Last Hurrah

From New Orleans, we drove to Nashville.  We crossed the Mississippi River which was really cool.  It was a long drive and when we got to Nashville, we were all exhausted.  The entire town was shut down from the floods that happened a few months ago, so it wasn't like we were missing much.  We got some goodies from downstairs, and ordered a pizza to the hotel room.


The next morning, we woke up earlyish.  My mother had been thinking that if our plans for the day included Mammoth Caves National Park, I would need sneakers.  We stopped at Kohl's and I got a pair, and we continued on to Kentucky.  

Mammoth Cave National Park is the longest cave system in the world.  They have explored over 400 miles of caves and estimate that there are at least 400-500 more that have yet to be explored.  At Mammoth Caves, you have to go on a tour, so we immediately found a tour we wanted to take and got our tickets.  It wasn't for 2 hours, so we wasted time in the gift shop and getting lunch.  It was a wickedly hot day in Kentucky, but we were told the caves would be cool so we felt like idiots toting around sweatshirts in the wicked heat.  


A couple of cool things about Mammoth Caves:

• A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter, while a cavern is a large cave that was formed chemically (through things like acid rain)
• Mammoth Caves have 5 layers.  The bottom layer is a river.  This is how the caves were formed, from the top layer down.  Eventually, there will be a sixth layer.  
• The caves were first explored by Native Americans/Indians over 4,000 years ago.  They have found artifacts in the caves from this time.
• Modern day exploration was done by a slave.  His master owned the land and told him to feel free to explore, as long as he came back with his findings.
• Many of the older, upper passages of the cave system (which we saw) are very dry, with no stalactites, stalagmites, or other formations which require flowing or dripping water to develop

We didn't get too many pictures because it was dark.  We were over 300 feet underground afterall.  The cave was wonderful and cool, only 54 degrees.  Otherwise, the cave was just really cool.  We all agreed that this was one of the best parts of the trip.  

There were some narrow areas.  I'm not sure how some of the people on our tour got through.  There were places where I had to crouch to get through in my 5'2" glory.  There were two areas called Fat Man's Misery and another called Tall Man's Misery, the former because the rock was waist high and maybe 20 inches across.  The later because it was an 8 foot long passage that I had to literally bend at the waist to get through.  There were a lot of little places that were tight.

Windy steps with that rock right there to make it tricky...

Fat Man's Misery:

Right behind Julia is another rock so that little gap was what you had...

The entrance to the cave

I loved this little part of the trip and am so glad we stopped.  Walking through something so intricately formed by nature gives you a new appreciation for God...

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

The next monday, we woke up early to be packed and ready by 7:30.  We were headed to New Orleans and wanted the evening to explore.  We drove all day again, a 10 hour trip at the end of it.  There was a huge part of the trip that was on a highway through the Louisiana bayou.  It was such an interesting trip.  We got stuck in traffic for over an hour, so our 8-9 hour trip turned into a 10 hour trip.  It was rough!

We got to the hotel which was a block away from Canal street.  Our luggage was dropped off in the hotel and then we went to hit the town!

A friend of mine told me a few places to go in the French Quarter, so after asking the hotel, we followed their directions to these places.  Turns out, their directions were wrong and we ended up in the wrong place, but it worked out.

For dinner, I had a muffaletta which was a huge sandwich with olive salad on it.  It was amazing.  We each tried an authentic Nawlins dish for dinner.  Then we decided to walk.  Julia had to get souvenirs for her family, so we walked along Bourbon street for a bit.

 The street names in the French Quarter are inlaid in the sidewalk

Classic New Orleans Architecture...so cool.

Julia got all of her souvenirs, and we continued to walk down Bourbon street.  We went about 3 blocks, and mom and I would distract Julia from the strippers on the sidewalks.  We would see one and say "OOOH!  Jule!  Look at that (insert clean, wholesome, distraction here)!"  My mother had been suggesting we leave Bourbon Street, and when I saw a woman with almost no clothes on in a doorway, I agreed.  We walked around the French Quarter a little and made our way to Cafe Du Monde.  Both my friend and my brother-in-law told me that we MUST go to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.  Since we had free breakfast in the hotel, we decided to check it out for dessert.  I thought they were yummy and amazing, but Julia and mom thought it was just like funnel cake, so no big deal.  At least one of us could appreciate the good things in life!

