Our trip to Tucson

Guillermo and I left 3 days early so that we could visit some places before meeting up with Rebeca, Jason and Scotty in Sedona, Arizona.
The first night we drove from San Antonio to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We hadn't planned on going that far (we had planned to stop in Roswell, New Mexico) but we left earlier in the morning than we thought we would so we found ourselves with still plenty of day once we were in Roswell.  Bleahh.  The drive from Roswell to Vaughn, New Mexico was incredibly monotonous.  Not even driving from Fort Stockton to Van Horn is as bad!  The drive seemed to be a continuous straight road ahead as far as the horizon.  Then we'd get to where we thought we had seen the end, go over a slight hill, and there before us was another stretch of seemingly endless straight road.  We must have gone through that 5 or 6 times.  Maybe more.  And there was nothing beautiful about the landscape.  It seemed we were stuck in some sort of warp that was never going to end.  But finally it did.  Vaughn had also been on our list of possible places to stay the night but fortunately we were still ready to keep on going.  Vaughn had absolutely nothing going for it.

When it was Guillermo's turn to drive, I'd look up possible places to stay in Santa Fe (because by now that was our goal) and by the time we got to Santa Fe had settled on a place that seemed to be fairly decent and less expensive than most other places there.  We checked into the Del Rey Courts and what a precious little place that was.  We loved it there.  We asked to be switched from the first room they put us in because the first room didn't have a fridge.  That turned out well because the 2nd room was nicer and more private with the room facing a little courtyard.  We seemed to be the only people in that little section of the hotel.  We drove around downtown Santa Fe a little before going for dinner. Santa Fe is really nice and we wouldn't mind going back there one of these days.  Where we chose to have dinner was right by the hotel but we were disappointed with the food.  It was raining hard when we left the restaurant.  Later that evening, we walked around the hotel grounds and were surprised how big it was and also how lovely and relaxing it was.  So many little nooks and crannies practically everywhere you walked with nice gardens and landscaping.

 Our room was to the left of that closest table.  We were the only people in this se ction that evening.  We ate our breakfast on that table the next morning.

Our first room was in this section.  Still very nice, but not as private.

The next day was a somewhat shorter drive.  We drove to the Thunderbird Lodge, which is just outside Chinle, Arizona.  This lodge is on the Navajo Nation.  Very nice place - we got a room on the end so it was nice and quiet.  That late afternoon and early evening we did the south side drive of Canyon de Chelly.  Wow!!  Very impressive!  Our first stop was at Tunnel Overlook.  It was a little alarming right at first to walk towards the edge of the cliff, realize there are no barriers whatsoever, and to feel the strong wind at our backs blowing in the direction of the cliff's edge!!  Looking in either direction, we could see that it was an absolute straight down from those cliff edges.   It was very sobering and definitely made you feel extreme caution about getting anywhere near those edges.  I can't imagine taking kids to these lookouts.  Anyway, the views were absolutely stunning.  We overloaded our cameras and phones with pictures.  

It really is straight down!

The White House Overlook.  There are some dwellings just to the left of center of the picture.

That night we ate in the hotel's cafeteria.  I ordered a Navajo burger.  My goodness, that burger was as big as a regular size plate.  No way I could finish it.  But that worked out, because we took the rest to our room, and shared it for breakfast the next morning.

These below were taken the next day on our drive on the north side of the canyon.

The next day we drove through lots of very beautiful and interesting scenery in Arizona.  Arizona really is a beautiful state.  We visited Monument Valley - quite hot there- then drove towards Page, Arizona where we saw Lake Powell.  Guillermo was going to hike down to Horseshoe Bend but it was the middle of the afternoon, it was so hot and sitting in the parking lot watching the hordes - and we do mean hordes - of people heading up and down the trail just made it not appealing at all. So we drove on.  Our next stop was the Cameron Trading Post in Cameron, AZ.  It was weird from Page, AZ on because we were never really sure what time it was.  The Navajo nation observes daylight saving time, but Arizona does not.  So, sometimes it was confusing as to what time it was in different places.

