We got out of Bangor just in time!!! There is another, BIGGER, snowfall due Monday. We departed Bangor Airport  at 7:45am Sunday morning, arrived St, Louis at 2pm. After lunch and nice visit with Brent we were in the car at 4:15pm and on the road. Thanks to Mary for storing some of our winter clothes until we get back in town.

By Monday night, with the help of Paul Simon, Paul McCarthy, Tony Bennett, Lada Gaga, Jerry Garcia, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra, we traveled nearly 600 miles to Shamrock, Texas.

We passed the Big EGG (?) three times on the Hyway and then the egg driver truck happened to stop for the night where we did. He said he was not allowed to tell us what he was carting but it was traveling from NY to LA and we’ll see it on National TV soon.  Let us know if you figure out this mysterious package or if you see it on television.

We had a great steak dinner at an authentic Texas steak house– BIG VERN’S

Long drive today from Shamrock, Texas  to Flagstaff, Arizona. We had one interesting stop in Winslow, Arizona. Have you ever hear of the Harvey Girls? We stopped by to see La Posada, the last Great Railroad Hotel built by Fred Harvey. Never heard of Fred Harvey? Neither did we. Apparently, Fred Harvey was quite the entrepreneur in the 1930-40’s. He built luxury hotels along the railroad routes. Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper were among the many celebrity guests at the La Posada.

The drive from Kingman, Arizona to Las Vegas through the Kaibab National Forest was awesome. We stopped briefly at the Hoover Dam. It is an amazing building accomplishment but not worth the stop, in my opinion, because of the tourist traffic is horrific.

We spent two nights in Las Vegas and took advantage of the O”Rourke’s new swimming pool and hot tub. The picture, taken by Nettie, is of my lifelong friend Terry and his wife Jo, Sandy and me. Terry and I have been friends since kindergarten. He and Jo, their dog Stella and Jo’s mom Nettie live in a beautiful Mountain View home. Jo had prepared our bedroom and bath like it was a high-end hotel. We enjoyed prime rib dinner at the South Point Casino and then we played a few games of chance at the Silverton Casino. I lost $35 and Sandy won $6 at the penny machine. We left the O’Rourke’s hospitality and friendship Friday morning for the drive to San Diego. The six hour trip through  the Mohave Desert, Death Valley, was highlighted by a lunch stop at Peggy Sue’s Diner located off Ghost Town Road in Yermo, California.