Cash is King

Today's newsletter is about the importance of conserving cash and keeping your assets in products that can be easily liquidated when the need arises. What do I mean by this, specifically?

When I left on this trip I took a decent amount of cash with me, which I always keep in my wallet (right hip pocket for you pickpockets out there). I took about $600 in twenties, the rest in hundred dollar bills. Although people talk about this being a cashless society, it is not. You cannot charge everything. You need money for tips, incidentals, for the kids, for purchases when the credit card machine doesnt work, and for places that don't take credit cards, like every Greek restaurant on the planet. If you have kids and you have ever been on vacation, you know you are spitting out cash faster than an ATM.

Unfortunately, the largest practical denomination of currency in this country, despite the devaluation of the dollar over time, is the twenty dollar bill. I don't understand it, but it is true. Nobody likes fifties because they look like twenties. Even I don't like fifties because if I don't have my glasses on they look like twenties. Hand the clerk a fifty for a $17 purchase, and he will invariably hand you back $3 change, whether he knows it is a fifty or not. "I gave you a fifty" you point out. "A thousand pardons, my friend" he quickly says as he gives you the other $30 he was hoping to steal.

The hundred dollar bill might as well be foreign currency, or a savings bond. Whip one of those Franklins out in most places and the clerk will turn ashen. If you have a $100 bill, you must be a drug dealer. Or it is counterfeit. Or it will render their business illiquid if they give you change for it. If they will accept it, they have to rub a brown crayon all over it first to make sure it doesnt have AIDS or something. It's ridiculous. First of all, and sad to say, $100 is not a lot of money anymore. So what's the problem? When I was young I saw a guy pay a gambling debt with ten $1,000 bills (Grover Clevelands). That was huge money then. They should make $1,000 bills now, which would be the $100 bill of yesteryear. But they are long extinct.

I am carrying all those hundreds because to carry an equivalent amount in twenties, my wallet would look like a softball. So the plan is, they are for emergencies and I will refill my wallet with twenties at any of the thousands of conveniently located ATMs throughout this great country.

If any of you are looking to change careers, or are looking for a business opportunity that is recession- proof, here it is: ATM repairman. Because everywhere I go on this trip, when I need to obtain twenties from the ATM, either the ATM is Out of Service, with a hand written sign proudly stating so, or it cannot read my ATM card, meaning it is also out of service, but no one knows or cares.

Yesterday morning we were leaving Brian Head, Utah. Before we left, Connie went to breakfast at the hotel with Fiona and Neil. I loaded the van with Owen. She asks me if I want anything. I say "two ham and eggs sandwiches on toast to go". We get the van loaded finally and they come out and get in the car. "Here is your bagel" she says. My mouth has been watering for a ham and egg on toast. "I wanted ham and egg sandwiches!" I protest. She says "They don't make them."

Obviously Connie has never seen Five Easy Pieces and the scene with Jack Nicholson in the diner. It would be very easy to get ham and egg sandwiches from this restaurant in Brian Head. You just have to walk them through it after the sandwich request is denied:

"Do you have ham and eggs then?"

"Yes. How would you like your eggs?"

"Over easy. Can I get that with toast?"

"Yes. White or wheat?"

"Wheat. Can you put the egg on top of one of the pieces of toast?"

"Uh, sure."

"And the ham on top of the egg?'

"Okay."

" One more request, I don't mean to be a pain here. But then could you put the other slice of toast on top of the ham?"

"Sure, okay."

"You got any waxed paper in the back?"

Anyway, Connie won't harrass people like this so I am out of luck, for there is no time for me to go into the restaurant and do this, much as I would enjoy it. As a consolation she tells me "There is an ATM in the lobby."

This is great news because I am in need of 20 dollar bills. I never noticed it. "Where is it?" I ask. She tells me it is in a niche around the corner from the front desk.

I go inside and there it is, in a confessional booth where you would never find it unless you were hunting for it. I put in my card but it will not read it. I try it fast, then slow. I then try the three other orientations that the card will go in the slot. "Card error try again" is always the response.

I go around the corner five feet to the front desk and ask Lance or whatever his name is whether the ATM is broken. "I hope not!" he says overdramatically and races out to see what the problem is. He takes my card, swipes it once and the machines blinks into action. Must be in the wrist.

The machine asks me what language I am, English or Espanol, and then I have to check the box that says I agree to their $2.50 fee for this service. I say "I do" and we are off to the races.

The machine displays a screen that says: Check how much you would like to withdraw: $10, $20, $30, or Enter Different Amount. I am thinking en Espanol :"Are you chitting me?" I push Enter Different Amount.

"Enter the Amount You Would Like" says the ATM. I enter: $500. The screen says: "Request Invalid. Enter Any Amount in $10 Increments Up To $200."

I say a very bad word too loudly. This panics Lance, unseen on the other side of the confessional. "Is everything all right sir?" I mutter yes and pocket the crummy 200 bucks, cursing the 1.25% vigorish I had to pay the thieving maching. I vow to conserve these precious twenties.

We had a fabulous drive all day- 560 miles down a narrow two lane backtop through the mountains and valleys with hardly anyone on the road. I stop for lunch and gas in Ely, Nevada. It is one of the few gas stations on this route so whoever is on the road, is here. There are two formica tables inside and a sandwich counter so Connie takes the kids inside for lunch. Neil wants to check the air filter since we went through a big dust storm in the Wah Wah Valley. I try to operate the pump. My fuel card requires a driver ID and the odometer to be entered on the keypad at the pump. The machine reads my card and then asks me for Driver ID. But the keypad is unresponsive- I can't enter it. I try a credit card but the machine wants the Driver ID and declares my attempt to use a different credit card invalid. I can't cancel the transaction because the keypad doesn't work. I stubbornly try everything. Finally, I trudge inside and explain all of this to the girl behind the counter. I leave her my fuel card. Connie asks me what I want to eat and I tell her. I go back outside. A bunch of motorcyclists are waiting for a pump to free up. But since Neil is taking apart the engine they assume the van has some problem and that is why it has been sitting here for ten minutes already. The tank is nearly empty and it takes a while to fill up.

I go to pay for the gas and she hands me a key pad. "Enter Vehicle Number" it says. No machine ever asks this. I enter my Driver ID instead, figuring that is what it wants. Then it says "Enter Driver ID". I now know this transaction is doomed, but I enter it anyway. "Enter Odometer". I enter that and wait while the machine thinks it over. Finally the girl says "Invalid Vehicle Number". I tell her I don't have a vehicle number. She advises me that this is part of the approval procedure. I hand her a different credit card. Her machine will not read it. This is the third problem she has had with me. "Do you have any cash?" she asks. I pull out a hundred. She doesn't trust me by now and shakes her head. I reluctantly fork over three of the twenties I had vowed to protect. I turn around to see how the sandwiches are coming. The sandwich girl is preparing them with the care of a mosaic craftsman, and at the same pace. I have hundreds of miles to go. I take a deep breath.

Everything goes great until about 325 miles later when I need gas again. I pull into an Arco in Carson City, two blocks down from the State Capitol building. There is nothing on the pump to feed my card into. Instead, it instructs me to visit a central automatic kiosk. I go to the kiosk, which looks like it will take cash or cards. I enter my pump number, then insert my card. It cannot be read, of course. I try a different one. It cannot be read. Meanwhile Connie and the kids all scramble for candy and bathrooms.

I go inside to the counter. "My card won't work" I tell one of the two ladies there. "Is it a credit card?" she asks. I tell her yes. "We aren't set up for credit cards- only debit cards or cash". Who carries debit cards? Arent they for people who are trying to repair their credit or something? I tell her this is the most insane thing I have heard of. She tells me there is a Shell station five blocks in the wrong direction that takes credit cards. But retreat is not in my creed, plus the family has scattered. I hand her a $100 bill. "We can't make change for a hundred" she says. "How do you know I won't buy $100 worth of gas?" I plead. "Can't do it- it's our policy".

