Smashed Mirror and our Macgyver Move..

It's been a few days since I've updated. It seems I have more to do at home than I do sitting in a RV. :)

After our relaxing trip to Hot Springs, and man was it reeeelaxing, we traveled back to our home on wheels ready to hit the road. We were clean and raring to go. Lisa settled into the driver's seat and next thing I know she was cussing. Apparently, someone decided to clip our mirror driving by and smash it to little bits. What the $%@*?

Lisa being her resourceful self walked up and down the street entering each store to see if there was someone who could help us find a replacement for our mirror. After a few tries, she finally talked to a nice man who notified us that there was an AutoZone just a minute or two away. Gotta love helpful strangers! He even came out to check out the damage. I was too flustered to remember to take a picture.

With my help (laying on the back bed and telling her when it was safe to merge), Lisa navigated us to the AutoZone. A few minutes later, we had a brand new jerry-rigged mirror.

Here's the before:



Macgyver (aka Lisa):



The remains:



Macgyver putting on the final touch. A fancy blind spot mirror:



Aren't we (and by we I mean Lisa - I was just sitting in the passenger seat saying "What the HELL are we suppposed to do now?") resourceful!

Hot Springs the Pictures

Time warping time..back to the evening of Day 3 & Day 4.

Day 3 we had driven through the last half of of Tennessee and Arkansas. We had seen Nashville, Memphis, the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch, Patsy Cline rest stop, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park, and lots of McDonalds. At the end of a long day pulled into Hot Springs, Arkansas which also happened to be the boyhood home of William J. Clinton himself. Imagine that. Apparently Day 3 was dedicated to Bill.



This was the first night we actually camped in a Park in a real RV spot rather than a parking lot. We had to register first..



We were completely exhausted. It had been a very long day, we'd done a lot of driving and had spent a lot of time being windshield tourists. This is when the PSSSSSST incident occurred.

I wanted to get some pictures. I'm sure it's was a beautiful place. When we were outside walking the doggies and feeling like the world was swaying, I could hear the running of a creak. I imagine it was gorgeous. Unfortunately, it was dark.

The plan was to wake up the next morning and head to Bathhouse Row for a nice hot bath (the first in 4 days) and a massage. We deserved it! Lisa was so excited that she left the park without waking me up (or letting me take a picture). The first speed bump we hit though, I was up. Believe me, it is not easy to sleep in a bed that feels like a roller coaster.

Here's a shot of us leaving the park. Isn't is pretty?



The town of Hot Springs itself was very cute. It sort of reminded me of downtown Ellicott City, except nicer and with less narrow streets.



Statue..




We passed the Ozark Bathhouse. The bath house was built in 1922 and ceased operation in 1977.



We were headed to The Buckstaff though, which is the only continuously operational bathhouse on the Row and has been in service since 1912. Lisa was excited! So was I.



We signed up for the Premium package which includes a Bath, Sitz Bath, Steam, Hot Shower, Massage and Parrifin Wax treatment. Ahhhhhhh!

What a long, strange trip it's been!

We just walked through Lisa's doorstep. WOOFREAKINHOO! There were moments I thought we would never make it.

Although our live trip is over, our virtual trip is not. In fact, I've only gotten us halfway through the trip in pictures. The best are yet to come. So stay tuned for more.

We are bringing the animals in and then on to the hot tub!

The last 100 miles

And I am finally letting Jen drive again. Soooo ow its time to reflct and contemplate the many lessons learned on this trip. Here are just a few.

Driving an RV uphill into the wind pretty much SUCKS ASS!

You can in fact go to the used home lot and pick one out for yourself.

Between NoVa (Northern Virgina for those of you that don't know) and Barstow, Ca there are only 3 kinds of music. Country, Jesus crap, and Classic Rock (time stopped with 80's metal hair bands)

Why anyone with a clue has chosen to live on the left or right coast and not in the middle.

People in Little Rock are way too hung up on Bill

Even though we intended to get a pic of every state sign as we passed through, our sub-conscious got the better of both of us and we missed Texas. Hmmmmmm wonder why. Could it be that we blame Texas

Verizon wireless kicks AT&Ts butt when it comes to connection speed.