Well, I liked them!

We were lucky to get to New Orleans in the middle of a ridiculous heat wave.  It was 85 degrees outside, but  with the humidity, the heat index was around 115.  Just leisurely walking made us sweat buckets.  It was awful.  Mom was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel.  I wanted to take my time and walk around a little bit.  Reluctantly, she "allowed" me to go off on my own.

I fell in love with New Orleans.  Strolling back to the hotel, I stopped at a little park and saw the river.  I strolled along and saw beautiful Spanish style architecture.  I saw an old advertisement painted on the side of a building near the fire house.  The ad was for a Ginger Mint Julep. I took a picture but because it was night, it didn't come out.  I walked up Canal Street, and there, at the corner of Canal and Bourbon was a Zydeco band playing.  People were all around them, clapping and dancing along.

We had been advised to go up St. Charles Street so we drove that way the next day.  This is the street where all of the huge, southern homes are located.  There is a trolley line running up and down the middle of the street.  I LOVED the trolleys here.  They're so cute!  While driving, my mother was marveling at the Spanish moss hanging from the trees.  When we stopped, she realized that it wasn't Spanish moss, but Mardi Gras beads!  We all laughed about that one.

Beautiful Homes!

"Spanish Moss" Mardi Gras Beads...

I would love to go back to New Orleans and explore a bit, sometime when the city isn't in an "extreme heat warning" and I'm not traveling through....it's definitely a fun city and I feel like I could spend weeks exploring and learning the history.

Don't Mess with Texas!

Day 4, we drove.  And we drove, and we drove.  Texas is the biggest freaking state that I've ever seen.  You can drive for 200 miles and not pass a gas station or a McDonald's.  We drove 11 hours, 600 miles and 1 time zone on this day.  We got to Martha's house just in time for dinner (she made amazing turkey burgers and freedom fries), then we went to bed.  We were tired.

Saturday, July 31st, we awoke mid morning and headed south to Austin.  Martha has been trying to get me to move to Austin like it is no one's business.  Her sister-in-law, Marissa, helped her plan an itinerary for us, and Martha showed us all of the sites!

We drove past a huge lake and stopped to take some pictures...

 Our first stop was to the headquarters of Mom's teacher honor society.  She was so excited to get there and I'm happy that we could there for her.

Second, we went to climb some steps.  We climbed and climbed.  They were cool steps, but I was very much used to 75 degree weather and Texas is HOT.  I was cold in the Grand Canyon, but hot the rest of the trip.  Poor Julia and mom had to hear about it....

Starting up the steps...

Almost at the top!

Finally there!

Austin Skyline

Next, we went to get some authentic Texas BBQ.  We went to a resturant called The County Line.  It was so delicious!  Great choice Martha and Marissa!

The Four of Us At The County Line BBQ

Martha LOVED this place!

Behind the restaurant was a lake, or creek or some body of water.  We went outside to look around, and there were probably 50 turtles swimming around.  There were also 3 swans.  It was really cool to see the swans trying to nip at the turtles and to see the turtles swimming!

Behind the restaurant...

Mean Swans!

Turtles!

When we were leaving, there was a "What is your sex appeal" game.  I got mom to play and she got a "sexy"!

It's so funny because she hates these things!

Next, Martha took us to the University of Texas at Austin bookstore called the Co-Op.  Here, you can get all manner of things for the Hookem Horns.  I got a t-shirt and mini bobblehead and Martha bought me a bracelet.  You could get anything imaginable in this store with the Longhorns logo....it was pretty funny.  

Dorking it up...

After the store, Martha took us to an ice cream shop called Annie's.  It was a little like Cold Stone.  Super yummy.

After ice cream, we went to the Texas State History Museum.  We learned all about the history of Texas, from the earliest settlers to becoming a state to modern day.  Did you know that Texas is the only state that can legally succeed from the union?  

Gigantic star at the museum

Finally, Martha and her husband bought some property near Austin.  She took us out to see it.  It is in a resort community with a wonderful pool and club house.  We stayed there, watched the sun set, and had fruit and guacamole for dinner.  The neighborhood is lovely and I hope they decide to stay there.  

