A crazy month

I can't believe we're almost finished with October and this is my first blog post of the month. Between allergies and surgery, plus a trip to Arkansas for Allen's parents 50th wedding anniversery, it seems like all I've tried to do has been play catch up.

November will be another busy, but fun month. It looks like I'll get to go to the DC area before Thanksgiving. I was really hoping for October, but there is no way we could have gone with Allen. We have talked about going to Starkville for the Arkansas/Mississippi State game, but if the DC trip happens, we won't be able to go.

One good thing this week was I was able to get a couple of Christmas gifts bought for family. I'm trying to figure out where to go do most of my Christmas shopping this year since Opry Mills isn't reopening anytime soon. I thought about the new outlets down in Leeds, AL, but figure they are going to be busy with just opening up this week. Any suggestions would be appreicated.

My Favorite Tucson Spots

Since Allen has been working out west, I thought I would share some of my favorite things I enjoyed in Tucson.

Saguaro National Park was one of the first places I visited in Tucson. The saguaros along with the other cacti were always a pretty sight.

While visiting the Pima Air and Space Museum, we had one of the cooler things happen while on our visit. As a volunteer was telling us about the last Air Force One prop plane that LBJ used to get to his ranch that was on display at the museum, Air Force One came in for a landing behind us over at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, as if it was timed. Very cool experience.

Reid Park Zoo.

Even though I had never visited Reid Park Zoo while living in Tucson, I enjoyed taking my son there on several visits to town.

My first year of working at Pearson Educational Measurement, I met a lady that was one of the orignal people to live in Biosphere 2, Linda Leigh. She gave us a personal tour of Biosphere 2 and we were able to visit parts of it that is not open to the public.

Of course, my favorite time of year in Tucson, besides winter, was March because spring training had arrived in town. The Cactus League has the Diamondbacks and the Rockies playing in Tucson.

My favorite places to dine at are Michas Restaurant for Mexican, Frog and Firkin for outdoor dining and Oregano's for pizza.

Confessions of a Non-Soccer Mom

Back in the spring, I came up with this great idea, sign AW up for fall Soccer. Since AW is an only child, I want to make sure that he gets a lot of chances to be around other children. Soccer is suppose to be one of the better activities that you can sign kids up for because they are going to get a lot of exercise. AW is not going to challenge for an athletic scholarship, based on his parents athletic abilities, but the main goal is for him to have fun.

After attending a unified soccer practice with all the kids in the under 5 group, everyone is assigned a letter score, then placed evenly onto teams. At first, I was concerned about AW's team practicing only once a week when some of the other teams practiced twice, until my background in Physical Education kicked in to remind me that's the last thing you need to be doing with four year old's. After watching the coaches herding the kids, which is about like herding cats, you realize his coaches must have the patience of Job to work with eight, four year old's.

What I was not use to were the in-game meltdowns by any given player and the soccer mom's. Yes, I realize I'm a soccer mom by default, but I feel more like a non-soccer mom. Being gripped at because you brought snacks when you were suppose to, but another mom won't let you hand them out sours your attitude quick. I was about at the point of wondering if it was really worth it, but AW was having fun.

Last Saturday, things started to change. I had considered not have AW to play so we could go to the GA/Razorback football game, since it was a few hours from the house. As much as I wanted to go, I knew it wasn't fair to keep AW from his game. While at the game, I noticed the in-game meltdowns from the kids were not irritating me as they did in the past and the soccer mom that wouldn't let anybody bring snacks, finally let someone else hand theirs out. The main reason I was glad that we passed up on the game was that AW scored his first goal (that wasn't for the other team). Moments like that will keep this non-soccer mom coming back until AW wants to move to some other sport.

Myrtle Beach

View from the hotel.

With all of the travels that we do, we had not taken a family vacation this summer. I figured that we would wait until sometime in September to go, but Allen mentioned going to Myrtle Beach for Labor Day weekend. Myrtle Beach is a place that I had been interested in going because there is a Marriott on the beach. Of course, I wanted to use points for the stay and figured there would be no shot on Labor Day weekend. We were able to get a room at the Marriott Grand Dunes, so we were on our way.

We arrived in the Myrtle Beach area on Friday morning. Since it was not time to check in, we stopped by one of the public beach accesses to see what the Atlantic was like after Hurricane Earl passed offshore. Allen and I couldn't tell any difference in the ocean from when we were up at Kill Devil Hills in June. It seemed like the water was more rough on Monday than any other day.

