Additional thoughts

While international travel certainly is sexy, frankly, traveling in the US holds a certain appeal. The US has a first class highway system that is well-marked and has many well-appointed rest stops. When rest stops are not available, there are plenty of fast food restaurants and truck stops for use. There are 59 national parks which are part of 401 units (including US monuments) that are included in the jursidiction of the National Park System. They are great to go to, unless of course the government is in shutdown, which it was during our trip. The smart phone makes traveling so much easier, although obtaining maps and guide books from AAA was instrumental in planning and effecting our trip. While the Google-maps application was fairly reliable, it was good to be able to look at a map to reconfirm directions. The guide books help in finding hotels and give information about various attractions. There are great websites to give detail input about attractions and restaurants. While we focused on going to hotel chains to ensure consistency in our night stays, when it came to restaurants, we wanted to sample the local cuisine. We used the smart phone applications to find the best restaurants in the area we were in. We were never disappointed. While our trip was a little bit like the movie, "If its Tuesday, it must be Belgium," with us running from town to town, for us it was a good sampler of the south. We did get to go to Crystal Bridges Museum, The Clinton Library, Graceland, and The Grand Ole Opry, while offering us the opportunity to see family in Texas and Florida. I think that in the future we will probably focus on a smaller geographical area as during our trip we hit 11 states including New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. That is 20% of the country (yeah I am analytical). One thing that our travels did show us is that most cities have started to look alike. Similar malls and people are very similar. Obviously in the south, the homes are older and their economics and the Civil War have had a significant affect on their culture. It seems that while we live in the very transient west, the people of the south have many areas where they tend to stay in the same communities and seem to have more extended families. In Natchez, MS for example, it seemed like a lot of folks were related to each other and everyone seemed to know everyone. We feel blessed to know a few of our neighbors here in Mesa, which is 180 degrees from what we found in Natchez. We live in a great country where we are free to travel and have very few limits on us. Every once in awhile we have a chance to realize it. Thanks to all that helped us during our trip including Eric, Lindsey and Sydney, Stuart and Jane, Janet and Ralph and Marty in providing us a place to stay or keeping an eye on our place during our absence. Gary and Felice

The last few days

After our stay in Natchez, MS, we headed home. Any sane person would have looked at a trip of 1,450 miles and about 20 1/2 hours as one that should take three days of driving about 500 miles a day. We were motivated to get home a little quicker as there was nothing between Natchez and Mesa for us to do. Also, we were "fleeing" the potential hurricane in Louisiana/Mississippi and had some concern about the bad weather and tornados in the midwest which at the time were predicted to go as far south as Oklahoma. So we headed out of Mississippi and up through Louisiana to Shreveport. Louisiana is a very green and wet area. Lots of lakes all over. Then we hit Texas and Texas is a big state. We tried to get through Dallas/Fort Worth before the rush hour. We were successful at first, hitting Dallas around 3:30, but did get caught in a traffic jam in Fort Worth. Once through, we found the area of Texas west of of Dallas/Fort Worth on I-20 and I-10 to be pretty stark. Lots of dirt and signs indicating that "zero visibility may exist" on the road. We made it all the way to Midland, which was about 700 miles and we were on the road close to 12 hours. While exhausting, once there we knew we were in striking distance of Arizona and at a minimum able to get to Tucson, if not home to Mesa. We doubted getting to Mesa, but then a wonderful thing happened. The speed limit went up to 80 miles per hour. You see, Texas does have some redeeming qualities. The trip was 750 miles and took us about 9 hours, even though we hit some very strange traffic in El Paso at noon on a Saturday. We were also aided by the fact that we picked up two time zones so were were able to finish in daylight. Unfortunately, the prior day we traveled right into the sun and then had to fight through dusk. We were taken with the beauty of New Mexico, which is much like Arizona and enjoyed the sights although they were not particularly beautiful.