So three more twenties vacate my wallet. I have now lost 6 of my 10 expensive notes purchased only this morning. I go outside and fill the van. $58.08- good guess. While I am filling it I read the signage on the kiosk and it says it accepts cash, debit cards, and ATMs. I curse myself for not having read it before.

When I am finished I go inside and tell the second lady I want to pay for my gas with my ATM. She asks me how I pumped it in the first place. I tell her I handed the other lady a $60 cash deposit. They tell me unison that it is too late; that this has been recorded as a cash transaction and it is impossible to undo. It's like a tattoo.

I get my buck ninety two in change and I think- there are casinos up and down this street. They must have an ATM here in the station that has high limits. Probably it will give me a thousand in twenties. I ask the lady hopefully "Do you have an ATM here?"

She shakes her head. "It's broken."

June 25th, 2009 On Our Way to California Via The States of Utah and Nevada (in a day!!!)

I typed most of this on our drive yesterday and low and behold, I lost my internet signal somewhere in Utah and lost part of this post. So I had to recreate it after the first few paragraphs. Most frustrating!

As I type this we are embarking on the longest drive of the trip. We are leaving Brian Head, Utah (elevation 10,420) to South Lake Tahoe. A mere 600 miles from cool mountain temps of Brian Head (last night at 5pm it was 52 degrees) to cross the deserts of Nevada (100 plus temps we expect) to South Lake Tahoe where google tells me the highs in July are in the 70's and the lows in the 40s. If you are reading this, please pray for safe driving and family harmony! We are taking state roads which allows us to really see America. From the Interstates we simply see the road side gas stations and franchise restaurants. On the state roads you get to see the mom and pop establishments and homes of Main Street USA.

Just saw a sign that says No Service for 83 miles! Pat filled up the tank right before arriving in Brian Head so we are fine gas wise. Lets just hope no one needs a bathroom break.

We left Sedona to see the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. By pure luck our timing was good because the guide books tell us that the best time to avoid the worst of the summer crowds is to visit the Grand Canyon in the middle of the week. I will take a moment to share some of the things we found puzzling about visitng the Grand Canyon. The town we stayed in near the South Rim is called Tusayon. It is about 7 miles from the entrance to the park. With 4.5 MILLION visitors to this entrance alone, (there are several entrances to this huge park) you would imagine a huge strip of hotels and shopping and various other services. We estimate there might have been 6 hotels and maybe 10 restaurants (including the hotel restaurants) along a small portion of the road to the Grand Canyon! This befuddles us because we can imagine how great a boardwalk type central entertainment development would succeed. You have all these families and individuals from all over the world to see one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and really nothing for them to do when they are not clammoring to enter the park and take photos. It boggles the mind. And beleive me, there are miles of open space to put something like this (lest you think I am a developer crazy person). No endangered species of any kind would be bothered.

The other astonishing thing that Pat and I both noticed right away was that there are not many guard rails along the edge of the Grand Canyon. I realize that the government can not afford to put a rail along every part of the Grand Canyon edge, but I think a few more tax dollars could be devoted to this cause. The guard rails that are there are only knee high in some cases! It makes you wonder why you do not hear about more accidental deaths at the Grand Canyon. WE had a vice grip on Fiona whenever we got out at the various viewing locations.

Pat and I decided to join a private tour guide to see the Grand Canyon since for a variety of reasons (parking, knowledge of best overlooks, educational aspects to name a few) our time would be better spent in the hands of an expert since we really had only one full day to visit the park. We consulted with the concierge at the hotel who recommended Canyon Dave tours. ANyone who knows Patrick well, knows that this was a huge concession as he does not like not being in control over his destiny in any kind of vehicle. We did not visit Martha's Vinyard when we were in Cape Cod because there was a shuttle bus and a ferry involved. After two weeks of driving many hours made him look forward to being the passenger for the day. I was grateful that Pat made this concession because I envisioned him screeching up to three or four viewing locations and giving us 1 and a half minutes to quickly capture the essence of the Grand Canyon with our cameras. We ended up doing this the next day on our way out of town headed to Brian Head Utah.

We would be in a van with the possibility of up to 6 other people. We had hoped that our mid week visit would make the additional possible people joining us low. No such luck! When Canyon Dave pulled up there were already two empty nesters in the first or four rows of back seat benches. I cringed thinking they were disspointed seeing our lively crew (Fiona being lively enough for all of us really) start piling into the van. Fiona and Tierney popped into the next row where Fiona announced that she wanted to sit with Tierney alone. My split minute decision making skills have been diminished from all this traveling and I agreed with her. Plus it was nice to see her wanting to be with her older sister and I thought Tierney might enjoy being chosen as the preferred seat mate. So I tried the next row, thinking I might grab the window seat for photo taking. Alas, Canyon Dave explained that there were three more people joining us. And as Pat explained in the earlier post, I am not one to harrass people and generally like to keep the peace. so I saw that my last choice was to wedge my middle age body in between our teenage sons in the last row (why they chose the last row is a mystery to me and even them when later asked WHY not the third row???) the very last row. I had to duck under two rows of seat belts that crossed from the passenger side of the van to secure the passengers on the edge of each row with my back pack filled with two cameras and various other traveling items (sunscreen, small purse, sunglasses sanitary wipes, kleenex, etc) which is not light! I know elegance was not the word to use my movements to reach that back row (and dreaded middle seat). In case you are wondering where my betrothed was sitting, he had been offered the prime front passenger seat next to Canyon Dave. I guess there are benefits to being a big guy and this was one of those instances.

We reached the next pick up point and it was not three but four new people. Two of which were young boys who ended up being friendly with Fiona and made it easier on each set of parents as what Fiona didn't think to do, these young boys would do. Nothing bad. just the usual case of the wiggles or not paying attention. By the end of the tour eveyone got along quite well. And the mother from the other family was brave enough to be seated next to our chatty daughter the rest of the drive.

Canyon Dave proved to be a great leader. He was previously a geology professor in a college near Tuscan. He decided 9 years ago to use this knowledge to educate people visiting the Grand Canyon. He had great hand outs and lots of rock samples that we oculd pass around to see what the different layers of rock in the Canyon were made from. At one point, he brought us to a viewing location and had us sitting in camp chairs lined up classroom style with him in front of us and the Canyon beyond him. I will post a photo of this when I get a chance to go through the bajillion photos I have taken since San Antonio! It is pretty wild looking to see the backround behind him. And Patrick and I got just a bit nervous when he asked Fiona to get up and explain something about a rock next to him. He was standing just a few yards from the edge of what looked like a sheer drop off point. We were both poised to dive on top of Fiona had she gotten too close the edge.

Canyon Dave then took us an hour drive to a Navajo Nation restaurant and store. We both joked later that we were not very sure what to expect when he told us about this lunch locale. Nothing against our Native American bretheren, but we had not had alot of experience with Navajo restaurants. But we were pleasantly surprised at this operation in many aspects. It was clean, well run, and the people working there were really friendly and helpful. And based on the houses we past that were run down with car parts, debris in hte yards and tires on many of the rooves (never did figure out what that was all about), I think most people would have been a bit suspect. The menu had a few Navajo items and basic American fare. We kept hearing about the Navajo Taco which four of us tried and liked. It was basically all the ingredients of a taco except trade out the taco shell for a deep fried Navajo bread that tasted like a fried pastry. It was delicious and I am scared to think of how the deep fried batter was going to boost my cholesteral!

