AA^2 - Less than a week before we leave!

Less than a week before Stella and I go on our next awesome adventure.  We are super excited and it looks like Mother Nature is trying to help us prep for the trip.  It's dropped 40 degrees since Saturday.  I'm definately not used to the cold anymore even though I lived in Maryland for 15 years.  Stella and I are gonna freeze when we go up there.  I'm already planning outfits that will be layers upon layers.  Stella plans on wearing some long johns under her clothes.  lol

This is going to be one crazy week, well atleast for me.  Not sure about Stella.  I have 2 finals this week, I have to pack for our roadtrip, get Kobi groomed, get an oil change for my car, and have an awesome ugly christmas sweater party the night before I leave.  I'm pretty booked up but I feel like I spend my time more wisely when I'm so busy.

Pre-AA^2 Roadtripping

Stella

New developments in Stella's lovelife led to a nice week long adventure around Texas.  I hope she's not sick of being in a car already!  She started in 'the Valley', which I was told is south Texas, near McAllen.  I've never been down there, but I've heard its a whole other Texas compared to Houston.  She said they went to the beach in South Padre (I bet some of you are jealous, it's December and she was lounging in the sun), they visited San Antonio's Riverwalk, Austin, Dallas, and then finally back in Houston.  I'm kinda jealous that she went to the Houston Zoo 'Zoolights'.  I love the zoo and I love christmas lights, so of course Zoolights sounds awesome.  I think I was going through Stella-withdraw while she was gone.  We usually see eachother all the time even if we are crazy busy, we will squeeze in a dinner or study together. 

Petunia

I had a little mini roadtrip of my own, not nearly as long as Stella's though.  I went up to Glen Rose, TX to support Chivo who was in a Spartan Beast race.  Glen Rose is about 4.5 hours from Houston and is the first place my aunt and uncle lived when they first moved to TX about 35 years ago.  It's a little podunk town in hill country, I wonder what was there when they lived there.  We took my car on a little pre-roadtripping test drive and it did well.  Pretty smooth and comfy ride.  Chivo helped me branch out on my XM radio.  I had only been listening to BPM but now I've found some other stations that I like.  I want to find some antlers and a rudolph nose for my car before AA^2.

It was a nice little getaway, I wanna go on another one. And wow, have you ever heard of or seen a Spartan race??  They are brutal.  It's like the toughest of the tough that do these things.  I'm extremely impressed that Chivo completed the race, and then had extra energy after the race.  I got to watch part of the race but most of the race was out in the hills.  It's a 13 miles race with like 25+ obstacles, and if you don't complete an obstacle, you must do 30 burpees for each obstacle that don't complete.  Crazy right!  I got to watch the rope climbing which was pretty fun because some people climbed the ropes with ease, and others struggled or fell off the rope into the muddy water below. Chivo rocked the rope climb.  I also watched the spear throw, which is harder than it looks.  Right after the spear throw was a mudpit covered by barb wire and then a slick wall climb, followed by fire that you had to jump over. 












After watching the race, I've decided that I want to train for a Spartan Sprint - it's 3 miles and many obstacles.  I would feel a great sense of accomplishment if I could complete a Spartan Sprint.  I'm not gonna kid myself by saying I'll diet and exercise over our roadtrip, so I'll start training and eating clean on January 1st.  Sounds like a good way to start off the new year.

FOUR DAYS UNTIL AWESOME ADVENTURE^2.

