-- The Home Stretch (Day 30)

Today is our last travel day.  Woo hoo.  We’re all anxious to get home. 

Dad took me for an early morning walk before we got on the road. I gotta tell ya, it was frickin’ cold outside.  My fur coat helped immensely, but my nose was froze (haha, I made a rhyme). 
 

 
 

 

 

Our campsite at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park wasn’t that bad.  Well, if you don’t mind being right next to the railroad tracks.  Frickin’ freight trains woke me up twice.  

 

 

 

My dad's a frost artist.

 

Dad went to the campground to check us out, while Mom and I shivered inside the Supervan. Turn up the heat, Mom, wouldya?

 

Remember I told you yesterday that Williams, Arizona is a location my mom used in her book?  Well, Dad said, “Let’s go check out that truck stop café on Route 66 and you can take pictures of the location.”  (That’s just how cool my dad is.)

 

Mom was kinda excited:

 

 

Here is the random Google Earth location she picked -- a truck stop café next to a gas station:

 

 

And here's my mom's actual photo of the site:

 

 

 

 

And here's the parking lot where the "bad man" is waiting (haha)... 

 

 

Of course, this little detour scored big points for dad -- it actually made my mom's day.  After she walked the lot and took her photos, we got back on I-40:  Destination, Westlake Village, California.

 

 

We enjoyed a much more scenic drive through the state of Arizona. We passed something called the "Holy Moses Wash." 

haha  --  now that thar's funny!

 

 

It wasn't long before we crossed over the Colorado River...

 

 

...and into our home state of California:

woo-frickin’-hoo!

 

 I knew we were in California when I saw the San Bernardino mountains:

 

 

 

 

 

I told Dad to pick up the speed.

 

Let's go  --  let's go!

I really worked up an appetite.  I was gettin' mighty hungry, so we stopped for lunch.

What's a fella gotta do to get a frickin' meal around here?

After Mom and Dad ate lunch, my mom brought me a piece of bread.  I was so excited, I nearly flew out the window to get it from her:









   

We only had a few more hours to go until we reached home.  And as close as we were to the finish line, it seemed like the longest stretch of our trip.

 

 

 

 

I told Mom to stop sulking and focus on getting home:

 

Whatever Mom did, it must've worked, because that's when I saw the Westlake sign:

We're home, home, HOME!

I took a dump on the front lawn to celebrate my homecoming, and then checked out the vicinity for any rabbits, squirrels, etc. 

I came up empty.  They must know I'm back in town. 

So for now, it's time to get back to work and finish up my travel blog.

 

Geez, how do I close this out?

 

 

Our super-adventure posts must come to an end for now.

 

Thanks to all of my followers for joining us on our journey, and stay tuned for our next one (yeah right, as if Mom is anxious to get back on the road again any time soon...).

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

 

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-- Mom's Lost That Loving Feeling (Day 29)

Today is my Aunt Teeta’s birthday, so a big “woof !” goes out to her. 

-- "Hey birthday girl, what would you like for Christmas?"            
             -- "Hmm... I'd like for you to brush your teeth and lay off the booze."

Mom kept tossin’ and turnin’ last night.  Seems like it’s getting harder for her to sleep on that Supervan mattress. (Hey Mom, put things in perspective -- I sleep on the frickin' floor).  

 

I remember when we first headed out on this roadtrip, some 29 days ago.  Mom was all "woot-woot!", excited to embark on our Supervan adventure. 

 

About a week into the trip, she stopped woot-woot-ing and came down with that nasty cold. 

 

Now, it seems like she's spent too much time on the road: 

1.  Mom's butt hurts from sitting so long as we drive;

2.  Mom's back hurts from lying on an uncomfortable mattress;

3.  Mom's nostrils are toast from the air pollution (aka Dad’s bean-eating obsession). 

You know, Mom used to love the Supervan.  Now, I’m not so sure anymore. 

Sometimes, she gets this evil grin on her face.  I wonder what she's thinking...

haha, Mom...   yer just kiddin' -- right?

 

 

Before we could get back out on the road, it was time to fill up the Supervan with more gas.  The local gas station was named “Love’s” -- awww, ain’t that sweet?

