A SPECIAL TUESDAY TWO - 20,000+

During my regular "just checking" that my little boring blog did not disappear into the black hole of cyberspace, I was pleasantly surprised to find "20,008" on the Hit Counter. Thanks for all my adoring fans, especially Qaptain Qwerty, only with your kind support that TOTA reached this special milestone.

I know that blogging is about what I am doing in my little boring world. But I need to have a purpose, some kind of goals to keep blogging. To motivate myself with posting regularly I would decide how many posts each year and then try to break that record (i.e. in 2011, TOTA had 242 posts compared to 241 posts in 2010). I admired those who post every single day, some even post 2-3 times, with passion, well-written materials and intelligent information.

I did not wish to copy/paste an image of the television movie/film "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", so these photos taken when we were at the Grand Teton National Park last September (2011) would serve as a celebration for this milestone of my little boring blog received 20,000 hits.

My next milestones will be to reach 1,000th post and break the records with 243 post by the end of 2012. Or I could wish for another 10 followers as well as getting regular comments. (I appreciate all the bloggers who put up with my settings for posting comments - I am sorry to make you jump thru all the hoops. It is the only way I know so that I don't get any spam or "junk". Please know that your comments are appreciated and always made me very happy to "read" from you.) Thank you, thank you and thank you!

900th POST (A BLOG OF TOTA BEGINS WITH A SMALL POST IN AUGUST 2006)

This is the 900th post of this little boring, ramblings blog of mine! It is a major milestone and a good reason for celebrations. Special thanks always go to Qaptain Qwerty for helping me taking the first step, back in August 2006, toward the blogging world. Along the journey, QQ encouraged me to add photos (that was a bad idea) and gently nudged me whenever I slacked off. He never made fun of my cheesy photos and silly ramblings (well, a few times he did make fun of my obsession with hockey/football).

I have the privilege of knowing so many interesting bloggers. There are a few "cyber friends" that I treasure. The blogs I follow are those I read regularly, almost daily. (I don't know how some people could follow hundred of blogs.) I enjoy and appreciate Alisa (Displaced American www.alisajoy.blogspot.com), Nonna (Tasty Tales www.lynnskitchen202.blogspot.com) for letting me in their "home/kitchen".

Nonna is so kind with her comments even though I don't leave comments regularly on her blog nor any other blogs (sorry). When I first started blogging, someone told me to leave comments like, "Nice post" or "Interesting story", to drive traffic to my own blog. Another "trick" was to follow a lot of blogs (without actually visiting or reading), to get more readers/followers. Then what? The readers probably will visit once and never came back to my boring blog anyway. I don't have advertisement (Adsense) nor getting any commission for promoting any products. I am blogging/reading other people writing, for my own enjoyment, not to make money. There is nothing wrong with making a few dollars from blogging, but it is not something I am interested in, yet!

Blogging has been a wonderful experience and at times uplifting. It has created a circle of friendship and we no longer are just strangers sharing our thoughts. I have been praying for Vicky at The Westra World http://www.thewestraworld.blogspot.com/ and Leontien at http://www.fourleadcloverdairy.blogspot.com/ as they are going thru cancer treatments. (Vicky and Leontien, look forward to reading that you are on your way to complete recovery.)

There are a few bloggers that did not post regularly and I think of them often. (Hint - the Lone Gunman, how have you been? Hope all is well with you and your family.)
To all the blogging friends, thank you for sharing. To all my adoring fans and faithful readers, thank you and let the celebrations begin!

IT IS ST. LOUIS, NOT KANSAS

A special thanks to Qaptain Qwerty for letting me know that the title of my post on August 4th had a typo.

The typo was "TOTO TURNS FIVE" - it should be 'TOTA", not "TOTO"!

Just to prove that it is TOTA in St. Louis and not TOTO in Kansas, I am posting these photos of the Arch and the sculptures around City Garden in downtown St. Louis.

I am not telling a lie (no long nose on my chubby face) and TOTA definitely is not a blog about some cute dog riding in a basket of a bicycle!

TOTO TURNS FIVE!

