Road to New Bern...Day 4

"History Majors vs. Art Majors"
I was met with another restless night...after weird dreams about my coworker's daughter whom I barely know. She had cancer and wanted me to be her best friend and call her daily. It was weird.
After breakfast, we stopped at Target before leaving Flagstaff to get a neck pillow. I guess seeing me sleep with my neck at right angles in the car made John realize that yes, I probably could sleep most anywhere and yes, in the strangest positions...which probably isn't always the best thing.
Once we found one, we took off to our next site to see: The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. John got me another prize: a petrified marble. If you know me (or maybe even if you don't), you probably know I LOVE marbles and have a strange fascination with them which has lead me to collect them. So...I'm pretty stoked about it. The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were both beautiful and vast but nothing compared to the Grand Canyon. We got to see some petroglyphs (like hieroglyphics in rock) as well as tons and tons of really beautiful petrified wood. After a few hours I started getting cranky because I was hungry and I can only handle so much information before I get glazed eyes. This is the big difference between me and John. John is a history major. Which means he wants to read EVERY plaque and note and brochure, oogle over the scenery, bust out the binoculars, discuss in detail the history (that he just so happens to know thoroughly) of the area with bystander after unknowing bystander. (You know I adore you and find you SO cute, John...) I saunter in, skim the bold bits, look at the pictures, check out the scenery and am ready to hit the road again after a few pictures. Summary: visiting museums can be interesting time frame wise. Although I will admit we sometimes switch roles depending on the setting.
This raven seemed to follow us to a few of our stops while in the national park. I have a things for crows/ravens. And they have a thing for me.
After snarfing a hot dog at the visitor center (I looooove hotdogs), we drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see my Aunt and Uncle for dinner. We definitely would have loved to see more friends and families during our trip but our limited time frame just wouldn't allow it. I am SO glad that we got to see my Aunt and Uncle though. John only got to meet them very briefly before we got married and they headed to Albuquerque for work which would last around 6 months. We shared lots of laughs over dinner at Fudderucks's and then more in their hotel room hanging out. We finally said goodbye and I used the bathroom in the lobby of their hotel, the Homewood Suites. Not a good choice. The bathroom had been remodeled all fancy shmancy. The stall doors were wooden thatched doors from the floor to the ceiling. Which would have been fine...if I wasn't in flipflops. Opening the door to wash my hands, I SMASHED my toe on the door and ripped it open. Joy. Little did I know that this wouldn't be the last violence my toe would experience...*DUNN DUNN DUUUUUNNN*
We stopped in Santa Rosa for the night. Which I remember nothing about. Sorry Santa Rosa.