Seventeen Days of Excitement - Day Three

11:15 a.m. Okay this was a totally different experience; took us back a bit. Yes, this was another Fairfield Inn, but it was not what we expected.

1) The desk clerk was rude and disrespectful to Tom and he was rude to me. I never expect anyone to be rude. I asked him if my husband had shown him his AARP card and he replied “Yes, Lady, he got all the discounts he could possibly get.”

2) There was a huge roach (not a water bug) in our room.

3) The hot tub was so deep that Tom could barely get in it let alone get out. We had fun with that, but it was touch and go getting him out.

4) Hot tub jets only worked part time. Not all four at the same time. Wall outlets did not work.

Now we are getting ice for the cooler. We did not realize our room had a fridge - so we left the cheese in the car. It will soon be oily and I’m sure not very tasty. Tom, however is like Mikey, he will eat about anything. <smile> This is a good thing.

Tom got us a nice cold drink. We ate at the hotel - oatmeal, waffle and 2% milk (no skim). Tom had cooked egg, country biscuit, 3/4ths of a waffle, a cup of fruit, cranberry juice and milk.

We enjoyed the meal very much. That is not a disappointment.

The tax rate in Oklahoma is so high (9.5%) that we do not want to shop at all here. Tom went into the super market for the ice and has been gone a long time.

I was too tired to sleep, so I a.m. really tired.

I called Susan, my other daughter a while ago. It was wonderful to hear her voice and to chat with her. That girl is my heart.

11:30 a.m. Well, we stopped at the Flying J, for potty and gas. Tom bought a new toy - a CB and all that goes with it. So far it does not work. I suggested he trade it in for a good one. He is still saying “Breaker 19 - anyone copy this signal?”

1:46 p.m. The CB is up and running and so are we! We came, we saw and we conquered - the workings of this magical thing that causes men to talk a language only known to them. <smile>

4:13 p.m.

213 miles down the road to Amarillo, Texas. I’ve always wanted to say that! On the road to Amarillo!

That was quick, we are now leaving Amarillo. Did not stop as we don’t really know how long it will take us to arrive in Nevada.

We almost had our first tiff of the trip. Almost; it was over the car door of all things. The air was going full blast and Tom was sitting half in and half out of his seat. I asked him to shut his door and then he got angry; climbed in the car and shut the door hard: "I’ll just check it in Mexico!” he said.

Then I explained, “I just think it makes more sense to close the door while the air conditioner is on. It’s silly to air condition the out side.”

He agreed and all was good again. He is so frustrated. Things are not going as well as he had hoped. Mostly I think the man is tired! At age 70, I'd be plum tired, too. Yet, he does not complain.

5:44 p.m. We are now in New Mexico. Their Welcome Center is so awesome and the folks who work there are indeed friendly - smiles and all. I love it!

We are in Albuquerque. Can you close your eyes and spell that? <giggle> We could not; unless of course you are spelling T H A T.

An old joke.

Albuquerque’s “Old Town,” with its San Felipe de Neri church and historic plaza was founded in 1706, and continues to bear its Spanish heritage and architecture. The artwork and dining opportunities, as well as Native American and Spanish-influenced crafts, are abundant in the plaza area (as well in any shop you happen to visit while traveling across New Mexico).

We visited some shops and enjoyed the beauty of the craft. The quality work was not inexpensive, so we mainly looked. Ah the beauty of Indian crafts.

Albuquerque is bordered entirely with Route 66 and is lined with shopping, eating and hot spots (they call them).

There is a 170 acre Biological Park, containing an aquarium, botanical gardens and zoo, but we did not have time to stop. This would be a great place to spend a week on vacation. I love it.

Some day I want to come back and be a real tourist. In the shops you can venture just a little bit into the world of New Mexico, if you let your mind wander. They are a history lesson in themselves. As well, they do show the integration of the rest of the United States with the Indians; very interesting.

New Mexico is the home of The Original Fountain of Youth. It is a mineral water spa. It has ten spas (one of them a mud spa, and some of them totally private, which are considered to be beneficial for a number of physical reasons. Wouldn’t you love to visit there? I sure would.

I will mention here, that our first sighting of a casino was in New Mexico. The further west we go, the more casinos we see. I am not interested in visiting one, but I found it very interesting.

The Rest Area in Texas was manned by a young man who appeared to be and acted as though he was “put out” by the question, “Do you have maps?”

His response was a curt “We are NOT a Welcome Center, but a Rest Area. We have bathrooms.”

I wanted to say, “Obviously!” but refrained from doing so.

It is 316 miles until we hit Arizona; so says Tom (and he is more often than not, right). We have come 302 miles so far today. We are trying to accomplish 500 miles for this leg of the trip.

6:00 p.m. It is now officially 306 miles that we have driven so far today. We have mainly stopped for gas and one meal. (At a McDonalds!)

6:45 p.m. I see a nicely built lady with pure white hair. She has a class look about her and she is wearing men’s jeans. Her partner with her also has snow-white hair and is dressy in his jeans and shirt and tie. I look at the woman again and say to myself, “Something is just not right.”

Something is not right. This beautiful woman, with few wrinkles and smiling eyes, has, by all standards I am familiar with, earned the respect of not only her peers, but those younger than she. She deserves it. In my opinion, by dressing as a young woman, she is doing herself a grave disservice. Yes, we elderly ladies can tastefully wear jeans. It is what we put with it that counts. I think that when we accept who we are, at any age, that it shows and we will be happier individuals. Somehow, even though she smiles, she is not happy. My thoughts go up for her.

While in a Rest Stop, I saw a woman my age and chatted with her a bit. I am not at all a loner, and love to talk to folks around me - no matter where I am. As she talked, I noticed she looked weary and my heart went out to her. Automatically I drew her close and gave her a tight hug. I told her that no matter what - she was going to be alright.

She cried and thanked me and told me that I made her day. She was laughing and thanked me again.

As she was leaving, she turned to me and said, “Who would a thunk,” that a stranger in a rest room would make me feel good again?”

I turned her way and said with my most sincere smile, “Pass it on!” She shouted after me, “I sure will!”

Eating time - no, not the usual. We are at a Pizza Hut. It pretty much looks likes the ones back home except it is bright, has nice music and everyone is acting like family.

We found a nice hotel, we hope, The Discovery Inn (a Best Western). As tired as we are, we need an early night. We plan to leave early in the morning and get in more miles. We are so many years from being travelers we are learning as we go.

We traveled 306 miles today at 21 mpg. Not too bad.

8:57 p.m. It has been a good day.

G’ Night.