Arizona scenery

Monument Valley

Lake Powell

The Cameron Trading Post was probably our favorite stop.  Such a nice hotel - our room had a front balcony and also a private back balcony which had a view of the Little Colorado River.  The trading post had one of the best stores for souvenirs and groceries.  And a nice restaurant with a wonderful view.  

This was the view from our private balcony.

The next day we visited the Grand Canyon.  It was a little unbelievable to me that I was FINALLY getting to see it!!  The day was a little hazy, so the color wasn't all that great.

After a quick yummy lunch of hot dogs (our rare indulgence) eaten inside our car, we made our way out of Grand Canyon National Park.  Now it was time to head to what we had been looking forward to the most - meeting up with Rebeca, Jason and Scotty in Sedona!  We got into rain as we got close to Flagstaff and into terrible road construction just on the other side of Flagstaff.  Going through Oak Creek Canyon was a really beautiful drive.  We got to the Oak Creek Terrace Resort, got the keys to our room and Rebeca's room, unloaded our stuff and then just sat outside Rebeca's room waiting for them to arrive.  Oh what happiness when they finally did!!!!

We had a lot of rain and storms during our two day stay here.  It was exciting, but kind of kept us from doing fun things along the creek.  Scotty and I loved to spend time in some huge swings they had on a back porch, but so many times they were wet from all the rain.

We loved being on those swings!

We had fun at this resort.  It's not a resort resort, it's quite rustic, but still it's a nice place.  Scotty loved the Koi pond which was close to our room.  He especially enjoyed feeding them and loved it when one time the fish got in a little frenzy and splashed his daddy!!

We were able to spend a few minutes one time down on the creek although we could tell there was a storm coming.  A big loud crack of thunder sent us scurrying back up the hill to our room!

But before that, here we are enjoying the creek.

Having ice cream in Sedona

 Once in Tucson -

We did our usual Costco run which we've been doing with Scotty since he was tiny.  Lately, he really enjoys the Polish Sausage and then some ice cream afterwards.

 Riding around on his bike in the garage at home.

About to go out the gate that leads to the wash behind their house.  We took several walks up and down that wash!

Still has lots of fun with his water table!

One evening we took Scotty to the Pantano wash bridge in hopes of seeing the bats fly out.  We never saw them, but saw other interesting things like rabbits and roadrunners.

Then we took Scotty to Ha Long Bay for dinner!  He really enjoyed his strawberry smoothie with tapioca.

Another day we went to Toys R Us and bought Scotty a little grill.  

And we got over the plan of setting up the tent out in the yard.  Just too hot.  So we set it up in the living room and we did a lot of playing and reading books in it.

Our last weekend in Tucson, we spent Saturday night at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.  Wow, that night there was a terrific storm.  With lightning that I can't remember seeing before.  Usually lightning just lights up the grounds.  This time the lightning actually was blinding.  It was really wild!  Fortunately we had a nice private balcony, but even so, we stayed inside while this storm was going on.

Scotty loved spending time in our room and our bed!

 The next day we took a walk to the waterfall on the property.

And we enjoyed a swim in the pool

 Playing with colorful snakes back at home

We also took a walk to the wash by Irene's house while in Tucson.  The wash was running and Scotty and I removed our shoes and walked around just a little in the cool water.

Getting in some pictures before taking off back to San Antonio the next day.

In Durham

We moved out of the Airbnb place and into Fernando's place on the 28th.

Fernando and Eva had a meeting at Duke to go to late that morning so they dropped Guillermo and me off at Duke Gardens so we could spend some time there with Leo.  It was beautiful there and when we heard there was a cafe on the grounds we took a walk in that direction.  What a disappointment when we realized the cafe was actually closed.

After discovering the cafe was closed we spent a lot of time at this Koi pond and had some snacks there.  Then we headed back to the visitor center and waited in their lobby for Fernando and Eva to get back.

At one point, I left Guillermo and Leo in the lobby to see if there was anything that we couldn't live without from the gift shop.  I was in there paying for some item when Guillermo came rushing in with Leo saying I needed to get back.  Turns out Leo had had a little meltdown in the lobby and had flung two handfuls of cheerios around the room!!  Guillermo said the man at the front desk peeked at them when it was happening but then just put his head down and pretended he hadn't seen anything.  Anyway, we cleaned up all the cheerios and shortly after Fernando and Eva came back.

