Destination Irvine: Day 6 California Here We Come..

So, Vegas was a bit of a let down. The good news was that we were going to make one of my favourite journeys - out of Nevada and into California via the 15. I can't help but imagine wagons that travels through the Nevada desert, to come out of the mountains and see the L.A basin. It is an amazing journey.
We cruised through California's carpool lanes into Irvine. We set up a bank account and then tried to set up a cellular phone service. Unfortunately, we discovered that as Canadians we would need our Social Insurance cards to be approved for a phone. Who would have thought that cell phone companies would turn away potential customers? While we memorized our SIN numbers, we packed our cards with our movers. So we were refused a cell phone until we got our cards (five days later).
We checked into our hotel and went to sleep pretty early. I think we knew this was our last chance to sleep on a good bed before our furniture arrived in five days.
On Friday we moved into our place with little problems. The family housing complexes at UC Irvine are very pretty. Unfortunately, we got a scenic view of the ground floor parking lot. There's little we can do, so we will make the best of it for the next two years (At least we will not have to carry groceries up a couple flights of stairs).
While I went off to meet some fellow international students, Lindsey unpacked our few belongings and inflated our air mattress. That evening, the Merage Fellows met for a formal dinner with the Dean. This was my first introduction with my other peers. There is about 16 of us with international students consisting of approximately 50% of that number (maybe more - I haven't sat down to do an accuraate count). It is very easy to see in each one of the other Fellows something special. It seemed like I immediately knew why each person was chosen for the scholarship. I have no doubt they will set a high standard that I hope I can reach.
The dinner ended very quickly. There was little extra socializing because the school planned for the next day a early morning activity for all of us Fellows.
I went to bed on a crappy air mattress. It definitely was not my best sleep of this journey, but there was something about being in my new home that made me enjoy that first night.

Destination Irvine: Day 5 Vegas Baby!!

In the early morning hour we departed our beloved wigwan (yes, we know it is a teepee) knowing that we will be facing a busy day. Our primary midpoint destination would be the famous Grand Canyon. But before the grand experience we stopped in Flagstaff at Kathy's for breakfast. Kathy is a quiet Asian woman whose Mexican cooking staff cooks a mean breakfast (and a tasty side salsa). Kathy offers with every main breakfast order the option of getting a complimentary fresh-baked muffin. I recommend it; it was delicious.
After a solid breakfast one is ready to experience the sight of all sights: the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is a 45 minute drive due north of flagstaff. Upon reaching the entrance, you pay your fee (that is good for the entire week, not that it would help us) and drive toward some of the most awe-inspiring scenery known to man.
I want to make it clear I am not a nature nut. When I see a scenic view I say "wow that's nice", but I do not become melodramatic. I say without regret that your first views of the Grand Canyon will be memorable. You read about it. You even see pictures of it. But until you walk up to the edge, you will never truly know it. Even more majestic that the Niagara Falls (sorry Canada), the Grand Canyon is beyond description. We've posted a few pictures. They do not do it justice, but they are the best we got.
After nature's wonder, we set off towards a man-made wonder, the Hoover dam. On route one has the opportunity to take a rte66 sidetrack into Seligman. Seligman is like Holbrook, a final bastion of rte6 Americana. It seems to be fighting against time and it has the support of the American biker community. I recommend stopping at the Snow-Cap Drive-In. It looks bizarre. The employees/owners are bizarre. It is worth every penney getting a bite to ear or a delicious shake. Just make sure you get a real straw. After Seligman, rte66 makes a large loop throught peach springs. In our opinion there wasn't much on the rest of the journey, so you may prefer to head back onto the 40.
We headed up hwy 93 at Kingman towards Vegas. How does one describe old 93? If one wanted to ensure that he would die and no one would find him, he would do it on the 93. The 93 is the most desolate, abandoned road I have ever encountered. It is about one hour from Kingman to the Hoover dam and the whole way I prayed to any god that our car would make the journey. I am pretty sure that if we stopped, our bodies would never be found again; likely being so delicious supper for some crazy hermit who patrolled the road for naive tourists.
The hoover dam has a police inspection point. Well, the inspection point is mainly a tent consisting of two retired officers of some sort who ask if you have any explosives. Essentially, if you do not look arabic you can proceed. As we are whiter that white we had no problem circumventing the security. We were unable to stop and really experienc the Hoover dam because they are busy constructing a new road throught the site. Ths road will not travel over the dam (I expect to keep the landmark safe). To make a long story short: we drove over the dam; it looked pretty big.
From Hoover Dam, we headed into Vega. Yeah, Vegas baby!! First, I want to say that Vegans (or whatever they are called) are crazy drivers. They wiz by us tourists in the left and right lanes like they are chasing the NEXTEL Cup. We found our hotel that was a mere quarer mile from the strip, on the other side of the 15. I admit it was cheap, but I figured if it was only a quarer mile from the strip we could easily walk there. Lindsey and I napped for a few hours and prepared to tour the stip around 8pm. You can see the strip. You can walk towards the strip. Unfortunately some retarded tourists like us can't reach the strip. It seemed every turn we made was the wrong one and we ended up wanderning areas of Vegas on foot where it was a miracle that we weren't mugged. In hindsight, we discovered our wrong turns, but we really did not have the energy to move forward on foot. We decided to drive around. Lindsey say the neon of the Vegas strip in its full glory. She wasn't very impress (she may have been tired) and we returned for a good night sleep. A good night sleep in Vegas; we are embarassments to all Canadians.

