Right Back Where I Started From

Greetings from the Golden State! My husband and I had a great trip, driving across the country. We left on Saturday and took I35 to Wichita, Kansas. We stayed on the outskirts, but drove to downtown the next morning to get some exercise. We walked around downtown for about an hour and stumbled upon this cool Old Town area. Best part was we found a Dunn Bros. Coffee Shop! It's a small outfit that was started in St. Paul and they roast the beans right in the store. Sadly, that was to be our last espresso until we arrived in Santa Fe.



From Wichita, we took 2-lane highways, which made for some beautiful views if you like flat and desolate. We rarely saw another car and got blank stares when we asked about a coffee shop. But we found this town, which didn't have espresso but did have a sense of humor.



Santa Fe was very cool and I spent way too much money there on a hat. What was I thinking! I could have bought several pairs of running shoes, but I never had a custom hat before. That was one good salesman! I should hire him to sell my house.



When we left Santa Fe, we were back on the Interstate. I missed the back highways and wanted to drive on the old Route 66, but we didn't have time. We had about 600 miles to drive to get to Vegas. We did get off the Interstate at one town, because the Garmin system we got told us there was an espresso shop there. We ended up in Winslow, Arizona of Eagles fame. You know, "Standing on a Corner in Winslow Arizona." It's on the Route 66 and they had a little tribute to the song, complete with mural, bronze statue, and a red flatbed Ford truck.



On our way to Vegas, we passed Hoover Dam. After all the times we've been to Las Vegas, we've never been to to Dam. It was actually too dark to see anything, but the structure looked cool, with its Art Deco architecture. I was too tired to go out to dinner, so we had room service and went for a walk on the Strip in the morning.

The last leg of our journey was uneventful but exciting for us, because we would be spending the night in our new house. We arrived on Wednesday night and had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents the next day. Friday we did our part to help the economy and Saturday the moving van finally arrived. They finished unloading right before dark and now my house is full of moving boxes and paper. That will give me something to do.

Now it's time to get used to how they do things here. We joined a gym and I can't help but compare it, unfavorably, to my old gym. But at least I got some exercise. They have a new club opening up next month, so maybe I'll like that better. SD just left for a business trip and I didn't realize how much I relied on him--I feel like the new kid in school. But I know it will pass.

I'm hoping to get Internet access this week; until then I'm at the mercy of coffee shops that offer free Wi-Fi, so my posting will remain sporadic. I expect to be more settled next week and will be able to get back to reading and commenting on YOUR blogs. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Talk to you soon.