June 7, 2011 back to "P" Town

No one set their alarms for this morning! We all slept like logs until after 8:30! We chilled out a bit and had breakfast on board. Lindsey and Brett went to the gift shop to look to look around. We pulled out around 10:30 for our last day on the road. We had a blast!!! We drove like crazy people for an average of 6 hours a day ( except two days of packing in MS, two days in Cleveland with Brett’s family and a day in Colorado Springs and Castle Rock with cousins), but took EVERY opportunity to experience things along the way!

Our last stop before home is Pea Soup Anderson’s. This is tradition in our family. We always stop here to celebrate the good times we had on the road, and to re-focus on things back in “P” Town and beyond! Brett is so excited to get all moved in to his new place, and Lindsey is excited to help him! He got a call back for a second interview in Berkeley on Friday!!!! We are so excited for him, I know he will do awesome!

That’s all for this journey. I hope you enjoyed following our adventures on this blog. Please sign in as a follower, and feel free to comment on the posts, we LOVE hearing from all of you. Until next time, safe travels to all of you, wherever your next journey takes you!

June 6, 2011 heading to Azusa

As you can see, the kids have had all they can handle of Vegas!!!

This morning we decided to leave Las Vegas on a big note, so we went to the MGM for their Grand Breakfast Buffet. After breakfast, we pulled out at about 11:30. We planned on meeting up at Bryan’s place in Azusa for a late lunch, but pulling the trailer with the car has definite speed limitations, especially in California (pretty strict limits when towing). So we ended up with an early 4pm dinner at Outback in the Mall next to Bryan’s apt. It was SO much fun listening to the kids catching up on things!! We had a lot of good laughs :) We went over to Bryan’s to show Brett his place, and to see how everything was shaping up. It’s looking really good! Bryan has his drums all set up, and plays them daily with all the muting pads in place of course. We talked and talked, and I was loving the visit, but we needed to hit the road. I had no idea how the time just flew by until we got back in the RV and the clock said 8pm! We wanted to get to Harris Ranch before dark, hahaha, not much chance of that happening!

After the Grapevine, we stopped a couple of times for fuel, driver changes and leg stretches. We pulled into Harris about midnight.

June 5, 2011 day in Vegas

We set aside the whole day today tour around Vegas! We decided to park the car at The Monte Carlo which is sort of in the middle of the strip, so that we could make a loop and end up at the car when we were done! Well, it sounded good in theory, hahaha. As we walked, the next casino looked so close, but they are HUGE ! You can’t just walk down the street from place to place. There are very few cross walks which is a good thing because all the taxi’s, busses and limos have crazy drivers! At almost every casino you have to walk up to an elevated walkway, follow a very zig-zaggy path so you are sure to do some gambling or shopping in each place, then back down to the next Casino.

We started off at the Monte Carlo,then continued on to New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Tropicana, MGM, Paris, Bally’s, Flamingo, and the Palazzo. WOW!!!!!!!!!! About 95 degrees, a few walking miles under our belts, and we weren’t done yet! Oh, I forgot, we did take time out for lunch in MGM at Rain Forest Café. After we finished at the Palazzo, we had to go back to Bellagio to pick up our tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s “O”. That meant we had to cross the street, and as I explained before, it was not an easy task! We then had to walk all the way past Caesars Palace which takes up at least 3 very long blocks, get our tickets, and walk BACK past Caesars Palace, and cross the street again to the Venetian to continue on our tour.

We looked through the Venetian, which is very beautiful. You would swear that you were actually walking along the canals in Venice, Italy! Brett and Lindsey took a canal boat ride, and their gondolier serenaded them as they meandered through “Venice”. We continued on to the Wynn, then crossed the street again to Treasure Island. It was now time for our show, so we had to walk past Caesars Palace (hahaha) back to the Belaggio.

We got our popcorn, soda and water then found our seats in the theatre. It felt SO good to sit!!!! The show was amazing, and Brett really liked it! I think it is one of the best shows in Vegas, so I’m glad we were able to get tickets.

So now, after the show finished, we had to walk back past Caesars Palace (we know it all too well) back to the Mirage and continue our tour. We left the Mirage, walked past Caesars Palace (I promise, this is the last time), saw the Cosmopolitan, Aria, Crystals (high end shopping), and finally, back to our car!! What a day!!! We all can hardly move!!!!

In addition to all of the casinos that we saw, and believe me, there are lots more, we went to Hard Rock, M&M World, Coca Cola Store, Hawaiian Marketplace, and others. At Coca Cola, Lindsey and Brett ordered sampler trays of sodas that Coke produces in different parts of the world! They looked SO PRETTY! They tasted however, kind of strange. We sipped and laughed for about 20 minutes. Stay away from the “Beverley” from Italy!!! Hahaha. The Guarana from Brazil was pretty good, as was the Ginger Ale from England. We had a great time being soda sommeliers!

June 4, 2011 arriving in Las Vegas

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APRIL!

Today was a long day of driving, but there were some really beautiful spots! Brett rode with Rich, and Lindsey and I followed. We left about 9:30, drove through Utah, part of Arizona, and into Nevada arriving in Las Vegas by 6:00.

We went through hours and hours of very interesting rock formations, we followed the high and turbulent river, and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the canyon. You could see for miles across the canyon, and it looked like someone painted it with all the shades of purple and blue. I wish my camera could do it justice. Once we entered Arizona, it was very flat and desert for as far as we could see. All of a sudden, out of literally nowhere, the entire skyline of Las Vegas appeared on the horizon. Even though we could see it, it took us quite a while to get there.

