Road Trip: Conclusion

The Professor and Mary Ann

As their popularity increased, their agents must have had enough leverage to get the Gilligan's Island theme song revised to finally include their characters rather than "and the rest."  Likewise, I remembered a noteworthy stop in Georgia, a lovely state that I too quickly dismissed as just another state to traverse as expeditiously as possible.  Bill, being a golf nut, had to stop in Augusta to peek at the Masters golf course.  And peek was all he got.  We drove entirely around the golf course before figuring out there was one tiny little opening that was not hidden, gated or barb-wired.  He parked the car across the street and walked over with dad-in-law to get the chance to tiptoe on hallowed ground and capture this sojourn on film. 

There was a security guard in plain site in his booth right at the opening who cheerfully greeted my husband.  Bill stared awestruck at Magnolia Lane.  Dad-in-law wanted to get a better picture for Bill by walking down Magnolia Lane and taking a picture from the other end.  After taking about 3 steps past the guard shack and unable to hear warnings, an unseen police officer sprinted out from the golf version of  NORAD and almost tackled this 85-year-old saboteur to quell the threat.  Augusta National Golf Club raises exclusive to a new level. 


After zipping through GA and AL, we stopped in Vicksburg, MS because Bill is a Civil War buff.  I was sobered by this huge park dedicated to the memory and history of the siege that turned the war to the Union army's advantage.  Almost 20,000 Americans were killed or wounded during the campaign and 47 day siege. 

From Mississippi we sashayed through the corner of Louisiana and returned to Arkansas to see a long lost nephew of Bill's.  The reunion was sweet. 

These Boots are Made for Walking

We then returned to Ft. Worth to kick our heels up, pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, wait till the cows come home, and all that cowboy stuff.  I spent another great evening with my Cohen cuz and her family, then got up early to ride my longhorn to the Justin boot factory. 

Just ignore those steps.  I really leapt onto it. 

 

After about 8 cumulative hours of trying boots on in the southern states, I finally chose a pair that I loved and Bill chose two!

Finally, we were on the home stretch.  We decided to stay in Carlsbad, New Mexico because 1) We were hoping to see some of the Carlsbad Caverns, and 2) We couldn't bear the thought of repeating the same long, dreary drive across west Texas to El Paso.  Granted, the roads to New Mexico are only slightly less bleak, but it was a new bleak.  So we are trucking along a vast stretch of flat, repetitive landscape on little Highway 176 in New Mexico when all of a sudden this appears:

There was nuth-ing in sight.  No people, no cows, no sheep, no armadillos - dead or alive (which, by the way, I was very disappointed not to see).  I thought it might be a candid camera gag.  Or bored residents who would get a good laugh out of watching people stop at a red light in the middle of miles and miles of nothingness.  We sat there.  Cars started piling up behind us.  Suddenly a big dirt hauling truck barreled past us blatantly ignoring the red light. We sat there.  Another dirt truck barreled by.  We sat there.  Another dirt truck drove past, and then a few people behind us who were tired of this twisted joke.  But like good law-abiding citizens, we sat there.  Finally after about 20 minutes a small pilot truck was seen in the distance kicking up dust.  He led a long line of cars toward us and then finally we got to follow him out of no-man's land time out.  I never did see the light turn green, though. 

I guess they were repaving the road because when we arrived at our hotel, our entire car, including the bikes on the back were repaved too.  It looked like crazed monkeys had flung beige mashed potatoes all over and under our car. 

The Stats

Over 8000 miles traveled.
13 different states.
4 relatives reunited.
2 boat tours.
2 ostentatious house tours.
1 sweet experience

Blessings:

• We thought we had a good plan.  God had a better plan.
• Our truck broke down the first day of the trip and we were able to regroup.
• We avoided almost all the bad weather.
• Our hotel angel made our lodging very affordable and very comfortable.
• Visits with loved ones spread far and wide.
• In-laws that I like and love and who put up with me.
• Husband that I love even more.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21