Day 37-- The Big Rally (Sunday)

Believe it or not, my friends from Long Island flew to SF to hold a rally against radio talk show host Michael Savage. We just happen to be there (divine intervention). One of the organizers, John, asked me to speak, but I wanted Michael to try. So, I wrote a speech with Michael's help.

We drove into the city around 10:30am. It was foggy (think of the odds). The radio station was right near a train station. I parked in front of a homeless man's "home". I don't know what to call it. But, it was sad. There are a lot of homeless in SF.

The rally started around 11:30am. There were around 100 people there. It was awesome. Michael did an excellent job on his speech and I videotaped it. Here is the video:



I also posted pictures on my mac page: http://homepage.mac.com/lighthousestudios/PhotoAlbum68.html

Afterwards, Michael and I walked around looking for a place to eat, for about an hour. I was never so happy to see a McDonalds in my life! I wanted to see more of the city, but Michael kept saying "put the hotel in the GPS!". I did go "the long way"- which means of course through the worse traffic known to man. I was getting 19 MPG in SF. No wonder everyone has hybrids cars in that city.

When we got back to the hotel room we worked on the rally photos and video. Michael was on a couple of news programs in SF, Sacramento and Reno, NV. It was really cool. I think Michael was very proud of himself- I know I was. I was crying like a baby when he was doing his speech. The night before he was saying "I'm scared" a million times and I thought he wouldn't go through with it. But, he was a trooper. Actually, he kept trying to walk over the mic and go next, when it wasn't his turn yet.

(i'm going to post pictures soon)

Day 36-- San Francisco!

I love San Francisco. I went there when I was 20 and just fell in love with the city. It really is beautiful. I love the buildings, the bridges, the water, the fog, the culture. Michael couldn't care less. He's just always looking for his next hit of french fries.

We took off from Monterey and it was REALLY pretty. I saw artichoke farms (awesome) and wanted to stop so badly, but kept going. We drove through the town of Gilroy. They were having their annual Garlic Festival. The traffic was backed up for about 10 miles. I was SO happy we were going in the opposite direction. I probably would have stopped and visited the festival, but you know how Michael is allergic to garlic. He probably would have gotten sick just from breathing the air. I thought of my dad though. He is the garlic king.

Anyway, we got to the hotel at 2:50pm and checked in a little early. The hotel was awesome. We had a fridge and microwave, which really comes in handy. We were on the first floor, which was very nice. And they had FREE laundry, which I've never seen before. I washed everything I owned. I even took the sheets and blankets out of the car! Michael and I spent the night relaxing and getting ready for the big day on Sunday! (see Day 37 for details).

Day 35-- Monterey, CA

Well, we took the backass way to Monterey from LA. I was surprised to see how dry and desert like it was. There were lots of farms, but that was pretty much it. The most exciting part of the trip was paying $4.99 for gas. Yes, that's right. And when we got to the next big town the gas was $4.31. Crazy.

I was going to take Route 1 along the ocean, but I didn't want to add hours to our trip. Also, I didn't know if there were fires in that area and all I kept thinking was we would have to take a detour that was 100's of miles out of the way.

We stayed at the Youth Hostel in Monterey. It was ok. The area was very pretty, about 4 blocks from the bay or ocean- not sure exactly what to call it. We had a private room. The building was very noisy at night so I had to put headphones on and watch an episode of The Office to fall asleep. The people next to us kept slamming their door too- which didn't help. But, at least we felt safe.

After putting our stuff in the room, we headed down to the water. We ate at this Italian place. I found that many time Italian restaurants have grilled chicken- which is Michael's favorite. And of course there is always something for me, the vegetarian. I got the pesto. It was good, but not as good as the pesto in Flagstaff, AZ.

I have a new joke. How do you know someone lives in Monterey? They have bird poop all over their car.

Boy- there are a lot of sea gulls in Monterey. And they are the loudest gulls I have ever seen- and I've lived near the ocean most of my life. They were louder than dogs barking. LOL.

(Pictures of Monterey to come)

Day 34-- Stan is a Miracle Worker

When I have a chance I will post the video- but Michael had an incredible time swimming with Stan and his son Ethan.

Michael was imitating Ethan, jumping off the side into the pool. He has NEVER done that before. He doesn't even like to put his face in the water.

Then I said to Stan, "Wanna try to help him swim without the life jacket?". Of course Stan being Stan said "YES!". Michael not only swam for the first time without his life jacket- he was also jumping into the pool without it. Michael and Ethan were having races and everything. I ran inside to get my camera it was so unbelievable to me.