Destination Irvine: Day 4 Calling All Wigwams

Our day 4 agenda had alot of sightseeing and the highlight stop of our trip. We began the day early heading to Sky City. Sky City is the longest continuously inhabited settlement in North America. It is also on the top of a beautiful mesa in the scenic New Mexico country-side. This trip was a last minute plan, but ended up to be a wonderful experience.
The main reason the visit was memorable was the stories of our tour guide, Tony (his catholic name - don't ask me to remember his native name). Tony was charged by the tribe to communicate its history to all visitors. He passionately talked about how the Spaniards tried to force Catholicism on his people only for them to revolt. Then, how his people later embraced Catholicism after the Mexicans offered it to them. His people now practice their native religion and catholicism. The mesa city had a spanish church that featured aspects of both religions.
I highly recommend to everyone to check this site out. It is a true historical landmark.
Next, we headed to Inscription Rock. A national monument site that shows that rich white people like graffiti too! Seriously, it is a large protruding rock (more than a hill, less than a mountain) that featured a fresh water spring. The spring attracted all travellers on horse. A spanish govenor and explorer first inscribed his name on the rock after discovering the Gulf of California. Other people followed - Spaniards, then later Americans. Many of the inscriptions can be tied to documented periods of history that make the inscriptions so much more powerful.
It is a self-guided walking tour where they give you a guide book and a well marked path. Near the end of the tour Lindsey saw a snake and got a bit freaked. Since I know little about snakes I wasn't going to screw with it. So, we decided to leave. We later were informed that it was a bull snake; a perfectly harmless snake who eats rattlers.
With plenty of daylight to spare we headed into Arizona and to our highlight destination, the Wigwam Motel. This is an institution on Rte66. And as the pictures show, it was everything we thought it could be (although the bed was a bit uncomfortable). For those unfamiliar with the Wigwam Motel, yes we know that rooms are shaped like a Teepee (not a Wigwam), but that is part of the kitsche. It was truly a memorable experience.
The Wigwam's town of Holbrook is a wonderful piece of Rte66. There are alot of neon signs, motels and diners. We happened to have dinner at one of its most famous, Joe and Aggie's Cafe. Without a doubt, it was our best meal of the trip. J&A's boast delicious home cooked mexican food (for those asking how does Joe and Aggie create amazing Mexican food, we were informed the true names of the founders Jose and Agnacia) and some of the best conversation about the old road. We met J&A's grandson who recently returned to help run the restaurant with his sister and parents. They were happy to talk to us about the history of the area and definitely had us cracking up at their jokes. We highly recommend stopping in.

Destination Irvine: Day 3 Leaving the Plains

We decided to head out on day 3 a little bit later than usual. We were pretty tired from the pace of the previous two days. We didn't plan on a lot of sightseeing, but the little made up for itself in quality as we drove out of Oklahoma, through the Texas panhandle, and into New Mexico.
I think pictures best explain the sites. There isn't much history to them, but you can see in order the titled water tower of Texas, the incredibly large cross, and the infamous Cadillac Ranch.

We also stopped on Rt66 to take pictures of some very cool motels in New Mexico. Unfortunately, we did not stop to enjoy these locations, but it was great to see them.
At the end our day 3 run, we ended up about 1 hour west of Albuquerque in a very small town. We ate at a family restaurant and went to bed early.

Quick note: As I am playing catch up, I am not proof reading the posts. I appologize for the grammar and spelling mistakes.

Destination Irvine: Day 2 Back on Track

We spent our first night in a quaint budget chain hotel, just south of St. Louis. We woke up early the next morning eager to finally begin enjoying our trip. We decided to start sight-seeing by going to the Mermac Caverns (just to the south of our hotel, about 30 minutes outside of St. Louis).
Mermac Caverns is a massive cave complex that has a storied history. It was once the location of explosives factory for the north that was destroyed by the Confederate army commando unit that included Jesse James. Legend has it that Jessie later escaped from a Bank robbery in those caves. Today, in addition to tours, the front areas of the caves are used for some town meetings and parties (there is a large disco ball in a large round chamber!).
As you can see from the picture, the stalactites and stalagmite are pretty impressive. In true American fashion, they end the tour with the playing of god bless America with the American Flag projected on a massive formation. On the way out, we had to stop and take the wonderful picture of us in the warped mirror. Aren't we a cute couple?


After departing Mermac, we soon left the interstate to enjoy old route 66 through Missouri, into Kansas, and then into Oklahoma. There are a few interesting buildings, but there is a desolation theme through most of the small towns.
Once in Oklahoma, the interesting sites were few and far between, so we hopped back on the interstate stopping for the night on the western edge of Oklahoma City. The motel sucked, but I had a steak dinner that made up for it.