See what happens when two cousins drive half way across the country.....
When I was in California in March, I had a very interesting conversion with my cousin Amanda at lunch. When I'm in town, we usually get together at Chevys on the Berkeley Marina. She enjoys hearing stories where I'm traveling to and doing. She has Traveled a bunch herself but not much lately. I told her that we should take a roadtrip sometime. She liked that idea and shared with me that she was thinking about relocating in San Antonio Texas. I told her I would help her drive her car and two dogs if she needed. It seemed like a feisable plan maybe some day. Two weeks later she had a plan that included a pretty blue BMX Z1 and 1726 miles of road and me! I just needed to be in Berkeley on a certain day in May so we could drive Fred and Ginger (the two dogs) to the house in San Antonio before the big moving truck did.
I arrived at the Berkeley Amtrak station the last Friday in May. Amanda picked me up and we headed to our hotel at the Berkeley Marina. On the way to the hotel we passed some protestors....of course, it's Berkeley.
This was an excellent place to stay. I enjoyed the bath with some lavender epson salt.
The Hilton Hotel at the Berkeley Marina did not disappoint me. I got a wonderful rest and was ready at 6 am to begin my adventure with Amanda, Fred and Ginger!
The first day of our amazing roadtrip!! I can't wait to get on behind the wheel of this beauty!
We made a stop a few hours out and found a green corvette. Not sure if I've ever seen one.
We shared driving duties.
First stop was Barstow California. Amanda found this awesome restaurant that allows dogs. We brought Fred and Ginger to the Firehouse for dinner.
It was decorated with a Fire station theme and the had booths to sit in and the doggies were so happy.
Ginger getting a sample of dinner at the table.
We even got dessert!
I took advantage of the lovely pool.
What a Beautiful car! It was a dream to drive. Did I tell you that blue is one of my favorite color in cars?
Yes!! Another tub 😁 I'm feeling spoiled already.
I had this whole room to myself. I think Amanda thought I snored........🤣😂
I love that I get have this opportunity to help my cousin and to be able to drive halfway across the USA!!
I got up early and did a jog but acted much like a tourist.
I was getting my kicks on Route 66,
Cool mountain at Calico Ghost town.
This place is located a few miles from Barstow and we toured it before we left the area. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico,_California
I liked this place and would recommend a stop here if you get to the Barstow area.
Mine shaft
It was 10 am..... too early for beer🥲
Then we found this cool diner.
I even saw Elvis! He told me that my future is so bright I need to wear sunglasses!
Dinosaurs! Yay 🦕🦕
Amanda bought the last I Love Lucy hat....maybe she'll share.
Arizona Route 66 museum
We made a quick stop at the museum and had a picnic in the car. We were very lucky because well behaved dogs were allowed inside.
They had some cool old cars.
I loved the Burma Shave signs.
Especially this one.......our Gramma Duisman called her sofa a Davenport!
💕 the snake
Electric cars.
So cute.
ASU......... My daughter Jill's University.
I found a train in Kingman.
What a beauty!
There was a huge sign prohibiting climbing on the train. Since it was early in the trip, I followed the rules as not to worry my cousin.
My souvenirs from Calico ghost town. Reptile magnets. 🦎🐍
Our second stop was Flagstaff and we spend two nights here. We were able to explore a little more. We did a huge walk in the old downtown part.
We saw some of the historic buildings.
This is a church made up of pink stones.
My lucky day! It's a train! 🚂
Fred and Ginger are getting pretty good at posing for pictures.
Reminds me of Mexico.🇲🇽
We found an amazing place for lunch that welcomed dogs plus had a bad ass waitress too! 🤘
We found a great open space to walk with our for legged pals. I was in charge of Ginger.
Unfortunately what I thought was allergies turned out to be a cold.🥲 I believe this was a gift from my friend Debbie in Thousand Oaks 10 days ago. NyQuil is better than some cocktails I've had lately. Cheers!🥂
Amanda found this cool diner for dinner. Both dogs approved too.
Heading out of town from Flagstaff.
We made a stop at the meteor crater just outside of Flagstaff. Amanda had visited it before and dogs were not allowed so I toured it alone. I'm glad I did but I missed the pack.
Can you see the building in the background? This hole is ginormous!
Look what we found by our lunch spot!!
The drive into Albuquerque was spectacular!!
