Day 4: Our first official "DD&D" restaurant

We met up with a friend in San Diego, and he looked at the list of places Guy Fieri had visited in town. He suggested Blue Water Seafood, describing it as a meat market that will cook your fish any way you order it. When we got there, the line was out the door, but we were in good company, so we stayed. Our choices were the fish of the day marinated in one of several ways and made as a sandwich (top right below), a taco (bottom right below), a salad, or a plate with rice and a side salad (bottom left below). I decided on chipotle marinated Hawaiian wahoo tacos, and Michael got the blackened salmon plate. Our friends had ordered a calamari appetizer as well (top left below). Overall, it was well worth the wait, and it was definitely fun to see a true “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” restaurant.

Day 4: Sunday dinner?

We started getting hungry and looked at the atlas to find that El Centro was the next town. We picked a diner but then found out we had to drive through an RV park to get to it, so we landed at a place just off the freeway called Mexicali Taco. Although we felt like we were the only ones in the restaurant who weren’t coming in after church for Sunday dinner, it looked like good food, so we settled in. We didn’t want anything big because we knew we were going to have a big dinner, so we ordered from the a la carte menu, which was extensive. He got two pollo asada (chicken) tacos, and I got one carne asada (beef) taco and one fish taco. They had lots of different salsas, cilantro and onions, lime wedges, and avocado cream sauce to add to the tacos. It was authentic and delicious, and I washed it down with a tasty horchata (a cinnamon rice milk).

Day 4: From the road

We said our goodbyes to family and then hit the road. We passed Picacho Peak before heading west on I-8 toward California. When we made family trips to Tucson as a child, I remember using Picacho Peak as my landmark that we were getting close. Across I-8, we saw plenty of elevation changes and rocky mountainsides, and we stopped for a few state line and border patrol checkpoints before we got to breathe the ocean air.

Day 3: The desert stays hot into the night

Because the weather is so extreme during the day (the thermostat in the car told us it was 123 degrees at one point this afternoon), many of the activities around town are extended into the evening hours during the summer. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a perfect example with its Summer Saturday Nights. While some of the exhibits are closed in the evening for the animals to rest, they offer a discounted admission after 6pm on Saturdays. We didn’t spend a lot of time outside because of the heat, but we were able to catch the sunset over the cactus and take a brief stroll through some of the nature exhibits. However, we weren’t there for the regular exhibits; we had driven to the museum to see a show on lightning photography. Dr. Ralph Wetmore has been taking lightning photography for almost 40 years now, and he was there to direct us through a slideshow of some of his favorite shots. It was very interesting and educational in addition to being breathtaking. Southern Arizona has some of the most colorful and extravagant storms in the nation during its monsoon season. I’m not sure the beauty of the evening storms makes up for the heat of the day, but a mid-summer Arizona storm is definitely something to experience.

Day 3: Locally owned in the mall?!?

After spending the day visiting with family (including a side trip for Michael to check out my uncle’s friend’s renovated ’67 GTO), we let the GPS lead us to dinner. The place we had scoped out before the trip was a Mexican restaurant, and we were feeling like a bit of a change from cheesy Mexican food. We found a place not too far from where we were called Thunder Canyon Brewery. They had a plethora of weekend and drink specials, and we tried almost all of the featured items. Michael got one of the draft beers (an amber ale) and a ribeye, and I got steak alfredo with broccoli; they both provided a decent meal. We shared a dish of cherry cobbler for dessert, and we also sampled my mom’s sticky toffee pudding dessert as well. The sticky toffee gave my mom and uncle a chance to reminisce about their trip to London and me a chance to up my daily calorie intake. It’s a good thing it’s a LONG walk from the parking lot to the hotel room here!

Day 3: Locally sold products

We had heard Whole Foods was having a local vendor day, where several sample tables were set up throughout the store featuring items made locally and sold in the store, so we decided to take a peek. We walked away with a few natural dog treats to take home to Dexter and a taste of caramel corn, tortillas, scones, and my personal favorite, cactus jelly. It’s a good thing we had just filled up on breakfast or we may not have gotten out of there without purchasing a few grocery items!

Day 3: Lazy morning

Since we didn’t have any driving to do today, we chose to have a lazy morning. We took our time getting up and getting ready, and then we drove to a locally owned bakery and café called Beyond Bread. They have several types of freshly baked bread and sweets, and we had a filling breakfast and a treat. He had an omelet and potato pancakes, and I had an egg sandwich and roasted potatoes. For our treat, we shared an éclair and a glass of orange juice. They definitely had their own style and a bit of a twist on some classic dishes, but everything tasted good, and we left stuffed. I was only a bit disappointed that they didn’t have any chai, and the free WiFi was only available before 10am and after 2pm (we got there at about 10 minutes before 10am).

