Straight Road Trippin' - Day 1

We weren't even out of our neighborhood when Jared asked, for the first time, "Are we out of Texas yet?" Literally, five minutes later he asked again - and he didn't stop asking until we reached the border of New Mexico.

Now, we are in our hotel room in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Much like Afton, Wyoming, everyone here seems to wear plaid, boots, and tight jeans.

The road trip has been enjoyable. We have sufficient snacks for a family of 12 and I suppose they will last through half the day tomorrow.

We have:

2 cans of fat free Pringles
Bananas
Apples
Wheat tortillas
Shredded chicken w/ Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Granola bars
Chex Mix
Fat free blueberry muffins
Go Lean cereal
Bag of mixed candy
Bottled water
Crystal light powder pouches
Propel powder pouches
Several packs of Trident apple/raspberry and strawberry lime gum
Rold Gold cheddar pretzels
Pistachios
Trail Mix
Nilla Wafers, the mini Shrek kind
Fruit snacks (Costco size)
And whatever else I couldn't think of

Here is a list of the music we listened to:

Backyardigans
Sugarland
Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Showtime
I Will Follow Him in Faith (Kid's CD)
Joseph: A Nashville Tribute
The Best of Simon & Garfunkel

Our first stop was the McDonald's in Vernon, TX. The boys had happy meals and Wendy and I had some of our chicken with the wheat tortillas.

230 "Are we out of Texas yets?" later, we stopped in Clarendon. There was an old museum that I wanted to see. It was closed, but we still got to see this old jail house. I can't imagine having to spend the day in this jail cell during the summer. It was 92 degrees and humid. It would have been brutal in that cell.

There was also and old bunk house and an old hospital. It was a neat little town.

We then picked up our handcarts and put our shoulders to the wheel - ummm... well, we got into our air conditioned SUV with leather upholstery, navigation, 6 disc changer, and DVD player. And don't forget about the year supply of snacks. But, we do like to think of our pioneer ancestors as we make these road trips. In fact, as Wendy was sinking her teeth into one of the blueberry muffins, she said, "Think of how grateful the Martin Handcart Company would have been for this muffin." I thought, "They would have been more grateful if it wasn't fat free!"

Next stop, and 260 "Are we out of Texas yets?" later (notice how the frequency has decreased? That is because I threatened his life if I heard him ask that question again. Occasionally, I would hear him whisper the question to Wendy, who is in the back seat. I pretended like I didn't hear him because I love him too much to kill him, but I didn't want him to think I wouldn't do what I said I would do. Plus, I didn't want to stop the car.) we noticed a sign for a Quarter Horse museum in Amarillo. We made the stop and it was well worth it. It is less than a week old, and they definitely sunk some money into the architecture. It was neat and we all enjoyed it. We arrived about 20 minutes before closing time, so we weren't able to see the film on the history of the quarter horse. As nerdy as it sounds, I wish I could have watched that.

Finally, we made it to Tucumcari, home of the Mesalands Community College Dinosaur Museum. We enjoyed the museum and the boys had a blast. They were excited to see the T-Rex skeleton. There also had a lot of fun digging for dinosaur bones.

We finally made it to our hotel. I had reservations at the Holiday Inn Express - you know, the hotel where "smart" people stay. Well, it turns out their swimming pool was out of service. But, the desk attendant said, "We have a deal with the Hampton Inn. If you are staying here, you can use their pool for free!" To which I asked, "Okay, where is the Hampton Inn?" To which she replied, "About 3 miles down the interstate." To which I said, "Well, why don't I just stay there then?" To which she said, while shrugging here shoulders, "I don't know."

3 miles and one canceled reservation later we were at the Hampton Inn. We took our stuff up to the room then headed for the nearest source of food - DENNEY'S. Only one time prior had I dined at Denney's. My experience was not great, but I thought I would give them another chance. Big mistake! To make a long story short, as soon as our waitress took our order moved away from our table, I put a $100 bill on the table and told Wendy, "I will leave that there as her tip if our order comes out without a mistake." Her tip was $4 and were the bet reciprocal, I would have had at least $500 in my pocket for each mistake she made.

After dinner, we took the kids swimming. It was fun, and we were all able to get rid of the "cooped up" feeling.

Finally, bedtime. The beds were nice and comfortable and we all slept pretty well - IN THE SAME BED! Both boys migrated to our QUEEN SIZED bed. I finally jumped into their bed and not long after Jared was with me. When I asked him why he switched beds through the night, he said, "I didn't want you to be lonely."

Day 2 up next...