Day #8: No food, all scenery

Better late than even later...

As I sit in our 1950s style motel in Moab, UT watching reruns of Roseanne, I'm happy to have Internet access to update this blog.

We got our first taste of the Rockies today and it was hard to leave it behind. The mountains were so stunning and breathtaking...

On our way up, this was all we saw. Bikers were EVERYWHERE. I think it's the thing to do in CO. Hmm.

We stopped by this jerky stand to pick up a snack for the road. Somehow, I left with 10 bags of dehydrated MEAT. Holy cow. What was I thinking?

We drove through Estes Park to enter Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park.

Seriously??? Umm, seriously.

It was nippy at over 12,000 feet, but Ithaca prepared us well enough to survive in flip flops.

At this exact point of the park, we were standing on the Continental Divide that extends from Alaska to Mexico and runs through the Rockies.

Wildlife. We were very lucky we got to see all the animals up close.

Caught Jina feeding the animals!

HELLLOOOO Utah! We made sure to pull over in the darkness of the night to snap this one.

Once we entered Moab, UT, we made a beeline for Denny's to have our first real meal of the day. In the booth next to us, we met a well-versed cattle ranch owner who told us all about raising his 2,400 cattle. People in northern states such as Montana take their cattle down south during the winter and need to be rounded up to return home in the summertime. We learned that when cows are four months old, they weigh up to 800 lbs!!!!! Then when they're ready for consumption, they're about 1,200 to 1,400 lbs. Now imagine how many 8 oz steaks can come from one cow. But this rancher only gets roughly $500 per cow. Talk about markup in the value chain!!!

We're off to Arches National Park!!! Ciao.

Day 7: Let's Talk Colorado

I did a terrible job packing and ran out of clothes so the natural thing to do was lug my ForceFlex garbage bag into the hotel. So ghetto. Ugh.

After our 1pm checkout (we've stopped trying to leave at a decent hour since day 1), we drove to the nearest Starbucks to get our fix. I got my usual tall soy chai misto. Surprisingly, JJ went with a regular iced latte instead of her usual quintuple shots of espresso! I've learned many things about Jina on this trip and topping this list is her insatiable desire for coffee.

I am ashamed to admit that because we were so famished by this time we actually ate lunch at Panda Express. EEEK. A very temporary lapse in judgment.

As much as we love journeying west, it was time for something new. Unfortunately, our new route doesn't take us to LAS VEGAS, Las Vegas so we made a pit stop to the one in New Mexico. Close enough. But not at all.

As we drove towards Colorado, we couldn't help but soak in the scenery and the sun. And guess what? Five hours later, I got a farmer's tan. I say better than no tan.

Check out that impala! What a wicked ride.

We missed the official "Welcome to Colorado"...what a shock. This was the best we could do to make up for it.

This view of CO is drastically different from the miles of barren land in Texas.

We're definitely having a ton of fun. Every day something triggers uncontrollable laughter and brings us to tears.

Thanks to Anne's terrific recommendations, we scrapped our plans for Denver and went straight to Boulder. So glad we did it! Downtown Boulder feels like a mix of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and Old Pasadena. Our favorite city by far!

We walked along the cobblestone streets and took a seat outside a sushi restaurant to enjoy the atmosphere.

So satisfying.

As full as we were, couldn't pass up gelato!

Chocolate coconut and California fig.

If you're a fan of fig, this heavenly flavor is for you. I've never had gelato/ice cream this good.

Time to get some shut-eye.

Ditchin' Route 66

Today we say farewell to Rt. 66. It's been nice. But we've decided to head north to more mountainous terrain.

Stay tuned folks!

Day 6: It's all about the FOOOOOOD

Sorry for the late post. We passed out from severe gluttony. This one's for yesterday.

We ditched the Sonic burgers and left behind the salads. Today we woke up determined to eat well and eat LOTS.

A hearty Texas breakfast in Amarillo.

On our way to lunch we almost got sideswiped by a semi in Texas and was forced off the highway! Thanks to quick reflexes, we are barely alive. I swear it had NOTHING to do with MY driving.

Lunch (literally an hour after breakfast) at the Big Texan Steak Ranch alongside Route 66.

We ate the most mouthwatering, medium-rare 9 oz ribeye in my life.

The restaurant is most famous for its 72 oz steak challenge. Eat the baked potato, shrimp cocktail, salad, and a 72 oz steak in ONE hour and the meal is free! The thought of that makes me a little sick.

OMG.

Shout out to Andrew's brother for taking on this challenge the day before! Mad props.

Jina's tub o' butta.

I got to pose with our uber sweet, cowgirl boot-wearing hostess. She let me keep the hat!

And I got my own Rt. 66 sign!

We were d r a g g i n g our feet to the next destination because we were so full!

Got to Cadillac Ranch, another landmark on the Mother Road. The 10 Cadillacs are buried nose first into the ground and was built by millionaire Stanley Marsh.

The vastness of Texas was eerie. I've never seen land this flat.

Crossing the border to NEW MEXICO! Jina and I can now check another state off our list.

By now, this picture should be pretty self-explanatory!

The Blue Swallow Motel was a sweet destination. It's famous for its former owner who received this motel as an engagement gift in 1958.

We walked around Old Town Albuquerque...

What's the deal with all the peppers?

This one's for Joe.

Our last meal was sooooo goooood. Made a stop at Church Street Cafe for savory Mexican food! I mean, OBVIOUSLY, it was no Viva la Taqueria in Ithaca but it was, ya know, good nonetheless.

We had sangria, enchiladas, tamales, chips and salsa...ahhh, pure goodness.

And now for Jina's story of the day...

It has been so much fun traveling with Jules on our journey west! Each day brings more laughter and new experiences for us to cherish. We have shared a number of “firsts”… first Sonic, first time getting hit on by a 12 year old (that’s a separate story), and now our very FIRST Sobriety Test! But only Thelma and Louis (I mean Jina and Jules) can pull off the following scene:

Hot police officer conducting sobriety test: Hi there Ma’am (very southern), we're conducting a sobriety test. Have you had anything to drink tonight?
Jina: Hi! No, of course not officer. (thinking: sangrias don’t count…seriously!)
Hot Officer: “okay, where are you headed?”
Jina: We're going to Santa Fe on a cross country trip! (Wink..wink)
Hot Officer: Oh great. You ladies have fun and drive safely.
Jina: Thanks! Can we take your picture?
Hot Officer: Umm sure (he looked a bit embarrassed)
Jules : *snap snap* [thinking: what a nice smile =)]
Jules: thaaaaaaaanks
As Jina reluctantly pulled away while still checking out the hot officer via her rear view mirror, Jules yelled out to the Hot Officer: “I”LL SEND IT TO YOU!”

And we giggled like two little school girls all the way to our destination....

For reference, here's the pic of the officer.

OK, the part about getting hit on by a 12-year old boy was a you-had-to-be-there moment. But to recap...We parked next to this tinted van and as we were getting out of the car, the 12-year old kid kicks open the van door and yells, "HEY! HEY!" Can I get yo numba?" To which Jina replied, "You're too young for me honeeeey." When we got back to the car, the kid peeks through the van window, puts his hand next to his ear and mouths, "Caaallll me."

friends and fam - Thanks for all your comments! We love hearing from you.