The Navajo people are great capitalists. To enter the restaurant you must first go through the never ending store of all trinkets with Arizona or Grand Canyon engraved or embroidered on them! And then there were all things Native American....baskets, pottery, blankets, weavings, artwork...you name it, they had it. And navigating Fiona through this was quite a task. Wemanaged to get away with a dreamweaver and a necklace made from juniper berries that the Navajo harvest, boil, then dry out for three days and push a needle through to make them into beads. Paying 7 dollars for this seemed quite reasonable after hearing the painstaking labor they go through to get the beads. The boys opted for pocket knives with Arizona carved into the side. I spent the rest of the ride wedged in between them asking them to please try the pocket knives out when were were in much more open space! Tierney opted for a pen with Grand Canyon on the side..most practical of her!

After lunch and shopping Dave took us to part of the painted desert near the restaurant. We found this to be as interesting as seeing the Grand Canyon. He had found a part of the desert that had petrified wood that we could look at up close (as opposed to our drive by viewing the day before) and even take a few pieces with us. Dave must have a relationship with the Navajo people near here as we know that not just anyone could take this unmarked road and start wondering around the desert and taking pieces of petrified wood. It felt like it was 1000 degrees where we were so we only stayed out there for about 15 minutes or so.

Being the person with the large back pack also means that all family members hand over things like petrified wood from Navajo land for me to carry back. I was trying to wedge the smaller pieces into my bag while explaining that pieces larger than that must be carried by them.

We made one last stop to get a look at the canyon before heading back to our hotels. It was this last time getting into the car that I simply handed over the back pack to Patrick explaining that I could not lug it one more time back to the final row in the van. After lifted it he understood.

We really enjoyed Canyon Dave's tour. My only complaint would have been that he seemed more intent on talking about the Canyon and taking us to the Navajo restaurant than stopping to more viewing locations to get photos. But I would still opt for the guided tour over trying to do it ourselves. And we learned so much that we would never have had the time to discover on our own. Even the kids agreed that they enjoyed the tour even though it took about 8 hours.

Pat did allow us a few more peeks at the Grand Canyon, as mentioned, as we headed to Utah. He even got out of the car a few times! We left town by 9 or 9:30 and it was easy to park and snap a few photos and keep moving. It seems ridiculous in some ways to even attempt to photograph it and do it justice. But on the other hand, I wanted to attempt this since I may never pass this way again. Unless Patrick and I develop a super tourist trap in Tusayon, AZ one day! Ha!

We drove through the State of Utah to a moutnain top ski resort in Brian Head. It is not listed on most maps and mapquest does not recognize it. And upon arriving after 8 hours of driving, it had a Steven King feel to it from the desolate mountain to there being just a few cars out front. It ended up being a terrific lodge that somehow stayed open in the summer with 30 percent occupancy and offering great meals in the hotel. And the next best thing we learned about it was that it had WASHING MACHINES AND DRYERS!!! So we got caught up on our laundry which was getting near crisis level. And unlike the El Paso location, there were several machines. And these were commercial grade so I could really load those babies up!

The state of Utah is filled with some amazing rock forms and vistas. We did not have time to include some of their great National Parks and Monuments but hope to try that some other time. The ride up the mountain to Brian Head was unusual as we went from a very rocky environment, similar to Araizona, to a cool alpine like environment.

AS you learned from my husband's post I failed to obtain the preferred breakfast item. But even he realizes that we both can't be type A people or we would not have made it on this trip this long without a mutiny!

We continued on yesterday and completed the Lonliest Road drive on route 50 across the state of Nevada. Yes, we drove across the state of Nevada in a day! I had expected it to be really hot and desert like once we entered Nevada. No such thing at all! And I had expected to see empty towns with not much going on. We had a couple of guide books and sought out the towns that had the most services offered. This meant there might be one or two gas stations and a few diners. They were sometimes 100 miles apart (thus the name the Lonliest Road), but we knew how to plan our stops. The other thing that surprised us was that the temperatures in that part of Nevada were much cooler than we had expected. In the mountain towns the temps were in the low 70's. It was not until we got about 50 miles from Fallon where there is a Naval Air Station (I think some of the opening scenes from Top Gun were filmed here) that it became desert like in the terrain and the temperature shot up into the 90's.

We passed through 12 moutain ranges. I am going to try to post this now because the intenet looks like it is acting up and there might be a mutiny if I have to type this again!

The miracles of modern technology, by Pat

The Navigation system in the van has been a great asset on a long trip like this. You punch in the next destination, even if hundreds of miles away, and you are delivered there within yards. All one has to do is obey the strident commands of the female-voiced computer.

I do think that, on balance, the invention of the Nav system has saved countless marriages. I firmly believe that women are smarter than men, for many reasons. One of those reasons is, the guy always insists on driving. There is no upside to that. But that traditionally puts the woman in the dreaded role of navigator when it comes to long trips.

Although women are generally smarter than men, they cannot read maps as well (probably because they do not spend hours poring over them for no reason, like men do.) Women are especially not good under duress when the male pilot, cruising at 70 mph, says something like "We are coming up on three exits in a half a mile. Do we take the 664 bypass, which has no other exits for 23 miles, or do we take 464 through the old Norfolk tunnel, or do we take 64 toward Virginia Beach?" [5 second pause] "WHICH ONE DAMMIT?"

Connie and I had our first experience with this map problem on our honeymoon in Italy. We started our trip in Milano. We had booked our first few nights at a downtown hotel near the Duomo and La Scala. I assumed that these world class venues couldn't be hard to find from the airport. My bride assumed I knew what I was doing. There is a saying about assume and ass and you and me but I dont remember it anymore. We have been married for 20 years.

We got our rental car at the Milano airport, which like most airports is not located anywhere near its namesake, and they gave us a handy map to use. On one side was a map of Italy, which would look like Italy if photographed halfway between earth and the moon. You could see the boot shape and the Sicilian football, so by having this map, you knew you were in Italy. On the reverse side was a map of a handful of city blocks downtown. Fortuitously, this included the Duomo, La Scala, and our hotel. So this confirmed that the places you wanted to go were in Italy also. Between the NASA scale map and the downtown walking map scale, there was no way to figure out how to get from outer space to the hotel. These days in the U.S., this would be considered a Homeland Security innovation. But back then, it was just a crappy rental car map. So I turned to my jet- lagged map-holding bride and said "Which way?"

Anyway, our trusty Nav system has served our marriage flawlessly for nearly 3400 miles so far this trip until we got about 30 miles from Sedona. Then, I think the Hopi, Navajo, Hualapai and all the collected spirits of this spiritual place decided to teach me a lesson about technology.

First, although I knew I had to take 89A south off of I-17 as soon as I got off of I-40 west ( I have been here before), the Nav robo-woman told me in no uncertain terms to continue south on I-17 for 4 more miles. It showed me a graphic map of this shortcut. So, even though I knew where I was going, I fell for this techno seduction and took the shortcut. Upon exiting 4 miles south, it went through its routines and instructed me to turn broadside into a gas station. There was no road at all here. The machine was insistent. At any deviation it urged me to follow its commands. I defiantly backtracked 4 miles north and cursed my deference to this machine when I knew where I was going anyway.

Once we got into Sedona proper, I didnt know where our hotel was so I let the machine tell me again. Note that my wife is happily watching me get frustrated now that the tables are turned. Now the techno woman is telling the man what to do and you cannot win the argument against a techno woman either, although at least they do not bring up long-past transgressions. The machine tells me to turn into a nearly invisible driveway blocked off by cones and dug up by backhoes.

Mapless, I obey. We drive through a major construction site, now shut down for the day, and I see some vestiges of a resort ahead. What have I signed up for here? But I finally pop through the other side of the site and we are in a beautiful place. The resort is horrified when they see we have bounded through this ugly construction area, which is theirs and which they had intended to conceal. I look up at the magnificent sandstone, limestone and basalt mountain, tower and cliff formations looming all around us and I feel like the Native spirits have taught me a lesson today. Forget the technology.

