around 1 or 2pm, the whole place was really quiet. The kind of quiet that demands you nap. I resisted however and watched a succession of dumb movies with the cousins! Dave and I watched Centurion - bad, predictable, cheesy. But we knew this going into it and enjoyed it all the same. I have a theory that you can enjoy even the worst movie with good company! Also, we had chewy Jolly Ranchers.
Dave left in the evening to go to a concert and Amber and I picked up with Jonah Hex. I expected this to be completely awful - it got lambasted by reviewers and it was only in theaters for a week. Probably because my expectations were so low, I didn't think it was terrible. By no means would I recommend it to you, but it really didn't seem that bad.
Tomorrow morning I fly out at 7:15am, so I'll be getting up around 4:15am to make sure we get there by 6. Amber has offered to take me to the airport! Guess she must like me or something ;)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Haven't neglected the blog - just need to find some AC power!
It's Black Friday, which means I'm avoiding legitimate shopping establishments like the plague! I'm sure that by the time I rolled out of bed, Andrea and her mom had already hit about six stores and finished all their Christmas shopping!
We do have a little shopping tradition here in Waxahachie, though. Whenever we're here for Thanksgiving, all the guys take an afternoon and go on a pawn shop tour of Waxahachie (the ladies stick to more reputable stores). This year, two of our regular stops were out of business. Guess this economy is hard on even pawn shops ... or maybe Ebay and Craigslist are squeezing them out. Probably a bit of both, I suppose.
After pawn shopping and lunch at Chick-fil-A, we came home and did a little skeet shooting! Turns out I'm a bit rusty. Joe and Tom were doing really well, which makes me wonder if maybe being under five feet tall is an advantage?
The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back. Amber studied for her physics class for several hours ... Somehow her study technique is surprisingly reminiscent of napping :)
No Nealy family get together is complete without a bowl of Grandmother's punch, so after dinner we drank punch and played cards.
Tomorrow everyone starts clearing out. Sunday morning, I fly back to LAX to meet Pop and Gram in Banning where they hopefully haven't been blown away by the gale force winds!
And don't worry - they didn't spend Thanksgiving in a campground. Jim and Roe were kind enough to host Thanksgiving the day after they moved into their new place!
It was smooth flying all the way and I was actually able to sleep on the flight from LAX to San Antonio! On my flight to San Antonio, I saw a couple with a baby that I could've sworn I know from somewhere! I didn't ask who they were cause I was too tired to spend the energy required to convince them I wasn't a creepy loon. But nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I've seen them before ... Maybe this is the beginning of my own LOST type situation - a bunch of people's lives keep intertwining before their plane crashes on a deserted island that isn't really deserted ... Fortunately, I won't be flying over the ocean on my return flight!
I was greeted at the airport by a suburban full of relatives. We headed straight to LaserWhirld in Plano. This was my first time playing Whirly Ball and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Whirly ball is basically a combination of bumper cars, lacrosse, and basket ball. It's a blast - definitely do it if you get a chance!
After whirly ball, we played a couple games of laser tag! I love laser tag - always have. It was actually a pretty decent workout! My laser tag style of play is very similar to my Halo style of play - run and gun. My team lost both times, but I definitely pwned some n00bz!
I crashed hard and early when we got home. My laser tag workout combined with very little sleep wore me out.
I'm in Waxahachie now! I'll be here for a few days before I head back to California!
Yesterday was a quiet day. Only a few people came by. Could be due to the weather. Banning is a constant wind tunnel and, as it was overcast yesterday, it was very cold.
I had the chance to chat with Eve (or was it Eva? Sorry ...). If I've got my story straight, she's German and came to the States from Poland. She looks and sounds like Edna Mode from The Incredibles! She's a lot of fun and quite the talker! She, Gram, and I had a spent a good hour or so in my 24ft Born Free talking ... Well, I mostly listened. She and Gram had the conversation well under control without my help.
Gram and I hit up the outlet mall again and I got some new Reeboks! I love Reeboks. Assuming it was going to be warm in the south, all I packed in the way of footwear was flip-flops (or thongs as Gram calls them ... but that doesn't sound quite right ...). My feet have been freezing, so I'm glad to have some new kicks!
