May 21, Jessie turned 12. Of course, we had to celebrate, so we met up at Steak ‘n Shake. In addition to her birthday, we also just hadn’t seen RJ’s family in 4-5 weeks, and we both had been on our own epic road trips and couldn’t wait to share with each other. And if you know the Garcia’s, there’s no better place to celebrate and share stories than a Steak ‘n Shake. We definitely have a love/hate relationship with this place. We hate the poor service, mysterious food, and messed up orders, but we love all the crazy memories and stories that come from eating at a Steak ‘n Shake. This time was no different; the service was pretty terrible as expected, food was sub par, but yet some how delicious.
We all laughed and took turns sharing stories about the crazy events that transpired on both our trips all the while some of us ate our somewhat stale food while the rest waited an unseemly long time for their order. It worked out in the end since they mistook our small shakes for larges, and it didn’t really matter anyways since we were all having so much fun. No better way to share stories then with family at a table with food :).
We were scheduled to leave the next morning but I got sick that night (maybe it was the Steak ‘n Shake) and all the next day. I laid in bed all day and RJ took Moty to get a new back tire. It was wearing pretty badly with all the miles we had put on it. He came back with Fritos and 7-Up and somehow managed to hold a 24 pack of water on the back seat. Why we needed 24 bottles of water was questionable. And how we were going to take 24 bottles of water on our bike was also questionable. But yet, both of those questions paled in comparison as to how in the world did he even transport that water when he didn’t take any of our saddle bags, top case, or bungee straps!? Needless to say, we were well hydrated for the next couple of days.
I enjoyed my fritos and pop and rested for the day while RJ worked. Uncle Thom and Aunt Nina got home that evening their own trip in Israel for a wedding. It was great to see them and listen to Aunt Nina tell us all about their trip and how much they fun they had. All the while Uncle Thom lovingly rolled his eyes as Nina would talk about dancing at the wedding and making friends who then invited them to brazil for another wedding.
We had planned on leaving the following morning but RJ still had a lot of work. He was hoping to leave by noon. Uncle Thom made me a double shot espresso before he left for work and Aunt Nina insisted on making us breakfast.
Noon passed and RJ was still working. I waited and waited, went grocery shopping with Aunt Nina, picked up the mail, and still waited.
Finally, a bajillion years later, RJ was finished. We packed up, geared up and got ready to go on our bike but certainly not before Nina affectionately questioned us on if we had enough to eat or if we were going to be safe. After we laid Nina’s worries to rest, we exchanged several hugs and goodbyes. With the warmth of Nina and Thom’s love and generosity, we hopped on our bike and headed for New Mexico. We took a little detour to Decatur, TX where Dad told us we HAD to check out Sweetie Pie’s Ribeyes because it was so good. And he was right; the food was amazing. Their dinner rolls were to die for! We thought about eating only dinner rolls for lunch. They came with unlimited butter; RJ put four cubes on one roll. We devoured our chicken fried steak and got a chocolate cookie with ice-cream covered in hot caramel sauce for dessert. While we were finishing up our dessert, one of the waitresses picked up a mic and started singing while clearing tables. She had a beautiful voice and everyone clapped when the song ended.
With full bellies we were on our way again. Another stop to get a new phone charger for the bike and we were off. We made it to Kampgrounds Of America – Las Vegas, New Mexico by midnight. Trying to quietly pitch a tent, argue about where the tent should go, and air up our sleeping mats in the middle of the night can be a little challenging to do so with nearby campers but they didn’t complain the next morning.
Another round of packing up our gear and we were off to Santa Fe.
Cheers!
~em and rj