Have you missed us?

We are on our way home, and this has been a wonderful adventure. But as adventures go there can be problems. Going out to the pacific we had a flat tire and stayed in Tulsa to get a new tire since my car has no spare!!

Two days ago we got lost on a Detour off of US 40 and we ended up on a road that only 4x4's or Hummers should go. It shook the fillings our of our teeth and I was very worried about Baby, (the car). It was a old dirt and gravel road that had not been graded in many years and thru the heart of an Indian Reservation. We had NO business on this road. Anyway, that night at the hotel in Albuquerque NM the Top on Baby would not go up. We ask a police officer to keep an eye on her for the night as he drove patrol and he was happy to help. The next day I went to the Albuquerque Lexus Dealership and got the top fixed. He ask me if I had been on some rough roads with the car......and of course I had, he said it had caused the roof to shake over just enough to jam. So if you are going to take a sports coup across the country be careful of the rough roads. We are back on the road.

There are CD's stuck in the CD Player we can't get them out...no more music!

I am on the hotel computer just to give you all a note. My lap top it DEAD. We are in Tulsa again today, I am going to find a CompUSA and get a new computer and see if they can rescue my photos. We have been unable to get online!

Last night we learned about the toll road between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The things we learned.......have enough gas, don't for a moment think that you are going to find a hotel and there are very very few places to get off of the high speed highway. I figured if I paid money to be on it I should be able to drive as fast as I want.........so I did.

That brings me to my next little bit of news...........I got my first Speeding Ticket.............Doing 50 in a 45! GO FIGURE.

We have lots to blog about, Like my visit to BNI Headquarters and and a great museum, but we have to get a computer.
Talk to you soon.

Hazel M. Walker

Day 28: La Posada

http://www.laposada.org/.

I start this post with the website for La Posada Hotel as much for you, dear reader, as for me to reference when we get home. This hotel is one of the most amazing treats of this trip!

We left Needles, California today (yes, we stopped there again, and boy is that another story) and resumed our trek eastward. It was 104 degrees when we left, but the temperature went down to the low 70's by the time we got to Flagstaff. We only stopped for a bite to eat there, and hit the road again. We are doing a combination of Route 66 and US 40, and we have managed to see some of the sights we missed on the westward leg of the trip, like the Amboy Crater (we have lava) and the giant tiki head. We figured we make a stop back in Winslow, Arizona because we had such a good time last time we came through. AND we needed to make a decision about where we would stay this evening. If we stayed in Winslow, it would be an early stop, but if we continued on to Holbrook, we would be stuck in a place we didn't like very much on the way out west. The next stop would be Gallup, and that was just too far to go today.

We paid a visit to Diane Patterson, owner of Roadworks (http://www.roadworksroute66.com/), for a recommendation for our night's lodging and she suggested we go down the street to La Posada. She said they have the best food in town. That's an understatement! The food is out of this world! We had fried squash blossoms stuffed with a sweet corn mixture, prime rib, and a chocolate souffle! YUM!

But the real treat is the hotel itself. We checked in around 4:00 thinking what a great time to catch up on some blogging and get to bed early. HA! We spent 2 hours touring the facilities, and almost 2 hours over dinner, and another hour watching a video about the hotel! It was 9:00 before I started this chapter.

La Posada is the last of the famous Harvey Houses...hotels that were built along the Santa Fe Rail Road to accommodate cross country travelers. This particular hotel was designed by Mary Jane Colter and opened in 1930. In the 20's, the Harveys planned a resting place in Winslow, AZ as it was the Arizona headquarters for the Santa Fe RR. They asked Mary to design the building, decorate the interiors, plan the gardens and oversee construction. Keep in mind women couldn't even vote at that time. Mary came up with the concept of a Spanish aristocrat's home, and built this rambling hacienda based on that concepts, right down to the Catholic background. It is truly an incredible place, and I'm sure at it's height, it was simply fantastic.

In the 60's, the railroad reclaimed the building and turned it into offices. The beautiful floors and adobe walls were covered with vinyl tile, drop ceilings, and asbestos coated walls. The wonderful interiors were removed, destroyed, or covered up for years! The railroad left, and the building was left to ruin. Allan Affeldt bought the building in the 90's and is lovingly restoring this magnificent piece of history to its original splendor! The gardens are still a work in progress, but are wonderful just the same. Many of the original floors have been uncovered, and what could not be restored, has been recreated. Please take some time to visit their website. You will be amazed!

And to think we thought the Eagles made Winslow famous through their song! This one building has provided us a look into the past and the beauty and imagination that made this desert stop famous.

We will see you all soon,
Penny S. Head
Woman Road Warrior

Good bye Venice, hello road

We said good bye to Venice on Saturday. Penny and I like it there a lot. We checked out of our hotel, walked to the beach to rent bicycles. Yes, I did say bicycles. There is a beautiful paved path all along the beaches from Venice to Will Rogers Park. The weather was perfect for the ride, about 76 degrees and breezy.

We got our bikes, and off we went. I snapped a few photos of the beach walk, it is a very colorful place and I quite enjoyed the people watching, from the vacationers, the locals, the artist and the homeless. It is quite an interesting place.

We rode our bikes to the Santa Monica Blvd., a completely different crowd hanging out there. Lots of kid, several tourist buses, lots of people. There is a circus like feel to this beach.

Further down the path we came to the Pacific Palisades, again this beach is very different, fewer people, quieter. Here there were people doing yoga on the beach, very few tourist kinds of things available. I suddenly realized, that there were dolphins along the shoreline. Penny and I stopped to watch for a little while as the dolphins continued swim in circles then up and down the shoreline. As dolphins usually are it was mesmerizing to stand and watch them. I only wish I could have been closer.

Lastly we reached the Will Rodgers Park area of the shoreline. This beach is used by a lot of the local residents of Los Angeles. There were volleyball games being played and coolers and grills everywhere.

We turned around to go back to Venice, we road for a little over two hours and it was wonderful. I am glad we took the time out to ride.

Once back we walked back to the hotel to get the car, say good bye to our littel friends and head out.

Funny thing about the heading our, we drove about 40 miles going the wrong way. So it took us a long time to get to San Bernadino, but what the heck, we got to see Hermosa Beach, Rodondo Beach, and lots of other stuff we otherwise wouldn't have. The nice thing about having no agenda, or serious time schedules, we don't mind getting lost, it's part of the adventure!

Headin Home
Hazel M. Walker
Queen of the Road........or not