We also checked out Durham's Costco today.

June 29th

Guillermo has started clearing all the leaves away from the garden and has big plans for it!!  Eva, Leo and I went to Target in the afternoon and while we were there, Guillermo called saying he had been stung perhaps 14 times by wasps while clearing those leaves!!!  He wanted me to bring home a spray bottle and some dish detergent.  So, when we get back, Guillermo and Fernando are in the garden (Fernando got stung several times also) trying to do something about those wasps.  They immediately put the detergent in the bottle and set to work doing in those wasps.  And to think that Leo had been running around in those leaves practically everyday since we arrived!  We did not know that yellow jackets make their nests in the ground!

June 30th

The garden is getting in shape!!!  I'm impressed with how much Fernando works out in that garden also.  It's so hot and muggy outside so it can't be all that pleasant.  Evidently he is a gardener just like his dad and his sister!

In the evening we went back to the same plaza where we had Pizza the other day but this time had dinner at the Nantucket Grill.  Again, good food, nice atmosphere out on the patio and Leo loved running around in the plaza.

July 1st

Our last full day in Durham.

Leo helped his Abuelito plant some seeds today!

This evening we took a drive to Chapel Hill and had dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant.  It was a nice drive, a good meal and a fun break.  The pig having dinner outside another restaurant down the block was a bonus!

Fernando and family moving to a new city

June 25, 2017
After breakfast at our hotel, I drove Eva and Leo to the airport for their flight to Durham.  Meanwhile, Guillermo and Fernando went back to the house one last time, turned over the keys, etc. and then gassed up the uhaul.  Then they waited for me at the hotel to come back from the airport.

The drive this day was good.  We got as far as Suwanee, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.  We had a few little issues along the way such as finding gas stations that were good enough to pull into with a truck that was pulling a trailer.  Or finding a place to eat that had a good enough place to park the truck with the trailer.  The drive through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama was nice with very interesting scenery.  Georgia is also a very beautiful state.  When we stopped at the Hampton Inn in Suwanee, my goodness that place looked fancy.  Not all Hampton Inns are the same!!  I braced myself for the price they were going to give me for the night, but it was the exact same price as we had paid the night before so that was surprising and nice!  Fernando found a Korean restaurant nearby where we had a very good dinner that evening.  Fernando had to have been pretty tired because he drove all day without a break from driving.

June 26, 2017
Guillermo started off driving our car and drove for about two hours before we decided we needed to make a change.  Since Eva and Leo spent last night at a hotel in Durham, they had until 1:30 to stay in their room before the hotel was going to charge them for an extra half day.  So we decided that Guillermo would ride with Fernando in the truck (which was slower) and that I would go on with our car to Durham and hopefully get there before 1:30.  I drove for over 4 hours straight and got to their hotel at about 1:05 or so.  Eva and Leo were having lunch in a Waffle House next to the hotel so we finished up lunch there, then Eva picked up their bags from the hotel desk and we drove on to the Airbnb house we had reserved for the next two nights.  Thank goodness for Google Maps!!!!!

The house we rented was in such a nice area, had 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and also had kids toys, which Leo just loved!!  He was so happy there at that house!

Ok, we're at a new house.  Am I going to like it here?

Yes, it's fun here at this temporary house!  And how I love pushing my own stroller around!!

It was nice to have this place to whisk Leo away to while things were being unpacked and put together at their new house.  How Leo loved it here and I usually had a very hard time convincing him to leave to go eat or go back to the other house. 

Shortly after we arrived at that house, Fernando let us know that they had arrived at their rental house so we drove over there to meet them.

Their house is cute, they have a good sized yard and a garden waiting to be fixed up and planted in the back!  The garden is covered with leaves right now and Leo sure loved running around in and throwing those leaves!

 We had dinner at a very nice Pizza place the first evening.  We ate outside on the patio and there was plenty of space for Leo to run around.