Thanks to Stan and Ethan for helping Michael reach a HUGE milestone!

Day 33-- Flying in Tarzana, CA

Oh I forgot to tell you all the first thing I did when I got to the LA area. I went to see where the show "The Office" is filmed. Michael and I stayed with the Kurtz's and they live about 10 minutes from the studios. Couldn't have been easier. Of course I was so afraid of getting arrested for stopping in front of the building I did a quick drive-by. The studio is on a regular street in an office park-like setting. The next block over is a neighborhood. It's not in a flashy part of Hollywood or near a big studio.

Well, anyway they are not filming yet, but I did see the sign that said "Scranton Office Park" on the front of the building. I think they shoot the exteriors there. They might to do interiors too- but I'm not 100% sure. Regardless, it was a thrill to see where my favorite show is filmed (and when I say filmed I mean shot with video-lol).

(more to come about flying planes)

Day 32-- back to San Diego

We woke up at the Berle's and drove back to Stan's house (where we stayed the night before) because I forgot the GPS and more importantly, the Swiper Doll. I'm surprised we survived 24 hrs without it.

Anyway, we got on the road around 2:45pm and headed towards San Diego. It took us about 3 hours to get to the TACA meeting. TACA is an autism support group and our friend Julia was speaking. We also called Brent and he met us there.

It ended up that a News Crew from Channel 10 in San Diego came to do a story and wanted to interview Michael and I. I looked like I just rolled out of bed, but agreed. So, we ended up on the news that night in SD. They asked us about Michael Savage- who is a talk show host and said recently that 99% of children with autism don't really have the disorder and that they are "morons". Plus, parents are cold and unloving to their children and that's why they have autism. Seriously. It's unbelievable.

Anyway, the story came out nice and here is the link if you want to see it. http://www.10news.com/video/16961555/?taf=sand

Michael was really excited to be interviewed. He couldn't really answer all the guy's questions, but they did show a short clip of him. I don't think it will be Michael's last TV interview :)

Day 31-- Hollywood

Michael and I got out of the house around 10am and headed south to Hollywood. I parked the car and we went to all the usual spots- saw the walk of fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre... When we stood in front of the Theatre with all the hand and footprints from famous people, Michael said, "why are we here?" He just didn't get it. I kept looking for Jim Carrey or someone he knew.

So, we went to the McDonalds on Hollywood Blvd and had a quick lunch. Then we jumped on one of those double decker tour buses. We saw a ton of sites. I'm going to post the pictures on my mac account, because there will be a lot of them.
(the link will be updated here)

After our tour of Beverly Hills and Hollywood, we headed to Pasadena to visit with the Berle family. Julia Berle is this supermom who has a son, Baxter, who was once autistic. We hung out in the backyard, had dinner and then talked til about midnight (sorry Julia). Michael had a lot of fun playing with Baxter, Peter and Liza.

Oh and speaking of dinner, I just have to mention that I had the best tasting corn of my life. It tasted like "butter" literally. But, Julia said she didn't put anything on it. She also made this grain dish which totally hit the spot and green beans to die for. If you ever visit the Berle's- please ask for the vegetarian special :)

Julia's house is so awesome and behind their house is a property that is used for movies. Ever see the mansion in The Princess Diaries or Garfield? That's it. Once in a while they shoot movies there, but you can't see a lot because they have walls of ivy growing. The whole area is really beautiful.

Julia Berle and I met a few years ago when she and Baxter came to speak at the conference. It was so nice to spend some time with them. We actually crashed there that night.

Another thing I wanted to mention- now I understand about the Freeways and traffic here in LA. WOW. And the roads are very hilly and winding. I don't know how people drive 70 and go around curves like that. I guess you get used to it, but it keeps you on your toes if you are a first-time visitor.

Day 30- Heading to LA area

The first half of the day we spent with Michael's dad. We packed up the car and checked out the hotel, then went to lunch. After lunch we went to this blow-up slide place, which was WAY overpriced ($15 for 1 kid). I just wanted to give Michael a chance to run around before we had to head up to LA. He liked it, of course. He got all hot and sweaty. I didn't take any pictures.

Then we said "goodbye" to Dad and headed north. The ride to LA was fine. Of course I just did it the day before, so it was a little boring. I've gotten spoiled with driving in new areas all the time.