This hotel suite was by far the best place we stayed. It was like a one bedroom apartment. I took advantage of the whole place. I even watched TV from the couch and used the TV tray for my beer! I never watch TV......but I indulged with three episodes of the Office.
They even had a gym! I totally took advantage of it! They had an excellent rack of dumbbells.
I met this super friendly kitty. I wanted to pack her away in my luggage but l feared Fred and Ginger would have busted me!
Here we are in San Angelo Texas. We found a nice pub for dinner close to the river that had yummy IPAs for me. Inside they had a huge cornhole set up and we watched players walking in with their on bags. This place was legit!
The amazing indoor pool and kids area. Parents can supervise with food and adult beverages from the hotel restaurant. The Pearl on the Concho Best Western was a perfect location!
It was right on the Concho River. I went out solo to explore the area in the evening.
I found some pretty flowers.
I was loving the art.
They had lots of these painted sheep all over town.
I found some historic murals.
This was a cool neighborhood park.
I made a new friend but he didn't talk much.
Then I made an awesome discovery.
This whole alley is murals.
One of my favorites.
❤️
Even the trash bins were painted.
I liked this one.💵
The angry cactus restaurant.
I stayed out after dark...... I might turn into a pumpkin.
More of the river.
I jogged down the river in the morning before we left.
It was Beautiful.
I saw some new flowers.
This was so interesting! This seed was the size of an orange.
The train station on our way out of town.
I love trains!
I loved San Angelo and I plan to come back and spend more time.
Because Americans need signs for the obvious.
We made a super quick trip into Austin so I could get a document that I needed to finish some business in Mexico.
Only took 2 pictures in Austin and the we headed to Fredericksburg.
We ate outside at a dog friendly restaurant and I loved this VW van. https://www.hillandvinetx.com/
It made me happy!
Amanda, Ginger and Fred
We found a lovely patch of wild flowers.
I went out for a stroll looking for beer.
I saw some cool sights on my journey.
I checked out the RV park across the street. No beer. I walked to the gas station. No beer. I went to find a market.... none in walking distance. I returned to the hotel and chatted with the nice gal at the reception. I explained my situation and she found me a six pack of Blue Moon that was left behind in a room....she gave it to me for free!!
I had a soak in tub and thoroughly enjoyed my beer!🍺
The next morning Amanda and I toured this museum.
We found out on Friday that the movers wouldn't get to San Antonio until Monday at 10 am. So instead of staying at a hotel there, we drove to Corpus Christie for the weekend. Great idea Amanda!
I took a walk to explore as soon as we checked in.
We were about 1/2 mile to the water.
I met a crabby friend.
Rules..........I resisted the urge to break them. I was on my best behavior to impress cousin Amanda.😁
Texas proud!
Amanda chose The Boathouse restaurant because of the amazing view and it was dog friendly. We found out the it was extremely short staffed and the had to stop serving food that evening. Boo sad😢
Our First Spectacular sunset from our hotel.
Beach walk with the pups and mom.😁😁
I couldn't resist checking out this tiny trailer for sale. I'm starting to dream about my future travels as a single adventurous gal!
We had a fantastic meal at The Angry Marlin.
Look at those happy faces!
I loved driving this beauty! It safely and comfortably took us 1700+ plus miles in style!
We explored the island area, finding some fabulous homes on the canals that I could easily call home.
The pier on Corpus Christie proper.
This was a funny evening. Both doggies had their own beds. When Amanda crawled into their doggie bed, they were surprised and confused. Amanda and I were greatly amused!
i am happy again seeing the beauty that is all around me.💕
Cool trick on the birds.
So pretty! This was on my walk around the neighborhood in San Antonio.
Doesn't this make you smile?
I found this little gem when I was unpacking boxes at Amanda's house.
We were able to get most of the kitchen set up the first day. The movers assembled the beds and put in all the heavy furniture. they placed about 1/3 of the boxes in the rooms and the rest of them in the garage. We filled three bookcases too! It was a busy busy first day of unpacking. We slept great that night seeing all of our efforts beginning to take shape after the trip.
The next morning I was at the San Antonio International airport at 8 am.✈️
They advertise a beer from Jalisco Mexico and the Spurs!
Getting on a Jet plane again..............heading back to Ajijic, Mexico to finish some business.🇲🇽