Westward Ho!

The next adventure in our lives begins……..

Knowing our latest renovation project is in the hands of great owners……… We’re off on a 3,000+ mile cross country trip with a destination of Healdsburg, California.

We packed in the dog and the wine and headed out.

In the Panhandle of Florida – This is pretty darn amazing! It goes on and on! The Old Spanish Trail in Milton – built between 1919-1921.

The drive through Louisiana and east Texas was rice fields and refineries. It reminded me of how important a crop rice is to the south.

Our third day we cruised into Austin, TX for a relaxing lunch on S. Congress Street.

South Congress on Martin Luther King Day. Lunch at Güero’s was fantastic.

We drove on to San Antonio for the night and spent some time on the River walk and The Alamo!

When in Texas – try the Texan wine! We ate at a terrific place – Zinc Bistro and Bar. The wine was a disappointment but the food was fantastic.

There was a winter ice and snow storm moving in. Schools and business were closing the next day in preparation for bad road conditions. We opted to make a run for it at 5:30 am. It was our first encounter with freezing rain and 28 degree weather in decades!

Our car was an icicle! BUT an hour and a half outside of San Antonio we were on clear roads. We were crossing the state of Texas, not exactly on our planned route but we were safely out of the winter’s worst storm to hit the south in 2018.

The first of too many trains to count from this point on.

Not many towns on the route but when we did come across one it inevitably had some terrifically crazy additions among its buildings!

And…..signs like this one – “Hitchhikers May be Escaped Inmates” – This one definitely made you want to pick up speed!

This requires no comment. Heading into Marfa……….

Marfa, TX

On the way to White Sands National Monument out of El Paso, which had to be our best detour of the trip……….

The Military area is full of some weird sightings!

White Sands National Park is in the Chihuahuan Desert, NM

Honestly, it was cold enough to believe this was snow!

The park service sells sleds to hit the dunes on!

Look closely! There is yet another weird site in this field!

Another town that may have been worth spending some time was dotted with donkey statues colorfully emblazoned with paint- Carrizozo, NM.

On our way to Santa Fe…………..

It was frigid cold!

We had a reservation at Luxx Boutique Hotel. It’s a challenge to find great accommodations when traveling with a canine. This one was very nice and just 2 blocks off the Plaza.

We dined that night at Geronimo’s sharing a terrific 2015 Gigondas with a Wild Mushroom Bisque that rivaled my favorite at Indigenous, along with Wagyu Beef Carpaccio and Elk Tenderloin.

Before heading out in the morning we had coffee and a quick breakfast at The Famous Plaza Cafe. It’s been there forever. The all time favorite in Santa Fe is Café Pasqual’s which we will have to catch on a return trip. I can’t wait!