On the Mother Road :: Part 9

California. Here we come.

Route 66 always welcomes us.

Honey.

I love to see the lizards in the desert! Check out that tail!

Tammy ❤ Scummy.

Beaten and broke down.

Oh Canada!

Roy’s Motel.

A very very old volcano.

Route 66.

Don’t do it!

What an awesome trailer!

Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande,CA!

The bottles are lovely, but look at that printing press!

Cacti.

Insulators.

N Roll.

I liked this miner. He made out big on his claim!

So many pretties.

No one else was at the Bottle Forest so it was nice to explore without getting the the way of other people….or them getting in the way of my photos!

I think the cacti was my favorite!

Well?

Madonna of the Trail.

Kitty sittin’.

I didn’t see much of the Hollywood sign, but I did see it! LA was not fun to drive in.

We made it to the end of the trail! I drove all…ALL…of Route 66. I thought I would cry when we made it to Santa Monica Pier, but LA sucked the life out of me, so I had no tears to shed.

Santa Monica Pier.

This pigeon boy posed for us! What a way to end the trip!

On the Mother Road :: Part 8

Groceries.

Prairie dog!

So cute! there were hundreds of these guys on this part of the drive.

Cute tummy.

Checking out their surroundings.

DeSoto’s Salon.

We were actually able to eat here! In the middle of nowhere!

Route 66 Grill.

Land. Well played.

Very old 66.

Tree in the middle of the road.

It’s hard to see but there’s a cow and her baby under that big bushy tree.

Seligman, AZ.

We ate snow cones here.

I have a really strong hatred for Betty Boop. I just don’t get why she’s a thing.

Eric bought a real Route 66 road sign here!

Cars.

Grand Canyon Caverns! Yes we took the tour! I love me some caverns.

They actually have concerts underground! And there’s a hotel room you can rent! Sadly it was booked the night we were there or I think we would have spent way too much money to sleep underground.

It was a really clear night at our campsite. I tried some long exposure photography.

And I caught a passing train!

Bert’s Country Dancing.

I love this section of 66.

Old cop car.

We explored.

Eric really wants a car just like this.

Hackberry General Store. We bought some old license plates here and I bought some old Arizona Highways magazines.

Hackberry.

On the way to Oatman, AZ!

Watch out for wild burros!

I love the desert. There was actually water coming from a spring here. And there were goldfish in the water!

A popular place to spread ashes. They have quite the view.

Welcome to Oatman!

i told you there were wild burros!

This gal was very pregnant.

The burros are somewhat tame. They always expect you to give them treats. Most of the stores in town sell treats for the burros. Some of the really young babies had little notes taped to their heads that said…”Don’t feed me!” They just need mama’s milk.

Look at those big ears!

It was soooo hot here! I was one sweaty beast.

Just hanging out on the stoop snoozing.

On the Mother Road :: Part 5

We spent the night at the Blarney Inn in Shamrock, TX. Just a wee bit of Ireland!

Shamrock also has a blarney stone. What’s a blarney stone you say?…” is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens.”

And I kissed that blarney stone!

Rattlesnakes.

Devil’s Rope Museum in McClean, TX.

The barbed wire museum wasn’t open so we drove around McClean for a few minutes to pass some time. This old gas station was lovely in the morning light.

We even found a dirt road before the museum opened! Lucky little devils.

Whoa!

The Devil’s Rope Museum had a collection of salt and pepper shakers, because, why not? I’m loving that kangaroo and joey shaker!

An armadillo made out of barbed wire.

More barbed wire than you can shake a stick at!

Fancy wire.

And a big ‘ol block of wire!

Super Service Station.

Alanreed, TX.

The Leaning Water Tower of Britten, TX.

Groom, TX is home to the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere.

Bug Ranch.

Promoting peace.

John Lennon.

Cowboy Motel.

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX.

There were a ton of people there the day we were, but I somehow managed to get a few photos without people in them. Also…people like to spray paint the cars, which I think it wonderful! Except people leave the empty spray paint bottles all over the ground when there are trash cans at the parking lot of Cadillac Ranch. Shame on you, litter bugs!!

I spray painted a cat face and Juniper’s name on a car.

Juniper Purrito!

Bates Motel? Let’s go!

Seems legit, right?

Boot tree in front of Dot’s Mini Museum in Vega, TX.

Dot’s Mini Museum.

Inside the museum. We left a Polaroid Land Camera photo next to a Polaroid photo someone else left there!

Adrian, TX is home to some fun and quirky signs!

Adrian is also the midway point of Route 66! We’re half way there! Adrian is also home to the Bent Door Cafe. I love the door! Also…you’re or your? It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.

More signs in Adrian.

Loose at Night.

I think was my favorite sign in town.

How does your garden grow.

Holly hawks.

The old cowboy took off his hat.

Cats make me enormously uncomfortable. I never know what a cat is thinking.

Art is what you can get away with.

Who stuffed that white owl.

Midpoint Cafe, Adrian, TX.

Midpoint.

Wonderful view!

There’s the New Mexico border on the Interstate. We didn’t take the interstate…we found a dirt road to make our way into NM.