I started this blog TOTA on August 4, 2006. I was in New York visiting my family and thanks to the technical assistance and encouragement from Qaptain Qwerty, I took the first step into the world of Blogspot.
My writing at the beginning was on current events, expressing mostly my personal views and "humble opinion". I tried to impress the readers with "intelligent" comments, quotes and cited "reliable" sources.
Later, again with the encouragement from QQ, I started posting photos and it went downhill from there. (It was a bad idea!) TOTA became more like a journal about what happened in my boring little world. I posted cheesy photos when I had nothing to write about which happens a lot lately :)
I admire bloggers who write regularly, especially the bloggers who post every day, no cheese photos but with words that are meaningful, with convictions of issues that they believe in and evoke thoughtful discussions among the readers. I don't often leave comments but I do enjoy reading comments from other bloggers.
I thought these photos are sort-of appropriate for this post about my 5th Blogoversary (I could not believe that I was able to Google this word - who came up with it? Should it be "Blogiversary"?) Both of these artwork are on displayed at SLU campus. The top photo of the smiling Billiken is fitting because it is a celebration that I have been blogging (or wasting my time/life) for five years. The sculpture below of a child riding the bicycle symbolizes this boring blog not going anywhere, not becoming well-known and definitely not making me any money!
Thanks again, Qaptain Qwerty for all your help. To my adoring fans and faithful readers as well as visitors (whether you visited once and never come back again), please accept my sincere appreciation for reading my blog and for putting up with my ramblings. I hope you have been entertained or perhaps you found this boring blog was helpful to your insomnia - haa haa.

TWENTY-TWO

My husband and I celebrated our 22nd Wedding Anniversary this month. I ordered a marble cake (our favorite choice instead of the white or yellow cake). I chose white icing and red lettering because red/white are the colors of the Polish flag, to honor my husband's heritage. The young lady at the bakery did a good job decorating the cake with the rings tied together.

My husband sent me the above beautiful basket of flowers. However, the order got mixed up and was not delivered to the office when it was supposed to. Turned out the delay caused the flowers to be delivered on the day after "the incident" took place. The flowers really made my day because I was very upset, not wanting to be at work yet trying hard to continue performing my job in a professional manner. It really made you believe that everything (delay of the delivery) happens for a reason (to remind me of the love from my husband and that I was not alone)!

I took the basket home and placed it on the kitchen counter so I could enjoy both the flowers while looking out the window watching Yan and Yvette (yellow finch). There were ups and downs in my marriage. There were good times and there were bad times. There are still not-so-nice times and I am still learning how to be a loving, supportive, respectful and prayerful wife to my husband. The last 22 years were not all wonderful and the next 22 years might not be smooth-sailing. Just for today, I am reminded of God's Blessings and take comfort in trusting that He will provide what we need and He will keep us together in faith and in love.

FEBRUARY 2011

I blinked and the month of February was gone!

February 2011 roared into the year with an ice storm that terrified St. Louisians and somewhat handcuffed the Midwest region. Some of us could tell the grandkids stories about how we survived the 2011 Monster Storm!

“OK, TOTA, are you going to tell exactly when your birthday is?” my adoring fans and faithfully readers probably are asking. I saw many blogs with hundred of followers, one with almost 1,000 followers. Yet, when the person posted that it was his/her birthday on a particular date, there were about 54 out of 596 followers that took the time to send comments wishing the person Happy Birthday. (What about the other hundred of followers?) Another blogger has 58 followers and only 5 sending birthday wishes. I must admit that the reason I don’t wish to share exactly the date when my birthday is because I was afraid that I would not receive even one comment on my special day. Is it silly for me, a 50 years old person, to be so insecure about such trivia matter? Well, if you must know, my birthday is on February 30th – haa haa.

February also brought many fun events such as the Lunar New Year (Tet) and of course, the Superbowl. I felt somewhat productive with my commitment to do more community services. I continued to help out at the monthly dance party for adults with mental challenges. I contacted three different hospice programs, two at local hospitals and one skilled care center. I already signed up for a refresher training scheduled in April. Until I am able to visit patients, I plan to start helping with special outreach projects. I am also involved with a local charity organization on a special project to send a shipment of 500 wheelchairs to Viet Nam. There are also plans to set up medical clinic in remote areas to provide much needed care to those in need of basic treatments.

My Dad passed away 10 years ago on February 13th. In all that I do, whether working or serving others thru volunteer activities, I do my best to honor my Dad. I know Dad is watching over me and our family. I hope he tells other angels, “That is my daughter (my sports buddy) and I am proud of her!”