Next stop was Broadway at the Beach for lunch and a round of putt putt. Broadway at the Beach is one of the main entertainment areas in Myrtle Beach. It has a Rippley's Aquarium, a movie theater, an IMAX, kiddie rides and a long list of activities. For lunch, we decided to eat at Senor Frog's, which had live music. The food was between average and good, but overpriced, which you expected. Next time, I think I would go to Margaritaville and try out the nachos I saw when we ate at the one in Glendale, AZ.

Two of the swimming pools at the Marriott Grand Dunes.

Friday afternoon, we checked into the Marriott Grand Dunes. I loved the location, pools and the dining, while AW loved the water slide. The rooms could use updating and had a musty smell, but nothing that would keep me from going back again.

For the rest of the trip, except for outlet shopping on Sunday, we hung around the hotel. AW did get us away Saturday afternoon for another round of putt putt, but with everything at the hotel, we didn't need to go anywhere else. The next time we go back, I would like to go to theMyrtle Beach Boardwalk. There are so many activities we missed, but then again, how can you go wrong with a beach and a pool?

My favorite place to stay in the DC area

Over the last three years, we have traveled a lot to DC with Allen when he is working up there. We've never stayed in DC on our trips because it's a lot easier for Allen to get to work from Arlington. We have been staying in the Crystal City/Pentagon City area of Arlington because I like to be within walking distance of a Metro Station.

In the Crystal City/Pentagon City area, we have stay at three different hotels with the Marriott chain; Residence Inn Pentagon City, Crystal City Marriott and the Gateway Crystal City Marriott. The Residence Inn Pentagon City is within walking distance of both the Pentagon City and Pentagon Metro Stations. With the Residence Inn, you have a kitchen area and more room than a normal hotel room, which makes long stays nice. Also, the Residence Inn includes a breakfast buffet, but it can be very crowded in the mornings. During the off-season, you can get at the full service Marriott for cheaper than to stay at the Residence Inn.

The Crystal City Marriott has the same advantages as the Crystal Gateway Marriott because you do not have to go outside to walk to the Crystal City Metro Station, which is great on a rainy day. When it is raining, you can ride the Metro over to Pentagon City Mall or to Union Station for some shopping without getting wet. Along with having a number of fast-food or sit down restaurants within walking distance, you are not dependent on eating at the hotels. The Crystal City Marriott is smaller and is less crowded than the Gateway, but I'll admit, I love the Gateway. The staff there, even though they are often busy with meetings and conventions, has treated us very well. In the last year, we have stayed there enough that several of the staff calls A by name. A loves the indoor/outdoor pool.

All three hotels are about a 10 minute Metro ride to the National Mall. We normally use the Yellow Line to either L'Enfant Plaza or Archives/Navy Memorial. I would rather do a little extra walking instead of trying to change to the Blue Line to go to the Smithsonian station. Plus, during prime tourist season, you want to avoid the Smithsonian station because of the crowds.

Each of the hotels are great options. What it may come down to in choosing one is which fits your needs and budget the best.

Thinking about taking a tour in DC?

Lincoln Memorial

A couple of weeks ago, my home economics teacher went on a one day tour of Washington DC. My first question was, which tour? So far, out of the times that we have been up to Washington DC, AW and I have gone on three different tours, Tourmobile, The Old Towne Trolley and the Gray Line Open Top Bus Tour. Which one is the best for you depends on what you are wanting to see while in Washington DC.

The one that my former teacher went on has been my favorite tour,Tourmobile. To me, if you have limited time, this one is the best for seeing the memorials and museums located on the National Mall. The Tourmobile is the only tour company allowed on the National Mall. The other companies have to use drop off points behind the Mall buildings. Another plus with the Tourmobile is that it has the only driving tour of Arlington Cemetery. My favorite thing about the Tourmobile is the tourguides. They do the narrations themselves and do not depend on tape recordings. The only downside to the Tourmobile is if you want to see places like Embassy Row or the National Cathedral, you will not be able to with the Tourmobile. It mainly goes in the area around the National Mall, Union Station and the Arlington Cemetery.

The National Cathedral from the Open Top Bus

The Gray Line Open Top Bus Tour and the Old Towne Trolley have similar routes. The difference between these two tours is you could stay on the Open Top Bus and see all the sites on their tour. On the Old Towne Trolley, you would have to change trolleys to go on the National Cathedral/Georgetown loop or for it to take you over to the Arlington Cemetery. Both tours will take you to the Arlington Cemetary parking lot, but then you would either have to walk to sites in the cemetery or buy a Tourmobile Arlington Cemetery ticket. When AW and I took the Old Towne Trolley, we were able to buy a river cruise at a discount. The 45 minute river cruise left from Georgetown. It looks like now, according to their website, they offer a DC Ducks tour as a package with the Old Towne Trolley. Out of the two, I liked the Old Town Trolley better, but if you want to avoid changing routes, Open Top may be better for you.


