Escaping Gustav we ran into a cowboy...

We woke up yesterday in Columbus, MS and had a very formal breakfast in our B and B. The owner gave us a tour of the house and all the Victorian antiques. Very interesting. When we got onto the road, we ran into a ton of people who have evacuated from Gustav! 75% of the cars on the road in Alabama were Louisiana plates. In the rest area where we stopped, there were many evacuees sleeping on the grass. We were already 300 miles from the Gulf!! Almost 2 million people evacuated so it's not surprising that there were a lot of cars on the road. I think if we had left Baton Rouge much later, we would have been stuck in awful traffic.

Despite this, we got to Nashville pretty quickly. We went out to dinner and to a little famous club in downtown. The bands playing were mostly country and rock cover bands. They were good though. We made some new friends, including a man who is a professional rodeo guy. He was very friendly and had a cowboy hat. He was in Nashville "breaking" horses for a stockbroker. He explained that weathy people buy horses and hire him to train them. He claimed to be one of the 15 best rodeo people in the country. He lives in Montana. He was very charming and Herb and I had a nice time talking to him. Best of all, he produced one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip!!! I'll post it. Herb had only had one beer in the picture, contrary to the way he looks.

We're leaving soon to head to Columbus. I'm glad we stopped here. Nashville seems like a very lively spot!! We really are on the last leg. I'll post once more after Columbus and then it's time to face real life. This dreamlike tour of the country has been the trip of a lifetime. When the cowboy was talking about where he lived and the places he'd been, Herb and I could intelligently discuss almost all of them. We really know the country now. What a treat!!

Love to my mom and Gregory in Baton Rouge. They just started to get rain and are probably in for a long few days.

Heading north!!

Well, we are finally on the last leg. We crossed back over the Mississippi River from Texas into Louisiana. The last time we crossed it was Aug. 1 in Saint Louis. It was nice to be back East but I was sad that our monumental vacation is coming to an end.

We had a really nice couple of days with my mom and Gregory. We didn't do much. We were so tired from all the traveling. They made us meals and took good care of us. We were sad this morning to leave, especially since they stayed behind to deal with Gustav, a category 4 hurricane. It was very exciting leaving as people were starting to evacuate from New Orleans. But I was worried thinking about my mom huddling in the kitchen away from all the windows. I'm sure it will be all right but I just don't want them to suffer all the anxiety and/or any damage to the house.

We are staying tonight in an old antebellum house in Columbus, Mississippi. I don't know exactly how I found it. It is enormous, and quite beautiful. Tomorrow we are headed for Nashville and then on to Ohio to visit Herb's family. That will be great and relaxing too. In two weeks, we are starting work!! And a whole new life!! How exciting!!

I did realize from looking back on the blog that I use way too many exclamation points!!!!!!

howdy from austin continued...

Last night we saw a great country band. The lead singer sounded like Johnny Cash. They were excellent and the club was right across from our motel. We bought one of their cds

We have spent both mornings sitting in a little coffee shop watching roadrunners (the main bird here), dogs and funky people. Our motel is the Austin Motel, from 1938. The rooms are very small but they are all individually decorated and pretty comfortable (good AC).

Today we are going to San Antonio. We are on our last leg of the trip. It's sad but we are quite tired. It will be nice to end with seeing our families and staying in one place for a few nights. Herb and I have been joking that we feel like we are on tour, and the tour is almost over. We've had a spectacular time though.

Of course we are stopping for more barbecue on the way to San Antonio!!!

howdy from austin!!!

We have had a great time in Austin!!! What a fabulous little city!! People are friendly and quirky. Despite a population of a million plus people, it does have a small town attitude. We spent yesterday wandering around some funky neighborhoods. We did laundry and tried on boots (mostly Herb did both). We've had barbecue three times (again, mostly Herb) and lots of Mexican food. More blogging in a second.

in the lone star state

We're in the lone star state!! Taos was fun, but a little too touristy. We stopped by Santa Fe. While lovely, it was also crawling with tourists. All the galleries and stores were seriously overpriced. We also had a very disappointing meal at The Coyote Cafe. I tipped under 10% for the first time in my life (the service was terrible). The Georgia O'Keefe museum was good though.

Anyway, after that we went on to Taos. Taos is much higher elevation than Santa Fe. It is a flat valley at the top of a range of mountains. It is surrounded by 13000 foot peaks. The Rio Grande runs about two miles away from town. It is quite lovely. All the structures are adobe. I think the best part of Taos though, is the air and the light. Maybe because of the elevation, the air feels very pure and easy to breathe. And the sunlight is particularly beautiful up there, reflecting off the adobe structures.

