The Road Trip

I started my road trip on July 10th and hit the road with Alex to my Dad's place in La Luz, NM for a night. It was an easy drive and I was glad we made it there early in the day.

Day 2 we drove from La Luz to my Mom's place in Novato, CA which is about 20 miles north of San Fransisco. That was a grueling 18 hour drive but I'm glad we made it in 1 day. Day 3 was pretty much a rest day that involved watching Spider-Man with Alex and picking up Norma in  Oakland. Day 4 Norma, Alex and I went to San Fransisco and bumped around Fisherman's Wharf and we finished the day with pizza at my favorite pizza place Round Table Pizza. It was soooooo good. Day 5 and 6 was super fun as Norma and I went to Napa to enjoy wine tasting. I never knew it would be so much fun. We also bought 2 cases of wine while we were there. Day 6 ended with my Mom cooking a massive feast for me and my brother's family. It was great to spend a few hours with Joel, Laura and my super sweet nieces Emily and Haley. Day 7 Norma and I went back to the Wharf for a little bit before she had to get back to the airport in San Fransisco. After I dropped Norma at the airport my mom and I took Alex to Sacramento to spend time with his other Grandmother. Day 8 my Mom and I went to Blue Lake, California where my Grandfather lives. He his almost 95 and it was really nice to see him and one of my uncles. That was super long day, Day 9 my mom and I went to Golden Gate park to take some pictures of the bridge. It  was such a nice day. (Pics will be posted later). Day 10 and my last full day in California was non eventful. I went to Sacramento to get Alex. We was flying from Oakland to Houston that afternoon. The day ended with my Mom and I having dinner and enjoying some wine. My trip to California was very enjoyable and it was great to see everyone.

Day 11 was a tough day. I drove from Novato, CA  to Salt Lake City, UT. This was a long boring drive. The day ended with me picking up Norma at the airport to enjoy the next 5 days of our road trip. Day 12 was a busy day. We started with a drive from Utah to Idaho. In Idaho we stopped at the Yellowstone Bear World, a drive- thru bear park. I initially didn't want to stop because we were on a schedule but I am glad we did. The animals walk right to the car and were able to get many great pictures. After we left Bear World we briefly drove through Montana where we entered Yellowstone Park. Shortly after entering the park we entered Wyoming. We spent most of the rest of the day at Yellowstone. The park is such a site. The wilderness, waterfalls, hot springs and of course the geysers we something else. The last site at the park was the Old Faithful geyser that blew her stack a little late but it was worth the wait. To finish out the day we drove to Cody, WY for the night. Day 13 we started early. We were driving to South Dakota. We hit Deadwood around noon. This is a town I have wanted to visit for a long time. Deadwood is probably most known for the place that Wild Bill Hickok was killed. We started our tour of Deadwood with lunch at the Gem. Anyone who watch the Deadwood TV show will know this place. After lunch we did a wine tasting and walked around the town. We ended the tour with a little gambling at Charlie Utter's Casino. We left Deadwood and went to Keystone where Mount Rushmore is. If you have never gone to Mount Rushmore you have to do it at least once. It is one of the neatest things I have ever seen. I could have probably stayed there all day. Pictures just don't do it justice. After leaving Mount Rushmore we went to the Crazy Horse memorial. This was neat but a major rip off. I wish we would have pulled off the side of the road to take pictures. After our brief stop there we drove to Ft. Collins, CO and began the trip back to my Dad's house. Day 14 we started to head back to my Dad's house but I did make a side track to Taos, NM where I was born. I wanted Norma to see Taos. I stopped by my Grandmother's house just to see how it looked and then we went to the Plaza for lunch and a little shopping. We then headed out on the road back to La Luz.

Day 15 I drove Norma around Alamogordo so she could see the town. (La Luz is outside of Alamogordo.) We had lunch in town, bought a few souvenirs and finished up with some wine tasting. My Step Sisters kids were spending the next few day with my Dad and Step mom. Day 16 we just relaxed. I had to take Norma to El Paso so she could fly back to Houston. The day ended with dinner, beer and a little TV. Day 17 I ran a few errands and then we we took the kids to the Elk's club to swim. My Dad and I enjoyed a few beers at the bar. (Ok I had more than a few). The day ended with me packing my stuff up and turning in early because I was driving home the next day. Day 18 was another long day of driving.  It took me forever to get home.

After getting home I still did a few things. The next day I finally got to see my favorite Superhero in action. The Dark Knight Rises was super awesome and then I had lunch with my cousin Sonia and her daughter Erica on Sunday. After that I have just been relaxing. I have really enjoyed my sabbatical. and still have 2 1/2 weeks left until I go back to work.

I have one my short trip that I will update next week. I have nothing big on the race front but my endurance is finally coming back. I'm feeling much better and I hope to be racing again soon.


Bye for now!