The flowers with a balloon and the bear were from my sweet husband. My sister, CH, sent me these beautiful roses and calla lilies. I am thankful to be older and turning 50 was not too bad considering the other option – haa haa.

2435 DEVOE TERRACE

After a nice visit with my godparents, we drove by 2435 Devoe Terrace (photo below), an apartment building we called home the first few months in America. (How did we get from Uncle Ping’s house in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn to the apartment in the Bronx? Did we take the subway or Uncle drove us there? How did we know to transfer from the D train in Brooklyn to #4 to the Bronx? Who told us to make sure that we got off at Fordham Road?)I remembered walking from the building, around the outside of the park (I was told it would be safer not to walk thru the park.), and then a few long blocks to the subway station. Our apartment was next to the corner apartment on the top floor. (The old lady who lived in that corner apartment was really nice to us. She encouraged us to practice English with her and invited us to her apartment to listen to music.) Our apartment had three rooms, a small kitchen, a small eating area and one full bath. At that time, my father’s youngest brother also lived there and he had his own room. My parents got the other room and all four of us kids shared one large room. Seven people in one apartment and one bathroom, yet it still was so much better than the dirt floor hut in the refugee camp!I started working at MK the following month. MK Company was located around 31st Street and Lexington. After work, I would walk to 33rd Street and Park Avenue to attend English classes for refugees. I don’t remember what we did on the weekend. (How did Mom shop for food? Was there a supermarket nearby that she could walk to? How did she learn to find items she needed in a language she did not know?)Dad worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant in midtown. I remembered Mom would wait up every night until Dad got home. (What about me walking home after attending evening classes?) Ok, TOTA, stop making it sound so bad. Boo hoo – it is America, stop telling your boring stories about being poor refugees trying your best to make adjustment in the new land. We all had to go thru hard times. It is not about falling down. It is about pulling yourself up and moving forward.

After a few months living at this building, Dad got a better job operating a freight elevator at a manufacturer in Queens. Someone from a Vietnamese Social Agency helped the family find an apartment in Elmhurst which made it much easier for Dad to go to work. I still worked at MK Company and it was also much nicer for my commute. The #7 Flushing train is only a short walking distance from the apartment at 89-25 Elmhurst Avenue. (Good thing we did not know anything about baseball so it was not that difficult to switch from being a NY Yankees to a NY Mets!)

WELCOME TO AMERICA (OUR 31ST ANNIVERSARY)

Thanks to Qaptain Qwerty, I was able to take the above photo of Uncle Ping's house in Brighton Beach, during my visit to NYC last November. I looked at the house as if seeing it for the first time. Perhaps because it was the first time I "really" saw the house. Back then, the night of January 10, 1980, I was too tired to notice anything. The next few days, I was trying to keep up with so many things in the new country, I did not pay attention to the outside of the house. I do remember, after coming thru the front door, the sitting room was to the right and the stairs going down the basement was to the left. The entrance way led directly to the kitchen. To the right of the kitchen was a small bedroom, then the master bedroom and a full bathroom.

Singapore, January 1980
“Get up and get ready. The bus will be here soon. It is not going to wait for us.”
I got up, washed my face and got ready. (Did I brush my teeth? Did we even have toothbrush and toothpaste? Did I have a towel or had to share with others?)
The bus arrived to take us to the airport. (I remembered standing the whole trip because the bus was crowded. I was holding on the only piece of luggage with the whole family clothing.)
What did I see on the way to the airport? What did I see when we got off the bus, walking toward the terminal?

I don't really remember much of this trip or recall what went through my mind. I don't even remember boarding the airplane that took us from Singapore to Belgium. (Where did I sit? Who sat next to me, my sister CH or my brother VL? Were Mom and Dad nearby?) Except my Dad, no one in the family had ever been on an airplane before. Was I scared or excited about the new experience? (How did we know what to do, like putting on the seat belts? Did we use the restroom? We had to, it was at least 14 hours flight time from Singapore to Belgium. What kind of food was served and did we sleep during the whole flight?)

(Coney Island was only one subway stop from where Uncle Ping's house was but back then, we did not know what Coney Island was about. Above photo was taken in November 2010)

I remembered Dad went to search for ice cream when we were waiting for the connecting flight to New York. We teased him that the plane would take off and he could have been left behind. He came back all smiling with the ice cream cone. Was it chocolate ice cream?