AA^2: Things to do within 4 hours of Frederick, MD

Washington, D.C. - Christmas tree, National Mall, Good Stuff Eatery
Baltimore - Inner Harbor, Baltimore National Aquarium, Ravens, Malls
Harpers Ferry - Historical, shops, where 3 states meet.
Hershey Park - Christmas Lights, Hershey World tour,
Philadelphia - Liberty Bell
Ocean City - Boardwalk, Ocean
New York City - too much to list
Intercourse - Amish/Dutch town, shops
Annapolis - Harbor, shops, crabs, Naval Academy
Charlestown Races - Horse races, slot machines
Cunningham Falls - State Park, waterfalls, lake, kayaking, hiking


Bank of America card holders recieve discounts to the following museums:

Roanoke:
Taubman Museum of Art
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

Baltimore: 
The American Visionary Art Museum
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 10am-6pm

AA^2: Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Moutains

Stella and I are very excited to stay in the Great Smoky Mountains!  We will be staying in a KOA cabin one night in the Smokies.  We've decided to skip Nashville so we can have more time to explore the Smokies. 

Our Great Smokies Campground:

Townsend/Great Smokies KOA  

Townsend KOA Campground Map

 

We've reserved a 2 room cabin facing the river.  When I saw 2 room, I mean literally 2 rooms, not 2 bedrooms.  But still, it will be bigger than the other cabins we have stayed in. 














I'm hoping that we will still be able to make a Tie Dye T-shirt while we are there.  I know it's winter so I'm not sure what will be open.



This campground is dog friendly, although they may have restrictions on which dog breeds are allowed so call ahead of time.  I'm excited because they have a leash-free dog run area.  Kobi will love this!!

A little blurb about the town of Townsend from the KOA website.

This small town's history goes back hundreds of years. First called Tuckaleechee Cove by the Cherokee, white settlers began arriving in the late 1700s. Around 1900, there was a logging boom and the town was named after the Little River Lumber Company president, W.B. Townsend. Since the 1930s, when the national park was created, Townsend has been a major portal into the park. Enjoy the rich Appalachian culture, beautiful scenery and wonderful people of Tennessee.



Some information that could be helpful if you are planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open 365 days a year.

Pet rules at the national park: Pets

• Pets are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas, and along roads, but must be kept on a leash at all times.
• The leash must not exceed 6 feet in length.
• Dogs are only allowed on two short walking paths—the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. Pets are not allowed on any other park trails.
• Pet excrement must be immediately collected by the pet handler and disposed of in a trash receptacle.
• Pets should not be left unattended in vehicles or RVs.

These are rules for the safety of your pet and the animals in the wild.  Your dog could scare and carry diseases that aren't known the animals in the wild.  Your dog could also become prey for larger animals out there in the wild.  So I'm perfectly okay following the rules of the park.  I wanna make sure we all come home safe.

History and Culture

"Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves a rich cultural tapestry of Southern Appalachian history. The mountains have had a long human history spanning thousands of years-from the prehistoric Paleo Indians to early European settlement in the 1800s to loggers and Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the 20th century.
The park strives to protect the historic structures, landscapes, and artifacts that tell the varied stories of people who once called these mountains home" NPS.gov

The mountains get there name from a natural haze. Hydrocarbons produced by the trees and vast vegetation combined with the high humidity and rainfall produce a bluish/smoky cast. Thus the Great "Smoky" Mountains.

AA^2: KOA Kamping Kabins & Updated Route

5 weeks until we leave on our next awesome adventure! 

Stella and I met last night at Amazon Grill last night to plan some more of our trip.  I love Amazon Grill.  They make a delicious Tres Leches with a marshmallow like topping.  Yum!  I had the PUNTAS JALAPEÑA dish minus the beans and rice, sub grilled veggies.  I wasn't a huge fan of the creamy jalapeña sauce but I easily ate around it.  Delicious.  Stella had the Skinny Fish Tacos.  I assume they were VERY tasty since she didn't have any leftovers.  They also have FREE WIFI so it made planning so much easier. 

My Macroeconomics professor is allowing me to take my final sooner, which is awesome!!  Although we still may or may not leave until after 3pm because Stella's family has a christmas get together that she wants to go to to see some family that will be here from out of town.

