adrienne's Tour Diary

3/12/04 This motel boasts "no train noise" in their AAA ad and also on the marquee outside, but we could hear it. This motel also advertises, in the same places: "Martians Welcome" but everyone looks human. Woke up at 9:30, put more medicine in my eyes, and slept until 10:30. We climbed down a hillside to the "Denny's adjacent" around noon and finally ate breakfast. When we got back to Rm. 104 the maids had already tidied our room. New towels, more Kleenex. We're going to visit historic downtown Flagstaff in lieu of The Grand Canyon because it's a thunderstorm outside and we're not sure seeing the giant hole is worth the added hours in the van, since we'll be on the road for 5 hours tomorrow, and 10 on Sunday. We walked the streets of historic downtown Flagstaff. It's really wintry here, so different than the weather in Phoenix or Tucson, in the 40s. Went to the Monte Vista Hotel's happy hour and I was fooled by the quarter machine to get into the restroom'turns out it's just a deterrent perhaps for people who don't feel 25 cents is worth bathroom access. The lobby smelled like popcorn but none was in sight. Had fish tacos for dinner, and a bucket of shrimp we couldn't finish. The margaritas were super-sized, and the cantina sold Rolaids at the bar.

Chris G's boiled eggs he picked up at the a.m. breakfast buffet keep showing up in front of my head every time I take a nap. They smell strongly of egg, and there are bits of eggshell on the floor. This is helping the pink eye go away, to have big white hard boiled eggs near my head. I know that's why he's doing this.

3/13/04 Because I went to sleep around 9:30 last night, I woke up this morning at 8 a.m. when everyone else was asleep, some snoring. I went out to the motel lobby and enjoyed the continental breakfast: cereal, OJ, bagel. A senior citizen complimented me on my laptop and pondered getting one for himself. I told him they're even smaller now, since mine's 5 years old, and he seemed amazed. There were tourists from Spain and Japan in the lobby. We checked out at 11 and headed for a caf?? in historic downtown Flagstaff recommended by the gentleman at the front desk. I got huevos rancheros. Chris got a coconut coffee, Dan got a plate of bread, and CG got corn beef something or other. Went back to the Monte Vista Hotel, since I'd discovered the niceness of the ladies room there yesterday, to apply more eye medicine. We are now on the road to Albuquerque, a dry, I-5 looking highway. The weather's got to be at least 10 degrees warmer now. We can see for miles and miles and miles, the topography in layers in the distance.