Part 1, Driving Across the USA with Gracie- The In Between- 2nd-2014

I love my in betweens as much as my destinations. The time is used to reconnect with friends and family before heading off on my next crazy adventure. One of my many blessings is that I have incredible friends and family. Rarely do I get turned down when I inquire to visit, being a great chef helps…lol. Just teasing, it truly is about friendship, family and unconditional love.

On this particular in between I had left Costa Rica a second time due to a job offer back on Grand Cayman. One of my long time best friends had been begging me to drive accross country with her and help her with her dog Gracie. As well as helping my friend be more conscious about the food she eats as she takes this journey. How could I say no!?! What a great way to kick off going back to Cayman and see the USA. I myself have driven across the US a few times. Very different to have company, be the passenger and not the driver. Our first stop was Memphis, Tennessee.

Beale Street

Kat’s best friend going as far back as her childhood lives in Memphis, reason for stop number one. This for me was one of the most impactful stops of our whole trip. Not because of Beale Street where many famous musicians have played. It was visiting the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was shot. No words for the way I felt being in this area, the chills, the feeling of the knowledge of the tragedy that happened so many years ago. You can feel the energy, at least I could.

Jacqueline Smith is still sitting on the corner of Mulberry and Butler Streets after being evicted 30 years ago from room 303 when the Lorraine closed in 1988. It had been her home for 11 years. More about her story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43562269.

Jacqueline Smith- the last tenant of the Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr was shot. She still sits in protest across from what is now the National Civil rights Museum.

Next stop New Mexico, one of Kat’s favorite destinations. Once a student of archeology, she loves the history of the area and connects with it on a spiritual level. Very close to her heart, along with our love and guilty pleasure of real Mexican food.

Cadillac Ranch, Texas
Our mark…
An exhausted Gracie

We kept seeing these signs for The Blue Hole and got super curious about what it was, so we adventured off to Santa Rosa and see what it was all about. We were a bit disappointed, but had a good laugh. Next stop was in Sante Fe to check out The Museum of Folk Art, we had lunch there and then continued on to explore the center of town. While in town we visited the oldest known church in the USA, the San Miguel Chapel.

The Blue Hole
Museum of Folk Art
The alter in San Miguel Chapel

Sante Fe was pretty cool. I liked the vibe, Kat loved it and swore to return in the future. We are on a timeline and have places to go and people to see. The state we travel through is Arizona, first stop the Pretrified Forest (my second visit)

Petroglyphs
Petrified Logs
Close up Pertrified Log
The Painted Desert in the Pertrified Forest

The Pertrified Forest never fails to impress, even doing it in the short amount of time we did. Back on the road again, we pull of for gas and food, end up stumbling upon the ghost town of Ludlow, California. Ludlow was once a water stop for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Later a stop along Route 66, until I-40 was built and took the traffic away. One thing about American culture that breaks my heart, how a place that once thrived is now a ghost town. I get folks wanted a faster route to travel but sad it is at anothers expense.

More of the Ludlow ghost town

Within hours we will have passed by LA and driven coast to coast. Spending a couple nights near Redondo Beach. During our visit here we will connect with another good friend of Kat’s, whose sister we will spend the night with in San Francisco. I must say we ate some kick ass Mexican food in this area. I think at least 3 of our meals over the 2 days consisted of mexican food. YUM!