AA^2 Road trip Route
So we've decided to go with route option #2. 
Houston, TX > Baton Rouge, LA > Toomsuba, MS > Birmingham, AL > Nashville, TN > Townsend, TN > Blacksburg, VA > Frederick, MD

 

While planning our road trip, we asked ourselves a few questions:

• What cities are we interested in driving through/visiting?
• How long will it take us to get to that city?
• Do we want to drive through the night or find a place to stay along the way?
• If we stay somewhere along the way, what time we would arrive?  How long will it take us to get to the next point on our trip? Is it worth it to stay the night? Do they accept pets?
• Should we skip Nashville all together?  It's out of the way and adds a few hours to our trip.

Through trial and error, we decided that we would like to stop and sleep instead of driving through the night because we were exhausted last time after doing that.  We also decided that it would be fun to stay in a KOA Kabin again.  It's a different experience than a hotel room, they have heated cabins and some are pet friendly.  They are also about half the price of hotel rooms.

 

AA^2 KOA Kampgrounds:

• Meridian East/Toomsuba, MS KOA

We plan on leaving Houston by 3pm (hopefully earlier) and we will be staying in Toomsuba, MS.  I have no idea how to pronounce that.  We will have to ask once we get there.  This stop is more about getting a good nights rest than sightseeing although the pictures make it look like a nice place to stay.  It's about 8.5 hours away from Houston and they have pet friendly cabins for only $50/night.  We will be staying in a one room cabin like the one we stayed in at Black Canyon City KOA on our last trip.

• Townsend/Great Smokies KOA

We will be staying in the Great Smoky Mountains night #2.  I'm very excited about that.  I've never seen the Smokies.  I've heard it's named the Smoky Mountains because of a blue gray haze that is sometimes over the mountains.  The only thing I am a little worried about it snow.  I love snow, I'm just hoping that it won't be on the roads to get to this KOA.  This KOA has a dog run, and you can make your own souvenir tie dye t-shirt. 

All the one room cabins were taken so we snatched up a 2 room cabin overlooking a river for only $65/night.  I can't wait and it sounds like Kobi will have fun here too!  Should I get Kobi a doggie jacket??  I'm making sure to keep his hair longer for the winter, but he is use to warm weather.  Do dogs get that cold?

We won't have any more nights out on the road until my trip back to Houston.  Townsend is close enough to Frederick that we can make it there in a day even if we stop in Blacksburg, VA along the way. 

 

Is it December yet??

 

 

AA^2: Roadtrip Route - Part I

HOUSTON TO NASHVILLE:
We need to figure out which route we should take to get to Nashville. The route doesn't necessarily mean we will stop in those cities, just what we will see from the car and how long we will be in the car. Here are the options:

We have three ways to get to Nashville.   Which should we take?

OPTION 1:  788 miles.  13 hours & 30 minutes

 

OPTION 2: 866 miles.  13 hours & 59 minutes

 

OPTION 3:  867 miles.  14 hours & 7 minutes.

 

 

I'm in favor of Option 2 because I love driving over the swamps on I-10 in Louisiana and I wanna see Birmingham, AL.  Although we may see it in the dark, so if most of the trip is in the dark, then maybe Option 1 would be good.  Something to think about.

 

We also need to figure out if we are driving through the night, which we know is possible since we did it twice on our first Awesome Adventure.  OR do we drive about 6 or 7 hours, stay the night at a hotel, then drink another 6 or 7 hours to get to Nashville.  I'm kind of leaning towards driving through the night because then we would get to Nashville around lunchtime on Sunday.  Enough time to rest, sight-see, Sunday Funday and then get a good nights sleep before heading to Frederick.  I still need to talk to Stella about this though.

 

As far as Kobi is concerned, we will need to find a pet-friendly hotel in Nashville.  Some don't like it if you leave the dog in the hotel room when you aren't there, I hope to find one that doesn't have that type of pet policy.  But if that's all we find, then I was going to drop Kobi off at a Pet Daycare or at Petco or Petsmart to get his haircut while we are out sightseeing.  He needs a little vacation and run around time too.  Depending on how cold it is outside, I would like to take him to a dog park in Nashville for some play time.