We reached LA just at sunset. It was really beautiful. Everyone talks about how LA stinks and SD is so beautiful. But, I really like the LA area. We spent the night with our friends Stan, Michelle and Ethan. For those of you who attended the Long Island Autism Conference last October, Stan was our keynote speaker on Sunday. Ethan is 7 and was dx with autism at one time- but is no longer. It was so great to meet the kid who inspired Michael to eat fruits and veggies again.

Over a year ago, Michael saw a video Stan had posted on the internet that showed Ethan cutting up fruits and veggies and making juice. After that, Michael said "I'm going to eat new foods". You can see it in one of our Youtube videos (Michael talking about the new foods).

Day 29- SD & Knotts Berry Farm

Our last full day in San Diego we drove about 2 hours north to the Knotts Berry Farm Amusement park. It was the first time I took Michael to a place and we couldn't get a disability wristband- which meant Michael had to wait on the lines. Well, it was like an hour wait for each ride. Michael did have fun for the 1-3 minutes the ride lasted, but it was WAY too crowded.

We did meet a nice father and son on the train ride and we got those DVD's of Michael and Brent on the rollercoasters- which I have to post on Youtube soon because they are SO SO SO funny. But, if I knew how long the wait was, I would have spent a little extra money and taken him to Disneyworld, which gives wristbands. When you have one of those disability wristbands- you can go in the "fast lane" or whatever they call it there. Michael and I aren't big Disney fans, but I think if you are traveling to LA with a child with autism, look into Disney before Knotts Berry Farm.

Day 28-- San Diego Water Park (Friday)

We decided to go to a water park on this day. Michael just loves them. This place is run by Knotts Berry Farms and is called Soak City. It wasn't very big, but Michael didn't care. He had a blast. I hung out and took pictures. I met a women from SD there who told me how great the area was. I kept thinking how it must be to live in a place where the temp. is always around 80*. Now, compared to Phoenix or Yuma, I could deal with San Diego. It's always about 10 degrees cooler at the ocean. But, it was nice after spending some hot days in Arizona, to relax in the coolness of San Diego.

Day 27- San Diego, CA

Today was our first full day in San Diego. I was here a few years ago, but it was the first time for Michael. We went to this beach near Mexico. Brent and Michael rode the waves while I collected rocks and shells. They have the biggest seaweed EVER at this beach. It's like 20 feet long. I thought Brent was kidding when he mentioned it. But, it's really that big and looks like something out of a horror movie.

We walked around the area a little, had some thai food for lunch and went on the pier. There were all these people fishing there. It had some nice views, especially of the surfers. Michael had a great time and I got a little sun.

Day 26- CALIFORNIA!!!

We took the main highway from Yuma to San Diego. It's doesn't cross over in Mexico, but we were stopped 3 or 4 times by border patrol. This was very shocking to me and I'm so happy we didn't have apples in the car. You are not allowed to bring fruit over the border, but we didn't go over the border, so I don't really understand the whole situation. I guess they were also looking for people trying to cross the border illegally.

Anyway, the dessert in CA wasn't as big as I thought it would be. There was only a small part where I saw white sand. Then we hit all the hits and mountains filled with HUGE boulders. I've never seen this landscape before. I was also looking out for landslides the whole time. I think most of the boulders were bigger than my car.

We arrived in San Diego around 4-5pm. Brent, Michael's dad met us there and helped us bring all the stuff in the hotel. That night we went to Outback for dinner. Michael had, you guessed it, chicken and french fries.

We didn't do much else this day, except unpack. Michael was very happy to see his Dad. When we pulled into the parking lot, Michael screamed "That's MY daddy! That's MY daddy!" The last time Michael saw his dad was in January for my Mom's funeral.

At one point his put his right arm around me and his left arm around Brent and said, "my family." He had this smile of content on his face. It really was priceless.

Day 25-- Phoenix & Yuma, AZ

Our first stop today was at the Science Museum in Phoenix. It wasn't as big as the one in Oklahoma, but it was nice. The best part was the section on weather. They had this virtual reality thing where you stand in the stage with surround sound speakers and watch a video on weather. When the earthquake comes up, they shake the floor. When the hurricane comes on the screen, they blow wind and water on you. Michael thought it was the funniest thing. He did it about 5 times.

The second stop was the military grocery store. I wanted to stock up on drinks and some snacks. I'm really finding out what works well on the road. The big cooler- can't live without it. It keeps drinks cold for days. We didn't get a lot, there organic fruit and veggie section was about 2 feet across- not much of a selection.

