My Grandma said to me once, "Why should I go see other countries, when there is so much of my own country I still haven't seen?". I took that to heart when Mark and I planned our Christmas vacation this year. At the time we were looking, flights to the Oklahoma area, where my brother lives, were "prohibitively expensive" (as Mark would say). So, we opted to drive. This gave us the option to visit his sister, who is less than 2 hours from my brother.
Alas, a plan was hatched. Mark and I would drive straight through to Arkansas, about 25 hours, stay with his uncle in Springdale, then we'd go to Oklahoma, and finish our journey in Frisco, Texas.
His mom asked if we could bring a wedding dress out to Mark's sister, Sharie. "No problem", I thought, "we've got plenty of room".
Then she asked if we could bring another person. She and Mark's youngest sister, Amy, were flying out for the holidays, and Mark's dad doesn't care to fly. "No problem", we thought, "plenty of room, still!".
Our journey began on Dec. 20, at about 4:30 am, when we left Costa Mesa. Mark and I agreed to switch driving every 4 hours, so the other person could nap. We listened to Harry Potter on tape, and stopped for gas and potty breaks. We got into Springdale, Arkansas at 5:30 California time, and the temperature was 9 degrees.
Yes, you read that correct. NINE DEGREES.
We dropped Dad at Sharie's then continued the 1.5 mile journey to Uncle Jim's. What a wonderful and gracious host he and his wife were. He had an exotic spread of cheeses, and bourbon fudge made by monks; took us to the War Eagle Mill, where we had lunch; took us all over Fayetteville, and Razorback territory, visiting all the major sports complexes. We really enjoyed ourselves. The evenings were spent visiting with Mark's sisters, Amy and Sharie, his nieces, Sophia and Kathryn, nephews, George and Issa, and other family members. All in all, very wonderful time.
On Dec 24, we took off for Oklahoma. We spent the next few days with my brother and his family. We had a huge spread on Christmas day. We ate our way through that holiday, and Stephen and Shyanne had a great time opening their gifts. My brother, Danny, and Mark played Rock Band 2 every night except Dec. 28, when we watched the Chargers hand the Broncos their booties (what a blow out, 52-21, or something like that). Ever the fan, I was sporting my Mike Goff jersey and Charger santa hat. :)
Our original plan was to then head to Frisco, Texas after Oklahoma, to visit my Aunt Isy, then drive straight home to California with Mark's mom and dad. Somehow, we were able to stuff all of our stuff, plus mom and dad's stuff, plus a bag full of things from Mark's youngest sister into my trunk in the Corolla. We did end up holding things on our lap, but it all fit! We made our way to Frisco, and had a really nice time visiting with Aunt Isy. She invited my cousins Robert and his family, and Karen and her family, over for a luncheon. We had traditional Southern fare of black eyed peas, and all the fixin's.
As for driving straight through to California, Uncle Jim had other plans! We drove from Dallas to Las Cruces, New Mexico and stayed the night. According to his instructions, we were to stop at a particular place for Mexican food. But it was closed until Jan 3. So, after driving around looking for something else, we stopped at an Italian place. We got up the next morning and drove to Pie Town, New Mexico for a slice of pie. Uncle Jim had given us some directions off the beaten path, and what a wonderful drive it was. The scenery was beautiful, and the weather made for a lovely journey. After Pie Town, it was off to Flagstaff, where Uncle Jim put us up in Little America Hotel.
Wow. What an experience. It was such a gorgeous hotel, and our rooms were so cozy. It's a ski resort hotel, so think winter wonderland. There was snow on the ground, and all the trees were still decorated for Christmas, with lights up their trunks, and winter all around. The Chargers were playing Indy, so we had dinner in the bar so we could all watch. The bar had a giant tree along one wall, with branches that came up and over the bar area. On the branches were stained glass leaves. So beautiful. We watched the game until half time, then walked around the grounds, returning for the last quarter of the game to our room. Mary, Mark's mom, later told me that she didn't think she had to watch the game, as she could hear us cheering and jeering from her room! The Chargers won (with Mike Scifres in top form), so we were quite excited.
On Sunday, we woke up to snow falling. We attended a mass at San Francisco de Asis. As I was listening to the sermon, I was watching the windows, thinking how lovely the mountain looked while the snow was falling. Half way through the sermon, I noticed that I couldn't see the mountain anymore, as the snow was falling that hard! EEEK!
We drove through the blizzard for about 20-30 mins, but luckily, it let up, and all the way to California, it was smooth sailing. Stopping in New Mexico and Flagstaff were definitely the better way to go.
Now, we are spending our Monday catching up on laundry, going to the store, and preparing ourselves for our week. We don't get any time off until May, so we are trying to make the best of it. We had a really nice trip. Everything really went well for us. The weather cooperated, our family visits were outstanding, and my car, Ruby, got us there and back safely.
We truly are blessed!
Thanks for reading. More to come soon! I have Libby on my lap purring madly, and wanting some love!
