Texarkana State Line - more pics

Blueberry Hill Farms

Last Sunday husband and I brought the kids to the Blueberry Hill Farms to pick blackberries. The farm is located about 2 hours drive away but we enjoyed the beautiful rural scenery during the journey. All praise be to Allah SWT the weather was beautiful too.

Gift store

Yummy blackberries picked by husband and DD1.

Very Berry Preserves bought at the farm.

Blackberry bushes.

Husband and DD1 had a good time picking blackberries. It cost $3.00 per pound if we picked our own blackberries which is so much cheaper compared to buying them at the supermarket. We stayed at the farm for about 30 minutes and had lunch at a nearby rest area along Interstate Highway 20.

The owner said that blueberries will be ready for picking in another 3 weeks' time. Allah SWT willing we will go back to pick blueberries to make a delicious blueberry pie!

Lavender Ridge Farm

All praise be to Allah SWT today's weather is quite nice. So in the morning husband and I decided to bring the kids to the Lavender Ridge Farm located in the city of Gainesville.

Gift store

Lavender field where you can pick your own bunch.

We reached the farm at 11:30pm and the parking lot was full of vehicles, about 50-70. I guess many people decided to come because of the Lavender Festival at the farm (May 29-31) and also because of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. It was a really nice getaway location for us to get out of the city for two hours. All praise be to Allah SWT the DD2 slept quite well during the 1 hours drive to and fro the farm. We only stayed for half an hour at the farm because it was quite crowded and it was time to get lunch for DD1.

Allah SWT willing next month we will visit the peach orchard near this farm.

Scenic Driving in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California

Texas

Entering and leaving Mountain Time in Texas

New Mexico

Driving towards downtown Tucson, New Mexico

Information for visitors about downtown Tucson.

Arizona

Picnic Area in Arizona

Rest Area in Arizona

Desert Plants in Arizona

Arizona Desert and Mountain

California

Information for travelers at a San Diego rest area

Driving along Southern California Coastline

Plenty of tall palm trees can be seen along the coastline.

Sunset along the coastline.

Texas, New Mexico, Arizon and California Road Trip

Friday, Jan. 23, 2009

Texas - New Mexico - Arizona

Road trip from East to West

Last Friday, Jan. 23, at 3am we started our road trip across four states from the East to the West to attend a wedding in Santa Ana, California. It was husband's long-time friend, Imam Ghazali's daughter's wedding.

All praise be to Allah SWT, husband drove most of the time (about 50+ hours) while I only drove 30 minutes in El Paso, Texas when he needed the time to rest.

We stayed at a hotel in Chandler, Arizona on Friday night and continued our journey the next morning.

Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009
Arizona - California

We arrived in Anaheim, California and had our lunch at the Hatam Restaurant that serves Middle Eastern cuisine. Husband and I used to eat at this place when we were living in Anaheim in 2002.

Chicken kaboob with rice and roasted veggies

After lunch, we arrived at Santa Ana just in time to witness the wedding ceremony. Husband was very happy to see his relatives and friends whom he has not seen for 6 years plus. His relatives and friends were happy to see us. Husband did not tell anyone there that we were planning to visit, so everyone were surprised to see us.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the camera so I was unable to take pictures of the ceremony and the newly weds. After the ceremony, we had Cambodian style meat curry, vegetable soup and rice. These dishes were prepared by the Cambodian Muslim community members who live in Santa Ana.

After that husband prayed at the mosque with the Cambodian Muslim men while I visited Br. Yop Ris's wife at his house. She took care of me when I first arrived in Santa Ana and I was really happy to see her.

At about 6:30pm, husband came to bring us to visit Imam Ghazali. We stayed there for about 2 hours before heading to a hotel near the Children's Discovery Museum in North Santa Ana.

Children's Discovery Museum in Santa Ana, California

Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009
California - Arizona

The next day at about 9am, we visited husband's cousins who live in the city of El Monte, about half hour drive from Santa Ana. Husband used to visit her and her husband regularly when he stayed in California from 1985 to 2002.

We then visited husband's friend in the city of Bellflower. He has been husband's long time business partner as well since 1994. We stayed and chatted for about 1 hour.

Before we return to Santa Ana to say goodbyes to husband's friends, we had lunch at Hatam Restaurant.

Husband spent about 1 hour chatting with the bride's father, Imam Ghazali, who conducted our wedding in August 2002. Although we were invited to attend his daughter's wedding dinner in the evening, husband decided not to attend so that we have time to head back to Texas.

Interstate Highway 5 - scenic drive along Southern California Coastline

We drove along the Southern California Coastline highway to do some sightseeing in the city of San Diego.

We then bought dinner at Whole Foods Market in downtown San Diego and headed towards Arizona. We arrived in Yuma, Arizona at about 9pm and stayed at the Days Inn.