All three tours are hop on and off as you like. If you are traveling with a young child, the new may wear off to the point you are doing more riding and less hoping off. Also, Old Towne and Open Top includes two consecutive days of use with their ticket cost. Tourmobile gives you an option of one or two days.

Dairy Dinner

Dairy Dinner 8-1-2010 taken by Tom and Amy Turner.

Sunday afternoon, I came across a friend's Facebook status that made me feel a little sad. The Dairy Dinner in Charleston, AR was going to be closing the next day. I am unsure how long the Dairy Dinner has been around, but I know at least 35 years and assuming it's been a lot longer. I bet I haven't stopped at it since the early 90's because of moving away and for the fact a Sonic had gone in a few years ago, so it was easier to stop there for a drink instead of the Dairy Dinner.

Most of my high school and college years were spent cruising around Paris, but sometimes I would go up to Charleston. The Dairy Dinner was the turn-around point at the west end of town. Usually, I would stop by and get something to drink while I was in town.

My most memorable thought of the Dairy Dinner with with my mom, aunt and two cousins. I don't remember how old I was, figure about 6 or 7, but we were coming back from the Wal-Mart at Booneville. At the time, it was the only Wal-Mart in our area. My two cousins, Jerri and Tommy, wanted to go somewhere to get something to eat. Jerri wanted to go the Dairy Dinner, Tommy wanted to go to Paris. Both cousins started trying to get me to side with them. Tommy, knowing the type of coward that I was, starting telling some story about the road being scary between Chimsville and Charleston. Of course, then you couldn't get me to go to Charleston, so we all had to go to Paris. Just thinking of the Dairy Dinner closing has made me miss Tommy a little more this week.

Brickyard 400

When I started thinking about turning 40 this year, I planned to go to a NASCAR race. Yes, I'm not a normal female because I would choose going to a sporting event over most other activities. With my birthday being in the spring, I was leaning toward Allen and I going to Vegas for a race, but after the health problems my step-father had back in January/February, I decided to stay around home and opted for a shopping trip with my friend, Myleea, who was also turning 40.

The Brickyard 400 wasn't one of the races I had ever planned to see, it just happened by accident. My son was going to visit with grandparents for a week and I started to wonder where the race was for the upcoming weekend. When I saw it was in Indy, I googled the distance, went to the Marriott site to see if we could stay on points and checked on tickets. The last hurdle was planning around Allen's schedule. He was suppose to be home on Friday night, but ended up taking a redeye in to make the trip possible.



Since we didn't get to go to the track on any of the days, except Sunday, our plan was to go early so we could take in all the sights of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'll admit, the Brickyard isn't one of my favorite races, but to have the chance to go to a race there would be something to remember. We didn't have to walk far from our car to the track, but once we got to the race, we made up for the walking.

Our first line of business was going out to where the souvenir trailers were located to get AW a M&M racing hat. He likes watching Kyle Busch's, M&M car, mainly for the cool paint schemes, so I figured he would like that as a special treat. We bought a couple of other items as we walked around out there.



After having a couple of brats for breakfast, we came across the garage area and was able to watch the teams get their cars ready for the race. We lucked into finding the viewing area while looking for a restroom. You couldn't see all of the cars, but it was fun to see the ones you could up that close. We have been to races in Phoenix and Talladega, but haven't had pit passes, so this was the next best thing to having a pit pass.



Another fun thing was watching the teams push their cars down Gasoline Alley to pit road. While we were walking by, we saw the 42 and 00 cars being pushed to pit road.

We left Gasoline Alley and wondered around until we found the Speed stage. NASCAR Raceday was on so we stopped to watch John Roberts, Kyle Petty and Darrell Waltrip. I was surprised that there wasn't as many people over at it, but then again, it was a ways off of the beaten path.



Once we finished at the Speed stage, we were ready to go find our seats and rest for a while. The seats we had were in turn 4, but you were able to see into turn 3, plus most of the front stretch. The website, Laidback Racing gave excellent advice on where to sit at Indy. I also used it for the best places to park as well.