After dinner at Sizzler (where Pop claimed he was going to pass on the sundae bar, but I knew better - should've put some money on it!) I headed to LAX to catch a flight to Dallas. On the way, I stopped to see Jim, Roe, and Briell in Santa Ana!
The California Dodgens (as they've come to be known) are moving today. I have the dubious distinction of interrupting their last night of sleep in their Santa Ana home. But they were good sports. After Jim and Roe retired to bed, Briell and I went out grabbed a quick bite ... Two hours later, at 1:45am, I was back on my way to LAX. I told Briell that if she gives me whatever malady stole her voice, she's done.
I spent the night in Lot C (gotta remember G15 ... gotta remember G15 ...) at LAX. You were right Jim (Downing, not to be confused with Dodgen)! It was Lot C.
After a solid (read with exhausted sarcasm) three hours of sleep, I got up, threw my things in my duffel bag, and went to wait for the shuttle. I got to the shuttle stand at 5:30am because I've been to LAX before. Getting through security here can be a nightmare, and I figured that the Weds before Thanksgiving weekend would be no exception. I stand corrected! I don't know if it's because I arrived two and a half hours early or if it's because LAX beefed up their staff for the holiday traffic, but it was a breeze! From the time I left the RV and went to wait for the shuttle, it only took me 35 minutes to get through security! Well played LAX ...
Now I'm at Southwest's gate 14. I've got Matt and Kim playing on the ol' Zune (yes, I'm one of the 14 people who own a Zune) to drown out the inane phone conversation of the woman with dyed-so-red-it's-purple hair sitting to my right. We'll be boarding soon and and an hour from now we'll be taking off.
I'm spending Thanksgiving in Waxahachie with the Nealy clan, so the blog's narrative will bifurcate here. I'll have to rely on Pop and Gram to give me updates on the state of affairs in California!
Oh - I almost forgot! There's a map in the blogger program that shows me in which countries people are reading my blog. After my post about submarines, someone in Russia started reading the blog! KGB maybe?
And speaking of subs, one of the people who came to visit us yesterday is a former submarine captain! I'm beginning to think that by the end of the trip I may be able to recruit an entire crew.
Greetings from a town that's exactly as exciting as it's name makes it sound.
Had about six people come to visit us today. They all came at once. A guy named Charlie chauffeured five ladies all the way from San Diego!
While the ladies browsed, Charlie and I had time to chat. Really interesting guy!
Charlie joined the army in 1964 and went to Vietnam. He decided that army life was his cup of tea, but after 6 years, 10 months, and 23 days, he was discharged. That's when he started working for a Navy shipyard. For the next 30 years, Charlie worked as a submarine repair mechanic.
He told me that after the US military decommissions a sub, another country buys it. Evidently, there's a waiting list, and the only country that isn't buying our subs is China - according to Charlie, they don't need to since they're building two subs for every one we build.
Russia builds (or built?) their own as well. Charlie told me that he recently had the opportunity to tour a Russian sub. Every essential system in a US sub is redundant - there are two just in case one fails. Not so in Russian subs. He also noticed that little consideration was given to the crew in the sub's design. There was one toilet for 45 crew members, and only the officers had bunks. The rest of the crew slept wherever they could find room.
Retired, Charlie now enjoys travel and photography. He offered my this bit of trivia from his visit to Germany - if you get a DUI in Germany, you're barred from driving for the rest of your life. Interesting approach.
(This is a picture of Gram icing her noggin after banging it against a side mirror.)
We had a great visit with the whole group and enjoyed sharing lunch with them. After they left, we did some shopping at the local outlet mall, grabbed a tasty dinner at Johnny Russo's Italian Kitchen, and then caught a show at the Fox Cineplex. It was a surprisingly nice theater for only having three screens. And get this - prepare to have your mind blown - we paid $12.50 for three tickets! I've paid that for just one ticket in Chicago!