Travel statistics

As you may know, I am a very analytical person so there are certain aspects of the trip that I tracked closely. As Felice can attest to, all during each day's trip I calculated our average speed, how far away we were and what time we would arrive. What makes it particularly frustrating for her is that I usually provide a level of precision that she feels is unneccesary. For example, I may say that that we will be somewhere at 2:25 and she can't understand why I don't say 2:30. In deference to her, these statistics are rounded so that she can't claim I am being overally precise.
Total miles driven 5,600
Miles per gallon 23.50
Gallons of gas purchased 240
Average price per gallon of gas $3.19

Average speed traveled between cities 71 As I briefly mentioned, our travel plans included hotels that Felice would seek out a few hours before our arrival in a city. She would call many hotels, usually at least a half dozen in the city to get the best value. Our criteria was that we wanted a three star hotel, that had free wi-fi and served a free, warm breakfast. We didn't want to pay for parking and would not stay at any place that was offensive. A couple of times we actually made sure to see the room before we registered to stay in the hotel. We only stayed at chains as we felt that the consistency and national reputation would give us a better chance of not having a disappointing stay. A rundown of the hotels and the number of nights follows:
Best Western 3
Comfort Inn 2
Hyatt Place 1
Fairfield 2
Hampton Inn 1
La Quinta 1
For the most part, there is no corrrelation between the hotel name and its looks or service. It seems that hotels change name plates so often that something that was a Comfort Inn last year became a Fairfield Inn this year. In fact, that was the case with a hotel for us in Charleston. The Fairfield Inn by far was the nicest one we stayed in. Now there is one chain that we have had a different experience with and it was Hyatt Place. All of their hotels look the same and have the same layout. It seems like they are all situated in shopping centers. Perhaps it is because they are a new chain. Frankly, if I could stay at a Hyatt Place every night, I would love it. Our worst experience was at a Comfort Inn in Conyers, Georgia. There was nothing "wrong" with it, but it was tired. The bedspread and wallpaper was dated. The cigarette burn in the bedspread of our "non-smoking' room was tacky and there were very few electrical plugs. Most of the rooms had refrigerators, which was a nice touch. The breakfasts fell into two categories. Real eggs (and sausage)and carbohydrates and no eggs (and sausage) and carbohydrates. Since we are watching the carbohydrates, we didn't like the latter. Usually there were make your own waffles stations and fresh pastries. A few of the hotels had plastic sealed pastries and little real appetizing food. In fact, in Pensacola, the food was so bad, we didn't eat there, but walked over to a Denny's and actually paid for a breakfast. Can you imagine that? And Denny's was a big step up. The breakfast food highlight was definitely Hyatt Place. They had better eggs, offered omelets and it just felt good. Pricing of the hotels ran from a low of $45 in Tucamcari (price before taxes) to a high of $111 in Savannah. Price seems to be dictated not by nameplate but by the marketplace which considers number of hotels, market conditions and night of the week. For example, the only city we had trouble finding a room was Midland, Tx and there was only one hotel with a room for us. The cost was $105 and they really didn't seem to want to offer discounts. Seems like the oil boom has made housing in west-Texas scarce and hotels are used for oil-workers. Oh, the Hyatt Place in a Memphis suburb was $65. Here are some hotel statistics:
Average hotel price $85
Median price $89
Mode price $103
High price $111
Low price $45

Overall, the cost of our trip, which was 17 nights was very reasonable and best of all the trip provided Felice and I the opportunity to see if traveling by car would work. It did and I think this opens up a lot of different opportunities for future travel. We will keep you posted.

Riverboat and duck update

Above is a picture of a Mississippi River riverboat which I think is docked and actually being used as a gambling casino. Felice and I were mortified when we saw part of a television report that the Peabody ducks were being discontinued. I researched a little and found that this didn't pertain to the Memphis Peabody ducks, but the ones in Orlando at the Peabody Hotel. We breathed a sigh of relief.

Natchez

Today we left Pensacola on our way to Natchez, Mississippi for the antebellum home pilgramage. As we left, we realized that we are racing away from the gulf coast which is looking out for a tropical storm which might turn into a hurricane. We passed through Mobile, Biloxi, and Gulfport and the weather was just perfect. Okay, it was a little humid. While we are now still just a couple hours away from the gulf coast, we have been told by locals that this area has not really had significant adverse affects from hurricanes. We were attracted to Natchez as we were told that they have tours of private, antebellum homes and thought that it would be very interesting. We toured two houses and it was fascinating. This wasn't like going through the Hearst Castle, but more like going through a person's house and seeing all of their family's history for the last 150 years laid out in front of you. The tour was conducted by the owner of the home and one of the owner's asked us to send regards to the other since they are cousins. After the tours, we had dinner at a local restaurant called Pig Out and guess what we had? Yes, that is right, more ribs. It was very good. I could get very used to southern barbeque. We then drove around the city, which took about 15 minutes. I have attached a picture of the view of the bridge over the Mississippi River to Louisiana at sunset. It is beautiful.

