the rain on the plain (it follows us everywhere)...best of day 3...

high plains driftin' into the southwest

ok here is the point in the trip where things go from kind of different to super fucking awesome in the span of like 10 miles. we start out early from amarillo. like way more early than is necessary. our mother has a thing for getting up really early on vacation. there is simply no getting around this.

so we depart amarillo, destination santa fe. duration: apx four hours....

nina: i try to explain that vacation is the time for NOT getting up early if you don't have to, but mom counters with the idea that this is the one time that you SHOULD get up early so there's really just no working this one out. but i'm glad we did because the high plains of texas are super beautiful in the morning.

once we get outside of amarillo, things become so fantastically wonderful.

nina: i had no idea texas was so beautiful. it was enough to make me forget getting a phd and just want to become a rancher or something. if they didn't execute people for everything from jaywalking to mass homicide in texas, i might consider it....

we stop at a pull of area to get a full sense of how great the plains really are. and to take a whole bunch of pictures.

nina: ok...so somewhere around in here is where i almost ran over a roadrunner. he was not, i repeat, NOT running. more like leisurely strolling across I-40. and he kind of blended in with the road. so i didn't see him until it was almost too late (for him). it went a little something like this:

driving...driving...

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!?" as i slam the breaks and swerve to avoid the unperturbed bird...

at this point, mom relaunches into a critique of my driving skills, specifically my hasty use of the breaks.

there was no choice. either slam the breaks and swerve. or kill the roadrunner.

susie: i must say though, seeing the roadrunner was the highlight of my day. someone asked me if they actually exist. indeed they do, but are slow.

new mexico is beautiful and all in the car (including mothra, who rarely agrees with us) wanted to stay in the land of enchantment.

nina: i would stay anywhere right now that meant i didn't have to start school. seriously...

nina: new mexico is where we (i) start to pull of every other exit or so to drive down parts of rt 66. because that's all that's left... parts. it's WAY depressing. more on that to come...

finally, and we do mean FINALLY (this was the longest four hour drive ever), we get to santa fe. susie wanted to see whole foods, so we went there. then drove around for like an hour looking for a hotel that would be acceptable to all (mostly mothra) and then drove around for like another hour, at which point it started pouring rain, trying to find a restaurant of the same. in the process we found a shop specializing in chocolate... AND...AND... they made a lot of their chocolate with agave, not sugar...which made it double awesome.

FINALLY we ended our day with some much needed drinks......

the best of day 2 / plains pics

day 2: oklahoma--> amarillo

we could make some lame show tune reference here, but we won't. after arkansas, it was like heaven. bodypolitik, we believe you that there are nice places in arkansas (sort of), but they are nowhere near I-40. unless your idea of nice is going to a really skanky strip club and then going to repent in a church that is roughly the size of rhode island...then, hey, to each his own.

i will say though, that the little downtown area of little rock that we ate dinner in was cool. and the food was really good. but enough about that...

it has been hard to keep this updated daily, because traveling is really taking it out of us. coming into oklaholma, the best thing was seeing the signs for muskogee.

nina: i sang the entire "okie from muskogee" song unaccompanied to celebrate. no. it is not on video. so don't even ask.

after arkansas/tennessee, we were really ready to discover the excellence, as promised by the welcome sign. and mothra (when taking a break from critiquing nina's driving style), read to us about the great plains.

we stopped at a welcome center that depicted the trail of tears in vastly oversized painting (of which we do not have a picture), but did have these cool little picnic tables in teepee shelters:

after a stop in oklahoma city, where we visited the monument to the victims of the bombing and had a tasty lunch at a remodeled soda fountain shoppe, we headed out across the great plains.

nina: somewhere after entering the great plains, i became obsessed with the idea of tornadoes...i mean what happens if we see one where do we go? where do the cows and horses go? is a tornado going to happen now?

susie: here we were once again glad to have mothra along. she is our own survival guide. always prepared. luckily no tornado came, but I think we could have survived it.

coming into texas was...disappointing. we were really hoping that the sign would be on par with the oklahoma sign, saying something like "everything's bigger here" or "don't mess with texas". but alas..no. drive friendly? come on... where's the superior separatist sentiment we were looking forward to?

driving across the high plains was AWESOME. we never thought texas could be so beautiful, but more about that in day 3.

amarillo. this might need to be its own blog. we stopped at the big texan ranch to eat. which is like "south of the border" (please tell me you are familiar with this classic sc/nc landmark), but texas style. oh yes... more on this later... and also how nina myers almost succeeded where wiley coyote failed so many times...

susie: can I just add that while the steak at the big texan was very good, the texas tourists were not. it made me miss some good southern manners.

jesus is wassup

the best of day1 / selected arkansian images

day 1: the art of relating to other sinful and selfish people

day 1 began around 6:00 am this morning. the car is at capacity. when we finally stop for the night in arkansas, so are our abilities to cope and interrelate.

it hasn't been all bad though...here is a brief video that captures the mood somewhere around hour 2.38:

most of the day was spent driving through tennessee. which was pretty much exactly to be expected...boring as hell. through a large part of tennessee all we could get on the radio was the ultra-conservative christian network. apparently there is a war going on against children. as in having them. but according to this show, children need lots of sibling so that they can "learn the art of relating to other sinful and selfish people". yeah.

we stopped in memphis for starbucks.

nina: i was filled with a twinge of nostalgia in memphis. this was shortly replaced by a twinge of nausea as i drove over the mississippi bridge, as i have slight vertigo issues...

then came arkansas.
in case anyone was wondering....arkansas blows. seriously. my apologies to anyone from arkansas (if you are reading this), but it really does.

we did have a really good meal though. at cafe place on main st in little rock. if you are ever in little rock...eat there. nina had a spinach salad with prosciutto, pesto oil, and fresh mozzarella
susie had the asian kabob salad. and mothra had the chicken pesto salad.


the only bad part about dinner was that by the time it was over, the shops were closed and we missed out on our opportunity to buy awesome sweaters with bedazzled razorbacks.

also, it has to be said that the funniest part about arkansas is the number of "adult" clubs. they match the number of churches at a ratio of at least 1:1. in some places (like I-40) the ratio is something like 1.5-2:1, in favor of the clubs. bill clinton is now no surprise.
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nina: personally i feel that the highlight of the day was the dog groomer we passed called "doggie stylz". i mean seriously...

susie: it was, though i don't think mother enjoyed it as much as we did. honorable mention to the large "adultery is a sin" billboard.



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tomorrow...amarillo....and lots of red meat...