Today we left Phoenix and headed to Banning. We had crazy winds all day! Really crazy - especially once we made it into southern California on interstate 10. We got into Palm Springs California and the wind was particularly bad - it came tearing right through the valley like I've never experienced before! At least they were making good use of it - there appeared to be several hundred windmills in the city! I've never seen this many windmills all in one place! The picture doesn't do it justice, but this place makes the windmills on interstate 65 north of Indy look like child's play.
The countryside now is less sandy, but still very arid. The mountains seem higher and closer and there are a few snow caps visible. Fortunately, the cacti seem to have thinned out if not disappeared completely. Here in Banning it's extremely windy. It never lets up. And it's quite cold! Right now it's 41 degrees (34 after wind chill)!
Just for kicks and giggles, I cranked up the ol' aerial antenna tonight. I was shocked to find what was on! There are ten channels; one alternates between vacation commercials in some eastern European language and a Korean show that plays youtube videos, one is Korean, two are Spanish, one is a channel list, one is Japanese, two are Chinese, one is Italian, one is clearly a homemade slideshow set to bad elevator jazz (I mean even Kenny G would cringe if he heard this!), and the last was in some language I didn't recognize but from the script in the corner, I'm guessing Arabic ... Which raises a question ... Where are we?! What is going on with these tv stations?!
To add a little variety, I'm listening to Matt and Kim's "Sidewalks" - which is fantastic! I'm also listening to Sleigh Bells' "Treats." The first three songs are especially good. Micah put me on to this album. It's high energy and fun - which makes it great driving music. I think the best way to describe Sleigh Bells is to say that they're Phantogram meets The Go! Team. I couldn't come up with a "vs" ... You wanna take a shot, Micah?
So I'm watching episode 7 of Band of Brothers and guess who I just saw? You'll never guess. In fact, closest guess get's a hat!
I remember the good old days when I could accidentally brush against a bit of local flora and come away unscathed. Not so in the desert! As best I can tell, this is a prickly pear. The main spines are roughly two inches long. After running into it, I learned that there are also a bunch of tiny spines that it leaves stuck in you.
I caught the thing with the shin of my left leg. One of the large spines stuck into my leg and then exited the other side after traveling about an inch!. I tried pulling it through, but it just broke off! So now I have a cactus needle in my leg!
For a few minutes, I thought about cutting it out. I even had my pocket knife out and ready.But if you know me and my pain tolerance you know how laughable this idea is. My current plan is to wait it out - see if by some miracle it works its way out. What's more likely is that Donna will probably have to cut it out when I see her over Thanksgiving ...
I also had a chance to meet with this guy. No idea what his name is - we didn't exchange names. I was wandering the campground and espied his dune buggy. I had seen it out on the road yesterday, and I came over to have a look.
He built this himself - he welded the frame together, put in a VW engine and transmission; added the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors from his Ford Aerostar (he hit an elk with it so it was useless); and bolted on some headlights from a snow plow!
This guy was quite the character. Sounded like a heavy smoker. He was wearing a shirt that had a picture of some Native Americans riding horses. It read "Homeland Security - fighting terrorism since 1492."
He's a semi-retired heavy machinery mechanic.For fourteen years, he worked for a copper mining operation near Butte, Montana. After awhile, he became the head safety officer, but he said it was too boring - he missed the hands-on work. Most recently, he's been driving the city bus in his hometown, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, during the winter - their high tourism season. He claims to have the best safety record of any of their drivers. But now he thinks he's getting too old to be battling with the cold weather. The new plan is to harvest firewood during the summer and then let a friend sell it (for a 25% commission) during the winter.
Towards the end of our conversation, he told me that he was probably going to spend some time panning for gold in the mountains north of the campground because "you never know when you might find a little color." Then he proceeded to tell me about "the Dutchman."
Here's what I learned: The Dutchman was a prospector in these parts. There are lots of myths, but he's real. He told lots of stories. He told stories for drinks - stories about the gold he found. But there are records in the Denver mint that the gold the Dutchman brought in was the purest raw gold anyone ever found. The Dutchman died in a flood and nobody knows where his gold is. Someday someone will find it - in the most unlikely place. They'll stumble, fall on their hands, and come up with a handful of nuggets.
I've been watching Band of Brothers in the evenings (my second time). Fantastic show! Here's a bit of trivia for you - Jimmy Fallon makes an appearance in episode 5! I just saw him! Crazy ...