Day 2: Ever eaten a sunflower sprout?

Well, if you haven’t, I will let you know that they taste amazingly similar to sunflower seeds! We picked the Eclectic Café for dinner (in Tucson, AZ), a suggestion from a local friend. We both ordered salads, and we both cleaned our plates! He got the house salad, which I told him was boring until I found out it was filled with fresh veggies and topped with a bit of chicken salad and sunflower sprouts. I got a summer special, the curry mango chutney chicken salad, with grilled pineapple mixed in and also topped with sunflower sprouts. It was incredibly fresh, and a refreshing change from the heavier foods we had eaten earlier on our trip. Since our dinner was so light and healthy, we figured we could treat ourselves to some tasty gelato at a place called Frost, a nice end to our evening.

Day 2: Extreme fire danger

As we turned in toward Tucson, we decided to take a quick trip through the Saguaro National Park. When we pulled up to the entrance, the park ranger told us that all the trails were closed due to extreme fire danger and that if we wanted to pull off the road to take a picture, we needed to pull off on paved areas only to prevent starting a fire. As we drove the loop, we saw what he meant. The entire area was extremely dry and looked like it was hanging on its last thread of life. It was cool, though, to see all the different types of cactus backing up against the mountains. Maybe next time the trails will be open, and we can check out the accessible hike!

Day 2: But it's a DRY heat!

Arizona welcomed us with radiating sunshine. I would say the biggest difference between being hot in Austin and being hot in Tucson is the insatiable thirst for water and the inability to apply enough lotion and chapstick in Arizona. Aside from our detour at White Sands, the highlight of our long day’s trek across the “ever so beautiful” I-10 was a stop at a convenience store for Mexican sodas!

Day 2: Green chili theme

As we got close to Lordsburg, NM we decided we were hungry and could use a break, so we stopped for lunch at the well-reviewed Kranberry's Family Restaurant in Lordsburg. We were welcomed by a very sweet waitress who was proud of the food served at the restaurant. We started off with a fried zucchini appetizer, which was scrumptious, before we picked out our entrees. The menu was extensive, but we both decided to try the southwestern staple of green chili.

He got the green chili enchiladas topped with "chunks of beef" and I got the green chili cheeseburger. We both had way more than we could eat, but it was delicious, and the service was incredibly quick and got us back on the road to finish the second leg of our trip.

Day 2: Ocean front property in New Mexico?!?

Our second day of travel began with an impromptu drive through White Sands National Monument. The dunes were definitely bright, and the pictures looked like we were visiting the beach unless we were careful to capture the mountain peaks in the background. I wish we had had time to kick off our shoes and enjoy the sand a bit more or rent a sled and slide down the hills. We may have to return. Next up on the drive is a pass through the White Sands Missile Range; should be an interesting view.

Day 1: From the road, part 2

As we drove into the sunset, we got to experience a trip filled with twists and turns, highs and lows. The road between Artesia and Alamogordo, NM hosts a beautiful view of mountains, valleys, canyons, and pines as well as a climb from 3500 ft to 8700 ft in ~80 miles and a drop from 8700 ft to 4500 ft in a very short and winding 15 miles. At the bottom of the roller coaster through southern New Mexico, we arrived at our stop for the night, the Super 8 in Alamogordo. It was an inexpensive and comfortable night’s sleep to prepare us for Day 2.

Day 1: Plan B

We arrived in Artesia, NM at dinnertime, but we weren’t really very hungry after our better than nothing lunch. We decided to share something and picked Chaos Café, a well-reviewed place known for its “sombrero” dish, but when we pulled up to the parking lot, it looked abandoned. Much to our chagrin, it was only open for breakfast and lunch, so we turned to plan B. That took us to Henry’s BBQ, where we were greeted with a taste of home (or our home church); Gungor’s “Beautiful Things” was playing over the radio. While overall it wasn’t anything to write home about (the potato salad tasted like pickles, the mac and cheese was bland, and the beef was definitely not up to Texas standards), the ribs were outstanding. We got plenty to eat on a $20 bill and left satisfied.

Day 1: Welcome to West Texas...

…where the land is flat and the road goes on forever! Oh, and they have windmills too. But, as boring of a view as it is, many resources are harvested from the land. We passed countless signs of agriculture, oil, and energy on our way. (P.S. Sorry for the delay in posting. I have been without free WiFi for a couple of days.)