Monday, Jan. 26, 2009
Arizona - New Mexico - Texas

Next morning it was interesting to see the tedious operation of putting up the sign of the hotel.


We then headed towards New Mexico and stopped in Tucson to get cold medicine for my cold.

New Mexico Information Center in Downtown Tucson

Yikes! Toy Store in Tucson, New Mexico that sells lots of unique and imported toys.

We stayed at a hotel in El Paso, Texas when we reached there at about 9pm.

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009
El Paso - Fort Worth, Texas

We left at about 9am so that daughter had more time to sleep. By this time, the temperature has dropped to the 3os degree F.

Traveling on Interstate Highway 20

As we approached Fort Worth, Texas, it was raining and temperature had fallen to about 21 degree F.

Icicles on the branches of trees at a rest area near Abilene, Texas.

Between Abilene and Fort Worth, we saw four 18-wheels trucks that went into the trench on the side of the road. Most likely the drivers lost control of the truck due to the slippery road condition as ice drops were falling on the roads and cars by this time. Husband drove at about 10-20 miles per hour and other vehicles were doing the same.

Just south of Fort Worth on Interstate Highway 20, we saw 7-8 collisions that involved at least 2-3 cars in each accident. On the eastbound side of I-30, a 18-wheel truck, a pickup and a car were involved in an accident and traffic was piled up for at least a mile.

As a result of the cold icy rain and multiple accidents, a 30-minute drive to our home from South Fort Worth became a 2 hour slow drive. We didn't see any serious car wrecks and hopefully no one was seriously injuried in the accidents.

Summary of the road trip

Distance Travelled- approx. 3000 miles
Fuel - $200 ($1.69-$2.11 per gallon)
Hotel Stay - $300 ($57-$84 per night)
Food - $150

Coldest Temperature - 21 degree F (6 degree Celsius) in Fort Worth, Texas

Warmest Temperature - 69 degree F in Santa Anta, California

Cheapest Gas Price - Texas
Most Expensive Gas Price - California

Favorite Snacks - Pita Bread with Smoked Salmon and Juice

Best Moments - Seeing husband's relatives and friends after 6 years.

Best Entertainment
1. Singing children's songs with daughter
2. Watching her invent games to play on her own
3. Long conversations with husband
4. Listening to 周杰伦 Jay Chou's songs

Scariest Moment - Seeing countless accidents on icy roads and bridges in South Forth Worth, Texas.

Most Delicious Meal - Middle Eastern Cuisine at Hatam Restaurant in Anahem, California.

Enjoyable Scenic Drives
1. Cotton Fields in West Texas
2. Mountains in Texas and New Mexico
3. Arizona Desert
4. Southern California Beaches

Wedding in California

Last week husband's long-time friend called to invite us to attend his daughter's wedding in Santa Ana, California on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009.

It's been six plus years since we left California and have not been back to visit his friends. So husband and I are looking forward to seeing his friends after so long. We are planning to drive to California on Friday morning and it'll take about 22 hours to get there. we'll probably stay one night in Arizona on the way.

Since he can only take three days leave due to his busy work schedule, we hope to get back home by Tuesday night, Allah SWT willing.

Apart from attending the wedding, I'm also planning to meet up with a teacher who moved to Irvine, California in November 2008. I called her last week to tell her about our pending visit and we are both looking forward to seeing each other.

Few days ago I found some useful information on how to travel cheaply across USA http://www.stretcher.com/menu/topic-r.htm#vacations. Allah SWT willing we hope to spend within our budget on this trip.

Today I've been busy cleaning and getting ready for the trip. I'll need to remind husband that we'll need to stop every 3 hours to let daughter stretch her legs and vent off some of her never-ending energy. Going on a road trip with a two-year-old toddler is going to be interesting....

Lake Ray Hubbard, Texas

This morning husband said he wants to go a park with daughter and me. Before we left, I suggested having lunch at the Noodle Wave Thai Halal Restaurant http://www.noodlewave.com/. We ordered Thai Ice Tea, Thai Chicken Satay, Thai Shrimp Curry with Rice and Jungle Basil Beef. The Chicken Satay tasted really good and daughter loves to eat it. We also enjoyed the curry dish but found the beef dish too spicy.

At about 1pm we headed to Lake Ray Hubbard in the City of Rowlett for fishing. Husband set up a tent for me and daughter to rest inside while he tried fishing.

Unfortunately it was too windy and daughter starts to have running nose. So at around 3pm we decided to head home to let her get some rest.

Visit an old pal in Chaska, MN

This evening, my dear sister drove us to my secondary classmate, H's house in Chaska, Minnesota. We actually called H several days before we decided to drive across eastern USA, and told him that we would like to visit him. Yesterday before we left Wisconsin, he invited us to visit his house and so we went. We left the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul at around 5pm and had dinner at the Whole Foods Market in Minneapolis. We then reached his place at around 7:15pm.

