Diner 66 on Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is super cool.
There’s lots of neon lighting, retro-styled waitresses, a Classic American style menu, and great rock’n’roll playing on the jukebox.
The service is quick and friendly, and the food is good. The chili chese fries are a must if you visit here: it’s worth having those as a starter and ordering a 66 Burger without any sides, or even just having them as your meal. They are sensational.
This was a fantastic Route 66 dining experience. I absolutely loved it.
Unexpected Bonus: Highly Memorable
Albuquerque’s Old Town.
Albuquerque was established in 1706 as an important south-western outpost.
Some of the town’s early character and Native American influence has been maintained in the “old town” sector. The streets surrounding the old town square are home to shops, restaurants, museums and galleries. Most of the buildings are stucco and painted in assorted shades of terracotta, yellow and brown with accents usually in white or turquoise.
There is some beautiful jewellery and artwork created by Navajo and Zuni artisans for sale at quite reasonable prices. There are also some more individual pieces that are more expensive and unique, for those with a budget that allows them to be more discerning. Of course, there are also the cheap, junky “souvenirs” that come from assorted places across the seas.
It’s true enough that, as the saying goes, there is always something for everyone.
I refuse to come to a place like this and buy things that come from someplace else. For me, it’s important to support the economy and people of the local area. I want to take home something that has something of the character of the place I have visited.
The old town of Albuquerque has plenty of character. The people are very friendly and apparently don’t have many Australians visiting here. They were all very enthusiastic about our “cool accent”.
The shops are all quite different even though they sell similar types of things.
The Church of San Felipe de Neri is prominent in this part of town. It has been beautifully maintained and still operates as a working church. It offers visitors a place for prayer or reflection as well as the freedom to take photographs as long as it’s done respectfully.
The restaurants offer mostly Mexican food, as is only to be expected. We had lunch at Hacienda del Rio. The decor was very attractive and the restaurant was clean and well maintained. Tables did not remain messy for very long at all.
The waiter was very friendly and attentive. In response to my food allergies, the chef was more than happy to create my meal using only wheaten tortillas and no corn at all. I had a chicken fajita salad in a crispy tortilla bowl. The salad was fresh and crisp; the chicken and the salsa were both feisty. The combination was sensational.
We also had sopapilla – a warm, dense bread eaten with warm honey. I had never had that before, but really enjoyed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day I spent in this part of town. I will leave Albuquerque with some very happy recollections as well as some beautiful locally crafted souvenirs.
Houston #2
While I was in Canada, one of the things I wanted to see was a Mountie.
That didn’t happen.
Today in Houston, I saw a mounted policeman.
He had another policeman mind his horse while he went into a building. When he came out, he got back on his horse and calmly rode down the street.
This chain of events made me happy, even though he wasn’t a Canadian Mountie.
Security #2
As we were riding the bus back to our hotel, we were stopped at a red light when we saw the Police pull a car over on the highway nearby. There were several police cars with lights flashing, officers with guns drawn and pointed, and several “alleged baddies” with their hands in the air, then getting handcuffed.
The light changed and the bus drove on, leaving the unfolding drama behind us.
I thought at the time that it was reassuring to know most of the police in Houston are working to serve and protect the community instead of yelling at tourists who clearly have no idea where they are going.
Houston #1
Houston is very business oriented.
When we went “downtown” we expected a lot more foot traffic, shopping and restaurants. We looked around but couldn’t find anything of the sort.
As we discovered, that’s because all the eateries and most of the shops are to be found in interconnected tunnels under the business precinct of the city. I had never seen that before.
Houston is quite a clean city.
Rail and bus networks keep the car traffic at quite a low volume. We invested in a Metro Q day pass which cost $3 and gave us access to any public transport around the city that we needed. There’s also a ‘GreenLink’ tourist bus that does a loop around the city for free. It’s a good way to get around and see what’s in town.
There are lots of trees and gardens that help the city to be less of a concrete jungle, even though it still has lots of high-rise and modern buildings.
We found everyone to be very friendly and helpful. Some of the locals in Starbucks were keen to chat and offer help and advice for getting around the city.
I had a great conversation with a guy named Keith, originally from San Francisco but now driving a taxi in Houston for eight months of the year. He was interested in Australia as well as in hearing our observations of the various parts of the US and Canada that we had visited. It’s people like him that really make a place more welcoming and memorable.
Roadtripping #19
One of the really cool things about travelling American highways in early spring is that you can see so many birds’ nests in the trees because the trees are still quite bare.
We don’t get to see that so much in Australia because our gum trees and other native trees don’t lose their leaves seasonally.
It’s one of those simple things in life that I have taken for granted because it’s not obvious in Australia.
I’m really glad to be able to see that part of nature from a new perspective.
Nashville #4
We are leaving Nashville this morning.
I’m sad.
I’ve loved every moment of my time in this town except for the bum steer I got about boots at the first store we went to, where the staff seemed helpful but weren’t really. Thankfully, the staff at the other boot stores in town were a lot more helpful and constructive, and I have come away with two magnificent pairs of very comfortable boots.
