On the Road to L.A.: Route 66

And the road trip posts begin! On the night of July 12th, Kristal, Jaime and I loaded up Jaime's brand new Honda Pilot (and I do mean we loaded it up... pack rats, we are) and rolled out of town just before midnight. Before we even made it 60 miles to the state line, Kristal had a new nickname, and clothes started coming off (I promise, this is not as risque as it sounds). We drove all night, thanks to Red Bull, gas station coffee doctored up with just about fifty packs of sugar and ten ounces of half and half, and good music. We drove all the way through Oklahoma, stopping at sketchy gas stations throughout the night, and made it toAmarillo, Texas just after the sun came up. And we made sure to sing "Amarillo By Morning."

After a little nap and a shower, we slipped on our sundresses, grabbed ourselves some Starbucks (Starbucks will be a common theme in this road trip story) and hit the road. Oh, and Kristal made sure to sing "On the Road Again" every single time we hit the road! Before getting out of Amarillo, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, which is a sad, rundown, muddy place, but we loved it.

We only drove 400 miles that day, because we took Route 66 for much of the way and stopped in lots of cute nearly abandoned towns to photograph old motels and restaurants. Route 66 is magical! It's such a unique part of history, and I'm so happy that I was able to experience it. We drove through the rest of Texas and made it to Tucumcari, New Mexico before dusk. Tucumcari is such an intoxicating Route 66 town. The motels and restaurants there are classic, picture perfect little places.

We continued to drive through New Mexico. We ate the best burgers and fries of our lives at a gas station in New Mexico. We also met a mean old man at a gas station and saw a crumbly, broken old church in New Mexico. We saw the lowest clouds ever in New Mexico! We stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for some necessary iced coffee and treats in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We really just loved New Mexico.

We stopped at a hotel in Gallup, New Mexico very late that night for some much needed sleep and a shower. Ohh, that's right, our shower DID NOT WORK. Insignificant things like broken hotel showers are what make life interesting, eh? I do believe so.

The Cadillac Ranch

Pssst. Don't let them fool you. They're not Caddies!

The Vega Motel in Texas

There was all kinds of pretty antique furniture outside of the Vega Motel. I wanted to take it all home with me!

The halfway point between Chicago and Los Angeles on Route 66.

Ugly Crust Pies!

This place was not so fabulous anymore. :(

"And this, dear friends, is how you do a cartwheel." Kristal, myself & Jaime in Texas.

Cutest motel I ever did see. Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Another abandoned Tucumcari motel. The beds were still made... very eerie. And the pool was full of grass.

Feetsies.

Busted church. Creeeeeps me out, still.

Oh, New Mexico.

(Sorry this is so long and detailed. I just love experiencing every moment of this wonderful trip all over again, and I feel like it's one of those stories where you NEED to know all the details to understand just how perfect it really was!)