Day 7 - Harrisonville, Missouri

My cousins Doug and Vonda

Today was a beautiful drive through Oklahoma, Kansas,
and finally, Missouri.
Everything is green and pretty
and reminds me a lot of home.

I arrived at my cousin's house around noon.
It was SO good to see her.
We had a great visit last night with my Sissy (my mother's sister!)
I had to wear a mask into the facility so when I got in there,
I got close to her and said,
"Do you know who this is?" 
She looked into my eyes and I dropped my mask
and she said,
"Yes! The little SH*T that caused me so much trouble!"

We laughed so hard at stories about our childhood
and all the trouble we got into.
She remembered every story.
It sure was good to spend some time with her.
We'll go again tonight for what will probably be our last visit,
which makes me sad. 

After, they took me to have Mexican food for dinner.

SOOOOoooooo good!

Today we went to my cousin, Doug's house.
He has a beautiful garden! 
He has peaches, pears, grapes, tomatoes, watermelon,
squash, pumpkins, canteloupes, potatoes and jalepeños.
It made me want to be home to get my garden going!
He explained to me how to put in a drip irrigation system
so I'm going to do that once I'm home.
I have better photos but I'm having trouble uploading them.

We came home and my cousin Perry visited. 

I'm so upset that I didn't get a photo of us together. 

Perry is a pastor.

I looked at the weather this morning
and there was a storm blowing in
(!!!)
so I thought I'd stay here an extra night.
But NOW it's saying tomorrow will be clear
so I'm going to head on to Rob's.
It will take 2.5 days to get there.
I'm hoping I can get ahead of the storm.

I'll tell you, again,
I'm feeling I bit off more than I could chew this trip.
I didn't realize how hard Covid had hit me. 

When the doctor said I had Long Covid,
he wasn't kidding.

I'm just exhausted.

So I've made a decision to cut my trip short

and head home after visiting Rob.

I'm not sure WHICH route I'll take. 

I see flood warnings in Nauvoo

which is where I was headed,

so honestly, I'll just go the safest way I can find

and get myself back home.

I'll be happy to be safe and sound,

and working in my garden.

I'm not sorry I came because this will probably be

the last time I see my aunt.

I'm hoping Vonda will ride the train out in the summer to visit.

But it's been worth the drive

and I'm happy I did it.

On the road again tomorrow,

Love,

Annie

Day 6 - Tulsa, OK

I had a good night's sleep in Amarillo.

This morning, I stopped in Clinton, Oklahoma 

to see the Route 66 Museum.

This will be a very photo heavy post.

The museum was awesome and it sure brought back

a lot of memories,

both my own, and stories my Ma and Pa (grandparents)

told me about their trips out here during the dustbowl.

I drove about 6 hours again. 

These freeways out here in Texas and Oklahoma

are CRAzY!

The speed limits range from 75 to 80 mph.

But the roads are good and gas is cheap again.

I paid $3.15/gallon last stop.

I'm sleeping at the Tulsa, Oklahoma Elks tonight.

$30

Tomorrow I have a short 3 hour trip to Vonda's,

where I'll figure out the rest of my trip.

So for now, 

enjoy the photos.

You can click on them to make them bigger.

Love,

Annie

Night 5 - Amarillo, Texas!

Beautiful Sunrise Gallup, NM

 Whoah! 

I feel like I'm flying.

You know what they say about the best laid plans - good thing I'm willing to be flexible!

So.. I spent last night at the Elks Lodge in Gallup, New Mexico.  I had a FABULOUS view all to myself and a great night's sleep.

Got up and hit Starbucks to use their internet and grab a bagel and for some reason my CarPlay wasn't working. I posted a "help" notice on Facebook and about the time my friends Dean and Carol Sprague called to help me, I had just figured it out. Well, honestly, I didn't figure it out. I just did something (I have no idea WHAT) and it fixed. Hahaha!

Since breakfast was just a bagel, I decided to have a more substantial lunch. I stopped at a place called Russel's Cafe in Endee, New Mexico and had their famous meatloaf. I have to say, it was probably the best meatloaf I've ever eaten! That and a root beer and I was a happy girl

I remember Thumper's mother saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," so I'm just going to say Texas has better roads than New Mexico.

Oh! And I had a CRAZY experience first thing on the road this morning leaving Gallup. There was a LOT of traffic and some wild man came up behind us doing about 100 mph (literally)!!! He wove in and out of traffic, even driving on the SHOULDER to the left of the middle lane, several times going around people on the wrong side, throwing rocks all over everyone's windshields. People were swerving to avoid him hitting them. He chipped my windshield, the jerk! I said to myself, "That guy is going to kill someone or kill himself!" 

About 3 minutes later, I passed him. He had crashed his car into a semi. The semi was just pulling over ahead of his car, which was smashed up and laying sideways on the right shoulder against a wall. I could see the guy still in the driver seat, so he apparently was wearing a seatbelt. Don't know if he was alive or not but was glad to see no other cars involved. 

The rest of the trip was uneventful and I MEAN uneventful! I'm so happy I drove Route 66 a few years ago. And now, I'm sort of over it. Every place I passed was falling down, covered in graffiti, or just plain worn out. If you plan on doing Route 66, you'd better do it fast because I don't think most of it will survive another year. I'm reconsidering my trip after Rob's house - maybe I don't need to go the way I planned.

So... tonight I'm in Amarillo treating myself to a nice hotel.

