sipping chocolate

I think I am a total chick. the first thing that I reach for is Chocolate...the darker the better, but hot fudge or Chocolate Icing will do in a pinch.

This map doesn't do the trip any justice. Just so you know this was a trip with my family from El Paso, which is to say they are all "mexican"...well they are. My dad would get these random ideas for road trips, so one christmas he decides he is going to take us to Disney Land for christmas break. Sounds like fun when you in 6th grade until you realize this is going to be in a fifteen passenger van borrowed form some hispanic church that had been hand painted. oh yeah and all of your family is going with you. my sister, my two aunts, one of which has never been the brightest bulb in the pack. One prima who is not mentally balanced and thinks she is the mother hen to everyone on the trip and a grandmother who pretends that she doesn't speak english and only brings three large bags on the trip; one full of clothes, one full of food (always a good Abuela), and one full of medications (she is a walking pharmacy). A there was Yeya, I liked Yeya but she was not family, witch was fine with me but, she didn't speak a word of english and hadn't seen any part of the world north of El Paso until she started working for my dad. I am not sure what she did besides take care of the house, but she made a but load of money compared to anyone else in her Juarez neighborhood.
So begins the trip that started in Temple, spent one day driving to El Paso, Spent the second day driving to Tucson, AZ and stopping at the first amusement park we see. Old Tucson, say what you will but I kinda like it. Walking the same streets as seen on Tombstone, Three Amigos, Silverado, and Back to the future III. It was kinda cool, but that was only for a half a day. We spent the rest of that day driving to San Diego. This was my first experience with San Diego, and I don't really remember much about it except for the three hours we spent in the zoo. If you ever go to the zoo, take at least three days to walk through it...it's that big.
Then begins the trip north down Highway 1 to L. A. just after leaving the Zoo. Now, you have to know that this was in the mid nineties, and just after the quake that hit L.A. Witch was very funny to me to watch my older sister freaking out in the hotel laying in the bath tub waiting for the "Big One." Oh yeah the fun part was waking up on Christmas Day in LA and driving to the beach so that we could look at it. I didnt see much of this town either on our trip because the next day was the big trip to Disneyland and we had to get to Anaheim. this was suppose to be the culmination of our trip.
This is what I remember about Disneyland, standing in line for two hours listening to "its a small world" just so that I could sit in a boat/car sitting is smelly water, while it stilled played "its a small world" for another ten minutes. Oh yeah that really ups the childhood stability. I am pretty sure we only got to see have the park because we had to get on to San Fransico.
I do remember this part of the trip pretty well, the greenery and fog and the amazing bridge, and the same houses that they show in ever TV show about San Fransico. You know the ones I am talking about, the houses from Full House. Despite all this cultural importance that we saw, the part stuck out to me most was the fisherman's Pier. There was just something about arts and the markets, and the smell of the Food. I don't know if it is still there, but Charley Browns was the one place we ate at right on the bay.
As we all know all good things most come to an end, so we packed up again to start our trip and I get the feeling our true destination. Las Vegas, It is a great place to take you Jr. High kid. there is so much to do. like walk around, sit in the casino watch your dad drop money into the slot machines. Go eat at White Castle, still not sure what that is about. you can get your coffee mug from the Sands witch is no longer there. ah and a wonderful stay at the renowned Desert Rose Motel. You See my dad doesn't believe in making plans or reservations so by the time we got in around midnight, there weren't any rooms available at any of the real hotels, so we got to stay at the Desert Rose Motel with exposed pipes in the bath room and the lovely purple shag carpet on the floor. With such amenities as these it was only a bonus to be located next door to the Skillet. Those two days seem a blur, strange that we spent two days in Vegas and only one day in the Happiest place on Earth.
For some reason we had to take my cousin, to the airport so that she could catch a flight out... I wished I could bail out that quick, but with her personality gone things were a little better. So we packet up and started the return trip to El Paso. We still had a few stops to make Starting with Hoover Dam, yeah it was impressive. Next stop was the Grand Canyon. Here was the good thinking on my dads part. Lets go see the Grand Canyon in winter when it snows, and all the walk ways are iced over, sounds safe to me, it is only a mile drop to the bottom. Okay, it was pretty amazing to see that massive hole in the ground, but it is different when you get to see it snowing down below you in the canyon. That puts some perspective on things. unfortunately we only could stay for an hour. we have to pack some more into these trip. One more detour in to the painted desert and petrified forest....just a longer way back to El paso.
There was just to much driving to be done and we had to catch a plane back to Temple. I think we made it to El Paso, with an extra day to rest before we had to fly out.
What do you do with a trip like this beside, plan on not doing it when you have kids. Kids I promise not to take you on a trip like this.

Some times I may seem like a slacker but, when the dead arise I'll be there swinging cricket bat at the unholy.