 

OMG, 6 weeks until our road trip. It will be here before we know it.  

 

AA^2: Planning Phase

October 29, 2012

Less than two months before we leave on our AA^2 adventure!!  We are beyond excited and can't wait for more adventures.

How I will feel studying for my MacroEcon final. 

We will be leaving late Saturday afternoon.  We were hoping to leave Friday night but I found out I have a final on Saturday at 2pm.  I talked to the teacher about taking the final sooner but I'd only be allowed to take it the following week which won't work since I'll be 1200 miles away.  Oh well.  One day won't mess with our plans too bad.

My 2008 Saturn VUE XE

No rental car this time!  I got a new car - a 2008 Saturn VUE because my beloved 2004 VW Jetta was about ready to die.  It just kept having issues, so I figured I might as well spend $200 a month on a new car rather than $200+ a month fixing the Jetta.  I really like my new car...well it's more of a small SUV.  Gas isn't terrible.  The ride is smooth and no more manual transmission, which is nice since there is always traffic in Houston.  Anyways, I can't wait to take it out a road trip.  It's spacious, has low mileage and is just begging me to go out on the open road.

So we would like to go to Nashville and at least drive through the Smoky Mountains.  I'd love to go hiking a little but it depends how cold it is outside when we get there.  Then we plan on stopping at Virginia Tech, where my brother and sister went to school.  While I was talking to my sister, Chelle, about the trip, she told me that Virginia Tech has had some of its worst snow storms at the time that we plan on driving through that area. Yikes.  I'm not really a fan of driving in the snow. 

I informed Stella about what Chelle said.  So our options are:

Option 1: Make a hotel reservation.  Be okay with being 'stuck' in a city/town until roads are clear IF it snow.  Drive the northern route to Maryland and hope for no snow.

Option 2: Make a hotel reservation ,with a cancellation policy that would give our money back if we had to cancel.  IF it snows, cancel hotel reservation, and drive the southern route to Maryland.


Hoping we won't get stuck in snow like this!!

I don't think the southern route has as much to see as the northern route but it does have warmer weather and it's a way to avoid snow.  BUT we would both rather chance it and take the northern route.  Option 1 it is!  Gotta make sure my tires are okay for cold weather precipitation, and have blankets/hand warmers in the car in case we do actually get stuck in my car.  I think we will be okay as long as we check the weather channel a lot. 

Now to start looking for dog friendly hotels in Nashville.

Since we can't leave until late Saturday afternoon, we need to figure out when we would get to Nashville and if we should stay at a hotel there, or somewhere else.  If we stay somewhere else, I could probably just put Kobi in a doggie daycare or something while we do touristy stuff.  It would give him sometime to stretch his legs and play.  Something for us to figure out.

We're in Vegas, baby! Day 3, 4 & 5

Awesome Adventure^1

Day 3

Just a few hours and we will be in Las Vegas!!  I've never been to Vegas but it looks pretty cool.  We should get there around sunset, about 8 or 9pm.

After Montezuma Castle, we had to drive through Flagstaff to get to Las Vegas.  I had a lot of people ask my why we didn't visit the Grand Canyon since we were right there.  We didn't visit because we had somewhat of a plan before we came on the trip and Las Vegas comes before the Grand Canyon.  I think Stella was more excited about Las Vegas than anything else on the trip.  I was more excited about the wilderness type stuff on the trip.

Near Flagstaff, AZ

So anyway, Flagstaff was beautiful!!!!  I fell in love with it.  The view was spectacular.  I loved all the pine trees and it was about 70 degrees outside, in August!! I wish we had more time in Flagstaff.  We were a little rushed because we made hotel reservations in Las Vegas for Night 3.  Flagstaff is near the Grand Canyon...well about an hour away.  It's close to Bearizona.  We saw a million signs for Bearizona.  We wanted to stop but it was raining and we didn't have the time this go around.  It was like a safari park but with bears, wolves, and other animals.  I don't think they had exotic animals, but when do you ever see bears, wolves and moose in the wild.  You can see them, but it's rare.

