Sunday, October 9th

After a delicious breakfast by Stevie (who said she didn't cook), with Dennis assisting, we got off to our pre-planned "late" start.

We opted to take the scenic route to Carlsbad (White's City). We stopped at White Sand's National Monument for souveniers, then drove on to Cloudcroft for a VERY late lunch. The BBQ restaurant wasn't very good, but the Ladies Restroom was a hoot. It had a picture of Annie Oakley on the wall opposite a gilt mirror. Cloudcroft was picturesque, but the poor lunch didn't make us inclined to linger.

It was a long drive -- about six hours total -- but well worth it for the views. Some of the pictures are below.

Dinner at White's City doesn't offer many choices. It's the Velvet Garter Steakhouse or the Velvet Garter Steakhouse. We almost had a long wait due to a tour group, but were seated separately once the hostess knew we were not with the tour. The service was still slow, no bread, late water. Had to get baked potato fixings from the salad bar. Fortunately, the food there was very good. The prime rib was HUGE and cooked to perfection.

The food was just about the only good thing at White's City. Knowledgable service was definitely lacking. We were given the wrong closing time for the local store -- they told us 8:30 PM, but it was actually 8 PM. However, at 7:54 PM the clerk had closed up shop and would not open -- just gave us a blank glare.

I almost forgot the big blunder. They screwed up our rooms. The Front Desk confirmed that we had connecting rooms when we checked in. They were connecting all right -- just not with each other! Sheesh!

They solved that problem, but the tale of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of our travels continues...