The road from Phoenix to Yuma (on the border of AZ and CA) is pretty boring. Honestly, I don't remember a lot of it. I'll have to look at the pictures. Phoenix was interesting to me though. I'm glad we went. My Grandfather lived there for years back around the 70's. It really was hot. Many people had awnings to cover the cars in the driveways. After pulling out of the store, I understood why. My car was baking.

Phoenix is also very large. There were many shopping centers, malls, etc. on the outskirts and suburbs of the city. Everything was new. I really wouldn't mind living there if it wasn't so hot. My in-laws spend their winters in nearby Scottdale, which seems like the smart thing to do.

We stopped in Yuma, which is 3 miles from the CA border. The town was filled with trailers. Not "trailer park" trailers, but RV trailers. I couldn't tell if they were temporary or not. Why would anyone want to live in this desert town in July? Well, a few thousands people do. Yuma was a good place to stop. There were plenty of restaurants to chose from and the hotel was affordable. I got some laundry done too.

(pictures to come)

Day 24- Sedona & Phoenix, AZ

I woke up Monday morning and decided to give my old friend Lou a call. He lives in Phoenix and I don't think I've seen him since about 1993. He invited us over around 6pm to his house. So, Michael and I checked out of the hotel at our usual 11am, got an oil change, got a free car wash (with the oil change) and then it started raining- really hard. So, I thought it was best to have lunch in Flagstaff and then drive south.

We pulled into this shopping center and tried the different restaurants- no luck. Then we ran into an Italian place. I don't usually like going to Italians restaurants, because I'm really picky. My Dad is the world's best Italian cook and nothing compares to his cooking. So, I'm usually not very happy.

They agree to make some grilled chicken for Michael and I get the pesto. HOLY COW was it great. The waiter even let me test it beforehand to make sure I liked it. I practically licked the sample container clean. It was so nice to sit down and have a pasta dish and enjoy our last hour in Flagstaff.

Michael and I ran to the car because it was still raining. But, this time half the parking lot was filled with about 12 inches of water. Thank GOD I parked my car where it was. I laughed so car and smiled to the gods above. Again, thankful for the SUV and 4 wheel drive. We got out of Flagstaff in one piece.

I decided to take the "backroad" through Sedona towards Phoenix. Remember my past experiences with "backroads". Well, I guess I never learn, but it is the quickest and prettiest way to Sedona.

We hit this HUGE mountain (again) and it was alittle scary. Again, THANK GOD it wasn't raining at this point or I probably would have pulled over. Not that there was a place to pull over. But, we went up thousands of feet and came down thousands of feet.

Slowly I started seeing red rocks. It was REALLY beautiful. Again, I was driving so I couldn't fully enjoy the view- but we did stop a few times to take pictures. The town itself, Sedona is nice, but very exclusive- not my scene at all. But the national park around it was beautiful. The road followed along a river/stream and it had really nice views.

There was also SO much construction in the town of Sedona, that I could honestly say it looked pretty crappy. But, I'm sure it's nice when the roads aren't ripped up and all you hear is jackhammers.

As we traveled south the landscape started to change- big surprise- it's Arizona! The red rocks and mountains turned to white and grey. I started seeing tall cactus. It was very beautiful too, but in a different way.

We got to one part, about an hour north of Phoenix and the sky started to get really dark. Not the whole sky, just patches. So, it would rain for 5 minutes and then stop. One point we went up this mountain and the rain was SO bad I was really scared. The wind was blowing the car sideways and I could barely see out of the window. We got passed that area and then there was a car accident. I saw a child about 2 years old in his car seat getting into an ambulance. He had blood all over his face. This can really be a dangerous area. The rain and wind come out of no where- people aren't used to it- and to top it all off- the speed limits are like 70-75. Going up that one mountain I just put my hazzards on and went 30. I would have stopped with all the bad weather, but I wanted to get to Phoenix before 5pm.

The hotel we were staying at is called the "Clarenton" and it's on clarenton ave. The hotel didn't come up on my GPS, so I put in "clareton ave". Well, when the voice said "you have reached your destination" we were standing in front of a corn field. Michael and I busted out laughing. "I don't think so". We got to the hotel around 5:30 and rushed to get ready to meet our friends.

The hotel was AWESOME. The desk clerk got out and loaded up the cart. Then he brought all my bags up to the room. That's the first time on the trip someone did that. The room was about $60, so it wasn't a high class hotel. But, it was very COOL. It's an old building totally redone. It looks like a scene from a 50's movies. I'll post the pictures soon. It was so nice I didn't want to leave and almost stayed an extra day.