The weather at his place was cool and it was really nice of H and his wife to prepare BBQ chicken, salad and drinks for us. H is as usual, polite, funny and generous. My sister and I had an enjoyable time getting to know H's wife better (since we've never meet her) and getting updates about H. while she was eating and I watched over the kids having fun climbing up the hill behind the house.

DD1 and my niece even saw three thumb-size frogs hopping across the pavement to a bush next to H's house.

Niece: Where is the frog's house?"
Me: The house is in the bush...
Me: Don't touch the frogs in case you accidently squash them...
(actually I'm more afraid of the frogs hopping towards me when they panic).

All praise be to Allah SWT, I have been looking forward to visiting H and his wife for three years, and only this time it's because of my sister that this trip is made possible.

Allah SWT willing I hope that we'll get to visit H and his wife in the near future again.

Drive across USA

Who are on this trip - my dear sister, her two kids, my daughter and I

States that we drove past -
July 1: Texas-Arkansas-Tennessee
July 2: Tennessee-Tennessee
July 3: Tennessee-Virginia
July 4: Virginia-Cincinnati-Pennsylvania
July 5: Pennsylvania-New York-Massachusetts-New Hampshire
July 16: Massachusetts-New York
July 17: New York-Ohio
July 18: Ohio

July 19: Ohio-Indiana

July 20: Indiana-Illinois

July 21: Illinois-Wisconsin

July 22: Wisconsin-Minnesota

July 23: Minnesota-Missouri

July 24: Missouri-Kansas

July 25: Kansas-Texas

Most beautiful beach - Gloucester, MA

Most delicious meal - fresh cooked lobster and home cooked food (thanks to my sister's friend)

Longest stay - MA at my sister's secondary school friend's house; July 5-16

Best places for kids - Story Land at White Mountain, NH; Boston Children's Museum and Indiana Children's Museum; Milwaukee Children's Museum; Wichita Science Center "Exploration Place, Inc."

Most enjoyable picnic - Monoca Bay in Wisconsin where the kids feed bread to ducks and we enjoyed the cool afternoon breeze

Most comfortable stay - The Seasons at White Mountain condominium resort (about $110 per night)

Favorite food on the road - pretzels and raisins

Favorite drink on the road - water, apple juice and 3-in-1 Ipoh Style Coffee!

Favorite songs - Zhou Jie Lun; Jay Chou

Favorite dramas - Coffee Prince (Korean) and Fated to Love You (Taiwanese)

Who else joined us - my husband on July 23 in Minnesota, Praise be to Allah SWT

Thoughts about this trip - who would have thought that two moms would have this crazy idea of driving across USA with three energetic and cranky kids under 6 years old? And who would have thought that we survived so far?

Quan Yin (Chinese) Vegetarian Restaurant

We ate at this restaurant while in Houston. Husband ordered fried noodles with assorted veggies ($7) while I had a BBQ veggie pork with thin noodles soup($7) . We also shared a spicy and sour soup with thin strips of bamboo shoots, carrots, ginger and other root veggies ($9). Before coming to this restaurant, I searched online for recommendations from customers and this restaurant has a high rating. Although the food is tasty, there are friendly staff, and the portion is reasonable for the price, it would have been better if they could provide fresh cut red chilli with soy sauce.

Address: 10804 E. Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX77072
Tel: 281-498-7890
URL: http://www.quanyinvegetarian.com/

Santa Fe, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas

Santa Fe, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas

My husband and I went to Santa Fe and El Paso to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We drove for about 6 hours north to Santa Fe(http://www.santafe.org/). Santa Fe is such as romantic place! There is a good mixture of native American, hispanic, and anglo culture. The magnificent mountains and beautiful adobe houses (http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-adobe.htm) make the region so unique! We stayed a night in Hotel 6 (http://www.motel6.com/), a relatively inexpensive ($65) motel. Krispy Kreme (http://www.krispykreme.com/) donuts seem to be very popular here because you can get them in many local gas stations!

Next, we drove for about 6 hours south to El Paso(http://www.ci.el-paso.tx.us/), which is just a stone's throw away from Mexico. This place is rich with hispanic culture and there's 3 Baskin Robbins ice cream shops (http://www.baskinrobbins.com/index.shtml)! We stayed in Travelodge (http://www.travelodge.com/Travelodge/control/home), another budget motel for $45/night. We visited the Islamic Center of El Paso (http://www.icoep.com/) and bought some groceries at the local islamic store.

We drove for about 6 hours east to Lubbock, and I was so happy to be home to see my guinea pig, who was not pleased with being locked up in his cage for 3 days!