Seeing how they do things as opposed to how I do gives me a new attitude for at least awhile! And besides, other peoples habits are interesting! We're all creatures of habit ... we just sometimes have way different ones.
Me, for instance ... I've never been much for makeup, but I know it would "help". If I'm around someone who does use it, I get on the bandwagon for awhile, albeit with a light touch because I like natural. But at least I'm willing to get out of my box!
I also tend to dress in a rather, shall we say, relaxed manner. In the 60's we called it "grubbies". But after I've been around someone who dresses for the occasion, I come out of my box again. And you know what? It feels good! But I still like my jeans and a sweatshirt or T. That's just me! And those who know me say that I just am what I am ... what you see is what you get! Thanks ... I think! ;)
Well, I recently exploded the sides of that box and leaped out ... all the way to Tampa, FLA !! If you know me, you know that I haven't taken a vacation in many, many years, other than my drives to Iowa. This was a one-way trip to meet a friend and accompany her on a drive back to Prescott. She moved from Prescott 2 years ago, back to her home in Vermont. She drove to Florida this winter, followed by this trip to see her AZ friends. I was ecstatic to say the least! I've always had latent wanderlust, and I knew I'd get to at least pass through places I've never been. Neighbor Dick got me to the shuttle, I got through security, sans bells and whistles going off, got a decent seat on the plane (Southwest is the only way to fly, by the way), took a few decent shots out the window, had an early & safe landing, and there ya are! Now to find Sally Bell in the Tampa airport ... thankful for cell phones!
FYI - you can click on the photos to make them larger!
Immediately upon departing the airport, we got in the car and drove for a couple of hours to get me some proper sleep, and indeed I did! We arose early the next morning to begin our 2,260 mile journey, not having any idea if we'd end up in a cat fight. Ha! Far from it ... we're like those 2 peas in the pod. But by the time each night came on, we were at that point where you laugh so much that you pee a little. I know you know what I mean.
As we left Florida, the only thing I recall about Alabama is the "Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama" sign. Seemed like we breezed right on through!
Then ... drum roll please ... Louisiana! Our goal was to at least drive down Bourbon St. in "Nawlins", and so we did. However ... the sun was beginning to poop out on us, but we forged ahead and could see our target in the distance:
After getting somewhat lost, and passing by the amazing ancient cemeteries, asking a man where the hey we were, then getting back on track by the seat of our pants no thanks to the GPS thingy, we found Bourbon St.! People were using it like a sidewalk, but we didn't let that stop us ... so here it is:
After a few wrong turns, we were on the road again. Definitely wanted to put some distance between our innocent selves and that city. I don't recall a whole lot more about Louisiana except for crossing over or passing by water now and then. But I was anxious to get to Texas!
They had, by far, the best 'welcome center'. They built a dock-like walk out through a swamp with spanish moss hanging from the trees. There were turtles, egrets and other living things in their natural environment ... totally cool!
We weren't far from my main excitement about going through Texas. My sweet nephew Jeff in Beaumont!
We had a great reunion, and I felt like it hadn't been a gazillion years since I last saw him, not to mention my first Chick-fil-A experience! We had quality time, but I wish it could have been longer. Onward toward Houston. We sat on I-10 a little west of there for about an hour. We learned there'd been a horrific 18-wheeler accident ahead. We eventually moved on and found a motel but were first treated to a BIG Texas sunset:
Lemme tell ya if'n you don't already know it ... Texas is one big, wide state! 800+ miles across. We stayed somewhere near the middle because we wanted to avoid staying near the Mexico border. I was pretty impressed with the landscape in West Texas, however. Definitely not boring. We scooted past El Paso and entered into:
It was great to start seeing a more southwest landscape again! We spent the night at the best hotel of the whole adventure ... the Ramada Palms in Las Cruces ... not to mention that the young man at the desk was beyond eye candy. Both Sally and I felt a bit cougar-ish. ;)
It didn't seem long until we saw this, which caused both a sigh of relief and excitement, yet sadness that the adventure would soon end:
As long as I've lived in Arizona, I have never been to the southern part. It had some pretty areas, but I have to say that we were most impressed as we neared Phoenix. Things became greener and more picturesque. We really got excited when we saw this:
I'd come full circle! In a whirlwind of 4 days, 2,260 miles, I'd filled my memory with part of my United States. Both the weather and I-10 cooperated in making it a smooth journey. I will be forever grateful to Sally for making it happen. She's one of my true friends, and those are rare. If you have some, keep them close.
Now ... back to reality!
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