Lidia Explores

Happy February! 💘 We got a kick out of this cute little Valentine’s Day gift outside of Atlanta, Georgia. No, it didn’t come home with us, but we had a good laugh in the store aisle. We’ve been traveling all over the United States, and as usual I’m still catching up on posting. Quick update: We were in the Pacific Northwest in December, then we headed home to Texas for a bit to visit family during the holidays. Now we’re house sitting in the Carolinas and absolutely loving it. 🥰 #walmartfinds

Seattle dogs are a must-try local food when visiting Seattle, Washington! The hot dogs are split down the middle lengthwise then seared. After that, they are slathered with sautéed onions and cream cheese. You can also add other toppings like relish, jalapeños, and more caramelized veggies. Yum! Dog in the Park near the Space Needle has hot dogs and veggie dogs. #seattledogs #seattle #hotdog #veggiedog

The Seattle Gum Wall is one of the city’s most unique tourist attractions. It’s located in Post Alley, which runs through Pike Place Market. This attraction is definitely not for germophobes! There are probably hundreds of thousands of pieces of used chewing gum stuck to the walls here. #seattle #gumwall

Time for a Voodoo Doughnut taste test! 🍩 Voodoo Doughnut originated in Portland, Oregon, so we had to make a stop at its flagship location. There are new locations popping up around the United States, but it was fun to see where the craze for these unique donuts began. There are some really strange flavors here! The voodoo doll was hilarious to me. The classic “Homer” donut conjured up my fond memories of watching the Simpsons as a kid. The Dreamweaver was just all-around delicious. If you come across a Voodoo Doughnut, it’s worth doing a taste test of your own! #donuts #dessert #sweets

This is the LAST Blockbuster in the world. It’s in Bend, Oregon! In 2004, there were over 9,000 stores. Now, only one remains. I am so glad we got to see it. Stepping into Blockbuster used to be a regular occurrence for me, but now it’s like stepping back in time. It was fun sharing this experience with my daughter who has no idea what it was like to go to the video store on a Friday night to rent movies and buy snacks. What a wave of nostalgia! #blockbustervideo

We discovered this smoothie-making robot by Blendid at the Love’s Travel Stop in Williams, California. There are only a handful of locations, and we just happened to find a Blendid kiosk on our road trip! It was fascinating to watch the whole process. Several people stopped by to check out the robot as our smoothies were being prepared. Would you try it out? #smoothietime

Route 66, Day 17! Welcome to our last day on Route 66. We drove from San Bernardino to Santa Monica. We made it to the Historic McDonald’s Museum and the Cucamonga Service Station before heading into Los Angeles. In LA, we stopped in Chinatown and Hollywood. Finally, we decided we were ready to say goodbye to the Mother Road. Walking up to the Santa Monica Pier felt surreal. I couldn’t believe it was the end. We got our certificate of completion from 66-to-Cali, and we celebrated by riding all of the rides at the pier. These 2,448 miles (3,940 kilometers) have filled me with a lifetime of memories. Thank you to everyone who has followed our Route 66 adventure. It’s been so much fun sharing these videos each day. ❤️

Route 66, Day 16! Welcome to California, the eighth and final state of our epic Route 66 road trip. On this day, we drove from Needles to San Bernardino. Our first stop was the Goffs Schoolhouse. Goffs is a ghost town, but there is still a lot to see here. In addition to the 1914 one-room schoolhouse, there are walking trails with outdoor exhibits on display. There’s not a lot around this area, so make sure you have a full tank of gas and some water before you arrive. We left Goffs and drove through Bagdad and Newberry Springs. This is also a very remote stretch of road. Newberry Springs is known for the Bagdad Cafe. The 1987 German film of the same name was filmed here. At sunset, we made it to Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch. There are over 200 bottle trees here! Lastly, we arrived to the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino. #route66 #roadtripusa #familytravel

Route 66, Day 15! It was our last day in Arizona. 😢 We spent the morning in Kingman visiting the local museums. For $10 total, we visited the Arizona Route 66 Museum, the Electric Vehicle Museum, the Mohave Museum, and the Bonelli House. I only had to pay for one adult ticket. (Kids 12 and under have free admission to all these museums.) After leaving Kingman, we made it to Oatman via the insanely curvy Oatman Highway! I was definitely a bit queasy toward the end there, but the views on the drive were spectacular. As we pulled up to Oatman, we were greeted by tons of wild donkeys roaming the streets! Route 66 takes you through hundreds of towns, so I don’t always have time to research everything thoroughly. Needless to say, the donkeys were a total surprise. I was giddy with delight. They are called “burros” here. (This word means “donkeys” in Spanish.) Some of the shops sell food for them. We bought a small bag of food for a dollar and had so much fun feeding them. After that, it was time to move on to our 8th and final state: California! I was thrilled to make it to the last state of Route 66, but I was definitely shocked by how much higher the gas prices were in Needles. Even so, we’re looking forward to seeing what California Route 66 has in store for us. #route66 #familytravel #roadtripusa

