We have been charging eastbound on I-10 for nearly two (2) days now and we are still not quite half way to our final Louisiana destination… but that is OK because we are having a blast.
Pops aka Mr. Steve Ponce is leading the charge by pulling the 24 ft. trailer with Joe and I shooting anything and everything that looks interesting. Our Canon\’s are getting a workout.
Monday 11/9 – 380 miles driven
We started a bit late due to some unexpected complications, fortunately it was a minor delay and we didn\’t have much of a schedule planned for the first day. So instead of making it to Tucson on night one, we only made it to Phoenix… this is largely due to the massively awesome dinner we had at Bobby Q\’s in Phoenix.
We just couldn\’t help ourselves… and we are so glad we stopped there. All we talked about in the car is where are we going to eat next… if you know my Dad, Joe or myself… then you know that we signed up for this road trip as a means to eat our way across America.
Tuesday 11/10 – 450 miles driven
We started our day around 7 AM searching for quality coffee for my Dad… Best Western had instant coffee and my Dad wasn\’t having that. So Joe found a Starbucks around the corner and the problem was solved… onward.
We traveled thru the rest of southern Arizona and crossed over into New Mexico by noon. We knew at this point that we could make it to at least El Paso before the day was over… we are officially back on schedule.
I spent a tremendous amount of time in Arizona in my twenties… but never anything east of Tucson. This road trip is providing the three of us the opportunity to experience the southwest and parts of the southeast together for the first time. We are thoroughly enjoying it.
Joe is our resident internet finder of things and he has yet to lead us astray. We were initially discouraged because a lot of restaurants are closed in this area on Monday\’s and Tuesday\’s, however this lead to Joe\’s discovery.
We had a very casual dining experience at Chala\’s Wood Fire Grill in the neighboring city of Mesilla just outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico. This dinner was not only fantastic, but light on the wallet.
- Amazing smoked sausage w/ New Mexico green chili
- Quality beef (rib eye and NY steak)
- Compound butter
- Fresh goat cheese
- Farm fresh organic produce
- Crisp, fresh iced tea
- + cinnamon sweet tea for my Dad
Everything we had at Chala\’s was incredible… from the simple fresh salad with quality greens and a zesty citrus chili sauce to the giant rib eyes that had my Dad singing.
The three (3) California fat dudes went to town and came out on top with a small bill, full belly\’s and a happy driver!
After dinner we drove another hour to finally cross into the Lonestar state with our sights on El Paso. 40+ miles later… I was able to grab a hot shower, share some Basil Hayden bourbon with Joe and write a blog post. Not a hard day, but a long one.
Tomorrow we hit the road hard to try to cover some ground… From El Paso we will easily hit 500 + miles before we call it a day. From there we have to charge to Houston because we have a date with Bugg\’s Fishing and our boy Rex of ActionHat. Rex has some fresh off the presses, red hot, brand new Fish Village apparel that we GOTTA get our hands on.
Lastly, Tropical Depression/Storm ETA… PLEASE GO AWAY! You are f\’n with my vibe!