Two intrepid travelers with one goal: Vacaville or bust!

Settling on the southern route, the daring duo set out from La Villita, NM, on April 8th at 8:35 am MDT, took a right hand turn at Albuquerque, and headed West.

First stop at Rio Puerco on the historic Route 66: celebrating 100 years of on the road come November!

Lunch at Jerry’s Cafe in Gallup, NM. Green chile cheeseburgers, open and closed. Great local joint recommended by one of Louise’s college buddies. Thanks Laura!

Took Hwy 491 North out of Gallup, as both Thelma and Louise tired of dodging semis on the freeway. Then west on Hwy 264 to Window Rock, AZ, then southwest on Rte 15 through Greasewood and Dilkon. Arrived in Flagstaff at 4 PM MST, and promptly reported Thelma to the ER due to being short of breath. Blood pressure sky high, so she overnighted at the lovely Flagstaff Medical Center, where they checked her ticker and declared it good. Traveled 420 miles on Day 1.

Cardiologist cleared Thelma for continuing on this trip at 11:30 on April 9th, but discharge didn’t occur until 2:30 PM. Low sodium snack on the road! Arrived at the Best Western in beautiful Barstow, CA at 8:15 PM PDT. Traveled 353 miles on Day 2.

California. Warm weather. Palm trees. Gas at $6.49/gallon.

Headed up the Barstow Highway to Hwy 99 at Bakersfield. Windmills. Joshua trees. Vineyards bordered with roses. Almond orchards. Backroad heaven.

Salad salad salad (and a burger-yum!) at Al’s Cafe in Fresno. The names of towns on this route pay tribute to the struggles and productivity of farm workers: Bakersfield, McFarland, Delano, Tulare, Kingsburg, Fresno, Chowchilla, Merced, Turlock, Modesto, Manteca, Stockton. The Central Valley. (Modesto and Stockton have become bedroom communities for the Bay Area. Yikes.)

Somehow, Thelma always ends up driving through the storms.

Arrived safely to Vacaville at 5:15 PM PDT. Dinner at Greg and Lisa’s! Knew their house by my grandfather’s car parked in front. 435 miles on Day 3.

Bottlebrush, sweet peas and California poppies. These are a few of my favorite things!

Spent Day 4 with Greg and Lisa. Got to dine at their favorite Mexican joint. Rained all day!

The breakfast “nook” at the Sonesta Hotel. Turkish coffee. Great breakfast options.

But the automatic espresso maker was even better.

However, it couldn’t beat Greg’s latte and donuts Sunday morning, Day 5. After bidding our hosts loving goodbyes, we set out for Oakland.

Where we visited my cousin (Thelma’s niece) Monica, her husband Tom, and their son Xavi. C’mon. He’s 14. We caught a glimpse of him…. But Tom and Monica made us an amazing roasted vegetable and rock fish curry. We were so full we had to take dessert with us!

It poured again on the way over. Guess who was driving?!?

The sun broke through on our way back to Vacaville for our last night at the Sonesta.

Backroads past Santa Rosa, San Quentin to San Jose to visit Louise’s best friend from grade school and her hubba-hubba. Brian, did you put up that sticker on the gas pump?!?

Over the hill through Livermore to lunch at Nicky’s Diner in Stockton. Monica’s fabulous caramel-cranberry upside down cake for bed snack in Jackson, CA. Day 6: 400 miles.

Day 7: Left Jackson (and some fabulous rosemary potatoes and eggs for breakfast at the Best Western) at 7:45 AM PDT and headed east on Hwy 88, over the Sierras (deep snow!!!) to Carson City, NV, where gas cost $3/gal less than in California. Caught Hwy 50, aka “the loneliest highway” across the basin and range portion of Nevada. Think of it as Mother Earth’s stretch marks. Stopped for dinner in Ely, NV around 4 PM MDT at Rolberto’s. They had a salsa bar! Yum. Good beans. Nice fish tacos. Huge chicken burrito. Too full to stop, so proceeded to Delta, Utah and the Day’s Inn. 595 miles traveled throughout 3 states…gives a certain twist to the saying, “You go girls!”

Utah. Where the speed limit is 80 on freeways. We caught 1-70 from Salina to Hwy 195 South.

Traded drivers at the rest stop in Emery, UT. Lost the snow as we headed downhill.

Early lunch at Thelma’s favorite restaurant in Moab.

After her tune-up in Flagstaff, Thelma is doing great.

Welcome to Colorado!

Pit stop at the Root House Cafe in Pagosa Springs, CO.

Into New Mexico! Past Echo Amphitheater. Past Cerro Pedernal. Past the Rio Chama at Abiquiu. Home on Day 8 at 7:45 PM MDT. 565 miles for the day. 2764 miles total. Whew. And yay. Not bad for a coupla old gals!