Two weeks rolled into one without enough time for either

I have two weeks of vacation this year. I took one week to see my Mother and then to see Erica. Plans were laid, tickets were bought, time off was secured. So, after working all night Wednesday night, I got off Thursday a week ago and we boarded a plane bound for California. The plan was an ambitious one: three days in California, then drive over to New Mexico to see Erica and Dan for another three days.

We flew out of Charlotte around 10 am and arrived in Los Angeles. We picked up our rental and proceeded to drive to Yucaipa. Los Angeles – whew! Despite being overwhelmed and a little stressed by the traffic, we arrived safely. I confess, we were leery of getting off the interstate to grab a bite to eat, we were afraid we would be unable to get back on!

It was nice to see my mother and Lew. I had not been to California in a couple of years so we had some catching up to do. My sister Tracey had more time on her hands this trip, so we spent a lot of time together.

Friday we went out to lunch and then she gave us a tour of Yucaipa, parts we had never seen before. As we were returning to the house we saw the smoke from a fire and raced back to check it out. It was a wildfire, and we got really close! I’m happy to report that in this instance no one was hurt and no one suffered property damage.

Saturday she and her husband Bruce picked us up and we went up to Big Bear. When I say “up” I mean it. Yucaipa sits at 2600 ft above sea level. Big Bear sits at  6700 ft and on the way there we topped out at 8,000 ft! It’s a beautiful ride up there and back and while there we introduced Tracey and Bruce to kayaking. And none of us tipped over!

Sunday came and it was time to head out. Not enough time here, but only a week off and a 12 hr drive ahead of us! So it was Good-bye, out the door, and on the road.

I don’t know how to put this diplomatically so I will just say it, the drive from Yucaipa to Arizona was hot and, uh, not pretty. That part of California is desert. As in, extremely hot and nuthin’ there. We got on I-40 and saw an interesting sign, “Wilmington, NC 2,554 miles.” What a sense of humor! That was Exit 1 so we thought we were in Arizona, but there was no welcome sign. This was such a desolate area we thought maybe Arizona was ashamed to own it. We stopped in a place called Ludlow for lunch. We went to a café but couldn't get service so did what apparently everyone else was doing – we went to the Dairy Queen. Got back in the car and it the outside temperature read 134!

On to Needles. I thought that for sure was Arizona. Pure desert. But we kept seeing people pulling boats. Didn’t understand until we came to the Colorado River and lake Havasu. NOW we were in Arizona. And what a difference. The road was better, the signs were newer. The scenery was absolutely beautiful! I have no words to describe it.

We were thinking about going all the way to New Mexico, but the day was growing long and we were getting tired. We drew nigh to Flagstaff and discussed getting a room and decided to get gas and go on a little further. I asked a couple of bikers how far it was to Winslow. They told me how far and how to get to the corner! [picture] It was late, we missed the exit and thus missed our chance. We did stop at the Meteor Crater and then spent the night in Holbrook, AZ.

Next morning we were up and headed into New Mexico. The scenery seems to change every 10 miles, but New Mexico is beautiful too. What an amazing ride!! And we made it to Santa Fe.

This was Monday. We spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Erica and Dan. It was so good to see Erica! She has been in Korea for the last 3 years and it had been a year and a half since we had even laid eyes on her. She had made plans and we went all over Santa Fe. They’ve only been there for 3 weeks but they knew Santa Fe pretty good. Santa Fe is an absolutely beautiful place. We went out to a ranch that is the setting for plenty of westerns; we toured down town; Erica made a delicious meal for us; we took of tour of historic Santa Fe (and this really is a historical place); we ended with a trip out to Santa Fe Canyon.

       

 

I thought they were wearing us out, turns out we were wearing them out as well! I am pretty sure they breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday morning, “Whew! We don’t have to cart them around today!”

Before we knew it, it was Wednesday evening and time to head out to Albuquerque to catch a plane back home. It was like two weeks rolled into one with out enough time for either. The scenery in Arizona and New Mexico is stunning. Santa Fe is a beautiful town. We saw and were on Historic Route 66. I thought that was so neat until we got into Santa Fe and saw The Old Santa Fe Trail! What a trip! Wow!

This is when I bought my hat. We were about to set out on a tour of historic Santa Fe

Now I’m back in Rock Hill and tonight, oh joy, I go back to work. Sorta feels like the time I was playing hide and seek as a youth in Hawaii. I was having a blast. It was dark and I was running all out around the side of the house and, bam! I ran into the clothesline pole!