Route 66, Day 14! We’re slowly approaching the end of Arizona Route 66. On this day, we made it to Ash Fork, Seligman, and Kingman. I love what we discover as we pass through each town. We had an especially great time in Seligman at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap. The service was great and the Oreo milkshake was top notch. A woman at the Ash Fork Route 66 Museum gave us an Arizona Route 66 passport, so we spent the day getting that one stamped along with the main Route 66 passport we already have. We collected 7 stamps to get our Arizona certificate of accomplishment! 🥳 #route66arizona #route66roadtrip

Route 66, Day 13! We spent the day in the charming Old West town of Williams, Arizona. Route 66 history runs deep here. It was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. We started our morning with a delicious breakfast from Goldie’s Route 66 Diner. We did the Route 66 zip line and wandered in and out of the downtown shops. Our favorite one was the Trading Post! We spent the afternoon at the Grand Canyon Deer Farm interacting with the animals. Lastly, we ended the day at a 50’s inspired restaurant that serves Thai food. It’s called Dara Thai Twisters. #route66 #travelusa #familytravel

Route 66, Day 12! We took a detour to visit the Grand Canyon. Fun fact: The park is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island! It’s about 90 minutes from Flagstaff, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The views are out of this world. You could easily plan an entire vacation around visiting the Grand Canyon and the surrounding area, but we only spent the day here. #route66 #grandcanyon #familytravel

Route 66, Day 11! Albuquerque, New Mexico to Winslow, Arizona. 😃 I loved the vintage travel trailer display at the Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post. It made me want to renovate an old camper! El Rancho Hotel is a mandatory stop in Gallup. So many legendary Hollywood stars have stayed there. The lobby is beautiful, and there’s a cute gift shop to stop in. I was excited and a little sad to be crossing into Arizona. 7 out of 8 states already? We’re almost done! 😢 This was my third time visiting the Petrified Forest. I was so happy to get to show Luna this national park. It’s one of my favorites! Lastly, we made it to Winslow, Arizona. We stood on a corner and listened to “Take it Easy” by the Eagles. It’s the little moments like this that make Route 66 so much fun. #route66 #route66roadtrip #travelusa

Route 66, Day 10! We celebrated our arrival to the Route 66 halfway point at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. After that, we reached New Mexico and made a quick stop at the free car museum at Russell’s Travel Center in Glenrio. We got off the Mother Road for a few days and stayed with our friends who live outside of Santa Fe. We were so grateful to get a few days of rest and to spend quality time with our beautiful friends. #route66roadtrip #travelusa #motherroad

Route 66, Day 9! Oklahoma City to Amarillo, Texas.😊We visited the Oklahoma State Capitol and the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum before making it to the Texas state line. We’re from Texas, so I loved that we got to experience new places in our home state. Would you try the 72-ounce steak challenge at the Big Texan? 🤔 #route66 #route66oklahoma #route66texas #roadtripusa

Route 66, Day 8! There’s so much to see along Route 66 in Oklahoma. We didn’t do much driving today, but the stretch between the Blue Whale of Catoosa and Pops 66 Soda Ranch was full of interesting attractions. The Blue Whale is one of those iconic Route 66 stops, so we were excited to see it in person. I recommend checking out the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum in Sapulpa. Luna got to complete a scavenger hunt as we walked around, which made the experience much more engaging for her. There were some awesome cars there too! Pops 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia is definitely a must stop. There are over 700 different kinds of soda lining the walls! We went with the gross flavors for fun.🤢🤩 #route66 #route66oklahoma #roadtripUSA

Route 66, Day 7! Three states in one day! We ended our time in Missouri then drove to Kansas. Route 66 in Kansas only spans 13 miles, but the towns there proudly reflect their Route 66 heritage. Finally, we made it to Dairy King in Commerce, Oklahoma for dessert. This cottage-like building has been around since 1927. It was formerly a gas station, but it’s been serving burgers and ice cream for a long time now. We got to try their famous Route 66 cookies. 😋 #route66 #route66kansas #roadtripusa

Route 66, Day 6! We had school and work things to catch up on, so we didn’t do much driving, but we still made some fun memories. We loved meeting Jess at the Munger Moss Motel and winning his CD as a prize for completing the Munger Moss Balance Challenge. He’s a country musician and Route 66 expert! We also did a little Christmas shopping at the World’s Largest Gift Store. The store was seriously huge. We found some cute gifts. 😊 #route66 #route66missouri #roadtripusa

Route 66, Day 5! Missouri is filled with delightful Route 66 surprises. Our tour of Meramec Caverns was awesome. It’s definitely worth the stop if you’re going through Stanton. I’m also glad we got the chance to visit the Uranus Fudge Factory. Uranus, Missouri isn’t a real town—it’s a quirky roadside attraction. We had a good laugh walking around and looking at all the wacky items for sale. We ended our day at the Munger Moss Motel, which was our first historic roadside motel of the trip! I loved the restored neon sign out front. #route66 #route66missouri #roadtripUSA

Route 66, Day 4! We started our day in Springfield, Illinois and ended in St. Louis, Missouri. We had a wonderful last day on Route 66 Illinois/first day on Route 66 Missouri! We got to meet up with our friends who are also a traveling family Pohlmans Go Places. Wish we could have spent more time in St. Louis, but I’m happy with everything we did. You can’t go wrong with St. Louis-style pizza and Ted Drewes frozen custard. #route66 #route66roadtrip #roadtripusa