We left her property and went back to her house.  Mom went to bed, Martha, Julia and I watched Hairspray, then we went to bed too.

The next day, Martha took us to the place where she works.  She then gave us a tour of Nolanville.  *THIS IS A JOKE*  She showed us where the Palin's winter, where Kim Kardashian uses the bathroom (in the purple port-a-pot), a Kardashian cousin, the Bush's summer, including Nana Bush, Cousin Bush, Aunt Bush....and this tree, where George and Laura shared their first kiss when they were 7.  I sent this picture to a friend and he told me it appeared to be leaning pretty far to the right.  I laughed and shared the joke with everyone....

We spent the afternoon chilling at Martha's, and met one of her co-workers and his family for authentic Texas steaks at a restaurant nearby.  They were really neat people with an adorable little girl and we all really enjoyed ourselves.  Martha then took us for Yo-Yo's frozen yogurt which is like Yogurtland.  We then settled in for the night because the early hours would come far too fast!

Martha, as always, was an impeccable host and wonderful tour guide.  I was so lucky to have met her way back when.  I can truly, honestly say that Martha is one of the best people I know, and I'm so lucky to have her call me a friend.

Who's awesome?  ^ She's awesome. ^

The Meeting of the Minds

July 29th.  We had a long long long drive ahead of us.  The cool thing is that we got to drive along the historic Route 66!

The bad news is that the road was so freaking boring.

This was the road for 8 hours

We did see some cool things.  I think I was more excited than Julia.  

We saw the western Continental Divide:

This is always a cool thing to see.  The sign says

The Continental Divide

Elevation: 7245 ft.

Rainfall divides at this point.  To the west, it drains into the Pacific Ocean, to the east, into the Atlantic.

The Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was dropped:

The sign says:

The nuclear age began with the detonation of world's first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site on July 16, 1945.  The site may have been named Trinity by J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos Nuclear Physics Laboratory, who said at the blast, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," quoting from the Bhagavad Gita.  The detonation of the bombed marked the culmination of the Manhattan Project.

The Trinity Site made me feel weird.  I fully understood the magnitude of what happened on that site and the ramifications of what came of that project.  We drove through Billy The Kid Country (seriously, that's what the sign said).  Appropriately, Billy Joel's "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" came on the radio right as we were driving through.

We got to Alamagordo, New Mexico around 5:00pm and met up with my mom.  Immediately, we got in the car and headed to White Sands National Monument.  

White Sands is located in Tularosa Basin in New Mexico.  The sand is made of gypsum.  The dunes here are so rare because gypsum is water soluble, so it would be carried out to sea.  The Tularosa Basin has no outlet to the sea.  The gypsum from the mountains is eroded by rainwater and carried down to the basin.  The water  then either sinks into the ground or evaporates, leaving gypsum crystals.  The crystals are eroded by the wind to form powder fine sand.  White Sands National Monument is the largest place on earth of this natural phenomenon.  There are 2 sister dunes, but they are teeny compared to New Mexico.  

The dunes are ever reshaping themselves.  They move 1-3 feet per year covering everything in their path.  The national park service encourages people to play in the sand since it really isn't hurting anything.  You can buy sleds in the gift shop and go sledding down the dunes.  We didn't sled, but Julia and I had fun climbing up and down the dunes.  Mom didn't get as into it as we did, but she still had fun with us.  

People Sledding Down the Dunes

Julia Rolling Down the Dunes

The dunes were so beautiful with the blue sky, and as the sun set, the shadows grew and were amazing.  We went on a nature walk with one of the rangers and learned a lot about the ecology of the dunes.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Julia Made Sand Angels

Mom On Top Of The Dunes

Ta-Da!

Awwwww....

Julia and Me

Julia Sliding

Me, trying not to fall...

Beautiful Light

Our nature walk taught us some really interesting things:

This is a gypsum crystal....

This plant has adapted so that the dunes can cover the plant and it can still live.  As long as the dune doesn't completely cover the plant, it will survive.

This is a tree that has adapted to the harsh environment of the dunes...

Finally, we caught the sunset.  It was gorgeous!