Last days in New Orleans

Last few days in New Orleans.  We had fun keeping Leo busy while Fernando and Eva packed up their stuff.  We took him to the Children's Museum twice, riding the street car one of those times.

We were going to ride the ferry also across the Mississippi River also, but it proved to be too difficult to figure out the correct place to go with the heat that day.

At the Children's Museum

Eva with her Mother's Day shirt, Fernando with his Father's Day shirt and Leo with his own special shirt.

Enjoying an ice cream at the mall

Last meal in their New Orleans house.

We arrived in New Orleans on Sunday, June 18th (Father's Day).  Tuesday night (June 20th), we had a little scare with Tropical Storm Cindy off-shore.  There were warnings there could be power outages (yikes!  in that oppressive heat that would have been rough) and possibly orders to evacuate.  Fernando and Eva found headlamps and candles they had already packed away, they gathered containers of water, and Guillermo and I went to Walmart earlier that day to pick up some food items.  We took Leo with us to Walmart and when we went back to the car after shopping, it was raining and the wind was really whipping.  Leo thought it was fun!

It rained hard almost all night long.  It sure sounded bad but in the end, the worst part of the storm seemed to be hitting further east.  The relief we felt when we realized that things weren't going to get worse was tremendous.  New Orleans is a really nice and interesting city and I'm going to miss it, but I'm sure glad Fernando and Eva don't live there anymore.  

So the following Saturday (June 24th) was the big "packing up of the U-Haul" day.  I had a fun day planned for Leo and told the rest the two of us would be back in a couple of hours.  We were going to go to an indoor playground for a while, but when we got there, it was closed and wasn't going to open for a couple of hours.  So, what to do.  What to do.  We drove to a park near their house and Leo played on the playground for a little while.  But it was so hot!!!  After a while, we got back in the car and had a snack.  Now what do we do.  It still wasn't time to go back.  So, we went to Walmart and hung out there for a while!!  It wasn't the morning we had planned, but it turned out ok.

The weather was good in the morning, but there were thunderstorms during the afternoon that delayed the loading of the truck for a while.  After Leo's nap and lunch, it was time for me to take him to the hotel we were going to be staying in that night.  We packed up a few things and off we went.  Leo looked absolutely precious pulling his little ladybug suitcase into the hotel!!!  The staff just loved seeing him pulling it along.  We unload our stuff into the room and open the door between our rooms and Leo had a blast running back and forth between rooms.  It was such a perfect set-up.  Then we changed into our bathing suits and we went down to the pool.  The pool was really nice and had floats and pool noodles to use.  It was sprinkling just a little when we got to the pool but that was ok.  Leo had fun floating on the pool noodles and floats and sitting on the steps and splashing me.  Then it started raining a little too hard so we packed up and went back to the room.  A little later, everyone came by the hotel (except Guillermo) and we went out to get some dinner.  Fernando took his to-go so he could also take Guillermo's food back to him.  After we ate, I dropped Eva and Leo back off at the hotel and then went back to the house to finish up whatever needed to be done to get the house ready to leave.  We were totally finished by 9pm and we all went back to the hotel.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn Elmwood - one of our most favorite Hampton Inns ever!

Nice surprise

We celebrated Guillermo's 75th birthday yesterday!!

It's always not easy for Guillermo to pick a place to have a birthday dinner (for me it's simple - Pappadeaux is my go-to place for a celebration).  He thought of several places and we planned on going to one of them until I saw a Facebook post that reminded me of a restaurant that we both had gone to in Leon Valley.  The Leon Valley Cafe was in a tiny little spot close to city hall, with only about 3 or 4 tables, but the food and dessert was outstanding.  I asked Guillermo if he wanted to go there and he was immediately excited about that.

So we drove there, but saw no cars so figured it was closed.  The note on the door said it had moved!!!  So, we drove to the new place which was really close.  Oh wow, what a pleasant surprise.  The restaurant is now in an old home by Raymond Rimkus park.  It is much bigger and really nicely set up.

So we had a wonderful meal in a nice restaurant.  We were happy to see other people coming in so hopefully this new set up will work for them.  It should, since it was so enjoyable for us.  Next time, we'll bring our own bottle of wine!