Tonight is our last night in Phoenix! Tomorrow we drive to Banning!
Busy day today! We're all exhausted. It's one of those days when you look at your phone, expecting to see that it's 11pm, but it's only 7:30!
The landscape here is quite different from what I'm used to. We really are in the desert. There are more cacti than trees. The saguaro are especially impressive. The ground is flat and rocky as far s the eye can see until it suddenly shoots straight up at the the foot of a mountain or mesa. It's very beautiful.
And very dry ... my lips feel like I've been standing next to Lake Michigan in the middle of January!
We had a good turnout today, but unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have much time to visit. Chatted briefly with Virgil and Anne. Virgil is originally from North Dakota and Anne is originally from North Carolina and they met in DC! Pretty neat story.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to chat much with our other visitors.
After things quieted down around camp, Gram and I ventured into the bustling metropolis of Apache Junction. I dropped her off to get her hair washed and did some exploring. Check out this funeral home I found! I had to take a picture!
We decided to go to Grand Buffet for dinner, because it was the only non-burger restaurant we could find in town. We were lured in by the crowded parking lot. It was rough. The chicken dishes were only distinguishable by their color and the size of the chunks. I ended up eating a lot of green beans and crab rangoons just because they had some flavor. I suppose when you're the only Chinese restaurant in town you don't have to try too hard.
Gram got a pretty crazy fortune - it said "If your cookie is in 3 pieces, the answer is no." Unfortunately, she didn't know she was supposed to ask a question or make a wish so it was all for naught.
This picture is going to take a little bit of explaining. I found this drawn on the back of a bathroom door in a gas station in New Mexico. Did I feel a bit skeevy whipping out my camera in a bathroom? A touch, but it was a one-holer with a locking door, so it wasn't too bad. I have no idea what this is supposed to be or mean. So my idea is that I thought I'd have a little contest!
Tell me what you think this little bit of art is. I'll pick the best answer (read: my favorite) and the winner will get a fabulous prize - a hat just like the one Gram is sporting in the picture above!
[This time, Gram decided to write out what she wanted to say on the front and back of an envelope and then read it to me, because writing things down helps her organize her thoughts.]
Brandon is learning what his Norwegian Gram is like.
First, I repeat a lot.
Second, I ask lots of questions.
I'm sure after this trip, he will avoid dating a Norwegian girl. Pop and I are so grateful to have our grandson Brandon with us. He is so helpful, patient and kind to two old _______. [laughs] And they can fill in the blank!
Besides, he always gets us to our destination when we are on the road. Thank you, Bran.
I had a very close call when we stopped at a service station somewhere in New Mexico. Bran was on the left, Pop in the middle [pauses and asks me "and they understand that we were at the station getting gas, right?"] and I was on the right. So when Bran came over to fill my unit, I said "Brandon, I don't think I can make it to the store!"
He said he would open the side door to our unit (where we live) so I could get in fast. I quickly jumped out of the unit I was driving and made it to our unit in time. [instructs, "and underline 'in time'"] Thank you, Bran.
It is Friday the 19th and finally we are in warm weather. Brandon has been frying the pork burgers every time, plus helping to make whatever goes wrong, right - electronically or otherwise.
[Here, Gram goes off script briefly to relate something she forgot to write down.]
We went to the bed bug theater, which it wasn't, but they all know what I said about the bugs! Was it in Caddo Mills? Anyway it was somewhere in Texas. We saw Secretariat. It wasn't Brandon's choice of movies, but he said he did enjoy it. And of course Pop and I enjoyed it. [laughs] Pop cried - he said it was too emotional.
So that's been our only entertainment [laughs] except for driving, eating, sleeping. [chuckles]
My goal on this trip is to run the race ... for the triple crown! [Laughs]
Around 9am we began the trip to Phoenix, and the trip went off without a hitch! There is a surprising amount of traffic in Phoenix, though! It must be bigger than I thought ... Anyone? No? Ok, moving on.