Despite the fact that Mazdas are invisible you can still smash them.

I can grow a NERD, but not so sure I can make him metro.



As long as she has an Internet connection my sister can entertain herself for hours and hours and hours on end.

There is a good reason I fly everywhere.

I am not sure that those of you I now that made this drive in 3 days were not wrong???

Its the side trips that really make the trip

There are places in this country that you have to drive hundreds of miles to get to Best Buy (OMG, I know)

How grateful I am for my Blackberry

Why Satellite radio exists

You can Skype while driving 70 mph

The best laid plans and blah blah blah

The hot tub awaits.......... but for now its time to log off and navigate the way home.

California!

We just passed over the California line and through the inspection station. We passed with flying colors.

William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park

Passing through Little Rock, we noticed a sign for the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Of course we had to drive by. Wouldn't you?

To get there, we had to drive down Clinton Ave.



We passed President Clinton Ave.



Saw the Presidential library.. I hopped out of the RV to snag some pictures in my socks. It was a long way from the road too! Unfortunately most of them came out badly because of the dark. I didn't realize there was a night snapshot on the camera until today :( Oh well. You can google it if you want to see what it looks like. LOL.



The Arkansas and US flags. I guess there wasn't a lot of wind.




Who knows what was inside. All I could see was a motorcycle. Cigar, maybe?



As with everything else, it was closed.



On to Hot Springs!

Hoover Dam?

We think we just passed the Hoover Dam but it's hard to tell in the dark. About 10 miles from Yucca, 333 from Los Angeles.

The sunrises this trip have been absolutely gorgeous. Driving west with the sun setting behind the mountains is a sight to see!

Odometer reads: 2159

Memphis - The Pictures

We hit Memphis at night. Bad for taking pictures, but it sure was pretty...



Outside the Tenessee Vistor's Center...



We saw Elvis, B.B. King, and a security guard..



Beale Street looked like it was hopping!



We passed by the Cotton Museum..



...and crossed the Mississippi and on into Arkansas.

Cat poop and Loretta Lynn

Let's do the time warp again.

So after Nashville, we rolled along to Memphis. On the way, we had a monumental moment. If you read the blog carefully you know what that was. Ready for it??

The cats pooped in the litter box! Yeeeeehhhaw. Pretty exciting huh? I'm sick enough that I took a picture. I mean look at the way it was tilted AND the RV was moving. Pretty impressive, I think.



Driving along we passed a sign for the Lorretta Lynn Dude Ranch, Flea Market, and Museum. Why not? We had missed a day of seeing silly stuff along the way so it seemed like a good idea. It wasn't too far off the beaten path.

Can you see the big sign right next to the Golden Arches? I should have counted how many McDonalds we saw along the way. A lot!



We passed the Lynn Family Flea Market...wonder if they had anything good.



We arrived. We saw the sign for the office...


The official Dude ranch sign....



but alas, like everything else. It was closed.




We did, however, visit the Patsy Cline - Chet Atkins Rest Area which was open.

San Diego next stop!

We've left the Grand Canyon National Park after a day of filled with wonder and amazement. Not that you didn't already know this but the Grand Canyon is incredible. Definitely worth the detour and helped to make this entire trip worth the ride. We have lots of beautiful pictures to share. I just need to get them uploaded.

We're about 600 miles from San Diego. It *almost* over...

-Jen

Grand Canyon!

We have arrived at the Grand Canyon and are now parked in a nice spot with electric and water. We even managed to open the park cable box, which we couldn't seem to figure out last night. Must have been the exhaustion.

Getting here was a little scary, and by scary I mean terrifying. If you had asked me if I thought it would be snowing here, I would have said no. I was wrong! Silly me, I thought it was always HOT at the Grand Canyon. I'm pretty sure Lisa kept this little fact from me so I would agree to come. At least we had a cute snowman already waiting for us in the front yard.

We're settling in and getting some dinner. Microwave pizza and beer (well wine for Lisa). The wi-fi is working, although slow and annoying but hey can't ask for the world.

I doubt I'll be venturing out in the snow tonight to check out the sky. I prefer the warmth and coziness of the RV. I mean, I did come here to get away from the cold after all.

