Arizona

New favorite t-shirt

Gallup ... again :(

We're in Gallup New Mexico again tonight. We don't want to be here but
here we are. We should be home by tomorrow night. Grandpa's looking over
us though. The weather has been perfect.

Texas bugs

Eww. There were so many bugs it sounded like we were driving through
hail! We're in New Mexico. Still don't like it here.

Fire!!

We are currently driving through Oklahoma, a major fire is going on off
the road, it stinks so bad and visibility is kinda shitty but we should
be fine. Going for western new mexico today, almost home!

Oklahoma

We're snoozing in El Reno Oklahoma tonight. It was a long day of driving and we're hoping to do another long day tomorrow so we can be home by Tuesday. We're both getting homesick and miss the little kitties and our bed.

Almost to the city!

Oklahoma

Just did 5 hours of driving. Im pooped and Chris is taking over. I got
us from Mississippi, dropped my brother off in Memphis and drove all the
way through Arkansas to the Oklahoma border. Chris wants to get us past
Oklahoma city today but we'll see. I'm wiped out from the driving so far
today. The grand marquis is getting great gas mileage thanks to the
dynovalve. Almost 26mpg in this boat!

Oh the South...

Heading West

In about an hour I will be waking Chris up, rounding up my brother to drop him off in Memphis with mom and dad and then Chris and I are heading west. I feel 100% better after yesterday. The only anxiety I have is having to drive back through New Mexico. The first night we stayed there we turned on the news only to hear that so far this year 8 of the Albuquerque fire fighters have received DWI's. It's only MARCH!!! AND THEY KEPT THEIR JOBS! The highway through New Mexico is littered with signs to report DWI's. They even have a dedicated emergency line just to report DWI's. The landscape there is beautiful but Chris and I have no desire to stay there again. We miss the kitties and our bed and are ready to head west. I'm not sure where we'll end up staying or how far we'll get each day but we're going to take our time and sight see as much as possible.

My cool new Elvis shirt.

Did I mention Graceland?!

I forgot to talk about Graceland! We went there yesterday with the whole
family once the Rockwood clan landed in Memphis. Still kicking myself
for not bringing the usb cable so I can share photos because Chris took
some great ones. It was amazing. Elvis is a legend and his house is so
damn amazing. We scored a sweet coupon from the little old lady at the
Memphis visitor center that got us the mansion tour and all the other
cool tours for the same price as the basic tour so we took full
advantage. It was great. If you're an Elvis fan you HAVE to go see
Graceland.

Rest in peace

Mississippi Magnolia Tree

Grandpa's Home

Today we buried grandpa at the foot of his parents' resting place. It was a great thing. Lots of the local New Albany family came out. Grandpa's brother Bobby and his wife and their son and a bunch of others showed up to share stories about Grandpa Jigs and it was just a wonderful day. I know Grandpa would have been so happy to know we did this for him. He's home now. It's been an emotional day and I can't get over the warmth and compassion from all of the people out here. It couldn't have been more perfect. After the services we went back to Bobby's and ate tons of food and shared more stories with the family and looked at old photographs of Great Grandma and Grandpa. My brother looks just like Great Grandpa Vernon in one of the photos. It was uncanny. We cruised through down town New Albany as well. That town looks like it hasn't been touched in 100 years. I can't wait to get photos up.

How do you get to mississippi?

Just follow the confederate flags! Crazy folk aside its gorgeous out
here.

Memphis!

Omg!

We just avoided a speeding ticket. Chris was going 78 in a 70 zone right
by a cop hidden in the middle of the road. He pulled out behind us to
pull us over. I grab the license and registration... he got stuck behind
2 big rigs so he couldn't get to us at first. The a little red car was
blocking him we saw him trying to get the red car to move over so he
could get us. We were doing 70 in the slow lane by the time he caught up
to us. He gave Chris the Arkansas stare down and stayed next to us for a
bit and then drove off... talk about a big relief!

Memphis here we come!

Just left the hotel and are on our way to Memphis. Should be about a 3
hour drive. Then we get to figure out what to do for the rest of the day
after we meet up with the Rockwoods.

Fixed Comments

I think fixed the comments so everyone can add one. We're in Morrilton Arkansas right now calling it a night. We should be into Memphis tomorrow and possibly cruise down to New Albany Mississippi we'll see. Gotta call the parents and coordinate!

Arkansas

We're in Arkansas. It's beautiful. No rain yet. According to GPS we're
about 273 miles from Memphis. We're not going to make it there tonight
but we're going to see how close we can get so that we only have a
couple hours to drive so we can meet up with the Rockwood clan tomorrow.
They're flying in to Memphis at 2. I can't believe we're almost there.

Oklahoma almost done

We are almost through Oklahoma. Next stop Arkansas. We will probably
stay in Arkansas tonight depending on the strength of the storm we're
driving into. Saw some interesting things today. Still wishing I had
remembered to bring the usb cable or memory card reader for my camera.
Oh well.

Conway texas

Sunny Today

It's sunny but it snowed a lot last night. We are hoping to make it
through Oklahoma today but there's a storm system in the area we will be
right behind. I just hope there isn't too much ice on the roads.

Still snowing. In Texas?!

Sorry Dad. Got some snow on your car

Amarillo Texas

We're stopped for the night in Amarillo Texas. The snow is supposed to be worse tonight and clear up tomorrow so we'll hit the road then. I hope we can make it close to Memphis tomorrow. I had planned to end up in Memphis tomorrow night and wake up there Friday but that might not happen since we didn't end up in Oklahoma tonight. We're just going to play it safe and get as much ground covered as we can safely.

Can't ... see... road....

Texas here we come

We're definitely not going to make it to Oklahoma tonight. The weather conditions are icy/snowy and we don't need to be driving in this at night. We're going to play it safe. Another 90 something miles and we can get a room and rest. I hope we have good internet at the hotel we stay at so I can post some of the pics we took up here for you all to see.

Still snowy

Chris is doing a great job of driving. It's snowing still! We're hoping to make it to Oklahoma by tonight but we're not going to push it. We're still trying to make it to Texas. This is an exhaustingly long drive and both of us miss home a lot. My tummy is still doing backflips. I think it's anxiety this is an overwhelming experience. I hope we can cover a lot of ground today and get rest tonight so we're feeling better.

Its snowing.

Its snowing in New Mexico and we're parked on the 40 east ugh.

Scary!

Just passed albuquerque and hit gnarly hail saw someone lose control and
go off the road. We passed an overturned big rig before albuquerque.

Good morning new mexico

Gallup

Well we managed to make it to Gallup New Mexico last night. Not without
me receiving my first speeding ticket on the way. Oops. Lesson learned.
We are staying at the Red Roof inn off historic route 66. There's train
track right out back so we keep hearing the roar of freight trains
passing by every hour or so. Today we're hoping to make it to Oklahoma.
Chris is doing good. Me not so much. I've had the stomach ache of doom.
I hope it goes away today. I also hope we see cool stuff today. There
was snow in Arizona yesterday. I think a snowball fight is in order on
the way home if it's still there.