Tomorrow we are heading north and west through Louisiana and Texas. That should take us further away from the potential hurricane. Today we had our first significant travel on a non-interstate roadway. While it was fine, with a little lower speed limit, it helped me recognize how wonderful our interstate roadway system is. It is incredible how many different interstates there are in the country. We have had so many choices of roads to go west as an example. We have already used I-10, I-20 and I40. It is funny that when we drove to Arizona in 1963 it seemed like there were very few alternatives and now it seems like there are a bunch. In this time of government shutdown, I for one am thankful for the interstate freeway system started during the Eisenhower administration. We are still looking for things to do between Dallas and Mesa. I had been considering Carlsbad Caverns, but it is shut down as it is a part of the National Park System. If anyone has a suggestion, please email us. Gary and Felice

Westward Ho!

Tuesday was a day to recharge our batteries. After another hour walk on the beach we restocked our supplies at the general store (okay, the Publix supermarket) and prepared our stuff for the trip back. We had a fantastic dinner with Uncle Stuart and Aunt Jane at the Malibu Beach restaurant and then took another walk on the beach to say goodbye to the warm Atlantic Ocean. This morning we headed up A1A, which is the equivalent to the Pacific Coast Highway, running next to the Atlantic Ocean. After about 65 miles we arrived in St. Augestine, the oldest city in the US. We did a self-guided tour, but unfortunately the fort, which is really the highlight of the city was closed because it is part of the national park system. Damn you Federal government shutdown. After a fun walk around the old-town section we headed west towards Pensacola, home of the Blue Angels, the United States Air Force acrobatic team. The trip was a very easy one, with very few trucks. We did hit some rain, but overall not a bad trip. Our total milage for the day was close to 500 miles with a cumulative of almost 3,750 miles. Pensacola is a pretty small city and unfortunately most of the restaurants are chains. We did find one called The Shrimp Basket, which was pretty casual, but the food was good. Of course we both had shrimp. The plan is to head to Natchez tomorrow and then make a beeline home to Arizona. Be well.

Daytona Beach

Today is our first day in Daytona Beach and it is great to be by the ocean. Felice and I took an hour walk on the beach and it was so peaceful. Walking in the surf was strenuous and made up for all of the exercise we have missed over the last two weeks. Later in the day we headed out to New Smyrna Beach and checked out the city. We wandered down to the beach and then to the stores. Usually we have very poor luck finding anything of interest at gift shops in beach towns, but for some reason, we found some great stuff. Our finds will save us a lot of time shopping once we return home. Tomorrow is another day in Daytona and then it is on the road again. While we are having a great time, we are looking forward to circling back to the west and gaining the three hours back that we lost coming east.

Tybee Beach (Savannah) and on to Daytona

We headed out this morning to Tybee Beach, which is about 30 miles east of Savannah. It is a nice little beach town right on the Atlantic Ocean. It has a historic fort, Fort Pulaski and a lighthouse that you can climb. Of course we didn't climb it. It seems like a great place to spend three or four days basking in the sun. Here is a shot of the beach looking south. Hopefully you can see the parasailer in the distance.

After our beach outing, Felice and I headed down to Wilbur-by-the-Sea (next to Daytona Beach) to visit with Uncle Stu and Aunt Jane. We look forward to spending some real quality time with our family as well as some quality time on the beach since we are a three block walk from the beach. We probably will hang around for a couple of days, so we likely won't post for a couple of days. Gary and Felice

Savannah

We left the nicest hotel room we have had so far to go to Savannah. This time Felice had her toughest task because there was an added criteria that she need to achieve in a hotel room and that was that the room had to have digital high definition television so that I could watch the University of Arizona football game. Tough task, but she accomplished it. Of course the first hotel we went to didn't have digital tv, but accross the street from the hotel we found a synagogue and an old one at that. Apparently Jews settled in Savannah in the 1700's just like in Charleston. Once we got to the appropriately accessorized hotel I breathed a sigh of relief. We then headed into Savannah. Mostly we wandered the downtown area and hung out by the bay. It is a beautiful area and the weather was wonderful. Felice wanted to make sure we had seafood while here so she asked a local where he would go for seafood. His reply, "I would go to Red Lobster." I guess we were on our own and wound up at Anna's. The meal was good and now it is back to the hotel for the game. On our way out of town, we found an interesting place, that I have pictured below.