Maybe it was the traffic or maybe it was KOA staff taking their sweet time and then hassling me about what direction I had to park, but by the time we got settled in, or maybe it was these things in conjunction with being tired and having a headache - regardless of the reasons, I was in a bad mood. On the scale of irritability, I was at "punch a lady in the face." This is clearly more irritated than "punch a guy in the face," but far better than "punch a kitten in the face." Even after getting some dinner at about 8:30, I was still out of sorts. But I found a cure!
The KOA we're staying at has a hot tub! But get this - the hot tub closes at 8pm!! What?! Come on!!
Seriously ... who uses a hot tub before 8pm? Even if you get in around 7:30 or 7:45, you're gonna want to stay in past 8. Not to be deterred by ridiculous rules or having forgotten my trunks, I popped on a pair of boxers and headed over to the hot tub around 10pm. The gate was locked.
I love hot tubs ... a lot ... In fact, I have never been more relaxed than after spending an evening in the geothermal hot tubs in Reykjavik ... they were amazing! All this to say that there is a very short list of things that will keep me out of a hot tub on a clear, cool night, and a five foot chain link fence is not on that list. Water Moccasins would be on that list ... also razor wire, more than one armed guard, drunk frat idiots, possibly John Travolta, and definitely the entire cast of The View (What? You would want to share a hot tub with them?).
So, after doing a semi-thorough perimeter sweep for security cameras, I hopped the fence and slid into the hot tub! The stress of the day, and my headache, melted away!
Chances are good that I'll be a repeat offender tomorrow night!
When I travel, not only do I enjoy trying new foods, I also like to sample regional candies. At a gas station in a small town in New Mexico, I found these - Chase's Cherry Mash and Annabelle's Big Hunk! And no, the latter is not named after me - I don't even know anyone named Annabelle ;)
The Cherry Mash was good. It consists of a cherry flavored coconut center covered in chocolate and nuts. But, it was just too much. It would be a lot better if it were about half that size - really just too rich.
Annabelle's Big Hunk, on the other hand was fantastic! It's chewy nougat with peanuts. It tastes very similar to the inside of a Snickers bar. Typically when I try new and exotic candies I'm not too impressed, but I liked this one enough that I would definitely have one if they're available back home! Worst case scenario, I can always get some on Amazon!
I hate to break your hearts, but Gram has again postponed contributing her 2 Cents. I'm going to hassle her tomorrow to make sure she finally does it!
I can, however, relate a story that may provide some additional insight into the mind of Gram!
Before dinner, we stopped at Walmart, and she purchased a cd by Jackie Evancho, a ten year old who sings opera like a 40 year old! She's nuts ... check out this video. Anyway, we decided to listen to the cd on the way home. Once the music started playing, something sounded off to me, and after flipping through the car stereo's menu found that the balance had been shifted all the way to the right - the driver's side speakers were essentially shut off!
I had noticed this once before in Gram's RV, so I asked if she had done it on purpose. She said, "yeah, I do it so I can turn it up louder." I hit the play button, but a few moments later, I couldn't take it anymore and I paused the song again.
"What do you mean you do that so you can turn it up louder?"
"Well, if I don't adjust it like that it's too loud. If I turn it all the way to the right, I can turn it up louder."
" ... Can't you just leave the balance in the middle and turn it down so it's not too loud?"
We had a good turn out in Albuquerque today! There were about ten people who came out to see us. Some from literally hundreds of miles away (but this isn't unique to this stop).
The people who came to see us, however were unique.
The first person who showed up was a Mr. Barnhill. Great name, right? Sounds like a hobbit name. He's an ear, nose, throat and shoulder surgeon. He drove up in his 1994 Built for Two, and it was immaculate! After admiring Born Frees for 25 years, he finally purchased this one used and is loving it.
I also had the chance to visit with Darrel and Marilyn Weybright. Darrel is a biologist, and works for the New Mexico conservation department where he oversees their deer and elk program. He told me stories about chasing down desert mountain goats in Mexico and capturing them with net guns ... from a helicopter! They then transplant the goats to New Mexico to bolster the population here. The stories got even better.