It always feels good to press the "Cancel Guidance" button on the Nav anyway. She never talks again, unless you ask.

June 22, 2009 - From Santa Fe to Sedona

We left Santa Fe, wishing we could have stayed another day, but knowing we had to keep on track. There have been several towns we felt like that. Sedona has now become one of them.

But back to our drive West.....On our way we saw a coyote with an early lunch of some kind dangling in its mouth right near highway 40, a rest stop with the toilet paper pad locked to the dispenser (New Mexico), a petrified forest, the painted desert, a meteor crater, and saw the mileage on the van go to 7000 while we were at 7000 feet altitude! We watched the surroundings change dramatically as we headed west. It is fascinating to watch the scenery change from desert to alpine to red rock mountains. The Painted Desert looked like what you might imagine the planet Mars would resemble. As we approached Flagstaff, there were Alpine Forests and this evolved into the Red Rock mountainous areas as we drove in on Rt 89A into Sedona. Hair pin turns in which Pat said he did not need the accelerator for well over a half hour. We watched in amazement as bikers in a charity bike race were headed UP this road! And they did not look that fazed by the terrain!

The hotel where we are staying has cabins as an option. This provided humor as Fiona's image of a cabin was a dirt floor with no indoor plumbing. Maybe something like Little House on The Prairie. She was concerned about this until we explained that these cabins would have all the normal amenities of a hotel room. And chocolate too! We were too tired to go off campus for dinner and had basically skipped lunch so that we could do a Griswold like all day tour of Arizona (Petrified Forest/Painted Desert and the Meteor Crater) on our way to Sedona. So we opted to dine at the restaurant here at the hotel. We were able to dine right beside Oak Creek. We decided to do breakfast there again this morning because it was so pleasant.

Today we went out on a Pink Jeep Tour. I had never heard of this, but apparently The Pink Jeep company has been in business since 1960 and they offer off road tours of the surrounding mountains and canyons. There are various levels of adventure you can sign up for. We kept hearing about the Broken Arrow tour being the most popular. After I quizzed the concierge I felt like Patrick and I were in no need of risking a slipped disc or similar injury with the future weeks of travel ahead. I opted for a slightly tamer ride that still was adventurous enough for all of us. We were jostled about for 2 hours on off roads with really rocky terrain. Our driver explained the training for this job takes 4 months and the final task to become a tour guide is driving the trails BACKWARDS!!! YEs, I said backwards! I asked how long that took and he said about 4 hours per trail!

The scenery was beautiful and our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the surrounding areas and the Native American history specific to this part of Arizona. Any questions we asked he was able to answer. And Patrick pretty much quizzed him the entire time. Occasionally, Fiona would come up with an important question such as "how do you drive over the cactus?". We actually caught site of a Roadrunner and it had the exact profile of the Bugs Bunny cartoon character! Except it was much smaller! But it was really fast. So Patrick says to mention that we have seen a coyote, a roadrunner and we were at The Acme Oyster House.....that is the cartoon trifecta!

We had Buffalo Burgers and cactus fries (the Prickly Pear Cactus fruit was the dipping sauce and fries were made out of the oval disc- like Prickly Pear cactus) at the Cowboy Club which were both terrific.

Tomorrow we are off to the Grand Canyon. We will miss Sedona but have new adventures to find. The kids continue to hold up well, even on the hard travel days like yesterday. We must have been in and out of the car 10 hours yesterday before arriving here at our destination. I had loaded the car up with Power bars and many other snacks for days like that. Certain routes, like the one we took yesterday, do not have many appealing options for meals anyway. They are mostly truck stops and Indian Reservation/Casino type places. Not the kind of places you typically want to take your family for a meal or rest room stop. But they really didn't complain. I guess getting to see the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert and the Meteor Crater made up for being trapped in the car so long. And I bought the requisite box of petrified wood samples for us to show everyone when we return.

Pat tries to answer some voicemails and emails Larry King style...

Hi to everyone who has left me messages. The sheer volume of 550 mile driving legs, museum visits, souvenir shopping, photo shoots, historical building visits, packing, unpacking, and trying to eat three squares a day leaves me short on time to answer these communiques. So let me pick a few.

From Paul F. of La Plata, Maryland (Friday, 6/19):

Lucky,

I am just checking in to make sure everything is going according to plan on your little adventure. I hope you are on schedule and on budget. Just checking in. Let me know that you are on plan.

Reply:

Dear Paul F.,

Thank you for your deep concern. You are a voracious reader so I know you know the word schadenfreude. I will not allow you to experience schadenfreude at my expense so let me say that I am on schedule and I never had time to make a budget. I am working on a budget now and it is in scientific notation because the exponents make it easier. I will let you know the budget in about 4 more weeks.

Signed,

The Wanderer.

From Terry C. of Bethesda, Maryland (Friday, 6/19):

Hey bro what city R u in u are nutz r u reddy 2 come home and deal with biz insted of 4 kidz wat is rong witchu u must be in pain hahahahaha not in my dna bro how do u like it NOW????

Reply:

Dear Terry C.

Thank you for your deep concern. I think "nuts" does not have any "z"s in it. But crazy does have a "z"- use that instead. Otherwise see answer to Paul F re: schadenfreude.

Signed,

How About Creating a Business Emergency To Save Me, Partner?

From: American Express Corporation, Fraud Unit, Chicago, Illinois (Friday, 6/19):

Dear Cardholder,

We have reviewed your account activity and based on your history, the amount of recent expenditures, and the location of them, we believe a team of ten to twelve thieves have appropriated your credit card information and are on a binge throughout the south and southwestern United States. Please advise right away if these expenditures are fraudulent. If so we will cancel your card number and reissue a new one immediately. You will not be responsible for any fraudulent charges but we do need to hear from you as soon as possible.

Reply:

Dear American Express Fraud Unit,

Thank you for your deep concern. I am not at home right now. When I get home (it will be a while) and see my statements and how much it adds up to, I will let you know whether this is fraud or not. Is that cool? Let it ride.

Signed,

Cardholder

Texas and Santa Fe Continued....

We enjoyed our stay in San Antonio very much. The kids all gave it a 10 on a scale of one to ten. The River Walk really is unique. There are uniformed greeters at almost every entrance that will answer your questions and point you in the right direction. We learned a brief history of the River Walk from the kind gentleman at one of these entrances.

We had a long drive across the rest of the state of Texas to our next stop, El Paso. On our way to El Paso we stopped for breakfast in a town named Kerrville. Pat spotted a western wear shop and his curiosity got the best of him so we checked out the store. Pat got himself a real cowboy hat and Fiona found some pink and red cowgirl boots! Tierney was happy to find some new tank tops. The boys felt no need to go with us and stayed in the van.

As we left San Antonio we watched the landscape slowly change over to the desert type environment surrounded by huge mountain ranges. The winds were strong and Pat had to really keep both hands on the wheel to manage the van. We never went into the downtown area as we got in pretty late and were pretty whipped from the long day in the car. We were happy to just grab some dinner at the hotel and do some laundry! They had a washing machine for guests to use. So a very much needed quiet evening getting ready for another long drive ( to Santa Fe). We thought we would check out El Paso on our way out of town in the morning. We changed our minds when the guy at the gas station made sure Pat knew it was a tough town (after seeing the van full of kids and loaded up with all our bags). We figured it was not worth having the van broken into or some other traveling misphap. We are quite the target as the tourists loaded down with cameras and laptops. So we drove all the way through town, which confirmed the intel. Then we got on I-10, then I-25 and headed north to Santa Fe.

