I am not good at math. In fact, you might say I suck at math. You might even say that I'm bad enough at math that I lost three hundred or so miles somewhere in the midst of calculating our total mileage. Even including today's mileage, my count wouldn't have been close to our actual count.
What is the actual count, you ask?
Read on.
We woke up early in the morning in Albuquerque. This is probably because of the time zone change; I still don't really do this thing called 'early.' We quickly threw all our stuff the car and checked out since we knew we had a long day in front of us. And I mean a long day. Our first day still rates as the worst, but we beat our record again. After we hit up Starbucks (can I get paid for that? It counts as advertisement, right?) we pulled right onto the highway. Martha told us the mileage.
319 miles.
It's also worthy to note that she was taking us through some convoluted route that took us onto Historic Route 66, which put that number much lower than it should have been. LOTS OF MILES.
We drove straight on to Holbrook, Arizona. Though we would have loved to make a lot more stops, the sheer amount of driving we had to do nipped that in the bud. Holbrook was a decent halfway point. More importantly, it had a highly recommended Mexican food place. Priorities. We have them. And at long last, the curse of the Mexican food gods was lifted.
Joe and Aggie's Cafe was open! We were both pleasantly surprised. I think we'd hit the point of expecting disappointment. And we certainly were not disappointed. Mom had some fantastic chili rellenos. I stole a few bites.
And there was enough food that it didn't even matter.
Next, we drove down to a classic little motel that's the definition of culture appropriation (I'm sorry Mom, but it is) where you could sleep in a wigwam. That is, all the rooms were separate buildings in the form of wigwams.
Then we were off again. This time, the destination was Sunset Crater, which is just beyond Flagstaff, Arizona. (By the way, if this entry is disjointed, I'm sorry. I'm watching American Horror Story and blogging during the commercials. Because I'm tired and I can. Do I sound petulant yet?) I don't really remember much about the drive, as I was busy defeating every level of Angry Birds. We got to the crater and realized it's not actually so much a crater as it is a volcano. Sunset Crater Volcano. It's got some interesting aspects. The lava flow field was pretty cool; it's a field of black, crumbling rocks. I imagine it's much what Lord Voldemort's heart looks like. (Looked like?)
Either way, it was nice.
Then, as usual, it was back into the car. As I drove, I was once again struck by the majesty of the Southwest. I don't know why it's so magical to me; perhaps because it is so very different from my usual surroundings. Here, the colors seem deeper, the sun brighter. Like the night sky, you're reminded of how small we really are. The world opens around you. You can see for miles in any direction. It's beautiful, humbling, and awe-inspiring.
That's my romantic moment for the day.
For dinner, we just hit up In-N-Out Burger. I have to admit, eating it outside of CA felt a bit like cheating. I know it's not just a CA thing. But in my head it is. And let's admit it, my reality is more fun.
There's probably things I'm forgetting. My brain is a sieve these days.
OH, RIGHT. The mileage.
Today's rang in at 491.
Total after corrected for my horrid math skills: 3,099. That's right.
Oh my god, my poor car.
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