NSA Conference 2013

There are no vacation plans this year. The last vacation I took was when we attended the NSA Conference 2013. I went to Jacksonville, Florida in January to visit a friend.

Then a friend and I went to San Diego for a conference in February (my first flight!).

Then I attended another conference in April and did the Route 66 trip from Missouri to Chicago.

That’s it for me until September (Philly for a conference) and October (Atlanta for another conference). I love to travel and am missing a longer vacation, so I am reposting last year’s trip to Scottsdale to cheer me up.

As we were preparing for our second day of driving we had decided that if we wanted to have a leisurely last leg of the trip so we could arrive in Scottsdale in the early afternoon we needed to hit it hard on day two. When we told people we were driving 1750 miles to the NSA 2013 Conference people looked at us like we were crazy! And maybe we are but I do so enjoy driving. I could drive for a living. Seriously! But not a tractor trailer truck… The sights you see along the way are so interesting. Like the livestock exchange/auction place in Amarillo, TX. There were a couple of acres or three, of cow-like creatures just hanging out in gated areas. That was indeed a sight to behold. You couldn’t see that from a plane, not up-close and personal…or smell it either…just saying. The stench did linger for a couple of miles. Actually I could have done without that!

I love the wide open spaces out West. And the vibrant color.

I think it is cool how you can see the entire length of a train in motion. Don’t get me wrong, we have trains in my neck of the woods, but you usually only see a few cars at a time while sitting at a railroad crossing.

The windmills, old and new are another sight I enjoy when we make our way towards the West. It’s so Wizard of Oz-ish, the windmills of old. And the big ones that decorate the gently rolling fields as afar as the eye can see are pretty cool too.

I have a fascination with Route 66. It’s true, I do! I was born too late to experience the glorious road that led from Chicago to LA, but I revel in the bits and picecs I do get to experience when we travel along that route.

We ended up driving 840 miles that second day, and stopped for the night in Gallup, New Mexico. We stay in a very nice, and surprisingly reasonable Comfort Suites. After checking in we decided to hit the familiar comfort of Cracker Barrel for dinner, where we engaged our server in conversation about the town. Gallup is a thriving railroad town and is  well known for the art and jewelry made by the Native Americans in those parts. And because Route 66 is alive and well in Gallup we were able to do a little exploring even after spending so much time in the car.

I found the El Rancho Hotel and it’s historic guest list intriguing. The Duke, Bob Hope and another gentleman whose face I knew but name I had forgotten were on billboards which boasted of the luxury of yesteryear.

I find it all so thought provoking and nostalgic. 

And not just because they were stars, though that it interesting too, but the fact that someone was there once, that walks the earth no more, normal folks, forgotten folks, folks just like you and me who will one day be forgotten too.