There’s our dirt road!

And look who we found crossing the road.

I was trying to make a turtle face. Apparently turtles always have their eyes closed.

I love the buildings in New Mexico! I love the desert too. I think it would be fun to live in NM someday.

The Pony Soldier Motel.

The Lasso Motel. What a beautiful broken down sign!

This was home for the night. The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM! We booked a room here two months in advance. This motel is always sold out. There was a mega surprise waiting for us at the Blue Swallow when we got there. They knew we were on our honeymoon and they made it a memorable stay for us. Eric and I both agree that this day was our favorite day on the trip! I can’t wait to tell you about our stay at the Blue Swallow. I have a ton of pictures to share, so I have a post dedicated to just the motel!

In PA.

Pennsylvania welcomes you!

This is incredibly obnoxious. Silly Jesus! You can’t balance a plane on your head.

It was a super humid and hazy day in PA. We stopped by the Flight 93 memorial. It’s a really somber place. Flight 93 was the plane that crashed into a field in western PA on September 11, 2001. There’s a long walkway with some signage along the way. To the left is where the debris field from the plane is.

Names of those who died in the plane crash.

It’s a big ‘ol coffee pot.

An abandoned section of Pennsylvania Turnpike. This was used as a filming location for the movie “The Road.” Does it look familiar?

It was a little creepy in the tunnel.

Burt Reynold pleasure cave. Don’t mind if I don’t!

No.

In Gettysburg I spotted a cat lounging on a wooden fence. Super cute! I actually made Eric turn around so I could take a photo with my telephoto lens.

In Gettysburg we spent some time driving around the Battlefield. This is one of Eric’s favorite places.

Morning overlooking Gettysburg.

Eric went on a Battlefield tour while I drove around and found this creepy stuff.

Cannons with the Pennsylvania Monument in the background.

It’s the Distelfink ya dingus!

Back in my hometown of Northumberland, Pennsylvania! My dad took me out for a ride in his new(ish) boat. I say new(ish) because he’s had it for a while, but this was my first time in it. He even trusted me enough to let me drive it. My mom hung on terrified in the back. Kidding! I wasn’t that bad.

Cupcakes for the wedding! Homemade in my childhood home.

Eric and I spent time at my parent’s house, his parent’s and my sister’s. We cooked some veggie dogs one night at Eric’s parent’s house.

Eric’s hometown of New Berlin, PA was having a parade and carnival while we were there!

This is where we’re from.

Someone has a nice bus.

He’s missing his chaps!

The kids watching the parade around us loved the fire trucks. They also loved the candy the firemen were throwing.

The carnival was small, but they had a carousel. You can’t go wrong with a carousel!

The wheel of doom! I’m not sure what it was actually called…I’m just telling you what it SHOULD be called.

My best friend, Aaron, is a pastry chef and he so kindly helped me decorate the cupcakes for the wedding. He brought massive pastry bags and piping tips for the icing. He even gave me the tips to bring home with me!

The night before the wedding we went to a local amusement park called Knoebels with some out of town friends. Fun, food and fantasy! Our friends Ryan and Jaime have two adorable kids. Arkaedi and Taviri were enjoying going around in circles most of the night.

All of us road the little train. In front of me is Jason, Aaron, Matt and DJ. Jason has some fantastic tattoos!…and he’s vegan!

And behind us are Arkaedi, Taviri, Ryan and Jaime!

I think we all had a fun night together! My friends!

And here’s a peak at our wedding day! And my very pregnant sister. She’s so cute! She had that baby five days after the wedding! I’m flying back to PA in September to meet my niece, Tessa.

My sister puts up with me doing weird things to her.

Married and watching the sunset over Gettysburg.

Goodnight Pennsylvania!

It’s a Birthday!

Today is Eric’s Birthday! We woke up, had some gift giving AND ate a chocolate peanut butter silk pie that I made! Today was also the Mother of all Yard Sales in Everett. I bought some pink lemonade from a little girl selling it along the sidewalk. She even had lemon slices in the cup! She was selling pink lemonade, limeade and regular lemonade. We opted for the pink lemonade since she said it was her favorite.

Eric wanted to go to Bamboo Garden in Seattle for lunch and I’m not one to say no to some Bamboo Garden. I had some wonton udon noodle soup. So good!

Bamboo Garden serves sizzling plates that Eric has been lusting after for a long time. They’re a little pricey but since it was his Birthday I was able to talk him into finally having one. He approves.

These were my finds for the day! I’ve heard good things about Stiff so I picked it up at my favorite used book store in Fremont. The (racist?) Canadian Mounted Policeman was a yard sale find. I have a thing for Mounties so I had to add him to my collection! Also I’m apparently starting to wear nail polish. In the past week I’ve purchased three bottles of the stuff! I’m almost girly.

And this face was waiting for us at home! Cute little girl.

From Washington to Ohio.

The trip to Pennsylvania took us through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and finally PA! I added a few new states to my “States I’ve Been To” list. Those would include North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. And do you know which states I hated? North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan! Michigan was the biggest offender. I’m sorry if you live there, but good grief it was a horrible drive! Never let me go there again!

