A to Z Mondays....

Brought to you by the letter

K

This week K is for Kicking it to the Kurb.


That would be what Grandma J is in the process of doing with her cold.


Resting and lounging around and letting the kids wait on her...that's the Kure.


She could also kick herself for being MIA in the blogosphere...but for now the internet access is minimal...even if the sunshine is abundant.

QUESTION:


Grandma J is on a major road trip and vacationing in Southern California.  She has all but deserted her blog and loyal blogging friends and lurkers.  Can you guess why?


1. She's like super busy with her grandkids splashing in the surf in 80 degree weather.


2. She found a rich boyfriend in the OC and is hanging out on the Newport Penninsula


3. She joined a bunch of Hari Krishna's and she's banging her tamborine at LAX.


4. Are you kidding me? She's still in Laughlin trying to win a jackpot at Harrah's.


5. She swam to Catalina Island


6. She met up with an unsavory character who took her breath away.


So do you think you know what's happened to Grandma J...or is she just a flake? 

Well, let's just say she's doing plenty of this....which means #6 is the closest answer!

And taking plenty of this......

 And these guys are hanging around outside her bedroom window!!!

How come Grandma J can spend two and a half years in Texas and suffer nothing more than a little heat exhaustion in the summer and frost nip in the winter?

Procrastination


Never a good idea. And not something you want to take too much time thinking about. 

 Because you might miss the boat

A to Z Monday


Brought to you by the letter ...

L is for Love, Laugh, Little Ones, and Leave....as in I'm on leave...or if it were V week...vacation.

Since I no longer live close to my California grandkids, I take them to a hotel for a sleepover. This is the third time going to the local Fairfield Inn.

They get settled in and watch a bit of TV, and play on the beds...with Crusty and PJB.

Beauty showed Little One the view from our room's window. Ummm, yeah, it looks like Little One is going commando!

We went out dinner at Carl's Junior because it was next door....then we headed for the swimming pool.

Andrew, who, by the way is nine years old today.....is quite a good swimmer, and has so many ribbons and metals from competing.

Beauty is a competitive fish in her own right. I love watching then glide through the water.

 Little One is loving the water too.....a little more practice and she should be on her way to a spot on the Ladera Liquids too.

A favorite at the Fairfield Inn is the breakfast buffet. Andrew made blueberry waffles.   Beauty had raisin bran, chocolate donut and orange juice.   Little One had Cheerios, chocolate donut, banana, and orange juice.

Then we packed up and headed home....I love these memories!

stop by and see more letter L posts at A to Z Monday.

Hanging Out in South County


That's what Grandma J has been doing......back and forth to schools, dance classes, car washes and laundry.

Then the Saturday morning tradition is a visit to McD's for Dad and the kids. Isn't this a happy bunch of loons?

 They all have their specialties.....eggs for Little One.

 Pancakes for Beauty

 And ditto for Andrew.

Dad gets the works.


Now, we are off to a day of bickering and whining frolicking and tickle sessions.


Just so no one gets totally ticked off bored, here is a question for you......

 Should Grandma J buy JJ a Snuggie? Would you buy your dog one..if you have a dog?

Come Join Me...


........for several doses of boring, a, splash of water, some KFC and a burst of Hollywood!!




Let's get down to brass tacks and do the exciting stuff first, shall we?




When Grandma J posted last, she was in Las Vegas New Mexico....anticipating an early morning departure to Albuquerque to meet up with her favorite person in the entire state of New Mexico.

 Now I get why the call New Mexico The Land of Enchantment!   HOLLYWOOD!!

I have been trying to rendezvous with this beautiful lady for eons. Last year I was planning a road trip to Denver via Albuquerque, but it fell through.  I was so disappointed, and Hollywood was breathing a sigh of relief too.


We had a nice meet up at Starbucks. It was a perfect morning to sit out on the patio and get to know each other. Well, I think Hollywood had Grandma J's number ages ago, but Grandma J found Hollywood to be very bright, funny and witty.

PJB and Crusty were both crying like banshees when Grandma J got back in the car because they didn't get to meet Hollywood.