From Belgium, we boarded another plane to NYC. We finally arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport around 8:00 p.m. (I don’t remember walking out of the airplane.) Uncle Ping was waiting for us and he was holding a few winter jackets. He was smiling and saying something like, “Welcome to America!”

It was dark when we walked from the terminal to the parking lot where Uncle Ping parked his car. A big snow storm came thru the day before. We were not prepared for the freezing cold and the snow piling high. We wore thin layers of clothes and worn sneakers. The jackets from Uncle Ping helped but we were still freezing.

To this day, I still remembered the comical scene when Uncle tried to explain that it was safe and encouraged us to get on the escalator to the upper level to get to the parking lot. All six of us took the stairs even though we were so tired and hungry. I remembered CH could not walk and fell down in the parking lot because it was too cold. (How did all six of us fit into Uncle Ping’s car? Was it a station-wagon? What color was it? Where did I sit and where did everyone else sit?)

When we arrived at Uncle’s house, his wife was so kind to have dinner ready for us. I remembered looking at the bowl of rice noodle soup with big chunks of meat and not sure if I was dreaming. After seven months of canned sardines, ready-to-eat noodles and steamed rice, we shamelessly ate all the food put in front of us. Of course, my parents had to be polite, controlled their hunger and instead of eating, keeping the conversation with Uncle and his wife.
After the feast, we all went to sleep in the basement. The next day, we went to the refugee agency to fill out the paperwork. We were provided a bag of decent winter clothing and $200, and that was the beginning of our new life in America 31 years ago.

St. Louis, January 2011
“TOTA, get up. Get ready for work so you could earn a paycheck and pay income taxes like all law-abiding Americans! And Happy 31st Anniversary coming to America!”

FRIDAY "ST. LOUIS" SKY

I took these photos when we were leaving downtown after the Rams v. 49ers game. It was a beautiful sunny freezing cold winter day. The clear blue sky provided great background for the Arch and the Courthouse. The bottom photo did not turn out too good because the sun was too bright when we got closer to the Arch. I was about to delete the over-exposed image but thought it was sort-of interesting with a corner of the Arch still showing thru.

The first week of 2011 went by so fast. After Christmas and New Year, most of us went back to regular schedule of working. Last Sunday (January 2nd) was the last Sunday Night Football regular season games and I am so ready for the NFL Playoffs to start. I was disappointed that the New York Giants (10-6) and the St. Louis Rams (7-9) were eliminated, but no surprises about the Detroit Lions ending their season with another record 6-10, better but not good enough. The wild card match-up should be exciting. I am not going to say which teams I would cheer for to avoid any blame that I might jinx the losing teams.

I don’t have any New Year Resolutions, just plans for a few projects and road trips in 2011. I will share the details of the projects and how I plan to make the most of my time in future posts. I printed two pages of spreadsheets showing schedule of upcoming activities. I hope to continue to work towards a “clutter reduction” goal and giving away more of the earthly possession. There are so many exciting things in the next few months - NFL playoffs, then the Superbowl, then NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals – life is good!

FIRST POST OF 2011

"Lord, please hold all servicemen and women, law enforcement, emergency personnel and fire-fighters in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need."

Happy New Year to all my adoring fans, regular readers and all visitors.
I started this post a week ago but could not bring myself to publish. So I am sort-of cheating by leaving the title of this post as the 1st entry in 2011. It was as if I could not let go of 2010. Or it could be that the thoughts of starting over sort-of overwhelming. So, here it goes, another year of rambling about interesting topics to me but meaningless and boring to everyone else!
Saturday, January 1st – We started 2011 the right way by attending 9:00 a.m. Mass. We were pleased to find that the church parking lot was full and also there were a few cars in the secondary lot.
After church, we drove to the golf course because my husband was concern that the storm had done major damage to his “playground”. I am sure you already knew about the tornadoes touched down in the St. Louis area. It is near where we live, approximately 3.5 miles. We saw large trees with all the roots exposed laying on the ground as if they were pulled up by a giant! At least six houses in the subdivision next to the golf course with the roofs completely blown off.
The rest of the day was spent on watching the Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl football game and in the evening, the NHL Winter Classic – the Pittsburgh Penguins v. the Washington Capitals.
It was a nice relaxing day and ready or not, I welcome the challenges of 2011!

