California Here We Come!!!

My lack of journals / blog notes includes our trip to California.  We decided that Joe would not come to California right away, so we drove Daisy to the Golden State during the week between Christmas and New Year's.  My move package with Virgin America was good for a year, so Joe's car will be moved when he relocates.

I'm sure that Joe worked on Saturday, but I can't even remember why we didn't leave on Sunday.  Maybe I was finishing up my packing?  Maybe we were watching football?  Maybe Joe had to work on Sunday, too?  Who knows?  What I do know is that my pictures tell me that we were in Marfa on Monday night and I know that was our first stop.  So...

We met my parents for breakfast before we left.  They were sad, which made me sad and also filled me with guilt.  I know they'll be fine, but it's painful to know that I've caused them such sadness.  At any rate - after breakfast we headed to Marfa.  I thought it would be fun to stay there overnight as I had wanted to stay at the Paisano Hotel for a long time.  It was a 7 1/2 hour drive to Marfa so we must have arrived in the late afternoon.  The Paisano was incredibly nice and well worth the wait.  While in Marfa, we did go out to the Marfa Lights Viewing Area and try to see the lights.  I remember that it was FREEZING and I remember that we saw nothing.  Perhaps we'll try again some day when it's a bit warmer (but not hot - LOL!).

Marfa, TX

The Paisano Hotel

 The next morning we drove around Marfa a bit and headed to Fort Davis.  I had been to Fort Davis with my parents many years ago, but Joe had never been.  Again - it was cold as we walked around the fort, but it was interesting.  It did remind me of Fort Scott and other forts we have seen in our quest to see all the national park sites.  We went to the visitor center and toured all of the buildings.  The only thing we didn't do were the hikes.  From Fort Davis, we drove to El Paso and stopped at Chamizal.  I didn't really know anything about Chamizal, but I learned that it was a dispute between the US and Mexico regarding where the border was.  The dispute lasted over 100 years and wasn't resolved until LBJ was President!

We spent the night in Arizona.  The next morning we went to Chiricahua National Memorial.  I LOVED it!  It's full of interesting rock formations that were so incredible.  We did do a short hike while we were there.  It had snowed and it was cold, but we still did the hike and it was really nice.  From there we went to another fort - Fort Bowie.  The buildings were all rubble, but we learned a little more about the Indian Wars and it was another nice hike.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to do any more sightseeing beyond that.  We had to get to the Bay Area and start looking for a place to live temporarily.  So after quick stops in Southern California to visit my cousin, Laura and having dinner with the Zadra's, we headed north.