Road Trip Day 9 - Grand Canyon

On Sunday we drove about 7 hours from Santa Fe to the Grand Canyon. The drive was long and boring but definitely worth it when we finally got there. The canyon was nothing short of amazing. The views were incredible and my pictures do not even do it justice.

The Grand Canyon park is super pet friendly so Elvis was allowed to walk on all of the paved trails and take in the view. We saw lots of other people with dogs too.

We decided to take a self guided tour rather than parking and taking the shuttle buses so we drove along this road called the Desert View Drive and stopped at a bunch of the viewing points along the way. After our drive, we found a spot to sit along the rim and watch the sunset over the Grand Canyon and I have to say it was one of the best things we've done on our trip...or maybe ever.

Here are just a few of the photos I took.

Road Trip Day 8 - Santa Fe

Its hard to believe we are more than half way through our trip and we've been on the road for a week already!  We are having so much fun I don't want it to end.  But sadly on Saturday we had to move on to our next stop so from Amarillo we drove to Santa Fe on what seemed like an endless stretch of Interstate 40. Some of the landscape was really beautiful but the towns, which were mostly tiny, were very far apart. Many were old mining towns left to fall into ruins after the Santa Fe railroad was completed. We stopped at one of the ghost towns right off the Interstate to take a few photos. It was definitely interesting but kind of depressing to see so many completely abandoned towns. 

In New Mexico, we took the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway - a stretch of road from Albuquerque to Santa Fe that has some beautiful sights. There was a small town called Madrid along the byway that had been an old mining town during the building of the railroad but has since turned into an artist haven and was featured in a Will Ferrel movie called Wild Hogs though I haven't it.  We didn't have a lot of time to look around but there we some nice galleries and shops selling local arts so it worth a visit if you are in town for more than a day. 

Once we got to Santa Fe we went to the plaza at the center of downtown and hit up some Food Network recommendations for dinner and drinks. Our first stop was the Dragon Room at the Pink Adobe for a drink. The Pink Adobe is located in a historic part of Santa Fe across the street from the San Miguel Mission, which is said to be the oldest church in the US. The restaurant is in 300 year-old house and the Dragon Room is in a separate structure across from the restaurant that looks a little like a barn with trees growing through the roof - its really cool.  I decided to try the Pink Dragon margarita made with prickly pear juice and it was a bright shade of pink!

For dinner after our margaritas we went to this restaurant called The Shed in the center of the Plaza  famous for its red chile sauce. It's apparently very popular because we had to wait an hour to be seated but the food was delicious and definitely worth the wait.  Dave ordered the red chile but it was too spicy for me to have more than just a taste

Elvis seemed to like the southwestern themed hotel we stayed in too!  Our ext stop is the Grand Canyon and then finally Las Vegas so stay tuned for more updates soon!

Road Trip - Cadillac Ranch

On our way out of Amarillo, TX we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch.  Since this was one of my favorite stops on our cross-country drive so far I felt like it deserved its own entry.  Located along Route 66 just west of Amarillo, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of artists/hippies who called themselves The Ant Farm.  The Cadillacs were driven into the fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza).

Its a popular stop on Route 66 and you can easily pull over to the side of the road and park to visit the Ranch. Anyone is welcome to paint the Cadillacs too. We picked up spray paint at Home Depot on our way so we could add to this collective junkyard art. What did we paint on the caddies? The name of our favorite frenchie of course. Now everyone will know Elvis was there - at least until someone else comes along and paints over it.

I have to admit there was something very liberating about spray painting those old cars. Maybe if things don't work out with my legal career in LA I can become a graffiti artist.

Here are some pics of our "artwork"

Road Trip Day 7 - Everything's bigger in Texas

Today we left Oklahoma City and drove west following parts of Historic Route 66...which I learned is also referred to as "The Mother Road". 

Our first stop on Route 66 was POPs just outside of Oklahoma City. It's a futuristic fuel station with a
sculptural take on a soda bottle and straw outside that is, of course 66 feet high. 

Inside there is a diner and a convenience store that sells over 500 kinds of soda including hard to find flavors and varieys.  The windows are artfully lined with POPS’ rainbow of sodas. Glass shelves showcase thousands of bottles, floor-to-ceiling and I picked up a few for the ride which came in a cute little six-pack carrying case.  

From Oklahoma City we drove to Elk City, OK to visit the Route 66 museum. It was about 90 degrees outside today so we couldn't really have Elvis outside the air conditioned car for too long. The museum was set up to replicate the towns and highlights of Route 66. Otherwise Elk City didn't have top much going for it so we got back in the car and continued on to Amarillo, TX.

In Amarillo we checked in to our hotel for the night and went out to dinner at the Big Texan Steak Ranch, a famous Texas steakhouse and motel. The Big Texan was, in keeping with our theme, featured on Man vs. Food as the Big Texan is best known for its 72 ounce steak, nicknamed "The Texas King." Thats 4 and 1/2 pounds of meat for those of you who need help with math like me. The steak is free to anyone who, in one hour or less, can eat the entire meal, consisting of the steak, a roll with butter, baked potato, ranch beans, shrimp cocktail, and salad, but if you don't finish it all in an hour, you have to pay for the meal which costs $72. Also, you have to sit in the middle of the dining room on a raised platform while you eat and not with your family or friends so everyone can watch you stuff your face.