We stayed at the Nashville KOA. This is a great campground, like every other KOA we have visited. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the facilities are excellent.
The thing that set this one apart from any other campground (and many hotels I have stayed in) is the bathrooms.
Usually, a campground provides clean and adequate communal bathrooms, and everyone is happy with that.
At Nashville KOA, they are worthy of a posh hotel. Marble countertops, brushed stainless steel sinks and taps, rich textures and heated floors combine for a very luxurious feeling. Individual shower rooms continue the theme with the same textures, plenty of room to move, and plenty of hot water.
When you’re camping or travelling in an RV, that little touch of luxury is very much appreciated and makes a place rather memorable.
Goodbye, Nashville.
And thank you. You’ve been marvellous. I love you.
Nashville #3
The Swingin’ Doors Saloon is close to Broadway on 4th Ave, Nashville.
This bar is awesome!
The food is good and the servings are very generous. I had their home special, the Swingin’ Doors burger with fries. It was fantastic, but I had no hope of finishing it. I could have shared it with a couple of homeless people and we would have all had enough to eat.
We spent a couple of hours here listening to Jamie Baxter and Paul Pace, great singers/musicians and very funny guys.
They were doing some songs together, but their main game was for one to challenge the other with the name of a well-known country singer, and he then had to sing a song by that artist. They changed it up by asking the audience to nominate artists.
The entire time we were there, these guys did not miss a beat. Song after song, they were absolute crowd pleasers.
They interacted with the crowd in a very positive and entertaining way.
If I lived in Nashville, I would be a regula at this bar.
Heck, they’d have to throw me out at closing time. Every night.
.
Nashville #1
Broadway, Nashville, is an amazing place.
By day it looks like any other shopping/restaurant/bar strip, but it is defined by the sounds rather than the sights. Music streams from the venues into the street in an oddly harmonious way. The shops play recorded music inside, but in the street you can hear a variety of live performances in the bars and restaurants that run in four hour sessions from 10.30am to about 3 in the morning.
Some of the acts we heard were really good, especially a guy named Randy Moore who was playing at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville bar. He was doing some fantastic acoustic country-style covers of recent pop/rock hits as well as country music.
Many of the shops are open until midnight, especially those selling boots, hats and clothing. The souvenir shops all have the same things in them, so you really only need to go into one and you’re done. There is a candy store that smells absolutely amazing. They make taffy, fudge, and caramel or chocolate-dipped goodies on the premises, as well as selling all sorts of other candy.
As dusk falls, the neon signs get brighter and the street fills with people. Broadway springs to life like a nocturnal creature that has been waiting all day to eat, drink, dance and party. Security staff appear at the doors of the venues, just to make sure everyone behaves themselves and has the most enjoyable Nashville-by-night experience possible.
Horses with open carriages behind them clip-clop their way up and down the street, offering the opportunity to see the city from a different perspective.
Right through the evening, people stream up and down Broadway. There are more than just stereotypical country music fans here: bikers in their leathers and bandannas, young women in short dresses and high heels, families with children, groups of teens in jeans and sneakers, as well as those in their jeans, boots and hats. Everyone is here looking for fun, or food and drink, or music, or boots, or a hat, or any combination of those things.
Roadtripping #16
It is a mind-blowingly beautiful day in Southern Kentucky. Sunshine, blue sky, vivid greens of grass and trees, spring blossoms atop graceful trunks and branches, horses and cows in the fields, and the gentlest breeze bringing the scenery to life.
KOA Horse Cave was a gorgeous spot to camp. It’s well laid out and thoughtfully provisioned with a fire pit and picnic table for each camping site. There are lots of trees and some very pretty walking paths. Squirrels, chipmunks and ducks visited nearby while we were staying there. I still think squirrels are some of the cutest critters on the planet, despite regular assurances from my American friends that they are “pure, unadulterated evil”.
Kentucky is a really pretty state. There’s no end of “heartland” scenery here. The patchwork of farms on the landscape is lovely. There are some interesting barn designs here too, as well as the standard “American barn” style.
It is also very clean, from what I have seen. People here obviously take pride in how things look. It’s so nice to drive down the interstate and not see rubbish on the side of the road. It’s obviously something the state encourages too, with signs along the highway that read “Warren County: a certified clean county”. As a roadtripping, photo-taking tourist, it’s very much appreciated.
More than once I’ve seen three crosses set by the roadside – not the kind used to mark where someone has died in a crash,although I have seen those, too – but the kind used to remind people driving by that it’s almost Easter. It’s simple but poignant, and reminds me of Randy Travis’ song about “three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway”, so that has been playing on the brainPod today as we drive, along with George Strait’s “Heartland”.
I guess it’s not going to come as a surprise to anyone now that I’m heading to Nashville today.
An Aussie Maple Leaf, adrift on the wind... 