We Made it to San Diego

This past week took us from the desert of Arizona to the coast of CA. Along the way we had some fun experiences..  The Grand Canyon was one, a big check off on the Bucket list.  We took a detour down through Yuma because 120+ degrees through the Joshua Tree NP was not an option and held on with bated breath as our car crawled along, up and down, up and up and up in the mountains nearly over heating.  Well we made it to YUMA only to endure 124 degrees in the parking lot of their water park.   We looked up the temps in San Diego and decided the 70's were where we wanted to be!!

The Grand Canyon:  what is there to say that has not already been said? You simply have to be there in order to  appreciate how "Grand" it is. From my perspective it felt like being a dot in one of those micro painting and therefore was impossible for me to capture by camera the whole landscape.  I did manage to capture snippets, which we're happy with.

Beyond overwhelmed "not" he was just tired and hungry this morning.

  Depending on the light and shadows the landscape was never the same. Jackie and I were a bit overwhelmed to say the least and as for Alexander I think he was beyond overwhelmed and had not much to say at the time.  He simply rolled along with what ever we did/said. If we can't put it into perspective how can we expect him to.

One  highlight took place at the end of day driving back to our hotel . I spotted several cars parked off the road with many people pointing cameras at one of those wild life mentioned in our brochure. I insisted that Jackie to make a U turn:  "we have to take some pictures" I yelled; of course this was at the end of the day and I had already taken a million pics by then so by now she was not feeling the love but did it and it was worth it. Here are some images of this animal standing tall and majestic, very much at home and comfortable being "shot" at by some many humans.  Quite unreal. We were thrilled to have caught the moment on film.

The next morning we visited a place call BEARIZONA.   We had seen the billboard advertising it two days earlier on the way to Williams, AZ.  Now being from the northeast my first reaction was "what sort of  red- neck place would call itself Bearizona"? It reeked "tourist trap".  After some handi-dandi internet research I learned later that it was a  drive through "open concept" zoo: a sort of safari park were the bears roam "freely" and actually come up to the cars.  So we had to go and see for our- selves:  we saw bears, bison, and some wild cats. ( Jackie here:   I'm not fond of traditional zoos, for the most part, and I'm not sure everyone was happy here but they did have many acres to hang out in and it was an up close encounter.  We stayed for a well done and informative presentation about predatory birds. I considered this the park's redemption.   We learned that the park is a non -profit organization which rescues and rehabilitates many indigenous wildlife with the intent of returning them to their natural habitat, if at all possible.)  Some of the pictures are fuzzy because it was a requirement to keep our windows up while rolling pass the bears. Really at no time did we feel unsafe and luckily no bear crawled over our hood.

One Does Not Go to Gallup, NM for the FOOD

As suggested by one of the reviewers from TripAdvisor, I downloaded a few apps that I had chosen for this cross country road trip: Google Maps (even though I have a GPS), Road Trippers, Priceline, Gas Buddy and TripAdvisor. Except for Road Tripper all of them have worked great, even with their strength and weakness ebbing and flowing.  

On our way from Taos, NM to Williams, AZ,  a 486 mile trip we decided we would stop in Gallup, NM as it looked like the halfway point. I surf the net for a place to stay and a place to eat while Jackie does the driving. Let me tell you surfing the net can be quite challenging.  Every town that may have a cell phone tower can be about 50 miles apart, at any time, which is very frustrating but I manage. 

We arrived late and hungry and true to it's name Gallup felt like a city where the population just kept on "Galluping" through and we weren't going to be any different.

We narrowed our restaurant for the night to two  choices and asked at the front desk of our hotel which to chose. We went to a place call Coal Street Pub on the Historic RT 66.  It was full of memorabilia on the walls and the floor. It looked like a cross between the Hard Rock Cafe and a Grunge hang out.  There was a little something for everybody: for me the Elton John record and old photographs; for Jackie the buck saw and six guns (she use to have one as a kid, thank god she does not anymore)

and for Alexander it was the mechanical typewriter.  He really got a kick out of those moving keys and seeing them make an imprint on paper.

During dinner, an Asian family was sitting across from us, add to  that our family and we made a very 'queer' sight in Gallup with it's mostly Mexican Americans and Indigenous Peoples; but here they were and there we were. They had two boys approximately the age of Alexander and both, it seems, had been well trained on the piano, attested to by their performance on the one that was available in the pub. Not to be outdone by anyone, Alexander was eager to show off his skill on the piano asking us if he could go up and play Mary had a little a lamb. "No way" we said but he was persistent " I know how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb". After many pleas we were worn down and much too tired to resist, however as a redirect I said  "why don't you play the conga drum, as you've had much practice in Puerto Rico".  Below is a snippet of that performance,  unfortunately I ran out of video before he finished. When he was done the patrons in the pub started clapping.  He still did not feel that he really measured up to those kids performance and could use some positive re-enforcement.   I hope you are able to watch this video but if not, and you are interested, I can email it to you individually. Perhaps you could give him a call and let him know how great he sounds.

