Okay... So forgive us for our harsh Vegas-words. We were tired, frustrated, and feeling pretty offended by the ostentatiousness (word? It is now) of it all. With that said, we meant just about 90% of it. We hated Vegas -- haaaaaated it. Seven a's don't accurately convey how much we hated it.

But we spent the night in Barstow, CA which gave us the opportunity to drive through the Mojave when we could actually SEE it, and we stayed at a hotel that was a luxurious reprieve from the string of Super 8's that have seen us through our trip so far. Not that we don't love our Super 8's -- we're loyal. We swear.

We're in Los Angeles now, staying at the apartment of two of Tamsyn's friends, Eric and Tara. We haven't seen much of the city yet, but driving in last night was neat... We stopped at a Starbucks in Pasadena and sang "Red Dress" by Motion City Soundtrack.**

I just got off the phone with my credit card company, who keeps putting a "Fraud Protection lock" on my account because it's being used all over the country. I appreciate the gesture, I do -- but regardless, apparently, of how many times I tell them that I'M the one using the card, they insist on locking the account. I was pretty annoyed when I called this morning, and I couldn't understand the woman who answered the phone. And she couldn't understand me. It was a pretty frustrating exchange, and I hung up with the lock taken off the account (for now) and the clear understanding that nothing was REALLY accomplished, and I'm sure that it will happen again before I get home.

Next batch of postcards will go out today... We need to find a post office and a laundromat, as well as get some tasty shakes, acoording to our host. :)

Hope you're all well... Miss you, but we'd rather you were here than we were there. ;)

- Melissa

So in the name of saving you all from another rambling voice post (for a while, anyway) --

We're in Santa Fe this morning, and there's been a slight change of schedule today... Instead of heading to Vegas, as was the plan, we're going to tour Bandelier National Monument and then come back to the pretty part of Santa Fe (that we managed to miss for the better part of yesterday) and spend some time there before heading to a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. We'll spend the night there and the head out to Vegas tomorrow morning. We like this plan -- we'll get to "tour" the original Route 66, and hang out in a beautiful city. :)

Last night, we took a walking "ghost" tour of the older part of Santa Fe, and then we had (authentic!) dinner at a restaurant called The Shed. Best. Frozen Margaritas. Ever. Tamsyn had raspberry, and I had pomegranate melon -- so good. I had a pretty classic dish -- huevos rancheros, which was also really good. Then we bought hair dye at the local Walgreens, but I passed out before we could actually dye anything... Maybe tonight. ;)

That's about it... Flagstaff tonight, Vegas tomorrow night, then LA for two days, and San Francisco after that.

Hope you're all well! :)

- Melissa