We stopped for lunch in Flagstaff at NiMarco's Pizza place.  It was delicious!!  I had pizza with green chilis and a watermelon ice tea.  It was amazing.  I seriously have green chili fever. 
















The drive from Flagstaff to Las Vegas was great.  The views and changing scenery were awesome.  We went from mountains covered by cactus and rocks, to mountains covered by pine tree forests, and back to rocky mountains again.



Our room at the Imperial Palace

So we arrive in Las Vegas around 8pm.  We were hoping to get there in time to go see a show but traffic and checking into the hotel took a long time.  We stayed at the Imperial Palace.  It was cheap and our room was great.  No view but who cares.  I'd rather spend my money on other things.
Day 4

We stayed in Las Vegas for two nights.  I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail because well, you know.  What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.

We shopped alot.  Did toursity stuff.  Walked around - bring comfy shoes!!  Played slot machines.  Slept.  Met someone who hooked us up with a table at a club for free since we are girls.  :)  Ate at a brazilian steakhouse - yum!

We saw Peepshow.  I loved it and I think Stella did too although I think she wasn't quite prepared to see all that nudity.  lol.  I love Holly Madison, but her body didn't look as tight as the others.  (Now I know why, she was actually in the early stages of pregnancy!)  I found out Coco will be taking over for Holly Madison.  I love Coco too so I gotta go back, right Chivo?  Be prepared to pay a pretty penny for shows.  If you want a discount on shows, they have stands around Vegas that show discount tickets but the good tickets sell out early.  Stella really wanted to see the Beatles show: Love but it was crazy expensive and sold out.

 

 

Pictures of Las Vegas

 



Day 5

We decided to sleep in. It was raining anyway. We rolled out of bed, got ready to get back on the road. Off to see the Hoover Dam.  We parked a little ways before the dam and walked to a bridge that gives you a nice view of the dam.  We didn't stop on the actual bridge and check out the visitor center because you have to pay to do all that.  We did drive across the bridge, but the road doesn't go anywhere so we had to turn around.  The Hoover Dam is really spectacular.  It's HUGE!

Back on the road, we are heading to Grand Canyon Caverns and then the Grand Canyon!

To be continued....

Awesome Adventure 2: Texas to Maryland

We are planning our second road-trip! When will we have time to go?? I have a pretty full schedule with work, school, Enactus (formerly SIFE), and I teach AutoCAD on the side. Stella is devoting her time to studying for the LSAT, which is December 1st I believe. I have a break between semesters in December and Stella will be waiting he results of her LSAT, sounds like the perfect time to take a road-trip!! I'm crossing my fingers that my boss approves my vacation time. I'm hoping to take the week before and the week after Christmas off from work. My family lives in Maryland and I'd like to bring my dog, Kobi, with us on the road-trip since it will be over Christmas. He is my fur-child. :) Stella will be with me the first week, then fly back to Maryland right before Christmas to be with her family. Although she is more than welcome to stay in MD with me and my family if she wants.

So we have figured out the perfect time frame to go. We met up tonight at Zoe's Kitchen to start planning our trip. Their wifi was down...again....so we used our phones and wrote stuff down on paper I start the planning. BTW, Zoe's food is good! I am on the paleo diet so I ordered the protein power plate and substituted the slaw for roasted veggies. It was delicious!!

Kobi

Anyway, we used the maps app on my phone to figure out our route. Should we take the northern route, or southern route? Through Baton Rouge, Mobile and Atlanta (the Southern route)? Or through Birmingham, Nashville and the Smoky Mountains (the Northern route)? Stella REALLY wants to go to Baton Rouge to stay in a haunted plantation..... My first thought, we scared ourselves while camping in non-haunted places, how will we ever make it through staying in a haunted plantation. Since we have Kobi with us, and Baton Rouge is relatively close to Houston, we can go another time without Kobi and stay on the plantation. Stopping there wasn't really working with our timeline anyway. So we have chosen to take the Northern Route. I've never been to Nashville. Maybe we should watch the new show, Nashville, to get ideas what we should see while there.