Since we were unsure about if we would be able to hear the PA system, we rented the Sprint FanView for the first time. At Phoenix, we rented a track scanner, so we thought we would try something different. I did have mixed reviews on using the Sprint FanView. One of the things I didn't like was that the audio feed was the same as the PA feed, so you would hear it on the PA, then on your headphones. We stopped listening to it and started listening to the driver's scanners. I did like the running order that you could display on the screen. We seldom used the TV feed since it was easier to watch on the infield screen than on the handheld. We decided the next time we go to a race, we'll stick with a regular scanner.

Other than being hot and going through a lot of water, we enjoyed our race experience at the Brickyard 400. My goal is still to get to Bristol for a race, but after being in the heat in Indy, I may opt for the spring race at Bristol instead of the night race in August.

Heading up to Indy

Sam Hornish Jr's 77 showcar in the lobby of our hotel.

Since AW went for the week to visit family, I wondered where the NASCAR race was being held for the week. When I learned it was going to be in Indianapolis, I started looking at distance and whether or not we could stay on Allen's Marriott points. The next challenge was if Allen would be up for the trip because he would have to take a redeye back from Arizona for it to work out. Once he gave the go ahead, I booked us at the downtown Marriott and we were on our way.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was buzzing with a reception for the Mobile One sponsors. Sam Hornish Jr's 77 showcar was sitting in the lobby when we walked in. We went up to our room that overlooked the state capitol so Allen could get a power nap before dinner.

Looking out our hotel window at the Indiana State Capitol.

About 7:00 pm, we decided it was time to get something to eat. Within walking distance of the Marriott, there was every type of food that you would want. We had problems in making up our mind, until we saw St. Elmo steakhouse. They happen to have a reservation at 8:30, so we took the t-shirts that we bought at the Hard Rock Cafe back to the room and hung out at the hotel until time. I am so glad that we waited, it was one of the best steaks that I have ever eaten. I had the NY Strip cooked medium, while Allen had their Filet Mignon. Allen would have been better off getting his cooked medium rare because medium on his filet was a little more done than he usually likes, but both of us were happy with our food. The Shrimp cocktail was very good as well and was the perfect size for us to share.

With us having to get up early for the race, we called it an evening and headed to bed. It would have been nice to have caught they baseball game that the Indianapolis Indians (The Pittsburg Triple A team) was playing, but Allen was wiped out from the redeye flight.

The race took up our day on Sunday, so after we returned to the hotel, we shared nachos down in Champions sports bar and grill in the Marriott. We had already had a snack in the concierge lounge and didn't feel like doing anymore walking. The food was reasonable for being in the hotel and was also tasty.

Indianapolis is a place I would like to go back with AW. It has one of the World's largest Children's Musuems, plus the Indianapolis Zoo. I want to check out the NCAA Hall of Fame, which was a couple of blocks from the hotel, while Allen wants to go see the Musuem out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hopefully, we'll be able to go back in a few months and check out the other sites.

A side trip to Paragould

On Thursday, my son went to Arkansas to stay with Allen's family. I met my sister-in-law in Forest City, AR so she could take him back to western Arkansas. Since Allen was also out of town, I decided to head up to Paragould, AR for the night to visit friends.

Paragould is a town of about 22,000 up on Crowley's Ridge. I moved there when I started teaching at Crowley's Ridge College. It was my first, full-time teaching position. Also, it was my first experience in either attending or working at a Christian school. It was a big adjustment for me, but I met some of the best people in the Paragould area.

Wednesday night, I finally texted Myleea that I was going to come up for the night. Usually I don't make such last minute plans, but sometimes with Allen's schedule, I have to wait longer than I would like to in deciding to go somewhere. Myleea was understanding and didn't have much going on last week.

About 3:00 p.m., I arrived at Myleea's house. I didn't have much I wanted to do, except to go see friends that I have around there. We did go over to CRC to see the new addition to the gym so that the students would have a lounge. Dinner was at a Japaneses steak house that was very good, but the best meal was for lunch on Friday at Brickhouse Pizza. It might have been a good thing that it was not there when I lived there because I would have weighted a lot more.

While I was there, I realize that on the next trip there, I need to spend a couple of nights so I can visit more people. Paragould is not an exciting tourist location, but it's a special place to me.

Trips Across New Mexico

On Facebook yesterday, one of my former students from Crowley's Ridge College had posted a couple of pictures that looked to be taken in either New Mexico or Arizona. Seeing the pictures got me to thinking about all the strange and funny trips across New Mexico. For most of our memorable road trips, it seems like it always starts out, "we were driving across New Mexico".