In his tagging and tracking of the deer and elk, he also used a helicopter. He rode in a helicopter and shot deer with tranquilizer darts and net guns - just can't get over that! Anyway, he said that sometimes a deer will hide near some brush or a tree to hide from the helicopter. When this happens, they bring the helicopter down real low, he steps out onto skid, and jumps down onto the deer! I was incredulous and said as much, but he swears it's true!
Darrel is the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation.
Over lunch, I got to know Bill and Linda Scott and their son Will. Very nice family!
Bill started and owns Dion's, a chain of pizza restaurants! After college, Bill and a buddy of his came to New Mexico from Detroit and started a pizza place called New York Pizza. One day, Bill related, a gentleman came in, ordered a slice and sat watching them work for awhile. He did this a few more times until one day, he approached the counter and informed them that they were doing it wrong! Even at 23, Bill had enough sense and humility to recognize take sound advice when given. And so for a little while, Tony taught them about pizza. Tony was from Florida and had just sold his own pizza restaurant so that he could travel the country.
Bill said he'd like to do the same for someone else someday.
Now Bill's pizza place has grown into seventeen Dion's restaurants across New Mexico and Texas! He generously gave us some gift certificates and we headed over to their location on Central (old Route 66) for dinner.
The food was great! We started off with a family size Greek Salad, which Pop declared one of the best salads he'd ever had. It was fresh, tasty, and well seasoned. Dion's even makes their own salad dressings!
The pizza was fantastic! Their pizza menu is a nice blend of classic and more unique offerings. We ordered a fourteen inch pizza - half Napoli and half Duke City. The Napoli was a classic combination of Italian sausage, kalamata olives, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, provolone, and parmesan. It was very good - but what really excited me was the Duke City. The Duke City is turkey, green chile, cheddar, and parmesan. So good! The green chiles give it a nice, spicy flair, and though I don't think I've ever had turkey on a pizza before, it really worked!
Pop was a fan of Dion's the instant he walked through the door. They have an area where you can stand and watch the pizza being prepared - he was sold! (In fact, I'm convinced that the reason he loves the WaHo so much is that you get to watch the chef!)
Thanks, Scott for the pizza! We all loved it! Unfortunately, there aren't enough leftover slices for all of us ... this could get ugly.
Today was another driving day. After a tasty breakfast at Cracker Barrel (which I'm realizing is Pop's favorite place to eat while on the road) we bid Abilene adieu and began our trek through the vast emptiness that is West Texas. Did you know there are actually tumbleweeds out there? Honest to goodness tumbleweeds that skitter across highways and parking lots. Turns out they're not only in cartoons :)
The driving was a bit rough because we had a 30mph headwind all day! That kills the gas mileage! Born Frees are very aerodynamic for RVs, but every now and again, we'd catch a crosswise gust that would would wake us up and make us grip our wheels a bit tighter!
There's also a lot of cotton grown out there. The cotton fields, punctuated by giant windmills and oil drills, are actually quite beautiful. We saw a few of the cotton picking machines at work (not sure what they're called). It was pretty fascinating - being from the midwest I've never seen a machine like this before. And the most amazing thing was that they piled this cotton into enormous bales that are literally the size and shape of semi trailers!
While this country is desolate, there's something about the wide-open plains covered in scrubby trees and cacti and the distant buttes that beckons. Makes me want to get on a horse, ride toward the horizon, and go see what I can see. And I don't like horses ... I suppose it's not that I don't like them ... it's that I don't trust them. Every time I've ridden one, I've been very cognizant of the fact that if that horse wants to go somewhere I don't (or worse, wants to scrape me off on a tree), I couldn't really stop it.
Before we left this morning, I spent a good half hour plotting to see if I could find a way to take us through Roswell, NM, but alas, I couldn't do it! The ufo stories intrigue me! Guess I'll just have to add it to my list of places to visit before I die.
At a Travel America truck stop in Santa Rosa, NM, I was waiting in line to pay for our fuel, and a tall skinny cowboy looking guy walked past, talking on his cellphone. I use the word "talking" here very loosely. This guy literally sounded just like Boomhauer from King of the Hill!
I have good news! Gram is threatening to make another post - so look forward to that tomorrow!
I think I may download that Willie Nelson song soon. Could be a good way to start a long day of driving!
