Going...Going......Gundel

Mr D'z Route 66 Diner.  And a shadow. Today was a long day.  From Amarillo all the way to Kingman, AZ.  We gained two time zones by crossing two state lines on the way back (because AZ is MST instead of MDT - it aligns with PDT).  So we had two time jumps today.  They made a long day feel much shorter.  I think we drove for 12 hours, but it felt like much less - we arrived at around 5:30, but for us it's still 7:30.  I think the two-day drive from MO is doable, but painful.  If we had two full days, we could pull it off.  If we tried it today, we have ended up back in San Jose at 1AM.  We decided that was not the best idea, and we stopped. We took some time to visit an old Route 66 diner.  It was fun.  Our first trip through Kingman on the way out was short, and we didn't see much.  I found it rather underwhelming.  But this second look through the town showed us that there was a lot more to this place than we originally thought.  A lot more history, and a lot more b

God gave us a fantastic trip. He really did. Even so, it was hard to say goodbye and turn the car west. But here we are, on the road. The goal is to make it to Amarillo by bedtime. We're a couple hours out. Yesterday was a hot one, but a good one. After sleeping in for a bit, we drove about an hour to Eureka Springs. Eureka Springs is a quirky little town in Arkansas with lots of little shops. My sweet husband waited patiently while Sherry and I window shopped and sometimes walked into a store (mostly to feel the cool air conditioning). One of the things I love about states like Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas is that you can find "Christian" merchandise all over the place. Items with Bible verses or hymns on them. Those are hard to find in California. Here are a few pictures from the Eureka Springs fun. On the way out of Eureka Springs, we stopped at Bombadil's Cafe. Aaron was excited about the "second breakfast" options, a

Our stay in Missouri is coming to an end.  Seems like we just got here, but we're starting to plan out how we're going to get home.  We've never really had to do that before because we've always flown - it was planned out for us.  I considered taking us the northern route through Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada - but that's two to three hours longer than the southern route on 40.  I'm also afraid of any 4th of July traffic we might run into outside of Tahoe. So we're heading back on 40 tomorrow.  I considered doing it in two days - which is possible - but I figured it was probably better to leave at a reasonable hour on Friday and try to make it through most of Oklahoma and into Texas.  That will put us in a much better position to make some distance on Saturday and Sunday. It's been a good trip.  We spent Tuesday in Silver Dollar City.  It was the first time I've been to the park and not really been on any of the larger roller coasters.  I think there

It was an early morning! The Gundels went fishing today. I rolled myself out of bed before the sun rose and hopped into the car with Aaron. We drove to Roaring River State Park. Barry (Aaron's dad) has enough fishing gear for the four of us. The last (and only other) time I've been fishing was three years ago, on my first trip to Missouri. I did not catch any fish then... and did not catch any today either. Boo! Lots of bites, but the hard part for me is tugging the pole to "hook" those little suckers. No trout for me today. However, Aaron caught his limit of four! I'm a proud wife. Sherry (Aaron's mom) makes delicious breakfasts. Every day. I now understand why Aaron likes breakfast so much. So it was exciting to drive home for breakfast after our fishing adventure. After enjoying our meal, especially the bacon, the hubs and I headed out to Bentonville, Arkansas. The Gundels live in very  southwest Missouri. Arkansas is less than ten miles away. On the

Well, we're here.  After yesterday's drive through the howling wind and rain, we made it to Missouri.  I haven't needed to drive in that kind of weather for almost a decade.  Fortunately, it wasn't bad enough to blow us  off  the road, but it did blow us  around  on the road.  So we had to slow down quite a bit.  It's strange to think that in a decade and a half of living in California, I haven't seen a single storm like that.  There have been a couple of storms, granted - but they've been pretty brief and small.  Never anything on the scale that you get in the middle of the country.  We hit it almost as soon as we crossed the Oklahoma line.  Welcome to Oklahoma We drove into Oklahoma City with it roaring all around us and stopped to have coffee with Allyssa's cousin Matt and his family.  Good coffee and company while the storm passed by and headed off to the east.  And then we headed east toward Fort Smith.  For the most part, that drive was unev

Last night we stayed in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I'm really thankful for reviews on google maps to tell us which places are good stays. Phew! Not much to tell about the stop here. This morning we got an early enough start and started cruisin'. I'm listening to a Nicholas Sparks audio book that Aaron can tolerate. Aaron is educating me as we also listen to "The Expanse" books. The story is enjoyable for me a little bit at a time. Around Texas, the storm hit. Now, I'm a California girl. Any storm is a BIG storm. I was driving when we met the storm front, but my driving did not last long. With every streak of lightning through the sky, I found myself flinching. Not exactly safe driving posture. Thankfully, Aaron took over and drove like a pro. While I closed my eyes and tried to not to see the flashes of lightning, Aaron sang to me. Granted, he sang Garth Brooks', "The Thunder Rolls". Not the most comforting tune. But it was sweet and actual

