7/31
After a good night's sleep and an average breakfast eaten to the relentless obsessive rantings of Fox News, we headed East again. Our destination: Slidell, LA.
Note to Bobby Jindal: Before you refused the stimulus funds someone should have forced you to drive for a week on I 10 through Baton Rouge. Your infrastructure stinks. You may think it's okay and doesn't need any improvement, but this was the second time it took us over an hour to get through this relatively small city. The first time was last year on a Sunday morning (?). What a mess.
We arrived in Slidell after 6. This whole town is new post Katrina. The hotel was very nice, although they could have stored meat in the lobby and breakfast area, and it would have kept for days. The service was excellent, however, and check in was lightning fast. Impressive for a Best Western. We asked for a recommendation of a Cajun restaurant nearby. Copeland's, we were told, was good and a mile down the road.
Copeland's is a Chili's clone with a Louisiana slant. On Friday night it was packed, and we were placed (with an apology from the hostess) next to a huge group near the bar. It was LOUD in there. The food was good, and the service was fine. Nothing to shout or grouse about.
We would arrive home late the next afternoon. Our "adventure" for this summer over. As always there were good and bad experiences, and we learned a little bit more about New Mexico, our own preferences, and the places between us and them. Can't wait to see the pictures.
August 3, 2009
The Trek Home Begins
7/30
We started out in the morning with the intent to get to Kerrville by 5. This was not going to happen. Our fault, really. We stopped at a supermarket in Deming to suss out the ethnic food aisle for local Mexican. We left with two kinds of mole concentrate and green chili sauce (two different types). Glen also wanted to stop at a Mexican blanket outlet store in El Paso, which turned out to be a waste of time. Add to that rest stops, lunch, and gas refills (one in Ozona that involved conning us into driving all through town to the other side), and we arrived at the Hampton Inn, which was as always more than acceptable.
Dinner proved a thorny problem. It was later than usual, and we didn't want to hurry. There was a restaurant across the way in another hotel, but it was a bit overdone in decoration and had no prices on their menu. Come on! Even Bern's in Tampa has prices. Supercilious, we decided and EMPTY. We ended up at Cracker Barrel. The other end of the spectrum, but the food was good. The service was not, and the waitress (about 16) apologized with a long and convoluted story about dance camp and long hours. All this was said with no eye contact whatsoever on her part. I was tempted to tell her this was all a poor excuse, but we both cut her a break and didn't give her a hard time. We did leave her a small tip, but we didn't want the kid to lose her job, so we did not complain.
We started out in the morning with the intent to get to Kerrville by 5. This was not going to happen. Our fault, really. We stopped at a supermarket in Deming to suss out the ethnic food aisle for local Mexican. We left with two kinds of mole concentrate and green chili sauce (two different types). Glen also wanted to stop at a Mexican blanket outlet store in El Paso, which turned out to be a waste of time. Add to that rest stops, lunch, and gas refills (one in Ozona that involved conning us into driving all through town to the other side), and we arrived at the Hampton Inn, which was as always more than acceptable.
Dinner proved a thorny problem. It was later than usual, and we didn't want to hurry. There was a restaurant across the way in another hotel, but it was a bit overdone in decoration and had no prices on their menu. Come on! Even Bern's in Tampa has prices. Supercilious, we decided and EMPTY. We ended up at Cracker Barrel. The other end of the spectrum, but the food was good. The service was not, and the waitress (about 16) apologized with a long and convoluted story about dance camp and long hours. All this was said with no eye contact whatsoever on her part. I was tempted to tell her this was all a poor excuse, but we both cut her a break and didn't give her a hard time. We did leave her a small tip, but we didn't want the kid to lose her job, so we did not complain.
On the Catwalk
7/29
What day is it anyway? What did we do today? If that isn't a sign it's about time to call it quits, I don't know what is.
We drove from Socorro to the Catwalk, which is a mile hike in the Gila. That took until after lunch. The hike took about a half hour. Glen ventured on to one of the "difficult" trails (insisting it was the way down - it wasn't) but when my heart started beating double time just at the thought of "18-21 inch unpaved paths with no guardrails" I said I was going back. I told him to go ahead and I'd wait for him. My heart slowed back down as soon as I turned around. He wasn't far behind because he soon realized it was NOT the way down.
We had considered staying in Glenwood but didn't make reservations without eyeballing the place we had in mind. Well, it looked fine but it was full. Okay then.....on to Silver City.
We are now at the Holiday Inn Express, which is apparently the only hotel in this town up to our (apparently) high standards. It's a great place. Where to eat, though? Last trip we ate at Jalisco's downtown.
There was some vaguely remembered problem with Jalisco's, but we decided to give it another go because it might be our last chance for Mexican. As soon as we walked in, we remembered that last time it had been awfully hectic. It was again. Even in Albuquerque we didn't experience such a mid-week crowd. Being two helped, though, and we were seated without too long a wait. The waitress started out 'great guns' with quick courteous service and attentiveness we thought boded well. Unfortunately, her attention span was a bit short because our food arrived after a long wait, and it was not really hot. We suspect she forgot us in the rush to wait on a large party next to us. The food was okay. Not great. We took the leftovers for lunch since it was getting late, and although Glen was still hungry, I suggested it was best not to eat too much. The tip reflected our dismay.
Before turning in we firmed up reservations for the next two nights, ending with our arrival back home late on Saturday. On to Kerrville, TX, in the morning.
What day is it anyway? What did we do today? If that isn't a sign it's about time to call it quits, I don't know what is.
We drove from Socorro to the Catwalk, which is a mile hike in the Gila. That took until after lunch. The hike took about a half hour. Glen ventured on to one of the "difficult" trails (insisting it was the way down - it wasn't) but when my heart started beating double time just at the thought of "18-21 inch unpaved paths with no guardrails" I said I was going back. I told him to go ahead and I'd wait for him. My heart slowed back down as soon as I turned around. He wasn't far behind because he soon realized it was NOT the way down.
We had considered staying in Glenwood but didn't make reservations without eyeballing the place we had in mind. Well, it looked fine but it was full. Okay then.....on to Silver City.
We are now at the Holiday Inn Express, which is apparently the only hotel in this town up to our (apparently) high standards. It's a great place. Where to eat, though? Last trip we ate at Jalisco's downtown.
There was some vaguely remembered problem with Jalisco's, but we decided to give it another go because it might be our last chance for Mexican. As soon as we walked in, we remembered that last time it had been awfully hectic. It was again. Even in Albuquerque we didn't experience such a mid-week crowd. Being two helped, though, and we were seated without too long a wait. The waitress started out 'great guns' with quick courteous service and attentiveness we thought boded well. Unfortunately, her attention span was a bit short because our food arrived after a long wait, and it was not really hot. We suspect she forgot us in the rush to wait on a large party next to us. The food was okay. Not great. We took the leftovers for lunch since it was getting late, and although Glen was still hungry, I suggested it was best not to eat too much. The tip reflected our dismay.
Before turning in we firmed up reservations for the next two nights, ending with our arrival back home late on Saturday. On to Kerrville, TX, in the morning.
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