Pretty uneventful day. We got on the road around 3pm. We were supposed to spend another night in Leander, but realized that we had only allowed ourselves one day to drive the 12 hours to Albuquerque. Realizing this wasn't going to happen, we took off early and now we find ourselves at a Walmart (which conveniently shares a parking lot with Pop's favorite, Cracker Barrel) in Abilene. I told Amber that we were headed to Abilene and she scoffed. Is that how it is? Is Abilene kind of the Albany of Texas?
Well, regardless, we're here in Abilene now! While Gram and I were in Walmart, I noticed this sign ... is it just me or is that Panda a bit scandalous? :)
I have non-RV good news! A new cartoon called Bob's Burgers is premiering in January! Why am I excited? First of all, it's created by Loren Bouchard, who also worked on Dr. Katz and Home Movies - two of the best animated tv shows ever! And what seals the deal for me is that H. Jon Benjamin is voicing the main character! He was the voice of Ben in Dr. Katz, Coach McGuirk in Home Movies, and Archer in Archer. All of these shows are hilarious, due in no small part to his voice acting talents. Seriously, you should watch them.
Big day today! We had about thirteen visitors! They were looking these Born Frees over from stem to stern. All three of us were busy answering questions and chatting with our guests.
Pop was fully engaged the entire time, so I took it upon myself to be grill master! As Pop says, this might be a little bit "bragadocious," but I did pretty well. Several people complimented the burgers and one guy came back for seconds! Pop has decided to do all the seasoning today, however, as he claims I only seasoned the burgers about half as much as he likes. Remind anyone of our family steak cook-offs?
I forgot to mention yesterday that the inevitable finally happened! Well, in my optimism, I hoped it wasn't inevitable, but Dad assured me that it was. One of our caravan (their name has been omitted to protect the guilty party) backed into a pole in a Walmart parking lot!
After all our visitors left, we went into Leander and got some fried chicken from Golden Chick. I'm growing a little bit concerned that this trip is going to take about 5 years off my life. It seems that almost every meal we've had south of the Mason-Dixon Line has been deep fried, soaked in butter, covered in gravy, or all of the above. I've actually taken to ordering salads with some regularity - just to get away from the fried food! Shocking coming from me, right?
After dinner, we went to a movie! We saw Secretariat. We all liked it. It was very family friendly - pretty corny at times, but what do you expect from a PG Disney movie? Some of the montages seemed hastily and poorly constructed, but overall, it was good. Interesting too, as I knew very little about Secretariat other than that he was a triple crown winner.
I've read some reviews accusing the film of essentially being right wing Christian propaganda, but it really didn't seem like that. There were two African American gospel songs that seemed appropriate to the setting and time period, and the movie opened with a quote from the book of Job about horses. The verses are very poetic and it surprises me that people would see this as an attempt at proselytization. Even Roger Ebert has been surprised by the attacks on this movie.
For the first half of the movie, Pop loudly declared that it was too emotional and that there was too much drama ... several times. Once the racing began, however, the film picked up speed and he ended up really liking it.
After leaving Caddo Mills around 11am, we made our way to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Dallas for some routine blood work. Arriving about noon, we found that the lab is closed on Saturdays so we had to find the ER at the other end of the building.
Upon arriving, we gave our information to several different people, and the waiting began. After just a few hours, we inquired as to how much longer we might have to wait. The nurse behind the desk informed us that the average wait was 4 to 6 hours ... in the ER ...
Fortunately, they must've been on their A game, because we were called back after only three and a half hours. During this time we watched Legally Blonde on the lobby television, read some boating magazines, ate some day old sandwiches from the sandwich stand, and grabbed some dessert from the vending machine.
Once the blood was drawn, we had to wait for the results ... this took another hour and a half. But at least Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde was playing ... And before anyone asks, yes - being a lawyer is just like those movies.
The most interesting thing I saw today was this building - the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy at B. F. Darrell. It was right next to the VA, and is evidently a boys elementary school (or affiliated with one). It's still under construction, but looks nearly finished. It just caught my eye because I've never heard of a "Male Leadership Academy." Somehow it sounds odd ...