Made it to Santa Fe by and were able to walk around town before having dinner at The Bull Ring Steak House. Excellant meal and our waitress gave us great pointers on how to spend our one and only full day in Santa Fe. This town is probably tying for first place on my list of favorites so far. I had Memphis at number one but Santa Fe is vying hard to displace Memphis for the top of my list! There is a great town square with museums, shops, and historic churches. The oldest church (Cathedral of Saint Francis) in US is here in Santa Fe. As is the oldest house....but we did not make it to the oldest house. We went to the Georgia O'Keefe museum. She is one of my favoite artists so that was a real treat for me. I enjoyed introducing the family to her artwork. I purchased a book with her artwork and photography by Ansel Adams. Hoping to inspire our photography with this since Ansel Adams photographed most of the places we will be visiting in the next week.

We went to the Loretto Chapel, home of the Miraculous Staircase which is a spiral staircase with no center support which does two complete 360 degree turns. We will post pictures so you can see. Maybe Pat can post the story behind the staircase since I did not absorb all the information quite like my husband and will only be corrected if I submit incorrect information!

Had great breakfast and lunch at local hangouts suggested by the people working in the hotel and at last night's restaurant. We are so full that we may just take one last walk around town instead of getting dinner. It has been alternating between rain and sun all day. The sun has just popped out again and we are thinking there might be a spectacular sunset.

Pat bought me a custom fit cowboy hat today. I am not sure it will have quite the pizazz as Fiona's! They had a 95 year old machine in the store that measures the shape of your head and makes an outline of the shape of your head. We should have taken a photo of this machine. Not sure that I needed to know that the shape of my head resembles a rodent! I will not receive the hat for about 4 weeks. I will be sure to parade around Potomac in my new hat. Maybe Pat and I will start a new fashion trend in Maryland!

Neil, ever the fashion plate, felt the need for a hat as well. He just really wanted a sombrero for some reason. He even allowed me to take a photo of him in said sombrero. Now Owen and Tierney need to find the right hat for the trip.

We have another long drive tomorrow. We head to Sedona and plan to visit the meteor crater on our way to Sedona. Pat has no parking tales to tell but will post something to entertain you all later this evening.

June 20th - Texas and New Mexico

We spent two nights in San Antonio. We roamed around the River Walk area and saw the Alamo, the Buckhorn Museum and the Texas Ranger Musem. I wondered why Pat chose to take me to see the Alamo on our 20th wedding anniversary...is there some hidden meaning or was it merely a coincidence? Pat loves Texas. Here are the top three reasons: the speed limit on the highways is 80mph, you can drink beer as you walk along the River Walk, and we found a museum that allowed visitors to drink beer while enjoying the exhibit.

The most striking thing about the Alamo is that it is much smaller than you envision from seeing photos of it. And it is smack in the middle of the downtown area of San Antonio. Did you know that Davy Crocket was one of the men who died at the Alamo? There were also men from other countries that fought along with the Texans in the battle at the Alamo.

I had seen literature for the Buckhorn Museum and it looked like a very interesting place to take the family. It housed one of the largest collections of stuffed animals from all over the world. Pat loved the saloon oprating in the museum. Visitors were allowed to purchase a beverage of their choice before entering the exhibit and enjoy as they perused the displays. Nothing better than learning about critters from all over the world with a cold libation! Fiona liked the Owls. There were other interesting items on display as well as critters. There was artworkand furniture made from critters. I will post some photos of these unusual items.

The River Walk area is really unusual. We learned that it was conceived in the 1930s and part of the WPA. The man who designed it had been to Venice and he used that as his inspiration of the design of the River Walk. It is the Rio Grande and not a man made canal. We did not have time to take one of the boat tours (much to Fiona's dissappointment), but I think we would try to do that next time we visit. Fiona purchased a grand pink cowgirl hat with fur on the edges and a tiara that lights up and blinks different colors at one of the fine shops along the River Walk. She later got a pair of pink cowgirl boots to finish the cowgirl diva look!

Will continue posting later today. We have one full day in Santa Fe and must make the most of our time. Gotta run!

The final NOLA parking story by Pat

We planned an early departure for Tuesday morning. I have to drive 550 miles to San Antonio today and I wonder why I scheduled three nights in New Orleans followed by a 550 mile drive. I step out into the noxious New Orleans morning miasma and begin the familiar trek to the lot. Let's just say that at 7:30 am, NOLA is not as pretty as the city I went to sleep with. Without the neon and the music and the revelery, she looks pretty tattered. To be fair, she would be entitled to say the same about me. I have been eating crawfish, oysters, crab, and shrimp in any and all forms for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days straight. When I overdo the shellfish, my face gets purple and a little swollen. So maybe NOLA thinks the radish head isnt so pretty his own self. We can both be adults about it.

I have been trying to figure out what the final play will be at the parking lot. Maybe the Owner, Mr. Big, will be there with two corrupt New Orleans policemen. They will have booted my car and will demand $60 per day for three days, plus $5 for a half day, plus $3,000 in late fees, less payments already rendered. I have in my wallet all of the cardboard receipts they have given me with meaningless numbers stamped on them. They don't have any evidenciary value, but I plan to wave them around as I make my arguments.

I walk up Conti, past Burgundy (pronounced BurGUNdy in the Quarter, not BURgundy as in the wine. It is the unwritten border line past which tourists should not go). I get to Rampart and enter the lot. Not suprisingly, the van is sporting a brand new yellow penalty card. I look towards the far end of the lot where the attendant booth is, and there is a man closely resembling John Lee Hooker dressed in black, with a broad-brimmed bluesman's hat sitting on a cafeteria chair in the middle of the drive aisle. How many different damn people can possibly work for this outfit? I know John Lee is dead so maybe this is Mr. Big, showing up for his big payday from the Yankee with the fancy van.

But as I get closer, I see that the attendant booth is occupied by none other than the black lady from yesterday. The man is just hanging out, staring at a mostly empty 40 car parking lot in the hot New Orleans sun. If all these vice- loving New Orleans natives get sent to hell, they are going to love the weather there.

By my count, based on most recent pricing, I owe the lady $15- $5 for the second half of yesterday, $5 penalty for not showing up yesterday afternoon to render said $5, and $5 for the current half day which began at 4:30 am. But who knows what Ouija Board schedule will be used to calculate my final bill.

I greet her and she does not seem to recognize me right away, perhaps because of my purple head. But I tell her I have to pay her for the van and she remembers. "You leavin' today?" I tell her yes, unfortunately, although I would like to spend the rest of my life walking back and forth to this lot, duty calls. She says "Five dollars." I hand her a twenty waiting to see what other miscellaneous deductions will be subtracted from the Jackson. But there are none. She hands me back $15 and wishes me a safe trip. I give her a $5 tip and jog toward the van before anyone does any more math here.

The drive to San Antonio was long. I thought well, all I have to do is drive the same 400 miles it took me to get here from Memphis, and then add on a drive to Ocean City. But that made it seem longer. There were strong crosswinds so it was two handed driving most of the day. We refueled in Baton Rouge and it was so hot you could hardly breathe. It was 102 degrees by the time we got to Houston. We refueled again in Sealy, Texas. It was still 102 but there was a strong breeze and it was actually pleasant. When we finally pulled into San Antonio it was 103 at 6 pm but again comfortable with the low humidity and the breeze. I pulled into the porte cochere and we began the check in process. There was no bellman so the boys started with the bags while I looked for the valet for the van. Finally I went into the front desk and inquired about a valet for an oversize. "We don't valet oversize" said the front desk manager. I began to object but he pointed to a large sign that said something like "WE DO NOT VALET OVERSIZE VANS FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, EVEN IF IT COSTS US YOUR BUSINESS". That kind of took away my next argument. But the front desk manager smiled and said "Don't worry! I can direct you to a surface lot that is only a few blocks away. I am sure they can help you!"

