Il Pueblo di Toas

As we headed out of Santa Fe, we wound up the mountain to the little village of Taos. Our first stop was the San Francisco di Asis Chapel, the one painted by Georgia O'Keefe. It was clear why O'Keefe would choose such a picturesque building. This remote chapel was strikingly beautiful.

We then visited the Toas Pueblo, the oldest inhabited structure in America. Native Americans have been living in this building for 2000 years. We stopped in the San Geromino chapel in the pueblo dwelling and then wandered around the village. We bought bread that was warm from the adobe ovens and wandered into small shops run by the Northern Tiva pueblo people.

After our a day in Toas, we stopped at a road side stand and bought jewelry from local artists.

We made our way into Utah, and knew that we were within striking distance of home, the cousins and grandparents and everything that we had driven so far to experience. We celebrated when we passed the "Welcome to Utah" sign!

The High and The Low

One of the highlights of our trip across America was a stop in Santa Fe. I had heard forever about this little town in New Mexico, but had never had the opportunity to visit it. I think that it exceeded all of our expectations. Coming from Boston, we thought that we had the oldest buildings in America in our town. However, we were humbled when we walked past the Palace of the Governors and the oldest church in America, the San Miguel Chapel which was built in 1610. We window shopped for turquoise jewelery dried peppers and great hats.

We ate burritos and taquetos in a little Mexican cafe and enjoyed ice cream in the main square. Unfortunately, Sante Fe was also the spot where all six kids were diagnosed with strep throat. We spent hours in the doctor's office and even more time trying to fill prescriptions. All travel has it's adventures, both good and bad!

carlsbad

After a long, but interesting drive across west Texas, passing one oil refinery after another, we arrived in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We had toured through these great caves years ago, but had to fit in another trip through. After all, when would we ever be in this region again? We were amazed at the beauty of this underground world. The kids had fun exploring through the stalagtites and stalagmites, as well as around the cave pools, into dark passage ways and up and down the switchbacks that bring you into these massive caverns.

Good Friends, Good Times

When we arrived in Texas, we had all sorts of things on our agenda. We were only moments in the house before we scrapped our plans and couldn't resist a couple days of just hanging out with our good friends. (After all, we would be moving to this corner of the country, so shouldn't we save a few things to see when were permanent Texans?) There was no way that we could have pulled the kids away from the Goodes. Jonathan and Nathan immediately rekindled their friendship, Emilie loved hanging out with 18 year old Jenna and her teenage friends, Sophia and Annie fell in love with the dog and couldn't keep their hands off the poor thing, and Ezra was happy to be included with the big boys. The kids spent their time in the pool, watching movies in the home theater, shooting hoops and hanging out at Jenna's friends' houses.

We did venture out into the 108 degree temperatures to visit the Fortworth Stockyards, where historically all the cattle from the region were brought to be bought and sold. We sought out an authentic Mexican restaurant and made a very meager attempt to do some outdoor shopping, and then headed straight back to the pool.

Thank you Rich and Marla for a great weekend at the all inclusive Goode Resort!

It's my Birthday, Ya'll!

Somehow, Steve always finds a way to make my big day special. This year we were driving through Texas with a stop at the Goodes. We walked into the kitchen after a long drive. A very fancy chocolate cake, with all sorts of excitement poking out the top, was waiting on the counter. Steve had arranged for Marla to pick up the surprise, making sure that my 38th birthday was not forgotten. Nothing can beat celebrating with family and friends.

Memphis

Steve and I both agree that Memphis was the most interesting spot on our cross country trip. This segment of our trip was dedicated to the Civil Rights Era and it's history. The day before we arrived in Memphis, we stopped at the plantation of Andrew Jackson. We learned about the slaves who lived and worked in the fields as well as in the house. We heard their heart breaking stories of being traded, with mothers being taken from their children and sold to a new land owner because the Jackson's used them as human currency to pay off debts. In Memphis our first stop was a museum that originally was a stop of the underground railroad. We drove through a "questionable" part of town to get to this "off the beaten path jewel" of a museum and pulled up in front of a small clapboard home, with a driveway over grown and a small museum sign that looked homemade. While the family waited in the car, I went around back, looking for an entrance, a little unsure of what I might find. A huge black man in African robes greeted me and I asked him about his museum. He was full of enthusiasm and the entrance fee was small so we decided to take a chance and we joined his tour. The moment on our trip turned out to be our most memorable. Our guide, with slave roots, taught us about the slave trade, the world's largest cemetery, which is the Pacific Ocean, life on a plantation, attempted slave escapes and how the underground railroad worked. His presentation was fascinating. We then followed him to the cellar where slaves on the run squoze through a small hole in the foundation and waited in the dark basement until it was safe to continue running. On our way out of this small museum, we bought watermelon, which was a fruit common to the slaves. We were so happy that we had found this little spot in Memphis.