Leaving Atlanta area

We headed for Charleston this morning and I decided that since we were passing by the city of Augusta, Georgia, site of The Masters, that we should stop and check it out. So we left the freeway and headed into the city. Although I thought it was a good idea, it turned out to not be very fruitful. The Augusta Country Club is a private club and frankly, we couldn't even find the private gate to gawk in. The best we were able to do was to drive on some of the blocks near (but not part of) the country club. The city is a pretty normal one, but I imagine the city must go crazy during The Masters. Then it was on to the freeway. During our travels, we have fallen into a pattern. Felice does a Google map for our next stop and gives me the directions as we approach each turn. Once she gets me started, she proceeds to research hotels and call seeking the best rates and amenities. Today, Felice had a particularly frustrating time of it since certain areas of the city of Charleston are very expensive. When it was time for my next turn, she was on the phone and I had to wing it. So I made the turn, but then got off the freeway and pulled over to consult with her once she was off the phone. It turned out that my stopping place was a gas station with gas priced at $2.999 per gallon. I just couldn't pass that up eventhough I only needed half a tank. We got started again and got to the hotel. Once we relaxed, we dove into the downtown core of Charleston and checked out the city. We walked 5 miles today (flashback to NYC) and found the city to be charming. I thank Felice for allowing me to use an hour of our walking to be on a board meeting/conference call. After some window shopping, we had a nice dinner at Sticky Fingers Rib Restaurant where we had a rib sampler of 4 different styles of ribs. They were St. Louis Rub, Sweet Carolina, Kentucky Bourbon and Original Carolina. We were stuffed, but felt like we walked off the dinner before dinner. On the way back to the car, we found an old (I mean old)reform synagogue founded in approximately 1792. Thought about attending Friday night services, but we were not exactly attired appropriately (shorts and short sleeve shirts) plus we would have had to wait an hour for the service to begin. On the way back to the car we found a cute little art gallery specializing in local artists. As I walked in I immediately saw the work I wanted. Turned out that we liked it so much, we bought all three of the artist's abstract oil paintings on canvas. Because we expressed an interest in all three, the proprietor offered us a package deal. Like Felice's dad used to say, "If one is good, three is better." We are back in the hotel, planning our time in Savannah tomorrow. We have surpassed 2,500 miles so far and it is conceivable we could get to 6,000 miles before we return.

Green room at the Opry

While on our tour, we were in the green room and I found a picture of Kristin Chenoweth during her 2011 premiere at the Opry. I thought I would share it as Kristin has been a favorite of ours from her Broadway performances as well as television.

I thought Lauren might enjoy seeing her, especially at that venue.

Atlanta

Onward to Atlanta with a first stop at the World of Coke. Very interesting cross between an amusement park and an infomercial for Coke. Really enjoyed it. They even have a 4D ride, kind of like Captain EO at Disneyland. Here I am pictured in front of the vault where they store the Coke secret formula.

After the World of Coke it was on to a local downtown restaurant called Stats. We had a very nice meal and then it was off to Atlanta Olympic Centennial Park. Very cool space. We are spending the night outside of Atlanta in Conyers, Georgia and will be on to Charleston, SC tomorrow. A couple of observations. Bumper-to-bumper traffic in downtown Atlanta at 7:30 in the evening. Crazy, and crazy drivers. With a speed limit of 55 mph, once the freeway opens up, certain drivers travel at very fast speeds, like 90 mph. Some of those were truck drivers. Traveling between cities is an interesting challenge as there are a lot of semi-trucks driving between the cities. You have to worry about trucks pulling out at any moment and impeding your progress. Have to be on your toes at all times. It made the 300 miles driven today a bit difficult, but we got here in one piece. Be well and hope to post from the eastern shore very soon.

Nashville

The Grand Ole Opry in Music City, Nashville is the Mecca of country music. Although Opryland was closed down by the Gaylord Corporation, the Grand Ole Opry lives and thrives as we found out on our tour today. Although we are not fans of country music, the tour was interesting and a worthwhile stop. I have enclosed a picture of the stage and I am sure that if we were afficianados, we would have been moved when we stood on it, especially the grail of the wooden circle take from the Ryman Theater.

By the way, when we purchased tickets we got to use a senior citizen discount (over 55 years of age) for the first time for us. So this was a moment for us. Speaking of moments, when Felice and I were at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis looking at the ducks, Felice had a discussion with the hotel historian. He explained to her that people come from far and wide to see the duck procession so they can check another item off their bucket list. Somehow I just don't think I see watching ducks march in a southern hotel an item worthy of my bucket list.

In front of Room 306

Picture in front of Room 306, the assassination site.

Lorraine Motel

Here is the sign at the Lorraine Motel.