June 16th - The LONG Drive to San Antonio

Before I get started, I promise that Pat will post the final NOLA parking tale for your continued entertainment.

Nothing too exciting to tell except that we made the 500 mile drive from NOLA to San Antonio. Captain Pat held up very well with the grueling drive. The kids did fantastic for being cooped up in the car so long. Fiona was entertained by Neil's Ipod for the first few hours and then the Satellite TV came in quite handy. The roads coming out of NOLA were pretty beat up and there were lots of bridges to deal with. Once we were well into Texas, the roads were pretty straight and flat, and in much better shape than the LA roads.

It is extremely hot here....it was 103 degrees when we pulled up to the hotel at 6PM! Yet the humidity is very low (30 percent) so it is less oppressive than the 94 degree heat we experienced in NOLA. I still felt the need for a frozen margarita before dinner though!

We had a great dinner at one of the restaurants along the River Walk. We were pretty beat from the long day of driving so we came back to the room to relax and get some sleep. Even Fiona was asking when we were going back to the hotel room. Any of you who know her well, know that this to be very strange behavior for this child. But alas, once back at the hotel, she resumed her normal level of whirling dervish like activity and incessant talking. Must have been the Texas heat affecting her disposition! I found a great task to keep her busy.....she was to find several more Owl facts as we are way behind on the Owl Fact of The Day! I will post them later.

JUNE 15TH, 2009 - TODAY'S PARKING TALE BY PAT

This morning I trudged down to the parking lot in the insufferable heat for today's parking negotiation. They are calling for record heat today. The streets are steamy from their morning bath. I curse the absurdity of this parking ritual. I am hoping to see a familiar face at the parking lot so I do not have to start all over again. No such luck. I enter the parking lot and see a yellow card on the van. "See attendant" it says. The van has been called for an infraction. In the tiny attendant booth is a black lady. Unlike her predecessors, she is not sitting in the sun on a milk crate and smoking a cigarette, so I am hopeful this will be easier. Maybe she is the brains of the outfit.

"I need to pay you for the van today."

"All day?"

"Yes."

"That will be $60."

"Actually, I want to pay you for 12 hours twice."

"You can't do that."

"The guy did it yesterday."

"For real?"

"Yes."

"He wasn't supposed to."

"Does anyone pay $60?"

"No."

Well, that at least confirms my suspicion that anyone drunk enough to pay $60 for one day's parking would be too drunk to drive here in the first place. I try several ways of talking her into taking two 12 hour payments now to spare me the afternoon walk back through the New Orleans heat merely to hand her what I can hand her now. She will not take the money. It seems that to do so would be punishable by death, or at least termination. I hand her a twenty .

She says "Today it is only $5 for 12 hours." Then she hands me back a ten.

"What about the other $5 in change?"

"Late penalty" she says. The price of the yellow card on the windshield. She gives me an idea though.

"What if I don't come back this afternoon? What if I just come in the morning?"

"What time in the morning?"

"7 or 7:30."

"Ten dollars- five and five" she laughs.

"Then I will see you tomorrow." Or I will see someone.

Tomorrow is a new day and a new deal.

June 15th 2009, The One Week Mark and Tales of The Big Easy

Today marks the completion of our first week on our Caulfield Cross Country Adventure. And I am happy to report that we are all still speaking to eachother! Even the teenagers are having fun and still speaking to us. I must note that the three older kids just don't have the same level of animated excitement with the announcement of the next activity we will be doing as our 7 year old. For instance, when Pat announces that we should get moving to the elavator, Fiona skips down the hall to the elevator singing a song about "we are going on the elevator!" with the same excitement level had Pat announced we are going to see three of her favorite Disney Princesses in person. If only we could all look at life with the enthusiasm of a 7 year old! But don't dare touch the elevator button! That is Fiona's job and there will be a dramatic display so emotional that you will never forget this "rule"again. But if the simple act of pushing the elevator button brings such joy, why deprive her. I wish I could get that excited about something so mundane!

As I type this posting, Pat has returned with today's parking attendant tale. I will have him write it down in his words to give it authenticity. There is yet a third attendant with a new set of rules and pricing. You really can not make this up!

Today there is supposed to be record heat. Yesterday was about 94 degrees. It is supposed to be that or higher. Tierney was the only one not complaining about the heat. She is wanting to sit by the pool and not be bothered with walking in the shade, as it is every 17 year old girl's mission in life to have the best tan ever!

Last night we ate at Acme Oyster House. Fiona insisted on getting a plate of oysters. We made several attempts to explain that we did not think she would really like oysters, but she was determined to have some oysters. We decided to compromise and got a plate for all of us. You can imagine the look on her face when she saw the actual oysters! Her enthusiasm was diminished and she had second thoughts. But we turned the tables on her and made her try one. Photos of this will be posted later today.....it is about what you would expect. And the oyster, once slithering in her mouth, was expelled shortly after back onto the shell which it arrived. Pat, Tierney and I finished the rest of the oysters. I felt that Acme Oyster House had lost the charm I recall from our 1990 visit with Mom and Dad. We did enjoy some great New Orleans food but it seemed a bit rushed and the service was not great at all. But Pat loves this place and disagrees with me. He has been coming here forever and it is like an old friend to him.

Earlier in the day we purchased bags of beads to toss from the balcony. Seems that Sunday nights are a bit tamer and no one seemed that interested in our offers. Poor Fiona....calling out for about an hour "Anyone? Anyone? Want some beads?". A few people responded but nothing like we would have gotten the night before. One gal shocked me as she started to pull her shirt up (I suppose this is what some bead tossers get in exchange for their beads). She was teasing us because she had her bathing suit on underneath. But she had me going.............

So we will have more beads to toss tonight. The revelers were called off the streets earlier this morning. It was about 4 AM when I heard the people being corralled off the streets. And the street cleaners followed with in the hour. The bar across the street finally took a break and is closed this morning. Perhaps Monday is the day of rest here on Bourbon Street for some of the bar keepers. This particular bar had not closed since we arrive Saturday. I will let you know if they reopen this afternoon.

TODAYS OWL FACT FOR JUNE 14TH

Owls live on every continent in the world except Antarctica.

OWL FACT FOR THE DAY (ONE DAY LATE)

There are 160 to 175 species of Owls in the world. I am not sure why they can not let us know if there is a specific number of species of Owls.....email me if you know the right spceific answer. This information is from the same book, "Owls Whooo are they?".

June 14th 2009 - The Big Easy Continued.......

The Tap Dancers are back! Seems they work from about 3:30PM until about 2:30AM.

We are ready for tonight....we have purchased bags of beads to toss over the balcony to the revelers. Fiona has several masks, one of which is Owl like.

We apoogize for falling behind on our Owl Fact for the Day! I think I need a sietsta and will catch up on our Owl facts and some more photos. Staying up to watch all the lunatics has made me pretty tired!

CAPTAIN PAT'S TALE OF OUR ENTRY TO THE BIG EASY

PARKING IN NEW ORLEANS

Having a big van is a real plus except when trying to park in the city. It is too tall to fit in garages. We called ahead of time and usually the hotel can valet it for us.

Driving in any kind of car in the French Quarter is a challenge. The streets are all one way, narrow, cabs are double parked, and everyone walks in the middle of the street. Pat was getting impatient to get to the hotel and was zooming down Bienville when a freshly coiffed bride, waving goodbye to her hairdresser, stepped backwards toward her double parked cab, and into the path of the Cross Country Cruiser. Fortunately Pat hit the brakes and not the corpse-to-be.