The summer of 1999, I was working at New Mexico State University for my cousin, Ellis' stats guy. I was suppose to be helping him with some stats from an Entomology study, but he either didn't have the time or wasn't into working on it, so basically, I was paid to sit around and go to class once a week. Many weekends that summer were spent up at my cousin, Judy's house.One Sunday, Judy decides to take me down to Juarez since I had never been. After getting back across the border, we get to the car and start to leave town. Judy stops at a convenience store for us to go to the bathroom and get some snacks for the road. One thing we failed to get was gas. The stretch from El Paso to Alamogordo is very desolate. Judy was convinced that we had enough gas to make it, but that evening, we learned two things, don't go by the mileage estimate on a Cadillac and my ability to remember what the last mile marker we pasted. AAA sent people out with gas at least two times before they found us because we gave them the wrong mile marker.

Starting in 2002, Allen and I couldn't make a trip across New Mexico without something happening. When we were moving my things from Arkansas to Arizona, after the wedding, my air conditioner went out in my car in Oklahoma. Allen was driving his new F-150 that he had bought the day before in Paris. To his credit, he kept offering for me to drive it, but since I had never pulled a trailer, nor drove a vehicle larger than my first apartment, I stayed with my car. I was in tears driving west of Amarillo from the smell of the feedlots and being so hot. When we stopped for the night in Santa Rosa, our room had two full size beds. I was so hot and tired that I looked at Allen and said, "your sleeping in that bed, I'm sleeping in this bed."

The scariest trip occurred the same summer. Allen was working in Plano, TX, so we were driving from Tucson to Ruidoso to spend the night before driving on over to Texas. Around Deming, NM, we ended up in the worst dust storm I have ever been in. You could not see much past the hood of the car. Allen was having to follow the car in front because you couldn't see to pull over. We were in a rental car so we started to try to find the hazard lights to turn on. We looked everywhere on the steering wheel, but couldn't find it until we got out of the dust storm and found the big, red button on the dash. It wasn't until the next day that we found out right after we went through that area, there had been a ten car pile-up that closed I-10 down for four hours. We figured we caused it while looking for the hazard lights.

I won't embarrass Allen by telling the story of him and the lack of bathrooms between Carlsbad and El Paso, but needless to say, if you need to drive across New Mexico, make sure we are not with you.


From John and Judy's living room in Ruidoso, NM.

Travel info via Twitter

Yes, I have a Twitter account. I use it mainly for NASCAR and other sports related info, but I have discovered that it is a great source for travel information.

Most of my travel tweets that I follow are from the DC area. A couple of my favorite are the Washington D.C. Convention and Tourism Corporation, the National Children's Museum, American History Museum, Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo. The DC Convention and Tourism Corporation is always sending out links to activities across the city and the National Children's Museum often sends links to top family activities for the week. Tweets that are sent out from the Air and Space Museum often will tell of book signings or this day in history facts.

A twitter account that has been a source of information on the Gulf Coast has been @alabamabeaches. They sent out up to date beach information, along with links to their daily You Tube beach report.I was able to keep informed of beach info while I was on vacation by using one of the free Twitter apps for my iPhone.

Tips for the Newseum

Our last trip to Washington DC, I finally had the chance to go to the Newseum. I had been wanting to go, but figured that my son would not be interested in the exhibits. After I discovered that ages 6 and under were free and that your ticket was good for two consecutive days, I decided to take the chance and go. It was a great experience to the point that my son wanted to stop back the next day to see the news chopper that hangs from the ceiling and satellite truck again.

One of the most touching exhibits that was in there was a section of the Berlin Wall and the guard tower. Remembering watching the television reports when the wall was coming down, then getting to see a section of it was meaningful.

The 9-11 exhibit was one that I would have liked to have spent more time looking at, but sometimes you are limited with a child. Besides the front page headlines from the attack, they also had the remains of the telecommunications tower that was on top of the North Tower. There was also a video, but figured it would be too much for a small child.

While we were at the Newseum, we also saw the Elvis exhibit that is on loan from Graceland. Of course, I enjoyed seeing some of the pictures from Camp Chaffee with growing up down the road from Ft. Chaffee.

For families with older children, up to the age of 18, they can get in free with a paid adult until Labor Day at the Newseum. The kids will enjoy all of the interactive items and the parents will enjoy reflecting the change in media.

What am I getting myself into?

About a year ago, a couple of friends mentioned to me that I needed to consider starting a blog about traveling. Not that I go to a lot of exciting places, but more like I go to the same places over and over. My husband has to travel for his job, so instead of sitting at home, my son and I try to join him when we are able to, especially when he goes to the D.C. area. Hopefully, with this blog, I can give some suggestions on things to do in the places that we have visited in the past.