Pop was eager to play matchmaker today. He wanted to set me up with the doctor who met with him. He even offered to introduce me. It was a generous offer, but I declined since I had been with him the whole time and (I'm going out on a limb here) knew his lovely doctor just as well as he did :) Even over dinner at Cracker Barrel (they have a great Cider-Braised Roast Pork as a seasonal special) he continued to sing her praises. Tomorrow he's planning to call and get her number for me. I wonder if it's 911? At least it'd be easy to remember!
All told, we spent about five and a half hours at the VA. When we were done, we made tracks and left that shining example of efficiency in our dust.
Now we're in Leander, not too far north of Austin! While we're here, I'm hoping we'll have time to check out some of the city. I'm also going to see if I can talk Pop and Gram into going to Hoffbrau one night - they have fantastic steaks!
The sky was extremely fickle today, pouring on and off all day, and probably deserves the blame for fewer people coming out to the campground than we expected. But although the skies were dreary and grey for most of the day, the clouds parted just long enough for us to do some grilling!
Some of you haven't met Pop, so let me tell you that one of his passions is cooking meat. It doesn't matter whether it's grilling, broasting, baking, roasting, frying or smoking - Pop loves to do it. Twice in my life (two times) Pop has given me a masters level exposition on the different cuts of beef; contrasting their relative strengths and weaknesses, comparing their values, and even giving me some of his own personal secrets to selecting and special ordering the choicest pieces.
He loves preparing meat so much, in fact, that I'm towing a double axle 14 foot trailer, the sole purpose of which is to aid in the preparation of pork burgers! Most people would be content to throw the pork burgers in the three empty freezers our RVs have between them and then either use the grills provided by the campgrounds or bring along a portable weber. That's not the way Pop rolls. The phrase "packing light" is anathema to him.
Our chuck wagon has a deep freeze, a locking chest/cabinet (stocked with charcoal, lighter fluid, hickory logs, cooking utensils, and spices), two propane tanks, and an enormous grill all mounted on it. This grill has seen better days - it's literally coming apart at the seams. Every day on the road results in a few more spot welds popping free. Today, one of the lid's hinges came undone and I spent a good 10-20 minutes re-attaching it and then securing everything with zip ties so that it didn't fly off and decapitate someone when I hit the next bump.
About 11am we began the grilling process. First, we lit the coals. When those had burned down sufficiently, we placed some hickory logs on top of them to add some rich, smoky flavor. For most of the grilling process, we kept the huge propane burner under the grill on for added heat - the lid, as I mentioned, is coming apart, and doesn't hold heat very well.
The only thing that can improve a meat cooking experience for Pop is an audience! He was spicing and flipping burgers, checking on the logs, explaining the advantages of the chuck wagon, and speculating on the tastiness of the burgers. He was loving it!
I'm happy to report that the burgers were delicious.
I have some video that I've been trying for hours to edit, convert, and/or upload with little success. And unfortunately, I can't just go to Walmart and buy some cheap video editing software (Windows Movie Maker will not edit .mov files, which is unfortunately the format in which most cameras, including mine, shoot video) because my netbook doesn't have a cd/dvd drive (easy, Micah) ... But I haven't given up yet - I hope to post some videos soonish!
, book three of the Dark Tower series. It was good! Much better than book two.
.
(yes, I'm one of the 14 people who own a Zune) to drown out the inane phone conversation of the woman with dyed-so-red-it's-purple hair sitting to my right. We'll be boarding soon and and an hour from now we'll be taking off.
- which is fantastic! I'm also listening to 
The first three songs are especially good. Micah put me on to this album. It's high energy and fun - which makes it great driving music. I think the best way to describe Sleigh Bells is to say that they're 
meets 
. I couldn't come up with a "vs" ... You wanna take a shot, Micah?
in the evenings (my second time). Fantastic show! Here's a bit of trivia for you - 
!
, a ten year old who sings opera like a 40 year old! 
soon. Could be a good way to start a long day of driving!
. That's not the way Pop rolls. The phrase "packing light" is anathema to him.
doesn't have a cd/dvd drive (easy, Micah) ... But I haven't given up yet - I hope to post some videos soonish!