We didn't do the steak challenge as it was way too much meat but our steaks were pretty delicious. The restaurant also offers a free limo ride back and forth from the local hotels to the Big Texan in their super classy fleet of white limos made in the 80's with cattle horns on the front hoods. Of course we took the free ride so we were able to enjoy some Texas-sized adult beverages at dinner.

If you are ever near Amarillo, I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Big Texan - it's very entertaining but be prepared for the jumbo sized portions and come hungry.

Road Trip Day 6 - Oklahoma

Today we left Graceland and our awesome guitar shaped hotel swimming pool.  The hotel we stayed at took its dedication to all things Elvis very seriously...in our room there were pictures of Elvis hanging on every wall and 3 TV channels dedicated to playing Elvis movies 24/7.  One night in Graceland was enough for us though, so we took our Elvis and hit the road early this morning. 

We spent the entire day driving across Arkansas and into Oklahoma so I don't have anything that exciting to report.  It was a lot of flat farm land with not much to see besides rest stops.   We stopped to get lunch somewhere just outside Little Rock, Arkansas at this placed called Mean Pig BBQ (another Man vs. Food recommendation for its fiery BBQ sauce challenge).  We didn't try the spicy sauce but Elvis got a good long break from the car and made friends with the pig statute outside. 

At another rest stop a few hours later Elvis also made some new friends with the horses grazing in the fields next to the gas station...yeah it's definitely the middle of nowhere when there are horses at the rest stops.  I wonder what they thought of each other...

 

We made it to our stop for the night in Oklahoma City late tonight and after all that farm land it feels like we are finally back to civilization!  Tomorrow we are going to drive some of the famous Route 66 on our way to Amarillo, TX so I hope to have more to share tomorrow night.   

Road Trip Day 5 - Nashville & Memphis

Last night we went out in Nashville again. We wanted to check out the historic Hermitage Hotel so we went to happy hour at the Oak Bar in the hotel. The bar was very pretty and the half price drinks and snacks from 4:30 to 6:30 were great for our budget! The men's room in the bar is actually a historic landmark too. It's been featured in several music videos so Dave snapped a pic - note the shoe shine chairs :)

After the Hermitage we went to another TV Food Map.com spot - Whiskey Kitchen. It turned out to be 2 for 1 Tuesday there so we continued our budget friendly night with 2 for 1 drinks. I would totally recommend this place to anyone that's in Nashville - the cocktail and food menus were really inventive and it seemed like a good party spot.

While we were in Nashville, Dave also picked up these moonshine-soaked cherries for me. They look yummy but I'm going to wait until we get to LA and find some fun drinks I can make with them.

On our way out of Nashville today we stopped at the Loveless Motel Cafe for breakfast. They are known for their biscuits and country ham so of course we had to try both. I'm not a big fan of ham but Dave loved it. The biscuits were pretty amazing though, as were the homemade jams served along with them. Elvis got to tour the property which features an appropriately named "Hams & Jams" store and some other gift shops. He made friends with the girls working in the shop and seemed to love the smell of ham in the air!

We finally made it to Memphis this afternoon and are staying right next to Graceland. Despite our dog's name we are not really that into Elvis (we just thought the name Elvis was funny and suited a frenchie). However, we figured it would be nice for our Elvis to see the other king's home so we took the tour of Graceland.  It was a bit expensive but surprisingly interesting so definitely worth it in the end.

We are only in Memphis for a short stop tonight and then on to Oklahoma tomorrow.  Thanks for reading!

Road Trip Days 3 & 4 - Nashville

Yesterday we drove to Nashville from a small town called Kingsport, TN, where we had spent the night. There was nothing much to see or do in Kingsport but on our way to Nashville we did stumble upon the Bush's Baked Beans headquarters in Chestnut Hill, TN. Dave and I are not really big fans of baked beans but it seemed like it would be a funny place to stop. To be honest, the factory smelled terrible and otherwise there was a store full of baked beans for sale and a small restaurant which were not that exciting either. We did snap this photo of Elvis with the Bush's though. Elvis seemed to like the smell of the place. He's also been having to wear this vest that we bought him for the winter in New York City because its been a little cold here. For the other puppy parents out there, the dog vest (and a lot of other things we buy for Elvis) comes from this company called My Mascot. I really like their stuff and the fact that it's a New England based company.

  

Last night after we arrived in Nashville, we went to Jack's BBQ on Broadway per recommendations from a few friends. The food was pretty good overall. Personally, I thought the smoked turkey was the best thing we had. Dave had some ribs which were OK and the sides were nothing special. After dinner we went to Tootsies bar next door and heard some really great live music.  

 

Since we are spending two nights in Nashville we had the chance to sleep in late today which was helped a little bit by our friend Jack Daniels. When we finally got our act together this morning we went for breakfast at the Pancake Pantry, which was also highly recommended by other Nashville visitors, and featured on that show Man vs. Food. As a side note, we have been using this site called TVFoodMaps.com to find places to eat and drink. The site collects restaurants from all of the shows and will even show you the places along your road trip route. Its been really helpful.

Anyway, back to the pancakes. At the the Pancake Pantry I ordered these sweet potato pancakes sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and served with cinnamon cream syrup. They were amazing!

Then after the pancakes we took Elvis to the Centennial dog park near Vanderbilt University where he was able to run around for a bit and got totally worn out.  He's definitely getting used to life on the road!  More from Nashville soon.