10,000

The counter on this boring blog reached 10,000 on October 1, 2010. Actually, I would have loved to be able to capture an image when the count was at 9,999. To all my adoring fans, faithful readers and all the visitors, thank you very much. To my followers – a deep appreciation from the bottom of my heart :)
I started this blog on August 4, 2006 and it has been fun. Over the years, TOTA has changed from essay writing style without any photos to the current format filled with cheesy photos, silly stories and a lot of rambling. I no longer try to impress the readers with latest world news, deep thoughts or intelligent comments. TOTA has become more of a diary/journal/scrapbook.

I envy bloggers whose counters are in the six-digits and also have followers in the hundreds, some in the thousands. One of the blogs that was featured in the Blog of Notes has 4,321 followers. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, www.vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com has over a million hits. (BTW, Qaptain Qwerty, you should reach 20,000 hits pretty soon!)

I am always delighted when someone left a comment. It has been awhile since I receive any comments, not even from Qaptain Qwerty (www.qaptainqwerty.com). I know the content of my blog don’t generate much discussion and since I enable “comment moderation”, some people consider a turn-off. However, I truly appreciate those rare comments because they were special when someone took the time and the trouble to leave the comments. I feel it is worth the extra step when I leave comments on others' blogs that also have comment moderation.

So, what will be next, TOTA? Well, I hope to reach 700th post by December 31, 2010. Also, in 2009, I posted a total of 230 entries for the year. For 2010, I will try to set a new record, maybe 250 entries. The goals are meaningless, but they keep me motivated to keep publishing.

Thank you again, to all the regular readers, occasion readers and first time visitors. Please join me in the celebration of this milestone of 10,000th in TOTA’s Counters. Here is to the next 10,000 and Happy Blogging, everyone!

ARE WE THERE (SANTA MONICA PIER) YET?

Tuesday, June 29th at 12:05 p.m. we stopped at Emma Jean’s Holland Burger in Victorville for lunch. We took 2 corner seats at the counter, placed our order, cheese burgers with onion rings. In this vintage truck stop café, there was enough space only for four tables, lining against the wall. Each table could sit up to three people with the 3rd chair blocking the only walkway around the counter. The L shape counter could accommodate up to 8 customers. We watched the constant flow of people leaving and coming into the tight quarter. The servers, the cook and the customers greeted each other and the lively conversation made the place more like a family gathering than just a roadside café.

We did not have to wait long before the server brought us our food. The portion was generous and the burgers were done just right to our liking, well done for me and medium-well for my husband. The young lady asked if we would like ketchup for the onion rings. She then pointed the bottle at me and I jumped when a red string flying at me. I was being a good sport, and we all had a good laugh. Be sure to stop by Emma Jean’s if you are in Victorville to enjoy fine roadfood and you might get a new friend or two.

Our next stop was the California Route 66 Museum but it was closed on Tuesday. We took a few photos of the museum (above), the New Corral Motel (below) and got back to I-15 to continue toward Santa Monica.

There were signs “Runaway Truck Ramp” along the downgrade stretch in Cajon Summit. It was a bit scary watching the trucks careening downhill in the rear mirror. Of course, my husband had a great time with his ‘Stang and enjoyed the horse power tremendously when passing the trucks while they were crawling uphill, trying to get up the speed on the steep climb of 4,260 feet.

At around 2:03 p.m. we paid a visit to the Wig Wam Motel, located east of Rialto. These concrete Tee Pees are Route 66 icon and thanks to the new owner, all the units were renovated and restored in 2004 after many years of neglect. This Wig Wam Motel is only one of the three Wigwam Villages that were originally designed and built by Frank Redford in 1934. We were impressed with the space and how nice the unit was after the owner, a young man who could pass for a youthful Elvis, gave us a tour. We thanked him for his hospitality and for being so courteous. We promised to spend the night on our eastward trip.

TOTA TURNS 4

Exactly 4 years ago, August 4, 2006, TOTA was born in the beautiful downtown Bath Beach (Bensonhurst) Brooklyn, the Great State of New York. Special thanks to Qaptain Qwerty, to the Lone Gunman, aka Sal, to the two loyal followers, unknown faithful readers and other visitors - your support is much appreciated; let's celebrate this important milestone of TOTA's 4th Birthday/Anniversary.

