Our cross country trip was a total blast. We have a bazillion pictures and we actually kept a journal of this trip, but here are some highlights...Our first night was at the Spring House Inn in Pleasantville, TN, where an ex bomb squad member was our innkeeper and made the most delightful eggs benedict and fruit parfait, garnished with a strawberry fan. (The place was lovely, but we forgot to take pictures.) On arrival to our room, we found a delicious spread of gourmet appetizers and champagne, gifts from Lorrie (Geoff's former nurse) and her family. YUM!! That night we ate in Nashville at the famous Loveless Cafe with Mark and Jeanne Wallace (he was one of my thesis advisors).
Graceland. Memphis, TN. A masterpiece of interior design. Pictured on the left is the King's formal LR, and on the right is the informal LR (complete with wall fountain), dubbed the "Jungle Room." We also have pictures of Elvis' round faux white fur bed, fabric-lined billiards room, and array of caped jumpsuits. We LOVED Graceland...Memphis? Not so much!
On the main page of the blog is a picture of Elvis' porcelain monkey from the TV room...
long lost monkey bowl relative?!
Lizard Springs Lodge. The Ozarks, AR. Despite the deluge, we left the log cabin opposite 
this old barn and drove to the top of a nearby mountain for a hike (that was rained out). It wasn't a loss, however..we (meaning Geoff) spotted a bear, many deer and stags, an armadillo carcass, and a possum feather (we were getting a little silly by the end).
this old barn and drove to the top of a nearby mountain for a hike (that was rained out). It wasn't a loss, however..we (meaning Geoff) spotted a bear, many deer and stags, an armadillo carcass, and a possum feather (we were getting a little silly by the end).Texas is big...REAL BIG. As we were leaving Amarillo, TX, (after an artery-clogging meal at the Big Texan), we stumbled upon a piece of Americana: the Cadillac Ranch, where cattle meet Cadillac...and Andy Warhol.
Blue Horse Inn. Placitas, New Mexico.
This place was as visually stunning as it was comfortable. We spent the early evening on a walk along paths in the desert scrub, Mishka wildly chasing jackrabbits and the last of the day's lizards. The sunset was, by our estimation, one of the best we had ever seen. Our innkeepers shrugged and gave it a 3 (out of 10). You be the judge:
After a great day exploring the Grand Canyon, we had an early, yet very elegant meal at El Tovar Restaurant. After that meal and the awesome bottle of wine we drank, the GC was even more grand. Looking out at the GC at sunset was euphoric. To add another layer of excitement, our camera battery was dying and we had to switch memory cards in the middle, but we managed to get some great pix:
After Flagstaff (where we stayed in a B&B that was more like your grandma's house than you might want in an inn), we passed through the quaint town of Sedona, nestled amid red rocks and cliffs. We spent a few hours at a little river (a favorite local spot), leaving when we got kicked out by the park ranger for having Mishka there (specism). We ate dinner at a great Thai place, Wild Thaiger, in Phoenix, AZ, where they let us sit outside with Mishka and it was 101 degrees at 8:30PM. We spent the last night at a Best Western in nowheresville (Blythe, CA), in the middle of the desert, nearly ran out of gas in our mad dash to SD to make it to our closing, and then arrived to our new house, exhausted, but faced with a huge moving truck (which arrived at 6 PM). Mishka was happy, though, because we bought her a hedgehog in Sedona. Here she is carrying it around in her new home:
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