We pulled in front of the Royal Sonesta, which is on Bourbon St. at 3:45PM after a 400 mile drive down from Memphis. Pat found the Bell Captain and told him we needed help with our 23 bags, plus we needed the oversized van valeted. John, The Bell Captain, said we would have to park it ourselves. Pat invoked the name of Malcolm, who the the hotel said over the phone to see about valeting the van. John said "Malcom aint here, his mother died and he aint nobody anyway". Nevertheless, John proved to be helpful with all our needs and he gave Pat a map to a secure surface lot 4 blocks away at Rampart and St. Louis. The family stayed at the hotel and Pat went to park the pariah.

Nobody likes the van in their lot because it has a protruding tailgate hitch on which we keep a giant cooler. This lot was no exception. Pat pulled it into a space but the hitch stuck out into the entry drive aisle. "You have to move it over here" said the smoking, weatherbeaten attendant. So Pat moved it over where directed, where the hitch now protruded into the exit aisle. Somehow this was more acceptable. Now for the transaction:

"How much?" asks Pat.

"$60 a day or $10 for 12 hours."

"Huh?"

"You just want 12 hours right?"

"Actually, I want (2) 12 hours. Here is $20."

"It don't work that way."

When Pat questioned him as to this bizarre pricing structure, the attendant said, "It helps the owner keep track of cars that have been on the lot a long time." And incredibly, there was a sign confirming the price: 12 Hours - $10

24 Hours - $60

So Pat gave him $10.

"See you at 4:30 AM" says the attendant.

Pat says "I might be 5 hours late - what happens then?"

"Well, a different guy will be here, he might assess you a $10 late fee. It depends on how he feels about you."

Well, $30 is better than $60, so Pat left.

When Pat returned the next morning, a different guy was there. Pat said "I owe you another 12 hours for the big van."

"Sure" the guys says. "$10"

Pat says"Can I pay you two $10 for two 12 hours instead of coming back?".

"Sure" the guys says. "Why not?".

After all it is the Big Easy!

June 13th - DRIVE TO THE BIG EASY!

We departed Memphis and the Ducks at the Peabody for New Orleans by 8AM. We drove through Mississipi. It was a long drive for both Captain Pat and the passengers but we managed to reach NOLA by about 3:45PM. Mississipi is the only state we have seen so far to have its Wecome Center a good 12 miles after you have entered the state. We attempted to stop twice for lunch in Mississipi but were unable to find a non fast food option (one of our goals is to avoid the drive through places and their fat). I had a book called Roadfood with a great diner selection but it was a 25 minute wait and by that point we just wanted to reach our destination as good food would abound in the Crescent City. So my emergency snack packs of crackers and individual peanut butter packs came in handy for those needing a break.

As we entered the French Quarter I was reminded of how unique NOLA is. I came in 1990 with Patrick, Mom and Dad for an ABC Convention. And we were bufferred by the 24/7 aspect of this because we stayed in a giant Marriott not far from here. The cast of characters roaming around is like no where else I know. We are staying at The Royal Sonesta, located at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville. There is a bachelor party group to the left of us and a bachelorette party to the right of us. We have a 85 foot long private corner balcony on the second floor overlooking all the insanity of Bourbon Street. Between the groups staying to the left and the right of us, and the parade of lunacy below we are prepared for a long night of noise! Since the kids have never been to NOLA before, they really had no idea what to expect of it. Even I am shocked viewing it as a mother of four versus my first time prior to having kids. Your persepctive changes on everything when your 17 year old daughter is inserted into this envrionment!

When we first checked in, we were entertained by some kids "tap dancing" with their make shift taps shoes made from crushed cans or bottle caps applied to their sneakers (I havent figured out what is keeping the taps on yet). They descend upon tourists with boxes they have no doubt found from behind the bars and beg for tips. Patrick warns us that they are like feeding sea gulls. If you feed one, they will surround you! And he is correct. They try to get Pat to toss down money from our balcony. He teases that he will pay them to STOP tapping. They tell Neil to stop taking picutres/videos of them until he pays. Nothing threatening...I guess they are just trying to survive in the only way they know how. It all seems pretty interesting but I have to admit my patience was ebbing at 1:15AM when they returned to this spot (They kept going up and down the strip but seem to like this corner the best) I was tempted to lob something at them to make them stop!

Fiona's favorite part is trying to catch the beads that people are tossing from the balcony above. We are planning to buy some beads to do the same tonight. But Fiona has made it clear that she would like to keep 5 strands for herself.

Neil is taking some really great time lapse photos with the traffic lights and neon signs. I will try to post them if I can ahold of them!

They call NYC the City that never sleeps, but this city truly never goes to sleep! I heard some sort of sirens or horns that came up the street at roughly 5 AM (sorry I could not muster the energy to go take a photo but I was delerious from staying up watching everything going on until I could no longer stay awake around 2). I can only surmise tht it was the police corralling the people off of Bourbon Street so they could open the road again. At 6 AM came the street cleaners with a large truck that had a power wash hose and they literally do clean the streets with water and a street sweeping car follows behind to collect the broken and crushed bottles, beads, cups and various evidence of the parade of people from just the hour before. There are still a few revelers insisting on walking in Bourbon Street as the street cleaners attempt to do their job. Much cursing and staggering between the two groups but the street cleaners win. The bar across the street from us has not closed and as I type this there are people wandering in and ordering mixed drinks. I had commented on how dirty the streets were with all the trash bags piled up. Patrick assured me that they clean Bourbon Street every morning and I doubted they could get the streets cleaned up so well. In fact, I had to take photos of the newly cleaned streets because it was so astounding!

We plan to take the kids to a tamer place today. And I think viewing Bourbon Street from our balcony is much safer and enjoyable than walking it with the kids.

Owl Fact for June 12th ( we are on Central time so it is technically still June 12th!)

This one is amazing! Evidently the mother Owl can figure out how many eggs to lay according to the food source available to her. So if she realizes that food suplies are low, she will only lay about 4 eggs. If times are good, she will lay about 10 eggs. And if things are really looking bleak, she does not mate. Is that not fascinating? Humans almost do the opposite!

Friday, June 12th 2009 Continued.....

Rondevoux for BBQ Ribs last night for dinner. Amazing. I am not even crazy about BBQ Ribs but was like a scavenger picking over the kids' plates for any leftovers. Felt my arteries hardening as I finished the last bites!

Then off to BB Kings Blues Club for live music. The BB King Allstars were playing. They were all expert mucisians in the instrument they played and had their own bands but join together to play at BB Kings. Really great show. Then back to room to collapse!

This morning we started off with a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory. No photos allowed so I can not show how painstaking the process it to make one of these fine instruments. It is like watching the Greatest Catch...I will never complain about the price of Alaskan King Crab legs. So we will never question the price of a Gibson Guitar!

Then off to The Rock and Soul Museum a block away. We learned about the history of Memphis and its role (ha ha) in the birth of Rock and Roll. Our older kids are learning to appreciate this older music and probably enjoyed seeing how this music was seen as radical to our parents.

We then had lunch at Ground Zero Blues Club which is owned by the actor Morgan Freeman. They encouarge patrons to write on the walls. This was a wonderful form of entertainment for Fiona while we waited for our lunch! Pat wrote "Go Terps!"instead of his signature. Neil did his name and his "logo" that he started using on all his projects. The food was great once again. And I had my first taste of turnip greens and sweet potato fries...YUM!

Then to the National Civil Rights Museum. This is a very moving tribute and I wish I could have really spent more time here. But alas, Fiona had already been to three places and her attention span, which on a good day can be hit or miss, was VERY LOW. Patrick and I both agreed that it was one of the best museum exhibits we had ever visited. It is like traveling in a time warp when you see the Lorraine Motel site with the motel rooms and the cars outside of the balcony.

