Silver City, NM to Scottsdale, AZ

Let me just start by admitting that we lunched at Love's - no, not as in "When you're in Love's, the whole world's delicous", as in Love's Travel Stop and Country Store. After days of carefully prepared road lunches, most often built around hummus, we found ourselves faced with freshly baked Little Cesar's personal pizzas as they were being slid gracefully into their respective spots in their glass case. Really, it was more like performance art than fast food. Off we went, lunch in laps, to welcome 2016 with The Captain's cousin, Michael and his charming wife, Nancy. In keeping with the artistic start to this New Year's Eve drive, the Southwestern landscape was breathtaking. More than once, I picked up the camera in an attempt to share it with you, my virtual road tripping companions. However, not unlike ghosts, these scenes would not be captured in a photograph. They were real, though, as was evidenced by their visibility in the mirror. After a few hours of taking in the beauty of the desert, we pulled up in the McKiernan's driveway, the Celtic flag signaling that it was, indeed, the right house. This was our 14th day on the road and our 1st night out of the rig as "The Blue Room" had been lovingly prepared for us. It was nice to wake up in a beautiful home, exquisitely decorated for the holidays (another art exhibit, really), have coffee and visit as Mike and Nancy prepared a gorgeous breakfast which included grapefruit grown in their backyard. We'd celebrated in grand style the night before, with several courses spread out to keep us eating until midnight. As the clock struck twelve, we went outside to bang pots and pans like kids and watch the various fireworks displays around the neighborhood.

On New Year's Day, the four of us visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. This is an incredible place. Set up geographically, the exhibit guides visitors through the world through music. You are handed headphones (this is not optional), through which you begin to hear music from each area upon approach. There are videos, for which you will have matching audio, showing traditional cultural ceremonies (among other things) from every corner of the earth. If you plan to travel the world through this venue, leave plenty of time to take a rest and meal break and come back. It's more than can be taken in at once, especially if you have children with you. Take a look at the website. If you're near Phoenix (or Brussels, Belgium), this is something you'll want to see and experience for yourself. My few photos don't touch it but I'll share them with you, just the same.

The museum cafe is, by all accounts, a fine place to eat but we had another restaurant in mind. It was just closing as we got there but the alternative, Picazzo's Organic Italian Kitchen, satisfied the desire for a healthy and festive meal. There was plenty of daylight left and a walk was in order. Nancy introduced me to this flock of lovebirds who frequent the neighborhood trees. It was quite something to see them fly in and move from tree to tree.

On the 2nd, after a delicious breakfast of Mike's eggstravaganza (indulge me) along with homemade chocolate chip pumpkin bread and pumpkin butter, we were on our way to California with bag of road snacks and a plan to return in the spring to join the McK's for an art fair. If it's true that how one rings in the new year is foretelling of the 365 days to come, then The Captain and I are in for blue skies and sunshine, fun times with good people, and delicious treats. Here's to the same for you.

P.S. I have it on my calendar to reread the post below before planning next year's celebration.