Another day on the books.  The day was relatively uneventful.  I already mentioned part of our initial journey to Needles.  I forgot to note that on our way out of Barstow to Needles, something in Allyssa's suitcase stabbed the heck out of my finger.  Gashed it, even.  Later, I come to find out there was a literal sewing needle sticking out of her suitcase.  Going to Needles -  get stabbed by sewing needle on the way.  Interesting coincidence. There was only one accident on the road today, and we were nowhere near when it happened.  It was just outside of Flagstaff, and must have been a semi or something.  By the time we got to it, it had cleared - but it mangled traffic and slowed us down by something like 40 minutes.  Allyssa drove most of the way through Arizona. Albuquerque was beautiful.  It's definitely way more scenic approaching from the west, I think.  I wish we could have stopped, but we had a date with Tucumcari. At about 8:30, something happened just outsi

Only five state lines to go!

It's been 14 years since I rode through Needles in a beat up Ford Probe with a puff of blue smoke.  That smoke was my air conditioner - dying - in the heart of summer in the middle of the Mojave.  I was 19 and making my way to Los Angeles, running away from one life toward another. I don't think I ever thought that I would make a return trip on that same route.  I've delineated the horrors of Interstate 40 for the better part of a decade, always bashing it while extolling the wonders of 8/10 Interstates in southern CA/AZ/NM.  (I still stand by that.)  But more than that, I never thought I'd actually make the drive again - I always felt like it was a trip meant to be taken in one direction.  Either you're going to CA with your life in boxes - or you're leaving.  It's a semi-permanent kind of thing. But here I am, 14 years later, with a wife who loves to road trip and hates to fly.  I must admit that even though I'm not fond of 40 - I do love to road t

Today we hit the road! The hubs worked half the day, while I got last minute items together. At noon, we picked up the car and drove away from home, eager to get out on the open road. Of course, Voyager Craft Coffee was the first priority. Voyager is our favorite coffee shop in the Bay Area. And what an appropriate name for our current circumstances! We got our drinks, then headed for the "Starbucks of Destiny". You might be thinking  Didn't you just get coffee? I hope you're not that tired yet! Hear me out. The "Starbucks of Destiny" is a must-do whenever the Gundels drive south. Aaron gave it its name because this location has been  very  important to us. We stop there on Disneyland trips (including the surprise Disney anniversary trip when Aaron drove through the Starbucks of Destiny with a blindfolded wife), Monterey trips, and, most notably, we stopped there the day Aaron proposed. When going through Gilroy, you stop at the "Starbucks of Des

It's true. I'm not a fan of flying. So when my hubs said, "I'm kinda sad not to be going home this summer", the idea lightbulb flashed like crazy over my 'teacher-with-the-summer-off' head.  "Let's go! Let's drive to Missouri this summer!" And it went from there. After looking at our calendars... over and over and over ... we found the one pocket of time that will work. And commit to it.  So... a road trip it is! The only other time I've done such a drive was in 2001. I was twelve years old. The seven Bosts crammed into our mini-van and road-tripped to Norman,Oklahoma for Christmas. While I often look back on the past with ultra-rose colored glasses, I  know  it was a great trip! I filled up almost an entire journal in the two weeks there and back. Reaching "new" states was exciting, playing Catch Phrase in the backseat was hilarious, even singing with my younger siblings was a blast. After that drive, I was hook

We're on the move again!  In just a couple of days, we'll be hitting the road to Missouri.  It'll be a three-day trip.  I've made the trip once before from Missouri to California direction, but I've never actually done the reverse.  It's been almost a decade and a half since I made that trip.  My bride isn't a fan of flying, so we decided (rather spur of the moment) to try the drive.  So in about a week's time, we've organized the trip.  Last time I did this, I was driving to Los Angeles.  San Jose seems so much further, though.  LA is about 23 hours out.  San Jose is 28.  Originally, we thought we'd do this in two days - but those are two hard days.  Now we're thinking about expanding that to 3.  On the first day, we're just going to get the car and focus on a short jaunt to Barstow.  That will put us in a much more relaxed position for the two long days of driving - which should be about ten or so hours a piece.  Just like two trips