We stayed in a charming bed and breakfast which dates back almost 200 years. It is on many acres of property, had a hot tub and great views of the mountains. Friday we went for a 6 mile hike. Aside from a little sunburn, it was really fun. It was the first trail of our trip where we saw almost no other human beings. Then we went to the Taos Pueblo which is supposedly the oldest continuously inhabited structure in the US. It was built over 1000 years ago!!!! We had our best mexican food meal so far on Friday night. I had a veggie burrito smothered in red hot caribe sauce (I don't know what that means but it seems like it means really spicy).

Yesterday we drove to Texas. We are staying in the craziest place here in Lubbock. It is a bed and breakfast. However, instead of the hosts having separate living quarters, they were watching TV and knitting in the living room of the B and B. The guest rooms are integrated with the host rooms. Herb and I were afraid when we left for dinner last night that if we got home too late, we might get scolded by the hosts!!!! Very bizarre. In addition, our room is called the "lone star room". It is decorated with animal horns (longhorns I think), a lasso and boots, and lone star Texas towels. Very funny.

Lubbock doesn't have much more to offer I think for tourists. We went out last night to a pub owned by one of Jason's best friends from college (he went to school here at Texas Tech) and today we move on to Austin. We are going to see music at the Continental Club, a famous Austin club!!! Yea!!

We are really moving back east quickly now. I'm sad that the trip is almost on its last leg. But I think we will be ready to start our new life at the end. As expected, it has been very tiring. However, this has been one of the most fun months ever!!! I think Herb has had a great time too!!

that really is quite a grand canyon!

Wow, the Grand Canyon was well worth the trip. I can't believe in retrospect that we were thinking of skipping it. It literally takes your breath away. I asked Herb last night what his favorite National Park is so far. It's tough. I think Glacier might be my favorite but the Grand Canyon is really a wonder of the world. After leaving our little bordello yesterday (see pic), we drove about and hour and half to the Gr Can. We jumped out of the car as soon as we got there to get our first look. Wow!!!! It also wasn't nearly as annoyingly crowded as I had expected. There were a lot of people there but it is a big canyon and there was room enough for everyone. We walked the rim for a little while and took about a 45 minute hike down and up. Coming up wasn't as bad as I had expected. Of course, we didn't go down too far. Also, we got to trade in our credit for admissions to other National Parks and get an annual "park pass". Yea!!!! We used it later in the day when we went to Petrified Forrest National Park and got in for free. That is another wacky place. At first it didn't seem like much more than desert. But when you got out and walked around, all the trees were literally turned to stone and crystalized. It produced the most sparkly and vibrant colors, especially since we were there at sunset.

We didn't arrive at our final destination until almost nine and we were famished from our hikes (even though they were small). We stayed last night at the El Rancho Historic Hotel. It is the pinnacle of kitch, a Route 66 hotel that has housed many movie stars. It was opened in 1937. As you can see from the picture, it is all neon and is visibile from the road. The rooms are a little rugged but the lobby (where I am currently blogging from) is quite charming-old wooden railings, pictures of stars and of course animal heads.

The west, specifically Arizona, has a beauty that I've never seen before. The earth is mostly red, which is the strangest part. And there is painted desert everywhere. The sky is vast and blue with a few scattered clouds. It is quiet and peaceful. And there are always lone freight trains rumbling by. I have been trying so hard to get a good train picture but it's usually out the car window. Maybe I'll post what I have tomorrow.

We are going to Taos today by way of Santa Fe. We are going to try to find somewhere good to have lunch.

This trip has expanded my mind in ways I can't even appreciate. I really feel like I have finally seen my country and am beginning to understand how vast it is. Herb and I are having the best time ever!!!!!

everyone is named emma these days

This is an "Emma" bag that was hanging from the chair of a child about the age of 10. I spotted it and couldn't resist getting a picture.

The bordello we stayed in last night has quite a colorful history. When the current owner bought the place, it was not being used and was still set up like a bordello. He renovated it, put period pieces in the room. The wallpaper still has fringe on it!! There is also a ghost here. It is a Mexican woman and there is a picture of her hanging on the wall downstairs. Her reflection is not seen in the mirror directly behind. Strange.

The town we are in is called Williams. It is half Grand Canyon gateway and half Route 66 tourist stopover. It is full of kitch. Herb and I went out last night for Mexican (Herb had ribs) and we heard live music. We are leaving for the canyon in a few minutes. Then it's on to Gallup, NM and the El Rancho! Fun!!

I will post some pics of the bordello tomorrow.