A little magic happen last weekend

Wishes come and wishes go.  As adults, we (meaning I) take those wishes for granted. I tend to play it off because, let's face it, we don't want to let our loved ones down when they do make a wish and it doesn't come true. 
Well, I was proven wrong this past weekend and could not be happier for it.
On Thursday, June 16 th we drove to San Antonio, Tx.  We did the touristy thing and walked the "river walk", had dinner and later visited the Alamo.  It was HOT!!!  We felt lucky for being able to bring along our dog Molly and in most places that we went  she was welcomed;  except for the Alamo.  Jackie took Alexander for the tour while I waited outside with Molly; when they came out Alexander insisted I go in to see the rest of the museum with him. We went in, and in the middle of the courtyard was a wishing well.  I had to explain to him the mythology of the well and gave him a penny; being Alexander, he made his wish out loud:  "I wish I could fly".   Well I said, being the practical, protective parent,  "you can't fly without an airplane, but maybe someday".
That weekendb, Jackie planned, for my birthday,

Balloon Glow

A mother and son moment

Lucky Charm

Alexander in Blue hooded sweater in Awe of the fire

WOW

That fire keeps me warm 

something like a 120k BTU every he fires that thing

That poor guy it's his job to keep the balloon
steady.

life is good.

as well as for Fathers Day, for us to observe the Balloon Festival at Angel Fire, NM.   We arrived Saturday and after dinner attended the ceremonial night- lighting of the Balloons (called Balloon Glow). It was spectacular to see but avoiding the prairie dog holes was a challenge.   The next event was at 7:00  the next morning and we surely were not going to miss that.   Up at 5:30am with sleepy eyes, having changed time zones recently, we head to the field.   Once there we met some people whom Alexander chatted with, but they were working hard to set up and obviously needed another couple of hands so I offered to help and in between helping they hinted that we may be able to go up. Yippee!!!! I texted Jackie, who was sitting in the car, to come out and take some pics while we worked:  being able to "fly" was  like a dream (or a wish) come true.
As expected, Alexander did get the chance.   Unfortunately, there was only room and time for two guests plus the pilot to lift off at a time.  One father who was helping allowed his son to go first and Alexander went next.
Later on, after the work of descending and packing up this huge balloon,  a small ceremony was held celebrating Man's first flight.   The pilot told a story of the first flight which happened somewhere in France in 1837; that's when the magic happened. Alexander and the other boy were both "christened" for having taken part in a tradition of the first man who left the earth without wings. Champagne was passed around (apple juice for the kids) and another little story told; then the kids got down on their knees for the "christening". As part of the ceremony the pilot said and I will try to put it as best as I can remember:
"for having taken your first flight without wings or hands now you must drink without hands".
It wasn't until the next morning that I realized how magical this encounter was and I wanted to share it with all of you (including myself) before I forget it...

                                                       

Alexander the beautiful Mariposa,  San Antonio

Here I am and Alexander below helping out with the balloon

Getting ready for take off

up up and away

up in the air 

getting ready to land

A successful landing

Getting to Ocala

We left our friends in Milford, NJ on Tuesday, June 7th thinking that we could drive 12 hrs to Savannah, GA  in one attempt.......ya right.   We didn't even make it to SC due to lots of traffic backups.  We had to make a stop in NC at midnight to catch some zzzzzzz and proceed to Savannah the next day, arriving in time to do some sightseeing,   For anyone who hasn't had a chance to visit that city:  it is lovely, and very walk-able.  We visited a tourist trap for dinner, called the Pirates House restaurant, with a great outcome:  good food, southern style, and fun interactions.    We walked along the river after dinner and enjoyed the warm evening.  

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River Walk in Savanah

Alexander helping with the Cargo Tray as we load up on our to Savannah (not)

On our way with Alexander entertaining himself

Taking a peaceful break, after being on the road for several hours,  in a beautiful park in Savannah........look at that Magnolia!!

Alexander posing with pirate gear in Pirate House restaurant with Anne Bonny, the famous female pirate

River Walk in Savanah after supper

 

A Long day at the Silver Spring water park Friday June 10

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