We are super excited about going on another roadtrip. We won't be continuously on the road as long this time but once in Maryland and Kobi with my parents, we will have many places within a few hours that we will be able to travel to and we won't need to worry about it being pet friendly or not. Places like Intercourse PA, Hershey Park, NYC, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Cunningham Falls.

Oh and we've decided to nickname this trip AA^2.

 

Day 3 - BEWARE: Adventures Ahead!

Day 3















Can't believe it's day 3 already!  We had a good nights rest in the cabin, after we calmed down.  We woke up safe - no creepers or creatures attacked us in the night.  :)




I think we woke up around 8 or 9 am.  We had about a 45 minute drive from the Black Canyon KOA to our first destination point of the day - Montezuma Castle.  We got ready, packed up the car and hit the road, deciding that it would be easier to grab some fast food for breakfast instead of of a sit down restaurant.  I opted for a Subway breakfast sandwich and a Crystal Light energy drink.  OMG, these Subways have green chilies AND a green chili sauce.  Yum!  Stella just got some coffee from McDonalds.

On our way to Montezuma Castle, we saw signs for Out of Africa Wildlife Park.  We both instantly agreed that we should stop!  I've never been to a wildlife park like this.  I wonder if we can drive through it?  That we be so awesome.  It wasn't too far off the highway.  It's not a park that you personally drive though, but it is one that THEY can drive you though.  Well at least part of it.  Since we still want to go to Montezuma Castle and be in Las Vegas by nightfall, we just want to go on their drive thru Safari.  Stella throws it out there that she's a teacher and we were able to buy a ticket JUST for the Safari, with them telling us that we MUST leave immediately after the ride since that's all we paid for.  Fine with us.  Yay!  BTW, it's really freaking hot outside and haha, I wore my leopard print top today, not knowing we would be taking a 'safari' ride. 

The Safari ride was $20 each, much better than paying for the regular admission of $36 and then paying extra for the safari especially since we didn't want to walk around the rest of the park.

The safari was awesome.  Definately worth the $20.  We got up close and personal with the animals, some more than others.  Our first stop was with a giraffe that we were allowed to feed.  Yay!  I've never been this close to giraffe, and wow, he had a giant head!!  The guide was very nice and full of information.


Imagine this, sitting in a school bus painted to look like an animal with no windows between you and the animals, you are feeding the giraffe, and no one has anymore carrots to give him.  He keeps leaning down for more carrots, or giraffe kisses, did I mention how big his head was and that he has a giant black tongue?  Yea.  Exactly.  Well Stella sat near the windown...and was not leaning as far as she could towards the inside to avoid being kissed by the giraffe.  Meanwhile, I'm on the edge of our already small seat about to fall into the aisle.  It was pretty funny.  I was taking pictures of the giraffe while Stella is trying to avoid her new boyfriend, she looks away for just a second and BAM!  He stole a kiss!!  Funniest thing ever.  Stella was a little grossed out.  I so wish I had gotten a picture of the kiss!!  But below is the after math of the kiss.  He wa lickin his lips.  Was Stella tasty?? haha

Stella's new boyfriend

Want to see more pictures?  Out of Africa Wildlife Park








Alright, so after Out of Africa, we continued to our original destination, Montezuma Castle.  I was pretty excited about this one.....a Native American cliff dwelling!  Maybe its the engineering nerd in me, but I find it super fascinating that Native Americans were able to build their homes into the side of cliffs.  How did they do this?  Did anyone fall to their death while building or living in these homes?  It's also pretty cool that these cliff dwellings are still in tact today. 