Anyway, we visited with my friend Lou and his family. Michael had a great time playing with the kids and swimming in the pool. It was nice to see a friendly face after driving from TN to AZ without knowing one person. We got back to the hotel late and fell asleep to our large, flat screen TV.









Sorry I haven't been updating the blog everyday. It's been really hard while in CA. We've been pretty busy.



Thursday we went to the beach, Friday we went to the waterpark and Saturday we're going to Knott's Berry Farm Amusement Park. Michael having a great time in this area and hanging out with his father.

I'll have more to post soon.

Day 23-- Flagstaff, AZ (Sun)

There is something about Flagstaff that I loved. Maybe it was the mix of old and new. Part of Route 66 goes right through (remember the song?). There is a college there- so you have a nice mix of stores and restaurants. Michael and I got this older, cheap, but very clean and safe hotel. That's my favorite combination. I met the lady in the room next to us who was there for a quilting convention and drove a Honda CR-V like us.

It was a nice relaxing night, away from the craziness of the Grand Canyon. The ride was only about 2 hours, so it was easy to get there. It's amazing how different the landscape in AZ can be. I live in NY, which is a huge state- but most of it looks similar- green, lush, hilly, etc. Arizona has such contrasts. As we drove through the GC area there were large forrest with tall pine trees. Flagstaff was surrounded by small mountains. But, the north east part of the state (like Page) is hot, dry, red rocks, etc. It's just a great variety. I would have to say NM and AZ have been the most interesting so far to me. Then again, I've been to 75% of the places we have visited so far, so it's not a fair statement. But, it's true.

(more pictures to follow)

Day 22-- Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon wasn't what I expected. Boy, can I say that a lot on this trip. It was huge and beautiful. But, I was so scared that I would fall to my death. Then add the fear of Michael falling- the kid who has no fear- and the hundreds of STUPID people who would climb down the sides of the canyon or walk out on huge rocks with no railing. I'm sorry. But, that is just insane. And there were NO park personal. No police, no workers. No one cared that these people were walking off the trail, onto huge, slippery rocks. The fear of heights, which I don't normally have, kind sucked all the joy out of the Grand Canyon for me. Plus, Michael couldn't care less and wanted to get the heck out of there.

It's amazing the power fear has over you. I've been to the top of the Empire State Building twice- no problem. I've flown on airplanes. But, this trip has caused me some problems. I think it's must be the whole "inner ear" thing. I've got some fluid that makes me dizzier than normal. So, I'm a little unsure on my feet. I talked about it before when I was driving up and down the sides of mountains. But, it's hard to describe the feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see people walk out on those rocks. I take a picture and think "that will be the last picture ever taken" because they are going to fall to their deaths. About 3 or 4 people (on average) a year die falling at the Grand Canyon. It's just crazy to me. I'm glad we got out of there alive.

It was beautiful. It was wonderful to take some pictures and all. But, it wasn't enjoyable, which is a little sad. I'm still glad we went though.

Day 21- Page, AZ

Today we took it easy and just went on one day trip- to Antelope Canyon. It was very beautiful. We sat in the back of this four-wheel truck and drove about 15 minutes to the site. The ride was fun and I was able to freely take pictures for once, which was nice.

Here is info from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.[1] It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.[2]

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone,[3] primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways are eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic 'flowing' shapes in the rock.
Flooding in the canyon still occurs. A flood occurred on October 30, 2006 that lasted 36 hours, and caused the Tribal Park Authorities to close Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.

Tomorrow we're going to head to the Grand Canyon. I was going to go tonight, but it's over a 2 hour drive and a chance of bad weather- so I rearranged our plans. Tomorrow we're going to head to the Canyon in the morning and stay at a hotel about a mile outside the South Rim Gate. That way we do less driving (save a little on gas money) and get to pick the best part of the day depending on the weather.

I'm also going to give Michael his own camera tomorrow. Of course I lost my small camera case today with 3 memory cards in it- but thankfully I downloaded all my photos and burned them to DVD's and a second copy on an external hard drive. So, nothing lost, but about $50 in memory cards and a used case. I still have my large one with me, so everything is fine.

Tomorrow Michael will be able to take hundreds of photos if he wants. This might be a good thing, because it will keep him focused on something other than stimming all day.

Btw- we are in the Mountain Time Zone and 3 hours behind NY. I can't tell if Michael is on track, but I'm going to bed earlier and getting up earlier than I'm used to.

Here are some of the photos I took from the Canyon:

Day 20-- Michael's Photos

Michael took these at the Four Corners. They are unedited.