Our next stop for the day was the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was shot. It is now the National Civil Rights Museum, which was the perfect extension of our African American experience.

We sat in the bus that Rosa Parks rode in, learned about the freedom riders of the 60's and toured the room that Martin Luther King spent his last night in, among other historical events during the Civil Right's Movement.

After more Southern BBQ, we left Tennessee in the evening, with enough to talk about from the Civil Rights Movement to get us all the way to Dallas late that night. We were grateful for our freedoms and the progress that our country has made.

Country Music Capital

Our family concluded our time together in Nashville. After spending the morning at The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's plantation, we visited the County Music Hall of Fame, where the kids were in awe of Elvis' gold and diamond encrusted limo and shrieked in delight when they saw Taylor Swift's jeweled gowns. They all picked out their favorite country music CD, courtesy of Grandma Gretta. Thank you, thank you! We are still listening to Lady Antebellum, Sugarland and Taylor Swift on our drives around town.

We ended our afternoon with some Tennessee BBQ on Broadway Street. Live country music played out the open doors and into the street from a downtown packed with bars. The kids peeked their heads in to get a glimpse of new musicians getting their start as well as Elvis impersonators singing old favorites.

Nashville was where we parted our ways, with the Flindts headed to Washington State, Jonny and Jenny going North to Chicago, Mom and Dad following Lisa, but stopping in Salt Lake, and our family making our way to Memphis, our next city to explore on our cross county trip.

Family Time, Tennessee Style

Every two years my Spendlove family descends on some random spot in the United States. Usually these places require an extra explanation regarding why 50 aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are trekking across the country to spend a week in such a place as New Mexico or Dallas in July, the remote mountains in Arizona or, this year, the somewhat "down-scale" town of Crossville, Tennessee. The answer is simple. There are so many of us using the same resort condos, we have to go where no one else wants to be. Thank goodness for this randomness! It has turned out that we have had the most interesting vacations all across America and bonded as a family in the process. I never would have booked a trip to Branson, Missouri before I was retired, spent my 4th of July at a ski resort in Colorado or joined the masses of America at Disney World during the busiest week of the summer, but I know that I am better for it! This year our reunion began in Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We then spent our days hiking to waterfalls and swimming in the pools below, picnicking in the mountains and exploring Appalachian culture.

At the resort we swam in the lake, played in the game rooms and paddle boated.

With our extended family we enjoyed all of our usual traditions, such as family photos, the candy bar game, the family potluck dinner and the much awaited family auction where everyone bids monopoly money for all sorts of items that family members donate from either their goodwill piles or from stashes that they pick up at a local dollar shop. This is truly the highlight for the children. Sophia and Annelise were so excited about three dresses that they were able to win, along with videos and scrapbooks and Ezra was especially proud of a package of Spiderman underwear that Grandma and Grandpa picked up at Target with him in mind.

When we heard about a ten story tree house that a religious zealot built in the nearby backwoods, we decided that we couldn't leave without taking a tour. Apparently the builder, who is a minister, was told by God to build a tree house. He has created a labyrinth supported by six huge trees. There are about eighty rooms around a chapel that includes a pulpit, choir chairs, stained glass windows and a basketball hoop. (The hoop made me wonder if the minister has possibly attended a Mormon stake conference!) There was also a lawn chair that was gerry-rigged into a swing with a huge span, since it was ropped onto the top of the house. We held on tight to our children's hands and never let them out of our sight because apparently there are some huge loopholes in the building codes in the backwoods of Tennessee. After wandering around this curious structure, I googled it and found that it was listed on several great American road trips sites. I too agree that if you are in the area, it is a must see!

As always, the reunion turned out to be a huge success. I took notes all along, since I am in charge of our next gathering which will be in 2013.