Ducks at the Peabody Hotel

Here are the ducks!

Memphis and on to Nashville

We started our day at Graceland. I kept thinking of the Paul Simon song, "Graceland" as we drove there, but as soon as we arrived that tune left my head as all of the Elvis Presley songs were playing throughout the facilities. It is really an amazing place and he was an incredible entertainer. Besides a tour of the mansion and all of the attached properties, we got to see his private jet. Pretty cool. I have provided a picture from Graceland of Felice after our visit. From there we went to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, also in Memphis. The Museum was focused about half on civil rights history and the other half on the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he was shot at the Lorraine Motel. Like the Texas Book Depository, the museum included the boarding house from which MLK was shot. It was spooky to stand in the area with James Earl Ray fired the rifle and then go across the street and stand where MLK was when he was shot. There was a lot of information about the murder and the investigation that followed. That is a place that will stick with me for quite awhile. We then went to Charles Vergos' Rendezvous which is renowned for ribs. The bad news was that they didn't open for meals until 4:30, but the good news was that they would serve you a plate of ribs pretty much any time of the day. They were very good and Felice purchased the rib rub and the sauce so she can try to recreate them back in Mesa. We walked to Beale Street and, while it was midday and there was not a lot of music or people inbibing, there was enough to get a feel for the place. We did a little shopping at A. Schwabs dry goods store. Very cool place. On our way back to the car, we stopped at the Peabody Hotel so Felice could see the famous ducks. Every day at 11:00 AM the ducks are walked from a room in the hotel to the hotel fountain. They then walk back to the room at 5:00 PM and tourists line up 5 deep to see it. While we didn't stay to see the procession, Felice took some pictures of the ducks to share. We then headed to Nashville and had dinner at a family restaurant called Dalts. Love to support locally owned places and this one has been around for 30+ years. It was pretty good and hit the spot. We will see Nashville and beyond tomorrow. Gary and Felice

Our luggage

So here is a picutre of our luggage and all of our other affects. Way too much.

Little Rock

Today we spent the day in Little Rock at the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. It took us down memory lane of the late 90's and we even found a picture that included our friend Steve Rabinowitz during one of Clinton's campaigns. I heartily recommend going their if you are near Little Rock. We received a few comments requesting more pictures of Sydney. So here is another one.

After our time at the Museum we headed to Memphis where we are staying in Germantown, a town of 27,000. We went to a rib restaurant recommended by the front desk clerk, Germantown Commissary. They were authentic and very good. Tomorrow we will explore Memphis proper and see what we can squeeze into a day. We also have a picture of the luggage and personal effects that we bring into the hotel each night. I think we overpacked. I will provide the picture in the next blog entry.

Gary and Felice

We spent a lovely extended weekend with Lindsey, Eric and Sydney in their new home in Plano. The home is just beautiful and provides them plenty of space as they grow their family. The neighborhood is great and there are lakes around the property. I had a chance to walk their dog Sammie last night and she had a great time trying to chase all of the little bunny rabbits in the area. Most of the weekend was spent just hanging out, but we had the chance to babysit for Sydney on Friday afternoon and Saturday night. She is just adorable and it hearkens me back to a comment a friend made, "The only thing in this world that isn't overrated is being a grandparent." We love being grandparents and look forward to watching Sydney grow. At this point, she is talking up a storm, although the words aren't ones we are familiar with. This morning, we left Plano early and headed through Oklahoma into Arkansas. We figured since we were in the area and on our way to Tennessee, we might as well stop at Crystal Bridges Museum, the Museum founded by the Walton heiress. It was just a little out of our way, say 200 extra miles of driving which took about 4 hours. I am not sure that the trip was worth the effort, but it is a very nice museum. I am not sure that I would call it world class, but it's certainly a museum that any city would be proud to have. In fact, in most cities in the US, it likely would be the lead museum in the city. The surroundings and the buildings are very attractive. Not as spectacular as the Getty Museum, but very nice. After a couple hours there, we headed to Little Rock. Along the way, we saw lots of green, green areas. We also saw a lot of cattle. Many herds of black cattle and many herds of white cattle, but never intermixed. I am way too tired to research why there were no intermixed herds. After arriving at the hotel and unloading all of our stuff (we brought way too much stuff), We headed to a local bar/restaurant downtown called the Whiskey Bar. No whiskey for us, but a little food. We traveled 580 miles today and are over 1,500 miles so far. It's on to Tennessee tomorrow after some Little Rock touring. Be well, Gary and Felice