This stop was fairly quick.  It's maybe a quarter mile walk to the cliff dwelling.  I did get to wear my awesome little waist pack.  Although, that may be the last time I wear it.  I kinda felt like a goofball in it.  I need to just buy a small back pack for hiking next time.  Not a whole lot to see because you can't climb up in the cliff dwelling, bummer!  They have a nice visitor center, probably due to the fact that they charge you $5 per person to see the castle.  They also have a map, some information and pictures about the dwellings.  I bought myself and my aunt some prickly pear jelly in their gift shop.  I have yet to try it though.

Montezuma Castle

Alright, let's get outta here and head to Las Vegas!!

Day 2 Continued.....

I think our theme song for the first part of our trip is "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson. 

What is The Thing?  We've been seeing billboards for this must see attraction in the middle of no where.  Let's stop and check it out!!!  It's only a $1 and by the signs, they also have fun souvenirs.

8:20am AZ  We have arrived at The Thing?!

Sorry about the bugs on the windshield.  Our poor rental car is covered in bug juice.

We checked out the cute, but over priced souvenirs.

So what is The Thing?  It's only $1 so let's do it!  Ha, wow.  Okay, so definately a creepy strange thing.  They have a collection of old stuff to see before you get to The Thing?.  Fancy old cars, old wagon, odd carved people, an exhibit of how people are tortured around the world.  What is going on here!? I'm for sure feeling a little cr



Here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for!

The Thing? - a mumified mother and baby

Cool, but I think the excitement of wondering what The Thing? was, was higher than the excitment of what it actually is.

Alright let's get outta this creepy rest stop.  To see more pictures check out Stella And Petunia's Facebook Page

The Thing? gas station also has a Dairy Queen.  I don't think I've ever seen so many Dairy Queens before.  At least these Dairy Queens have more than just ice cream.

10:00am AZ Yay, civilization!!!  Hello Marana, AZ.  Is it lunchtime yet?  Maybe not in Arizona, but in Texas it's lunchtime.  Stella really wants some In n Out Burger but it's not open yet.  We need to kill 30 minutes.  I still needed some pepper spray for those creepers and bears since I couldn't find some at the Wal-Mart in Fort Stockton, TX.  They have it!  Pink or black??  Pink it is. 

It may look sweet and innocent but it will sting!

It is 10:30am yet?  Nope.  Okay, my Starbucks app says there is a Starbucks near by.  Let's go.  I love me some Starbucks.  :)  And with my Starbucks gold card, I earn stars towards a free drink!

My lasted obsession - Caramel Macciato with 1% milk.

Almost, 10:30am.  We can just wait in the parking lot for In n Out Burger until it opens.  Who knew a burger joint would open at 10:30am??  I guess lucky for us, it does.  I don't really get the whole obsession with In N Out burger, maybe it's just because I'm not a huge burger person.  They are good burgers - always fresh, never frozen, and they have a sauce...kinda like thousand island but with dill pickle in it.  The french fries are okay.  I think I like McDonald's french fries better, but if they'd have sweet potato fries, or more options on the menu, I might like In N Out Burger more.  I do like the idea that their food is fresh and they don't over process their food like other places.  Anyway, it's almost a "must stop" for everyone to at least try.  Also check out their not-so-secret secret menu.
In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out Cheeseburger and French Fries.

11:00am AZ  Stella has been driving since early this morning, but she says she is still okay to drive some more.  Fine with me!  We are about 2.5 hours away from Black Canyon KOA and it's only 11am!  I didn't think we'd get there until late Saturday.

1:00pm AZ Another potty break, this time we are in North Phoenix, it's a very cute area!  Stella said she wants to move here.  I don't like it THAT much, but it is very nice.  This area/town is called Anthem.  We gotta stop at Wal-mart, again!  We wanted to pick up some stuff that we will need for camping.  Stella forgot socks, I still need facewash and contact solution.  20 minutes until we are at our KOA campground.