There was a second portion to the museum, but by this point all the kids and Patrick (and me!) were pretty museumed out. There is only so much information that a brain can absorb in one day! We road the trolly (roughly 95 years old) back to our hotel where we checked out the ducks splashing around in the fountain. The older kids and I were determined to get one last Memphis Music experience checked off of our to do list. Patrick offered to drink cold beer and watch the Ducks leave the lobby at 5PM with Fiona, while we visited Sun Studios. He was tired and we all knew that Fiona would not make it through another tour. This is when the storms rolled into town. The four of us had not idea that there were tornado warnings etc. Pat relayed this information when we returned from our Sun Studios visit. He and Fiona had returned to the room and he was watching all of this on the national and local news. Our one disappointment was that we got to Sun Studios too late to record a CD. Tierney had looked forward to this experience. But she was a good sport and I at least got to take a photo of her in front of the same microphone that Elvis used over 50 years ago! The studio was tiny. This too was a really informative tour. We have noticed that all these great tours dump you right into a store so that you can buy things that you really do not need but feel you must have! BB King's Club made you exit via a store! Brilliant marketing!

For our final meal in Memphis, we dined at the City Blues Cafe. AMAZIING! Again, this was artery hardening food that tasted soooooo great! The hostess looked like the Queen Latifah character in Hairspray! We proceeded down Beale Street one more time so we could catch some live music. What a treat we encountered (once again accidentally) a guy playing a beat up set of drums in his bare feet and a guitar made from a cigar bos and broom sticks. I am hoping Neil got some good video clips to post. I took photos. Fiona was asked to dance up front and it was pretty hilarious! And this guy proceeded to drink shots of whiskey (which he told Fiona they were Cod Liver Oil) in a rapid succession. WE of course then had to buy some of his CDs once we heard all his great music. He had a great bass player with him (who I must also add allowed me and the girls to use a bathroom in the theater which they were playing in front of). I must post the pictures for you to really grasp just how unusual this scene was! He was set up in front of a little theater and there was a sidewalk beer stand (I even had a beer - no wine for sale- which the kids found amusing). It was quite memorable and it is just plain funny how you can stumble upon some really great things sometimes. And for our final event of the evening there were two guys doing continuous handstands down Beale Street! I sadly had shoved my camera in the backpack and the settings had changed and so I did not capture this on camera. I am hoping that Neil got something we can post. These guys work for tips and I wonder what they can make in one evening.

So by now you are thinking that you have better things to do than read my ramblings! There was just so much to tell and this is becoming a journal of sorts for us. I am not going to be offended if you stopped reading a few paragraphs ago!

Captain Pat wants to get on the road by 8. I will try to post some photos and hen I have to get to bed so I am ready to assist in our departure.

Tornado in Memphis - Never a Dull Moment! June 12th, 2009

Just posting this blog to let everyone know that we are fine. Tornadoes were East , South and West of here and sadly lots of people without power and there was destruction to some buildings. Patrick and I figured that it was on the national news and you might be wondering where the crazy Caulfield Clan is in the midst of this tragedy. Terney, Neil, Owen and I were in the middle of the tour at Sun Studios (birth place of Rock and Roll!) and it felt like the building was shaking. The tour guide left us to find out what was going on. Made for quite the exciting tour! She returned to tell us that the front door blew open so hard from the wind that it broke the door. All I could think of was what a bizzare way to exit this world...in the studios where Elvis recorded his first record.

Speaking of Elvis, we started our Memphis experience by visiting Graceland on our way in to town. It was not at all what Patrick and I had envisioned as far as where is was located and how many buildings on the grounds. It is right on a busy road that connects to the highway leading into the city of Memphis.

We have a break in the weather and are going to run and grab our last Beale Street Experience. Will post more information tonight or tomorrow....we are up early to head to NOLA!

DAY FOUR - JUNE 11TH 2009 - HEADING TO MEMPHIS!

We are on Route 40 headed towards Memphis, our third stop on our cross country adventure. Bad storms in Nashville this morning but luckily it cleared up by the time we checked out. We polled the kids and asked them what they thought about Nashville on a scale of 1 to 10 and here are the reponses: Fiona, Neil and Tierney gave it a 10. Owen gave it a 9 but he really could not explain his reasoning for not giving it a solid 10. So they are all enjoying the experiences of this road trip. We are all getting used to loading and unloading the van pretty efficiently. As you can imagine, Captain Pat has very specific instructions on how we pack the bags.

Nashville became a hotbed of actitivity with the CMA Music Festival officially beginning today. The Bellman was perplexed as to why we would be checking out on this particular day, when the all the excitement was just beginning. But we have places to see! And frankly, how could we ever top our first 24 hours in Nashville! We hopefuly will get the photo of us with Darryl Worley so we can really shamelessly brag about this experience some more. A person from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation took the photo with her camera (what ever was I thinking to not hand her my pocket camera!!! Neil had left by then with his camera). We are waiting for her to email it to us. And of course she is on vacation the rest of this week!

We are planning on commemorating our trip by decorating the van with state flag stickers from each state that we pass through. So if you thought the last van looked eclectic with all the school stickers on it, wait to you see this! And Fiona and I are sewing (correction, I am sewing) patches from all the places we visit on our back packs. Thank you Amy for the great idea! They are going to be quite the conversation pieces! Tierney, Owen and Neil were not interested in this activity but have started collecting pins or post cards of each place (less labor intensive).

As I type this we are approaching the 1,000th mile! Better sew those patches on before we arrive in Memphis.....before we collect more patches. That is all for now.....................

Daily Owl Fact for June 11th 2009

As part of our blog, we felt that YOU, the readers need to know some Owl facts, supplied to us by Fiona. We will try to include posting one each day (or so) for your entertainment and ever growing knowledge of Owls.

Did you know that Owls have an ear that is higher and one that is lower on their heads? This is assymetrical unlike our symmetrical facial features. This allows the Owl to determine where sounds are coming from. Fiona says this lets them hear where their prey is...........This fun Owl fact is taken from Owls Whoo are they? by Kila Jarvis and Denver W. Holt. It was purchased at the New River Gorge Bridge Visitor's Center and has provided HOURS of Owl facts.

Bet you did not know about Owls' assymetrically placed ears?!

Day Three - June 10th 2009

There is so much to tell about the past 24 hours and I have promised a trip to the pool to the Owl Expert. We drove through Kentucky and then arrived in Nashville around 4:30.

I will only say that last night ended with Tierney, Fiona, Patrick and myself in a photo with Darryl Worley! We have been like the Forrest Gumps of Nashville as we stumble upon amazing events. I must give all the details later tonight after I have kept my promise to go to the pool! Today our luck continued as we happened to get a window seat in a restaurant for lunch and a parade of Country Music performers went by (literally a parade! they apparently closed the road right after we went into the restaurant and we did not notice anything until the crowds started forming). I had my trusty telephoto lens and was able to snap some photos of various artists and race car drivers etc.....But the Fiona is waiting and I will need more time to tell these tales! Scared to think of how many photos I will have by the end of this trip!

WE SURVIVED DAY ONE OF OUR BIG JOURNEY!

Our journey begins! We pack up the van and headed toward Charleston, West Virginia. We stopped to see the New River Gorge Bridge on our way. It is an impressive structure. At the Visitors' Center, we got each of the kids a National Parks Passport which they can stamp at each National Park we visit. Fiona got a book on Owls and has kept us well informed on these interesting raptors for the past 24 hours (whether we want to be informed or not!). She also got a Junior Ranger hat which suits her since she likes the image of authority it gives her. The three teenagers are holding up well with all this family time in the car together. Pat is also holding up well with all the driving. The last 50 miles approaching Charleston we were pounded with thunderstorms which made for a taxing last hour of driving. Once we had to pull over it was raining so hard. Going through the mountains almost created a tunnel effect with the winds from the storm. As I type this we have just passed into the state of Kentucky on our way to Nashville.