It's All About the FUN on the Road

I saved this segment for last as this is the absolute biggest reason why we love driving across America.  There's no better way to see this great country of ours than by driving every mile and passing through small towns and big cities.  Brian and I love exposing Niko to this world and America is just a huge blip to be explored.

As I was growing up in Washington, I don't remember any talk of this gum wall at Pike Place.  As soon as I started seeing pictures of it, we had to see it.  It was actually kinda gross.  You can smell gum in the air.  That's not necessarily gross, but all that nasty came from people's mouths!  Glad we experienced it, though!

As always, we love to stop in Las Vegas--not for the gambling, but for the shows.  We're always out of the country, or we're never stationed where there are any cool shows that we can easily get to.  So, if there's no show in your area, you go to where the shows are!  This visit, Niko picked to see The Beatles Love.  I was very reluctant to see it and thought it was going to be dull.  Oh, was I ever wrong.  This show was one of the best we've seen and really gives you a different view and better appreciation for each song performed.  Loved it and recommend it highly!

Did you know lavender thrives in dry climate?  We sure didn't, but we will for sure be in lavender heaven when we retire.  This lavender farm is about 3 miles from our final retirement place.  They claim to be the largest grower in the western hemisphere.  I don't know about that, but I'll definitely be frequenting their farm when we move there.

Check this out.  Of all the many times we've been to Brian's Mom's.  She's been telling us about this flea market in Gallup, New Mexico.  Every time we try to drive through and visit, either we can't find it or timing was never right.  Well, I'll be darn!  We finally made it!  I sure made the best trip out of it and got two sets of earrings, that super cool ringie on my finger and the engraved cuff!  It's the dustiest, all encompassing flea market ever, and we loved every minute of it.  We even had some local tamales and Indian fry bread!

These boys' mission, which I haven't really made any mention of (for a good reason), is to longboard across the country.  Most of the time, it just didn't work out due to time and location. They made it happen though outside of Vegas, and in Albuquerque.  Why I don't want to remember this time is because in Albuquerque, in my effort to capturing the moments, I fell and twisted my ankle in one of the runs.  It put me out of running commission for a few LONG months!  That's all I'm gonna say about that!

This cross country trip, we veered north a little bit to Memphis.  What a great decision that was!  We toured Graceland, and the National Civil Rights Museum at the site of where Martin Luther King was assassinated.  We had big plans to do all kinds of things in downtown, but these two museums surprisingly filled our day!  Yikes!  We did walk around Beale Street, where the blues was born and lives.  Note for anyone planning to visit Memphis, try their bbq--it's divine!

Yes, been to Savannah already, but this city is perfectly located for a stopover before hitting the last hours into Fayetteville.  I think Brian and I even have a picture at this exact location!  We found a yummy gyro place on the Riverwalk to snack on and enjoyed exploring the city.  Until next time, because you know we will visit again.

Our last and final stop of the summer was Charleston.  Never been there, but we sure enjoyed that little town.  So much history and beautiful architecture.  I'm in such awe at how long those buildings have been standing.  It was so hot during our visit.  The south was definitely experiencing a heat wave.  Of course, the trip couldn't be closed without a Moon Pie and RC Cola.  Perfect end to our memorable road trip.