Black Canyon City KOA

1:40pm AZ  :)  We are here!! Black Canyon KOA.  Our first campsite.  The office doesn't open until 2pm, but they have a box with our info and tent site number on it since we made a reservation here.  We drive around the campground, it's not bad.  It has a pool, a lot of RVs, a great view, but no one is really outside, probably because it's so freaking hot outside.  The campground also has 4 cute cabins.  The tent sites aren't really much of anything, it's hot outside and we are both so tired.  I wonder how much those cabins are.  $40/night, so we'd only have to pay an extra $20 to stay there since we've already paid $20 for a tent site.  Let's do it.  $10 each for not having to set up a tent and having AC. SOLD!  Well as long as they are available.

Our KOA Cabin

2:00pm Thank goodness!  It was available.  It has a full size bed and bunk beds, AC, a little desk, windows, a mirror and a cute patio with a porch swing.  Awesome!!!  I immediately take advantage of the showers since we've basically been stuck in a car for 24 hours.  Stella takes a nap.  She's beat after driving for 6 hours.  I pass out as soon as I get back from the shower and neither of us wakes up until 5:30ish.  A bed never felt so good!

Click for more Black Canyon KOA Pictures

Before heading out on this road trip, I found a popular restaurant that's near Black Canyon KOA and has been featured on the Food Channel, so we are going to check it out for dinner.  It's called Rock Springs Cafe and it's known for it's pie.  It's also the closest food we have to the KOA other than the campground store, which closed at 6pm.   Rock Springs Cafe

Caesar Salad

Huge cornbread and so good.

We both had Chili.  Good with a little kick.



I had their special Mixed Berry Crumb Pie.  Very good.

Stella's pie.  Banana Cream I think.



It's not that late.  What should we do now?  It's a 20 minute drive back to north Phoenix.  We could go see a movie.  Besides it looks like rain again.  It rained last night too.  

Rain cloud rolling in.  Our campsite is in that direction.
At least the rain created a rainbow type thing in the clouds.



Check out that sunset!

Ya know what, both of us are really tired and nothing looks that good in the theaters right now.  Let's just find a Starbucks so maybe we can find an Arizona or Phoenix Starbucks mug.  The rain has started!  The first Starbucks was out of mugs and said they were told that they weren't close enough to Phoenix to get mugs in again.  Ugh!  Let's try our chance at another Starbucks.  yay!  They have the mug.  It's not a Phoenix mug, but at least it says Arizona.  I have a nice collection of mugs at home from other places I have visited.

Back at camp.  We are so happy that we upgraded to a cabin, especially since it's not raining outside and hot.  Let's sit outside on our covered patio.  It feels nice outside and it gives Stella a chance to give herself a mani pedi.  I, of course, add some excitement to our night, not intentionally though.  I have a good imagination and I've seen too many scary movies.  I think aloud and tell Stella my thoughts.  "I wonder what's out in the dark shadows.  We can't really see anything.  There could be someone sitting on the patio next to us or something out there watching us and we wouldn't know since we can't see anything"  hahaha, bad conversation to have in the dark, in a quiet campground.  We freak ourselves out and go inside, but ahh.  Stella needs to use the restroom, which we DON'T have in the cabin.  Of course she makes me go with her since we are now scared to be out in the dark.  I grab the handy mag lite my aunt and uncle let me borrow, since it's light and my uncle said it could be a good weapon.  :) 

Back in the cabin, lights out, door locked.  Good night. 

Stella, "Petunia, do you hear that???"  Me, "Yea, it's just a car driving by."  Stella, "Are you sure??".  Me, "Yes, go back to sleep."

A little later.  Stella, "OMG, did you see that?? Is that a shadow at the window?? Do you see that?" Me, "It's nothing.  Go back to sleep.  Nothing it out there."

I lie awake for a little while listening to the outside, and talking myself out of thinking that anything is out there.  ZZZZzzzzz