Lets get to the boring, with little commentary because this wifi Grandma J is using cost by the hour! Did you know that anything that keeps you in your room isn't free when you're at a hotel with a casino? They no longer have coffee in the room either....it's free in the casino though.

This is what half of the 512 miles were like between Albuquerque and Laughlin NV.

Again, and just so we don't get confused, someone had a sign that said, "this is not paid for with stimulus dollars".

Here we are, crossing into Arizona, which looks like New Mexico

Flagstaff.....I love this place more than anywhere else. Going too fast to get a good pix.

Crossing the Colorado River, arriving in Laughlin Nevada.

Harrah's....where Grandma J lost her arse  stayed.Now on to CA.

Travel Day Two
The Road To Enchantment

 Well, don't let the title of this post fool you. Grandma J and Co. had a whole lot of obstacles to keep them from occupied.

 We can start with early morning rain on the I40 heading west in Oklahoma City. Grandma J especially loved all those funny grooves in the road. Every state has their own thing for run-off and traction.

And what's a long road trip without lots of fog?

Look at the red dirt! God knew that the Chickasaw Indians loved to wear war paint make pottery so he filled Oklahoma will red clay.

But would you looky here? We are back in Texas? Who woulda thought after driving a couple hundred miles Grandma J would be on her way to Amarillo!

Lordy, we are finally in New Mexico! Who are the people who get off the interstates at the visitor's center at state lines? Can Grandma J get a show of hands?

 Here is one of many reasons why they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment.

 

 This Enchantment goes on and on forever!

Grandma J took a turn north on the I25 headed towards Las Vegas, New Mexico to spend the night at The Historical Plaza Hotel.



After settling in, Grandma J decided to trek on up the road to find the town of LeDoux....settled by and named after Antoine LeDoux, brother of Andre, her great-great grandfather.

She knew she wouldn't find much, because.....hello, she did her homework! click on photos to enlarge.

LeDoux is on the Santa Fe Trail, and up in the mountains on the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico.



 Grandma J found the LeDoux Fire Station. She was satisfied. 

And, because it was after 7 pm, and the sun was setting, she decided to travel the 30 miles of narrow unlit roads back to Las Vegas and have dinner.

After dinner, Grandma J tucked Phil and Crusty in.  Phil was a bit tiffed that Grandma J let Crusty have the remote for the night.




This morning, Grandma J is headed to Albuquerque to meet up with one of her blogger commentors.  That's right, she's meeting Hollywood....and yes she is more than excited!  Hollywood doesn't have a blog yet, but she's thinking about it.

Going West....
....via Oklahoma


Today is day one of the mother of all road trips.  It's not the longest road trip Grandma J ever took, but it's the longest one with no humans to sing in rounds with.


Eons ago, when Grandma J was just a child, she ventured out across the country from Rhode Island to California with her parents and siblings.  Six humans crammed inside a '55 Ford wagon. 

Grandma J still remembers hearing her father raise the roof everytime she opened the door in the back seat and Rita's pressure cooker would go flying out.   They would sing in rounds, play twenty questions, and license plate games.  

Then Grandma J's father would scare the dickens out of the kids  by telling them people in California will think we talk funny, and we should practice speaking like all our friends on the Howdy Doody show....otherwise people might laugh at our accent.  He was right!


Then there was the three week motorhome trip in the late 80's from CA to Niagra Falls and back.  Much more fun, we had Nintendo and a TV, and played plenty of Yhatzee.

This trip is a bit different.   Phil and Crusty are at odds, and Grandma J can't let Crusty out of her  sight because he might be an instigator.....maybe.

On the way to Oklahoma, Grandma J drove right past The Texas Motor Speedway, in Denton Texas, and immediately thought about her dear Virgina friends Marlene and Hard Working Man.

When she pulled into the Comfort Inn in Oklahoma City,  Grandma J told PJB he can be a Sentry and guard the car all night while Crusty and Grandma J stay  in a hotel room.  He's not too happy.     But Crusty is!


Tomorrow it's on to Las Vegas New Mexico, and a night in a historical haunted hotel.

On a side note....join me in wishing my baby boy, Michael  a happy 42nd birthday!   He doesn't read Grandma J's blog, but just in case.... I love you, Michael.....see you soon!