Fill 'er up -- with LOVE...

 

 

There was an old school bus in the parking lot -- a ‘custom conversion’ of sorts: 

 

 

 

 

As we continued on I-40, we drove alongside the historic Route 66: 

 

Crappy photo, huh?  
What do you expect from an action shot?

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the route from Chicago to Los Angeles:

 

 

Okay, kids -- that's your history lesson for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

We crossed the state line into New Mexico:

 

 

 

Then we stopped for lunch in Albuquerque. 

 

Whaddya think I just said,  ya dope?  We did take that turn!

 

It was Mom's turn to drive so Dad could take a nap.  Mom had a Kona Bay Board meeting scheduled for today, so she listened in on a conference call while she drove. 



Of course, that's not my mom on the phone.

I just thought that gif was pretty cool with the creepy dude in the back seat.  hah.  (did you see him?)   
 



Mom's meeting lasted 2 whole hours, so I just hunkered down in my seat while she yakety-yak'd.  It's tough being ignored, you know?  

We crossed the state line into Arizona, and Dad took the wheel:

We finally arrived in Williams, Arizona (about 30 miles west of Flagstaff). 

 

 

So here's something cool -- there's a scene in my Mom's book that takes place in Williams, Arizona.  She'd never even been there before and just picked it at random location from Google Maps.  Who knew we would be camping there?


Looks like now she can do some "reverse book-research."  Hah.  

Mom and dad ate dinner at a Thai restaurant:

Looks like I'm having rice for dinner!

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-- Oasis, My A$$ (Day 28)

Dad says we're gonna see armadillos today.

Huh?   Oh, sorry-- scratch that.  We're going to Amarillo, Texas.



Gawrsh...  I musta goofed.

 

We woke up early to check out our campsite at Tall Pines RV Park in the light of day. 

Hmmm... not so much. Especially after leaving Navarre Beach. 

 

 

However, Dad said there's a swimming pool here.  I don’t see a sign anywhere that says I'm not allowed, so let's go take a dip.

What the...?

Swimming anyone?



No way am I going in there!!!

 

 

We’re gettin’ the heck outta here. 

As we drove out of the camp, we saw this sign:

Hardy har har -- that is SO not funny

 

 

It wasn’t long before we crossed into Texas.

 

 

Not much of a scenic drive on Highway 114. Of course, the crappy weather didn’t help matters.

 

Move along...  Nothing to see here.

 

 

We had lunch in a town called Wichita Falls. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom wouldn't stop singing... “I am a lineman for the County... And I drive the main road...”  Uh, Mom -- don’t quit your day job.

Show her how it’s done, Glen.

 

 

When we parked at the restaurant, Mom almost took a detour when she saw her favorite store, TJMaxx  (or as my Dad calls it, TJCrapp):



C'mon, Mom.  Resist temptation...

After a quick meal, we got back on the road.

Mom!  Stop singing that song, would ya?

 

 

 

More open space along our drive through Amarillo, but at least the sky was blue.

 

It was sunset when we reached our destination campsite, "Oasis RV Resort:"


Looks more like a mission than an RV park office...

 

 

 

 

Someone had a hard time parking their RV. 

 

See Mom?  You're not that bad. 

 

"Honey-- How do you put this thing in reverse?"

 

 

 

Here's an overhead look at the campground.  The way they pack RVs in here, Mom said it looked like a drive-in without the big screen.

 

 

 

 

 

When we got to our "resort" campsite, it was nothing more than a gravel parking space with a concrete pad.  Oh, and a tumbleweed here and there for decoration, I guess.   

My Dad had that 'wtf' kinda look on his face when he got out of the Supervan... But it had nothing to do with the sea of gravel or the tumbleweeds -- it was the STENCH. 

Holy guacamole it stinks here, and whatever it is doesn't smell human! 
My dad's dirty socks smell like roses compared to this place. 



Turns out, we were downwind of a neighboring cattle farm. And they call this an Oasis Resort? 

Holy COW. 

That's the biggest load of bullcrap I've ever heard -- or in this case, smelled.  (haha I made a funny).

What that putrid smell?  
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

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