Day 20-- CO, NM, AZ & NV

Big surprise- the wireless doesn't work in my room. I'm too close to the elevators. I find about 50% of the time I have a problem getting online. Very disappointing. Anyway, Michael just fell asleep and I'm sitting in the lobby along with another computer geek.

This morning Michael and I left Cortez, Colorado and headed for 4 corners. Michael stood in 4 states at one time. We were both pretty excited. Stuff like that is corny, but fun. Michael grabbed my camera and took some pictures. I'm going to post them here tomorrow. They are really cool. He was very proud of them when we looked at them a few hours ago and downloaded them onto the external hard drive (which is back in the room).

We drove through Arizona, which looked like New Mexico, but more red rocks and dryer. But, like NM, beautiful at every turn. We drove through the Indian Reservation again- which is a strong contrast between the beauty of the earth and extreme poverty.

Right before we reached a McDonalds, a reporter from Newsday called me. She's doing an article on chelation and heard Michael has been getting IV's for almost 2 years. I REALLY hope the article is good and she doesn't take my information and twist it to make chelation look horrible. If I see anything in Newsday, I'll post the link here.

I'm so glad I have my blackberry. I can get email and phone while on the road. Sometimes I don't have a signal, but for the most part, it works well.

Our hotel is in Page, AZ. I've never seen a place like it before. Michael took some more pictures from the back seat of the car. I can't wait to upload them so you can all see what he sees. He kept saying to me, "Mom, I take good pictures right?" He was so proud of his work.

I think I'm going to let him take more pictures on the trip. He REALLY gets into it. Tomorrow we're going to Antelope Canyon and then the Grand Canyon to see the sunset. A monsoon is hitting Phoenix right now, so I'm not sure where we should go after this. We'll be leaving Saturday afternoon.

Michael told me tonight that he doesn't have autism anymore. I told him that he still had autism and that's why he stims. He plays with the bushes and trees all the time (which is stimming). He's been doing it a lot lately with the lack of structure on the trip. So he thinks for a second and says, "well, I'm not stimming now, so I don't have autism". Oh boy, do I wish it was that easy.

Again--- more pictures soon.

Here they are------

Day 19--NM to Colorado

Today we drove from Albuq. to Gallup. Then we drove through Navaho Reservation country to a small town right over the border in Cortez, Colorado. I wanted to go to Four Corners. So, this is the best place to stop. It's really a beautiful view from the hotel parking lot. Our window shows the dirt in the alley behind the hotel. But, it is in a really nice area.

Again, New Mexico is amazing. We saw more of it today. I also saw a prairie dog for the first time in my life. I know, exciting. But I love seeing new wildlife.

The native Americans were REALLY living in horrible conditions. No matter the politics involved, it was amazing to me to see these old trailers and stone houses falling apart at the foot of these beautiful mountains.

Also, we got 35 MPG- the most EVER! I saw a man in the hotel parking lot and we were talking "travel" and he said the same thing. They were getting really good milage too. Must be the altitude.

Michael took a swim and then a bath. Now he's sitting in bed watching videos on the DVD player and I'm working on the blog (of course). The last two days were really great. I'm so glad we drove through New Mexico. I posted just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took from the car. I'm getting really good at driving and shooting.

Thanks again for reading our blog and commenting. We appreciate it.

Day 18-- New Mexico

For some reason I was SO happy to cross the border to New Mexico. It was the first time I was really excited to see a new state on the trip. Texas just gave me the creeps and it wasn't because of George Bush. Although that probably did have something to do with it. Or maybe it was the crappy motel, which I will check off as a lesson learned. But, it was such a relief to hit NM. First of all, the had a REAL welcome center. A family took our picture in front of the big sign.

Overall, NM totally surprised me. It's like a 360* postcard. It's the least boring state I have ever seen. I was amazed at all the mountains, valleys, rocks and scenic views. The speed limit was 75, but I was going between 60-65 most of the way. There wasn't much traffic, so people didn't care- they just went around me. I could have driven forever on the highway, which was part of the old Route 66.

To me, New Mexico is a magical place. I didn't even see any tourist attractions, museums or whatever people usually do there. I was just blown away by the landscape. It's exactly what you expect and more.

Michael and I changed our plans around a little and go to Albuquerque around 2pm and had lunch at Applebees ($10 for both of us). Then we checked in to our hotel at 3pm, unpacked, relaxed and did some laundry. It was a nice break. This time I stayed at a hotel with families (that's my new rule).