I read in a book about the Navajo that “The number four is very significant and is found throughout Navajo culture and religion. There are four directions, four seasons, four original clans, and four colors associated with the four sacred mountains. Most ceremonies consist of four songs or multiple of four songs.” (From our recent road trip to New Mexico and Arizona, I became interested and have been reading about the Yavapai, the Navajo, the Apache, the Hopi, and the Pueblo.)

I like to post TOTA's First Entry on Friday, August 4, 2006, just like parents looking at baby photos and see how their child has grown.
"Hello, world! It was a dark and stormy night... THANKS to my little brother, L. I finally created my very own blog. Not much to write yet. I am visiting my family in New York, enjoying my little nephew J. , spending time with my Mom. It is too warm for my thinking - I will write more when I have a chance to put on my writer hat." Thank you, Qaptain Qwerty, for your help from the beginning and continued support.

However, the Chinese, in both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects, do not care for number four because they believe the word for the number four sounds like the word for death. They avoid number 4 like some people avoid number 13.

Although I am Vietnamese-born of Chinese ethnic, having been in America more than 30 years, I chose to believe and prefer the Navajo’s positive meanings associated with the number four.

Please join me in the celebration of TOTA turning 4. I will keep blogging and I hope you will keep reading.

4,437 MILES

We did it! We drove 4,437 miles from St. Louis, crossed the state lines into Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and on Tuesday, June 29th reached the End of the Trail in Santa Monica, California and then back to St. Louis on Saturday, July 3rd. Our 2010 Route 66 week-long Adventure began on Thursday, June 24th. Since we already covered all of Route 66 in Missouri, Kansas and part of Oklahoma last October, we took I-44 all the way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

I finally sorted thru 2,000+ photos in 5 memory cards from 3 cameras, two Sony Cybershots and a Canon Powershot. Whenever the battery ran out on one camera, I just took out the next camera and continued shooting - the wonder of digital cameras!

June 24th, we left work early and were on the road at 4:15 p.m., stopped at a diner in St. Robert, Missouri and then spent the night in Joplin, Missouri.

The next day, Friday, June 25th was the beginning of a jam-packed week-long schedule. After a full complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we were on the road around 7:05 a.m. It did not take us long to cross into Oklahoma. After paying $4.00 toll at Will Rogers Turnpike and another $4.00 at Turner Turnpike, we stopped for a lunch break at Banh Mi Ba Le in Oklahoma City. This little triangular building with the giant milk bottle on top (above photo) was originally a small grocery, now home to Saigon Baguette, a French-Vietnamese bakery serving Banh Mi, hearty sandwiches that taste just the way I used to eat in Viet Nam. We got Banh Mi Ga (chicken) for my husband and Banh Mi Gio Cha (pork) satisfied my hunger and brought back wonderful childhood memory.

We took turn driving and also regular breaks at rest areas or truck stops, filled up the gas tank and re-stocked the cooler with cold water bottles and snacks. We spent about an hour at the National Route 66 Museum (above photo) in Elk City, Oklahoma. We crossed into Texas, the Lone Star State, at 3:45 p.m. and decided to stay on I-44 until we got to Groom. It was one of my must-stop because I wanted to visit the 190 feet giant cross (below photo) and the outdoor sculptures of Stations of the Cross. From Groom, we drove on Route 66 into Amarillo.

It was about 6:15 p.m. when we got to Amarillo, just in time for a nice steak dinner at the Big Texan Steak Ranch (below photo). We did not attempt to take on the challenge of finishing up the 72-ounce steak in one hour!

We felt a kind of accomplishment when we reached Midpoint Café in Adrian (above photo) and saw the slogan, “When You’re Here, You’re Halfway There”. The café was closed since it already passed 8:00 p.m., therefore we did not get a chance to enjoy its famous “ugly crust” pies!

Twenty minutes later, we crossed into New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. A sign advising travelers that we have entered Mountain Time. We gained extra daytime by turning our watch back one hour but we started to get tired being on the road the last 13+ hours. We spent the second night of the trip in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Saturday, June 26th, we were on the road at 8:00 a.m. and then breakfast at the Silver Moon Café in Santa Rosa. At this point, it was a bit confusing with so many options of pre-1937 route and various loops, we spent more time than planned around Los Lunas, then encountered traffic jam and road construction around Albuquerque. It was time for lunch when we finally arrived in Grants. Later, we made time for pie and coffee at the historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup (below photo).

At 6:20 p.m. we crossed the state line and received a warm welcome from Arizona, the Grand Canyon State.