As Antonio was admitted to grad school at BYU, it became expedient for us to move to Provo from our home in McLean Virginia. The trek began on July 16, 2011. We found two friends (Aubrey and Dee), to help us drive one of our cars (Silver Bullet). Katrina and Antonio drove Chewie (who has since gone the way of all the Earth). Chewie was working double duty pulling an 5’ X 8’ U-Haul trailer with all our precious belongings.
On the first day we left our beloved Virginia around noon and drove all the way to Knoxville, TN. The trip was fairly uneventful with the exception that we discover that Tennessee is the birthplace of the Cracker Barrel restaurants (there are over 50 in the state). Therefore, it was inevitable to have our first dinner of the trip at one.
The next morning we drove to Nashville to see the city and visit a friend of Aubrey. He was kind enough to take us around the highlights of downtown. We visited a few bars to hear people playing country music and delighted our eyes with giant boot props used to advertise boot stores. As it is expected, we took a picture with an Elvis figure. You cannot go to Tennessee and not pay tribute to the king.
Broadway St., Nashville, TN.
The boot of Sauron.
The ladies are up on stage at The Stage
All the country greats (Antonio does not know most of them)
We had never heard of Tootsies before, but apparently we had to take a picture here.
Playing on Broadway
The King and us.
Later that day we made our way to Memphis. We ate an amazing barbecue with a friend of Katrina and his wife at Corky’s Bar-B-Q. It was a great place, except that Katrina’s friends were vegetarians but Antonio did not care as he was determine on having barbecue in Memphis. The next morning we drove to Graceland but the long lines and high prices deterred us from stopping by. Then, we drove to the Lorraine Motel to see the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It had a very solemn feeling. The sad part is that the part of town where the Motel is located is pretty run down. We were afraid we would get shot ourselves. Later on, we made our way to downtown Memphis to visit Beale St., one of the most iconic places in the city. We were a little disappointed at the dirtiness of the city. By comparison, Nashville was better kept. As a result, we got the blues from Memphis.
Home of the Blues. Birthplace of Rock n Roll.
The boot of Sauron.
The ladies are up on stage at The Stage
All the country greats (Antonio does not know most of them)
We had never heard of Tootsies before, but apparently we had to take a picture here.
Playing on Broadway
The King and us.
Later that day we made our way to Memphis. We ate an amazing barbecue with a friend of Katrina and his wife at Corky’s Bar-B-Q. It was a great place, except that Katrina’s friends were vegetarians but Antonio did not care as he was determine on having barbecue in Memphis. The next morning we drove to Graceland but the long lines and high prices deterred us from stopping by. Then, we drove to the Lorraine Motel to see the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It had a very solemn feeling. The sad part is that the part of town where the Motel is located is pretty run down. We were afraid we would get shot ourselves. Later on, we made our way to downtown Memphis to visit Beale St., one of the most iconic places in the city. We were a little disappointed at the dirtiness of the city. By comparison, Nashville was better kept. As a result, we got the blues from Memphis.
Home of the Blues. Birthplace of Rock n Roll.
At the Lorraine Motel. They keep vintage cars out front from the room where MLK stayed.
The King and Kat
Don't even think about it
After Memphis we drove to Little Rock, AK. Antonio has a rule that, in order to count a state as visited, you need to either sleep, eat or do something there other than just driving through or airplane stops. In Little Rock we ate at a local pizza buffet place. The nastiest we have ever been. The local girl could not understand what we meant when we mentioned that the peaches on the salad bar were rancid. I guess “rancid” is not a common word in that part of the world. After lunch, we visited the market and drove by the State Capitol. From there we made our way to Oklahoma City.
Little Rock, AK State Capitol
The King and Kat
Don't even think about it
After Memphis we drove to Little Rock, AK. Antonio has a rule that, in order to count a state as visited, you need to either sleep, eat or do something there other than just driving through or airplane stops. In Little Rock we ate at a local pizza buffet place. The nastiest we have ever been. The local girl could not understand what we meant when we mentioned that the peaches on the salad bar were rancid. I guess “rancid” is not a common word in that part of the world. After lunch, we visited the market and drove by the State Capitol. From there we made our way to Oklahoma City.