Tomorrow I plan to sleep at the Elks Lodge in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tuesday, I will arrive at my cousin, Vonda's house in Harrisonville, Missouri. I'll spend a couple of days there visiting my cousins and seeing my mother's sister. 

Then on to my son's house in Chatsworth, Georgia. I'm not sure how long I'll stay there. We'll see. During that week, he'll be at work during the days so I can figure out a new schedule. I think my trip will be shorter than originally planned. I'm a bit worn out and thinking I can skip some of the places I thought I wanted to visit. Home is looking pretty darned good! But... I know me, and that can change after a good rest. So stay tuned.

Signing off. 

There's a BATHTUB here!

Happy Trails!

Annie

Life is So Funny!

 

View from my van tonight at Gallop Elks

I had a very restful night at the Elks Club in Winslow, Arizona.  There was a nice big RV camped to the west of me that gave me blessed shade.

I stopped by a Safeway to pick up some cabbage and some garbage bags, then filled up with gas and headed out to a campground suggested by a local. But my weird off-luck is holding and they were FULL!  And on the way back to the highway, I got a notice that my credit card had been hacked.  :::maniacal laughter:::

Luckily, I think that was a mistake and so I headed up the road to Holbrook, where I thought I might stay at the Wigwam Motel. But they didn't open until 3 pm and I'm not willing to wait to see if they have space. So I took a few photos and drove to Painted Desert where I have camped before. 

The campground at Painted Forest was busy. LOTS of people are out and about for the weekend. 

A beautiful sample of petrified wood!

 I cooked up some cabbage and onions for breakfast. Man, that was good! Then I spoke with my cousin Vonda and asked her if there'd be a problem if I showed up early. I'm about a week ahead of schedule now. 

I thought I'd camp here for a day or two, but it's hot and dusty and so...

I thought I might go to the Albuquerque Temple, so I called to see if they had a hospitality center with a shower. The woman who answered was very nice. I told her my name was Deborah Carvalho and I was traveling in my van, and after a minute she said, "Is this Annie?"

Whoah!  I said yes, and come to find out she is one of the people on my Facebook Camino page and we've been chatting about planning her camino!  What a small world!  That was pretty funny!  Anyway, as my luck goes, the Temple is closed tomorrow. I COULD drive there today.  I thought I'd try, but my GPS took me on a wild goose chase and by the time I reached Gallup, I knew I wouldn't make it to Albuquerque in time.

So, I'm camped tonight at the Gallup Elks Lodge and let me tell you, it's a wonderful place!  The view out my van door is gorgeous. It's quiet. There is electricity, though I don't need it. And SHOWERS!

Tomorrow my plan is to go to Albuquerque, but the way things are going, who knows?

So far, all the plans I made for this trip have been for naught...  I sometimes wonder if the Universe isn't telling me to turn around and head back home?

I will at least go to Rob's and spend some time, but after that, I may be done.  I'm too old and tired for all this flexibility and excitement! 

We'll see...

Happy Trails!

Annie

Night 3 - Winslow, AZ

Another LONG day trying to beat the heat. 

I woke up around 3:30 am and got a shower at the Flying J. $16.

Then jumped in the van and headed to Kingman, Arizona, where I went to the Visitor's Center. I'd been there before so it was a short stop. I took some cool photo-booth photos but it appears I've lost them, which is a bummer. Hoping I can find them somewhere in the van.

After Kingman, I followed Old Route 66 and realized it's really returning to the earth. There's just not much to see. All the sites are crumbling. Even from just 2 years ago when I drove this route.  Twin Arrow is now One Arrow...

I stopped at Hackaberry's for a Route 66 Root Beer.

Then I headed to Seligman. The road is really beaten up and even when I got off 66 and onto 40, it was rough road. That combined with Arizona's 75 mph speed limit made for a bumpy day.

I always wanted to eat at the RoadKill Cafe.

Now I have.

Thank Goodness, I don't need to EVER do it again! ::laughing:: 

It looked like Road Kill.

Didn't taste too bad, but I only ate the meat.

The rest ... well, I passed.

From there I went to Flagstaff, thinking I'd boondock.

But the road into the place I'd tagged was meant for 

a 4 wheel drive and I was afraid of getting stuck.

I then decided I was SO tired, 

I needed to get a hotel.

I got on Booking.com and rented what was advertised

as a very clean, "natural" hotel.

Well... I walked into the room and my eyes started swelling,

and I couldn't breathe.

They'd mopped the floor with FABULOSO!!!

If you've never smelled that stuff, 

it'll bring tears to your eyes.

The housekeeping lady came in and 

'washed the floor with only water,'

which meant

she rinsed out the Fabuloso mop,

put it into water,

then proceeded to spread the Fabuloso

all around the floor again

with the same mop.

After she left,

I used a towel and tried to get it up.

This was the result after wringing out the towel twice.

The floor was filthy.

I requested a refund

and left.

I got gas, and got back on 40 

and drove to Winslow, Arizona

where I am now camped out in the RV lot

for the Elk's Club.

This heat wave

 has pushed me ahead 5 full days,

and my reservation in Tucumcari 

is not until NEXT Friday.

So I need to get online tomorrow

and figure out where to spend a few days camping.

I've done the Grand Canyon,

plus it's behind me now.

But I do see a few options to look at.

Well that's it.

While I try to be positive,

I have to admit that tonight

I'm exhausted and feeling down.

I'm sure a good night's sleep will fix it.

More later,

Happy Trails,

Annie