Friday's Picture

Thursday's Picture

We are in Dallas (Plano)

First, I wanted to thank everyone who is helping make this trip possible including the folks keeping an eye on the house. It is a great tag team effort and we really appreciate it. Yesterday we left Tucamcari for the next leg into Texas. When we were planning the trip, we realized that there are two routes to get to Dallas, a northern route and a southern route. Since they both take about the same amount of time, and the predominance of the southern route is on I-10, a freeway we are very familiar with, we decided to take the road less travelled (by us). Well, the northern route starts very hilly, getting up to over 6,300 feet above sea level. Also, because of the storms in northern New Mexico and Texas, we again hit a blinding rainstorm, where the water accumulation was such that hydroplaning was a real concern. At one point it appeared that we were heading right into a black wall, but fortunately the pouring rain was short-lived. The sights in New Mexico were spectacular. Seems a lot like northern Arizona, but probably worthy of a special trip some day. Still hit a lot of construction on I-40, but traffic was light so early in the morning. Once in Texas, we came to the famous Amarillo, where we had a chance to stop for a free 72 ounce steak at the Big Texan, www.bigtexan.com, but we thought better of it. Once through Amarillo, we hit the backroads. Eventhough we were on a 75 mph, 4 lane road, every ten minutes or so, we hit a small town. This required a progressive slowdown from 75 to 70 to 65 to 55 to 40 and eventually 30. Most towns had no stoplight, just a flashing caution signal or two. Every once in a while we hit a big city of say 6,000 and there was actually a stop light or two. We stopped in the McDonald's parking lot in Childress, the biggest city along the way, and after a restroom break, had a quick lunch of turkey and cheese from our cooler. Then it was back to the road. After almost 500 miles, we were at Eric, Lindsey and Sydney's new house in Plano. The house is in a beautiful area of Plano and is a lovely 2-level with 5 bedrooms. We get to share the top floor with Sydney, which is quite a pleasure. I have attached a Thursday night picture and a Friday morning picture. Lindsey and Eric have brought out wonderful clothing for Syd, including Thursday's "My auntie rocks" shirt and Friday's "Grandpa's sweetheart" one-sie in Wildcat red. I am afraid that we will never get to the next leg of the trip as Felice really seems to like this grandparenting thing. Me too. Our plan is to hang out here in Plano for the weekend and head out Monday morning after rush hour. I guess we have a couple of days to decide where to head to. Let us know if you have any ideas... Gary and Felice

Our next adventure

I know that the blog is called Around NYC in 60 Days, but now we are going to rename it, Around NYC in 60 Days and Beyond. Yes, Felice and I are embarking on another adventure. Just like our experience in NYC, this one has an outline of a plan, but most of it is that we are going to figure it out as we go along. Felice and I last took a major car trip almost 35 years ago as with her travel agency background and a shortage of time, air travel was our primary mode of vacationing. Now that we have a little more time, we decided to see the world (or at least North America) by car. So our toe in the water in automobile travel is a planned three week trip in the south. Of course our first stop will be Dallas (actually Plano) to see our granddaughter Sydney, who is just over 6 months old. Oh and I guess we will see Eric and Lindsey too. From there it will be to points east with at least a planned stop in Daytona to see Uncle Stuart and Aunt Jane. Along the way (and back) we are unsure about where to go, but have been told about cities like Natchez, Nashville, Memphis, Bentonville, Panama City, Savannah, Charleston, Atlanta, etc. We will see, but if you have any cities between Mesa and Florida and below the Mason-Dixon line, please let us know. Today was day 1. We filled up the car with our luggage (and a bunch of Eric's stuff that was left in the house) and headed north through Payson and up to I-40. Along the way, we saw energy generating windmills that hunormous. Driving the backroads of Arizona is beautiful and it was great to be in weather that was under 90 degrees. Once we got on I-40, it was 75 miles per hour and zoom, zoom. Well, not exactly as once in New Mexico, every 10 to 20 miles, the road was cut down to one lane as they were paving the second lane. There were a lot of trucks to dodge the entire time on I-40. Just about 20 miles west of Albuquerque, we hit a blinding rainstorm, probably remnants of what hit Colorado. This required our full attention, but thankfully it lasted only 15 minutes. New Mexico is spectacular, with beautiful colors and mesa after mesa. We decided to bed down in Tucumcari after 590 miles of driving. Tommorow will be on to Plano. So far we have held up well, and we just might enjoy this driving thing. More to come. Gary and Felice