11/21 The Forlorn Midwest November Weather

Even though it's gray outside, there's something comforting about returning to the Midwest in November. Not to be completely cliche, but there's the reminder of sipping pumpkin lattes and eating chili while curled up under a blanket watching When Harry Met Sally forty times in a row. Now I sure Sam would probably choose another movie, but you get the drift...
Last night was our last night in Monty for awhile. He did right by us and kept us warm and toasty during snowstorms and gusty winds, but oddly enough, he was not tested during a thunderstorm. We'll probably have to wait for April for that. We've decided to store Monty in Michigan for the season at Krenek's RV Superstore (!) in Coloma, Michigan near South Haven. We'll probably be doing some RVin' on the west coast of Michigan, so heads up to all our peeps over there.
It's always strange to come to the end of an adventure like this. I am excited to be with our families for the holidays, but I also wonder when we will have a chance to travel like we did. I want to head back to Arizona to visit Tucson and Canyon de Chelley. I want to go back to New Mexico to see Las Cruces and Carlesbad, and then zip down to Texas to hang out in San Antonio. I want to drink more wine, and hike more red rocks. I want my clothing to dry superfast. I want to eat more green chile, and see more tumbleweeds. I want to play in more dogparks and practice making more diesel noises. But I also want to go home.
We want to thank everyone who made our trip so unique. It's been incredible.
Love,
Sam, Juliette, and Nora Woofington Swett

11/19 Mike Loebl has a Doppelganger

Last night we stayed at the Will Rogers Downs "Racino" KOA near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Without a doubt, that combination of concepts brings multiple levels of confusion, but that's not the main purpose of this post so I'll ignore such words like, "racino" and "Tulsa." 
Anyway, everything was going fine last night until the mere mention of the dreaded "Celebration Roast." Those who know me might know that I love those damn things, but every time I've prepared one, someone breaks down, gets weepy, or just plain has a life crisis...

11/18 Ode to Sam and His Royal Fifth Wheel Drivin' Badarsness

On the road yesterday from Albuquerque to Amarillo, Sam really began to strut his stuff while driving Monty. Let's just say that it has been fairly, uh, gusty, while driving through the Texas Panhandle. Like so breezy that when we stopped for a quick Veggie Delight with Avocado! (tm) at Subway, I couldn't shut my car door without rolling down the window first. I'm pretty sure Sam's gonna come back from this trip looking like he's all 'roided up like Hulk Hogan or something. It's hard work pullin' this rig in the wind.
Also worth mentioning was the smooth move yesterday when Sam manuvered Larry and Monty nonchalantly into a tight diesel spot-- like he was driving a Mini Cooper or something.
I'm sure there will be more to come, and let's keep prayin' that I don't take the wheel!

11/16 How Not to Tow!

Since Sam discovered RVing on Youtube this evening, he's pulled up a couple of videos that have us cracking up.  I thought I would share at least this one (I think it could be us soon). And this one.

11/16 Rollin' to a Close

As Sam sits on the recliner comparing prices on RV sewer hoses (The Viper, for example, is apparently much more money than The Dominator), we realize that our Southwest journey is coming to an end. For the past two days we hung out in Albuquerque doing things like going to the Art Museum, driving up to Sandia Crest (the tram is closed for maintenance, grrrr), and taking Nora to two more dog parks. As much as we would like to head south to Las Cruces, or west to Canyon de Chelley, after seven weeks of being on the road, I think it's time to get our real life back on track. Tomorrow we will be heading out of Albuquerque and heading east. It will take us a few days to get back north, and then we plan on harassing Clare and Dave in Michigan for Thanksgiving, and possibly Larney Otis in Maine (if she allows us!) for Christmas (since we LOVE winter in Maine!)

11/15 Yesterday, Santa Fe... Sing it!

I got a little lazy yesterday and didn't post anything, so I'll try to cover it today.
Yesterday, we did a road trip to Santa Fe since it is only an hour north of Albuquerque. Like a lot of our sight seeing, it was a mix of eating Mexican food, taking Nora to a dog park, and wandering through the city. Now I know Santa Fe is SANTA FE(!) but we didn't do anything too differently there. We ate lunch at a local favorite, The Pantry, and MAN, that was good.  I'm telling you, we get the best food in New Mexico! Super yum. My spinach and tomato enchiladas (with green sauce) were incredible, and Sam dined on a chile rellenos omelet (with red sauce) with hash browns. The reason we keep talking about food is because we keep sitting at the counter at these local places and getting the most delicious food ever! Hands down, these beat the ritzy places we've been to in Chicago. In fact, every time we eat at Monroe's in Albuquerque (uh, we've been there for three meals LOL), we try to convince the owner to open up a place in Chicago.
Anyway, I digress...

After we ate, we took Nora to the Frank Ortiz Dog Park in Santa Fe. Like everything in Santa Fe, there was even art in the dog park! And a rubber tire, too, but hey, who's complaining?
So then we decided to explore Old Town Santa Fe. Now, I don't want to surprise anyone, but Santa Fe is really an artsy city. I just wanted to make that clear. You know, like LOTS of art... Like galleries, murals, artistic clothing, fake doughnuts, I mean, even the parking structure is adobe-style artistic! We both enjoyed wandering around Old Town, but since we weren't in the market to purchase anything, we stopped wandering a bit and visited El Burro Alley Cafe. At that point, it was getting dark, so we decided to head back to Albuquerque. We got on the road just in time for the sunset.
We know we missed a ton of stuff, but we know that we'll be back in good time.

11/13 Mr. Salsa at Applebees

First of all, don't hate on the Applebees. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow. Today that flow took us to an Applebees in a strip mall. Rocking. I had a really large beer and some not-so-vegan talapia while Sam chowed down on his burger. Our bartender was a Bears fan who was really excited by their win. That was pretty cool until I found out that apparently the Bear's win came at a very personal loss (i.e. over the Detroit Lions). Sigh.
I soon got over my sadness for the Lions, and finished up my talapia. As we were getting ready to leave, we started talking to the bartender. He started pointing out the regulars to us, and as he nodded across to the senior gentleman drinking White Zinfandel on the other side of the bar.
Mike, the bartender said, "Yeah, that's Mr. Salsa."
I said, "Oh, as in salsa dancing???"
I guess I spoke too soon because just then, I noticed that Mr. Salsa was wearing a chili pepper tie (which turned out to be a stealth cell phone holder). Before Mike could add anything more, Mr. Salsa's ears perked up and he lept up from his side of the bar and power walked over to us. He threw his arm around my shoulders and started explaining how he started making salsa from scratch.
Sam and I listened intently to his overview of salsa making (lot's of peppers!), and before we knew it he had run out to his car to get a jar!
No name, no label. We think his name was Mike, too, but that could be just a lucky guess. Thanks, Mr. Salsa.  Have another White Zin on us!