This is a recap of all of what has happened to us on this cross country trip so far.

First thing Monday morning, we hopped in the plane and flew to Tucson, Arizona. The food was delicious, I had a waffle with chocolate chips, whip cream, and apples soaked in a variety of sugary substances that made them taste like they had come out of an apple pie. The tastes blended perfectly well together and gave me one of the best breakfasts I have had in a while. After we had finished eating, we took a short walk around the FBO and saw a huge propeller stuck in the ground. I took a picture standing in front of it. Then, we were off.

[Part of our Spring Break 2009 Trip.]

If you are a faithful reader, you know that the next stop we had planned was El Paso, Texas, but due to advantageous tail winds, we managed to go straight to Marfa, Texas. When we landed, a sun shield flew out of the luggage area and began flying away from the plane. Even with my satchel on, I quickly caught up to the sun shield, but I noticed something weird: there was no one else here. Sometimes FBOs can be empty, but there is always some trace of life. When we entered the FBO, we found a cryptic reminder note to get a car for us and a unmarked jacket. When I felt like it couldn’t get any more like a horror movie, a windstorm started. If you went outside, you would be pushed around by the winds as though they were people. Luckily, the creepiness stopped shortly when the person who owned the FBO entered, claimed the jacket, threw out the reminder note and gave us the car keys. We were off to town!

There wasn’t much to do in Marfa on a Monday. Half the shops were closed and the town was deserted. There were no kids around and all the adults were driving in cars. It was seriously weird. We had diner at a little mexican place nearby our hotel then hid in our room and watched South Park episodes until it was time to go to DQ for dessert. Then Dad had the awesome idea of swimming in the motel pool. I stepped in and it was beyond freezing. A quick look revealed that there were cigarette butts and bugs littering the pool. The only really fun part of Marfa was seeing the Judd exhibit. Donald Judd was an artist who really made Marfa what it is today and his art was arranging concrete blocks facing different ways. I interpreted it as social grouping but I am unaware of what he was actually trying to accomplish.

After Marfa was Lockhart. We stopped at Lockhart because they were meant to be the Kansas City of Texas when it came to BBQ. I was slightly disappointed. We ate the BBQ in a peculiar fashion. You weren’t given forks, butcher paper acted as your plate and all you had to eat the meat with was some wonder bread. It was an interesting change of pace but I didn’t especially enjoy it. I had some good prime rib and acceptable brisket, but I didn’t approve of the atmosphere. The people who chopped the food acted nasty whenever we asked a question. Do you have forks? HA! Any chance you have BBQ sauce? Not now, not ever.

New Orleans has been the best stop of the trip. It was urban, something I am used to, and the people were friendly. One problem: I was not up for it. My brain was a cocktail of sleepiness, sickness and hunger. I needed food but couldn’t stand the moisture. It felt like we were walking through mud. Dad found a solution: I snatched the bottle of Coke out of his hand and chugged it down. Immediately, my vision began to sharpen, I got a huge burst of energy and my stomach settled. The effects were just wearing off when we reached our food. It was a place called Snug Harbor and was a jazz club separated into two rooms: the jazz room and the food room. Since we were hungry beyond belief, we chose food. I just had some calamari and a caesar salad while Dad had gumbo and Dexter chose fried shrimp. The food took a while but when it finally came, it was delicious. I went to bed happy as a filled-up gator.

In the morning, I learned that not all New Orleans food is good. I had a waffle which was okay… it just took thirty minutes! I wanted Dad to go and give them hell but we decided it wasn’t worth it. Instead of taking off, we went to the aquarium. It was incredible! There were two extremely cute sea otters and many beautiful sting rays. There was a glass tunnel surrounded with animals and water. It felt like you were walking through a sea. After the visit to the aquarium, we hopped in the plane and took to the skies again.

We landed to see my great-grand uncle Abbot. He served in World War II and actually took a bullet to the side of his ear, robbing him of his hearing. He is over ninety now and is legally blind. He had many stories to tell, about how he was in General Patton’s favorite battalion and how he actually saw Patton pee in the river Moselle like all the other troops in his battalion. My mom was happy to see him and I learned that legally, a kid in my school is a cousin four times removed. It’s awesome to see old family members.

Now, we are in D.C and loving every minute of it.