Dry Falls, Washington.

Juniper was along for the ride.

 

Old concrete.

In Montana, white crosses along Route 2 mark where someone has died. This dangerous 70 MPH section of road has already taken 17 lives. SLOW DOWN!

Big Sky Country.

Continental Divide.

We saw so many trains on the way to PA!

There were plenty of stormy skies but they mostly stayed away. They were fun to watch from a distance though.

Dino time!

There’s an underground tour in Havre, Montana. This shot was taken while on the tour looking up at the sidewalk. The purple glass squares are inset in part of sidewalk.

The underground tour took us through a dentist office, a saloon and even a brothel.

Beautiful buildings in Havre.

Clouds and cows.

This gorgeous church is in Montana!

Cowboy Bar. Cowboys and old neon? Heck yes! I love me some cowboys.

“I’m gonna get you with my tiny arms!”

Rugby, North Dakota. The geographical center of North America!

Waking up to a beautiful morning.

Blazing sky.

One of many Paul Bunyan and Baby the Blue Ox sculptures we saw on the trip.

Giant Pike – Erskine, Minnesota.

Cordwood Pete and Tamarack. The legendary brother of Paul Bunyan. There was supposed to be a statue of Pete and Tamarack somewhere in this town, but we couldn’t find it! Maybe someone stole them?

We became very fond of Paul and Babe. We even bought a Paul Bunyan and Baby the Blue Ox salt and pepper shaker set.

Babe on the sidewalk.

In Cloquet, Minnesota is a gas station designed by famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. We HAD to stop there for gas. There are restrooms and a sitting area above the actual gas station. I took advantage of that.

Frank Lloyd Wright.

Big Paul Bunyan.

These poor guys were locked up! Stop vandalizing people. Knock that shit off so everyone else can enjoy giant things!

45th Parallel.

Back in Amish Country! We spotted this ATM in Ohio. And yes it’s IN the back of a buggy.

I’m still here.

I’ve been neglecting this little blog of mine!  Things have been so busy the last two weeks with preparing for the wedding and our Kickstarter project.  Yesterday I realized that it was exactly TWO weeks until we leave for Pennsylvania.  That’s TWO weeks until I’m off for a month.  Woo hoo and OMG I didn’t realize that I only have two weeks to get ready.

I’m ready for the planning stage for the wedding to be over with.  So much planning for a small wedding!

Another worry of mine is leaving my little cat behind.  It really makes me sad and I try not to think about it, but I can just see her now looking out the front window, watching us drive away.  Baby kitty!  We do have a close friend coming over to the house everyday to check on her and feed her and play with her, but I feel so guilty!  Baby kitty, if we had a camper I would take you with me in a heartbeat!

Other things on my mind lately…holy tornadoes in the Midwest.  It’s making me really nervous to be traveling through that area on Route 66.  Oklahoma City is being slammed yet again with tornadoes today.  We’re going to be driving right through Oklahoma City.  Get out of there you mean old tornado!

Tomorrow there will be a day trip fun!  I’ve been so stressed out this week, it will be wonderful to get away for a day!

Mail day and a new ‘do.

A custom necklace from Sailor’s Omen arrived in the mail today! She’s a gem!

Check out the other goodies for sale at Sailor’s Omen!

I bought a few scarves yesterday. I’m trying out some new hair styles. Success?

It looks like I’m ready for a farm. Now where’s my tractor?

Kick it!

Eric and I posted our Kickstarter project a few days ago!  I get wordy and confusing so here’s how Eric described the project on Hey I’m Over Here. 

“Following our June wedding on the east coast, Sarah and I will be embarking on a honeymoon trip along Route 66. For three weeks, we’ll be photographing the Road and the oddities along it with vintage Polaroid cameras.

Unlike many Kickstarter photography projects, our end goal isn’t a book – it’s the photos themselves. We want to travel Route 66, take photos with vintage Polaroids and send them to people – friends, family, even strangers. Each photo will necessarily be a one of a kind, you will have the only copy in existence. We won’t even have one! . Each will be taken along Route 66 and will in some way capture the essence of the old road. And to be clear, regardless of whether the project is funded, we’ll be traveling Route 66 this summer. The support you give will allow us to purchase film, additional cameras and needed supplies for shipping the photos. Rest assured you will not be funding our vacation.” 

In less than two days we actually reached our funding goal!  We were so surprised and thankful that people wanted our photos!  You can still support the project and we’ll send you photos from the road if you’re interested.  Head on over to our Kickstarter page to check it out!

This post needs a cat photo. 

I’m still here!

I’m here! And so is spring!  I’ve been gone, but don’t think I haven’t been doing exciting things.  Last week I took a trip to Pennsylvania.  I didn’t tell my sister I was flying in so she was quite surprised!  My sister is pregnant now so it was soo good to see her!  I felt the baby kick too.  It’s really exciting.  I can’t wait to be an aunt.  We spent quite a bit of time with my parents and my brother-in-law too.  We went out to eat, bought some Italian ice AND had a surprise baby shower for my sister!  I have tons of photos to share with you over the next few weeks.

Bright sun and blue skies!