Tomorrow we'll wake up, check out the sites and then head on to San Diego. We should arrive sometime in the evening. The hot tub is my prize and I'm going for it!

-Jen

Arizona, We have Arrived!!

So we have now passed into Arizona and I have handed the wheel over to Jen.

Mile 1691. Add the 500 o so from EC to Nashville and the beach will be waiting. Between the surf and the pool I think we may see JJ cheer up a bit. Not to mention the hot tub that will have Jen and I both smiling.

The wind is a bit better, nothing like trying to drive an RV into a 30 mile or so head wind uphill.

Plan for today Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, landing at the Grand Canyon to sleep.

And just in case anyone is wondering, Red Bull does not give you wings. I have tried and tried and I still end up having to drive.

I lied...

Now, we passed through Gallop, I was confused.

Trip reads 1659. We're moving!

Gallop, NM

Just passed through Gallop, NM. Trip reads 1584 and we're 95 miles from the Arizona State Line.

Wind is still kicking but we are trucking along. Our aircard has a signal for the moment and I'm working posting pics from our drive through Nashville and Memphis.

The scenery is beautiful, my only complaint...I thought New Mexico was supposed to be WARM?!?

-Jen

Nashville - The pictures

Since we lost 24 hours, time was of the essence. We didn't want to skip Nashville though, so we took a driving tour of downtown.

On our way we saw these trucks and despite the fact that it really looks like they are headed straight for us, they were not. They were actually being towed by another truck. Sure looks freaky though, and with our luck this trip, I wouldn't be surprised.



Taking the exit for Memphis!



Nashville in the distance..



The Frist



Sites...



Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum!





I stopped caring about embarrassing myself with horrible pics and hopped out. Note the greasy hair. Ugh.





Nashville Visitor Center



Broadway...Looks fun. If we had actually had the time to stop.



I found this amusing but shouldn't Church be on the right?



We chose Gay...



then headed for Memphis! Next time I visit Nashville, I really hope I can get out and enjoy the town.

-Jen

Bad food, junk, and lots of wind

Just stopped at Clines Corner (elevation 7200 feet) for bad food and perusing of junk. God, america loves their junk. Don't they?

The wind is kicking which is making driving a bit more difficult. Hoping it dies down soon. We have seen some tumbleweeds though, so there is that.

All the animals are doing well but boredom has definitely set in for them. Poor JJ has a pathetic look on his face. He's ready for adventure to com to an end.

376 miles to Flagstaff!

Grand Canyon here we come!

We've showered. Finally! I washed my hair 3 times and dam it feels good.

Back on 40 W, headed toward the Grand Canyon. Hopeing we pass through the Petrified Forest as we'll.

We feel refreshed, clean and ready to go!

Santa Rosa State Park

Welp we made it to Santa Rosa Lake State Park. Tom Tom said 7 hours from the Grand Canyon. I believe the tip said 1397 or something like that. We clocked a lot of miles today!

New Mexico

4 states in 1 day! we crossed over into New Mexico about 10 minutes ago. The speed limit is 75. Normally that would be a big woohoo but at the moment I'm wishing it was not. After the days events Im feeling a litle skittish and on edge and cruising at 75 in the dark is not helping.

We are going to drive a little bit longer and then call it a night. im ready to collapse into the bed but unlike Lisa will not be able to do that while we are still moving.

The trip reads 1294 which means we've managed 700 miles today. go us! According to Tom Tom we are 8 and a half hours from the Grand Canyon!

Day 3 - We have a new RV (the pictures)

We have a new RV. This one is a Tioga, instead of a Jamboree. I'm not sure that Tioga means anything significant, but Jamboree sounds more fun and at some point today, I was wishing I were back in the Transmission Corporation of America Parking lot sitting in the Jamboree.



Our stuff was moved, the animals were relocated. Everyone is looking comfortable and ready to go.



A side by side view of the two RV's, one headed for the back of a two truck and the other for California!



Lisa belting in for the long trip ahead..



JJ is feeling a little sad, maybe bored...either way he found comfort in Mommy's lap.



Moose helped me update my Facebook status, because that is important you know.



...and were on our way to Nashville!




-Jen