Little Rock, AK State Capitol
By the time we arrived to Oklahoma City we noticed that the “Check Engine Light” light came on in Chewie. The next morning we got up early to take Chewie to the Toyota dealership. They found out that it was just an oxygen sensor that was going bad, probably as a result of pulling the trailer. They assured us that the car would be fine but that it might become less gas efficient. We noticed that, instead of getting 18 MPG we went down to 13 MPG. However, the good news is that we did not have to wait to get the car fixed as it would have taken a couple of hours (not to mention $400). Antonio was really happy with the service at that dealership. It has been by far the best Toyota dealership he has even been to. He might even move to Oklahoma City just to have their service. Katrina said no.
Eventually, we made our way to Amarillo, TX which is located at the very top of Texas. We had lunch there at a place called the Red Country Barn BBQ and Steaks. The food was delicious and the cobbler was even better. The only thing we thought was a little queer was the bathrooms. Picture this: the restaurant is decorated with all sorts of western paraphernalia, then, you get up to use the restroom and you go through this semi concealed door. Once you go through the door you are in another dimension. There is a hallway all lined with mirrors. There are mirrors on the walls, on the ceiling, on the doors, and…no, not on the floor, but it was kind of hard to navigate your way to the proper restroom. Once inside the restroom it was all black. However, even in the restroom Texans don’t let you forget that you are in the great state of Texas. As you go to wash your hand you can’t help noticing that the sink is in the shape of the state. Pride goes a long way.
Yep. We are in the Texas Visitor's Center.
Good eats in Amarillo, TX
Inside the Counry Barn
Mirror hallway to the restrooms
Texas pride to the limit.
Yep. We are in the Texas Visitor's Center.
Good eats in Amarillo, TX
Inside the Counry Barn
Mirror hallway to the restrooms
Texas pride to the limit.
From Texas we drove all the way to Santa Fe, NM where we spent the night. That night we went for dinner to a local New Mexico place. We barely were able to make it as they were about to close. The food was OK. Not as great as we were expecting it. The funny part was that our waitress kept asking us whether we wanted chips and salsa. Even though we had already indicated the first time we wanted chips and salsa, she continued to ask us multiple times before she brought the actual chips and salsa. It must have been a long day for her.
In the morning we visited downtown Santa Fe. Antonio knew the way as he had been there before the year before as part of his multiple travels. Santa Fe was charming. We visited the Loretto chapel where the famous miraculous staircase is. Then we went to the oldest house in America and the oldest church in the US. Inside the church there was a very old bell. On it you could see the year it was made: August 9, 1356. The bell was made in Spain to commemorate the victory of the Catholic kings over the Moors and their expulsion from Spain. Many years later the bell was sent to Mexico and later it was sent to Santa Fe to be used in this church built by Catholic missionaries and the Native Americans they brought from Mexico. After the church we saw the main square and we visited the Cathedral. The Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi as he was the patron saint of the missionaries that went to Santa Fe. The architectural style is very Spanish mixed with arabesque themes (the Spanish kicked the Moors out of Spain but they kept their architecture and some other things).
Outside Loretto Chapel
Miraculous Staircase in Loretto Chapel.
Oldest House in the US.
Oldest Church in the US
Outside Loretto Chapel
Miraculous Staircase in Loretto Chapel.
Oldest House in the US.
Oldest Church in the US
Original bell. Check out the date.
Looking good with that hat
Santa Fe Cathedral
Cathedral Interior
Call me Dr. Jones
Mormon Batallion Monument outside Santa Fe. Where did they go?
The Emerald City. I knew it existed!
After Santa Fe we drove to the Four Corners monument. This monument is located at the intersection of the state lines of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. As it is tradition, Katrina and Antonio took a picture with an appendage on each state. We became omnipresent. From there we drove to Cortez, CO to stay for the evening. We found a great Mexican restaurant where we had our dinner.
Omnipresent Katrina
Does this mean I need to pay taxes in four states?
One more picture just for fun
The next morning we went to visit Mesa Verde National Park. The distinctive attraction of this park is the Cliff Dwellings built by Native American tribes. We learned that those dwellings were relatively recent (500 - 1300s) and they were not discovered by the white man until 1888. We loved the park. Unfortunately, our time was limited so we only saw the Spruce House dwelling.
On our way to Mesa Verde
I like this apartment complex. It has plenty of light
Is that kid pointing at Katrina's hat?
Going down the Kiva
Going to rescue Katrina
Found her
This place is amazing!
I like the view, but I am not sure about the location
After Mesa Verde, we finally made or way to Utah. We arrived in Provo on July 21 at 6:08 PM. Our journey was officially over. To commemorate our arrival to the Promised Land we went to Café Rio to have our last supper together with our travel companions.
End of the road