We pulled into our KOA behind Circus Circus, and then hit Las Vegas Blvd. As luck would have it, we arrived just in time for dinner at Mesa Grill! As everyone knows, this is my all time favorite restaurant! We ordered way too much food, as I knew we would, but enjoyed every morsel!! As we walked through Caesar’s Palace, Brett, Lindsey and Rich tried their luck at the slot machines. The all came away winners, netting a combined profit of a little over $3, hahaha! We watched the water show at Bellagio, and drove down the strip to see all the lights. Everyone was pretty tired, so we decided to get some sleep and hit the Forum Shops and the other casinos tomorrow.

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Friday, June 3, 2011

Today, we headed out for Utah! We decided to take the scenic route through the Rockies! There was still quite a bit of snow, and it was gorgeous!! We stopped at the summit to take in the view and rest a bit. Rich and I made our lunch in the RV and Lindsey and Brett drove into Vail to grab a bite to eat and look around. They were lucky to be there during the Teva Mountain Games! There were booths everywhere and competitions going on. They did a little window shopping in the ski village, and then headed back to the highway.

The Colorado River was as high as I’ve ever seen it!! Parts of it were going SO fast, it was crashing against the banks and going completely over the bike road! The water was right up to the highway in some of the low places, and WAY overflowing the usual banks! We saw two kayakers who were not having an easy time of it! I’m always amazed at how fast the terrain changes as we approach Grand Junction, CO. We leave the rocky, pine studded mountains and enter a very flat and gravely stretch of highway. As we move into Utah, we begin seeing the red rock formations and beautiful striated edges of the mesas. It is really interesting how the land is so flat for miles, and the mesas just appear out of nowhere, like many islands in an ocean.

We all met up for a fuel stop in Grand Junction, and continued on to the Green River KOA for the night. We planned on BBQing hot dogs and making smores for dessert, but there was no grill at our site. No problem, Brett just “borrowed” one from aways down the road! We ate outside tonight, the weather was perfect! We decided which show we wanted to see in Vegas, did some laundry, watched a movie and turned in.

Thurs, June 2, 2011 visiting in Colorado

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYAN!

This morning we picked Brett up from the Denver International Airport. We went to breakfast at Einstein Bagels then came back to the RV so Brett could take a power nap.

By 11:30, we were off to Colorado Springs to have lunch with the Keala family. Ashley, Ally and Tyler gave Brett the “tour” of their house and backyard, and they were very excited to see us! We were lucky to see Kurtis because he had to work today, but he stopped by for a while and we caught up on things. The four of us, and Amy and the kids went to BJ’s for lunch. We had a great time! Tyler lost his first teeth, Ally showed us her piano recital video, and left me a very special message on my phone, and Ashley and I exchanged info for our contact list, shared apps and talked about softball. It was great visiting with Amy and hearing all about her work at the school, and what all is going on in the Keala household :) Ashley had a game to get to in Pueblo this evening, so after we finished our Pazookies, we gave our hugs and said goodbye until we pass through again.

On our way back up to Denver, we stopped in Castle Rock to see Brett’s cousin and her family. Brett hasn’t seen them in a very long time, so it was quite a reunion. Cathy (Brett’s cousin) is the daughter of Kris who we met at his Mom’s house in Cleveland. She and her husband Jake have two children, Nathan and Maggie. Today was Nathan’s first day of pre-school, and he told us all about it. He is so cute, and talks up a storm! Maggie just turned 1 year old and was practicing her newly acquired skill of walking. We took lots of pictures, and Brett had a really great time!

When we left, we stopped by Walmart to stock up on food, and then we headed back to the RV. Surprise….I’m getting spoiled! Brett and Lindsey BBQ’d tonight! It’s so much fun having him back on board. Tomorrow, we are headed to Utah.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011, Colorado

We all set our alarms and snooze buttons so we were sure to get Brett to the airport in Rapid City on time. Breakfast- check, backpack- check, new outfit- check, travel size tooth paste (we’ll see if his 10 ounce tube makes it past security), headphones-check!! He is ready to head to California and wow the Apple folks :)

We dropped him at the airport, took pictures, and wished him all the best. Rich and Lindsey wanted Starbucks so we headed to one that was just down the road. We had just sat down when Brett called Lindsey and told her that his toothpaste was confiscated, and that the flight was over booked. We crossed our fingers that he wouldn’t get bumped. Well, he made it on board, but another text soon followed – he left his clothes for his interview in the back of our car!!! A brief moment of panic set in and I felt totally responsible for distracting him with my picture taking :( Lindsey, who is always the calm voice of reason in a crisis, reminded him that he had 4 hours between his arrival and the interview that he could use to go shopping. Besides, then he would have another new work outfit when he starts his new job! LeeAnne picked him up from the Oakland airport, took him to get his resume printed, drove him to Stonridge Mall in Pleasanton to shop and grab a bite to eat, and then headed to Berkeley for the interview. She took a picture of him in the “newest” outfit and sent it to us. He looked very spiffy!

While all of this was unfolding, we were headed to Denver, Colorado. Rich drove the RV, and Lindsey and I followed in Brett’s car. The weather was good, and the drive was very pleasant. As we neared the border between Wyoming and Colorado, we remembered that Cheyenne was the Capital of Wyoming and we were going to almost pass right by it! I am trying to take a picture of all of the State Capitals for a scrapbook, so we just had to take a little detour. We left Rapid City at about 9am, and arrived at the Strasburg KOA just outside of Denver at about 7pm. We will pick up Brett at the airport in Denver tomorrow morning and then drive into Colorado Springs to visit with the Keala’s! Brett has a cousin in Castle Rock, just north of Colorado Springs, so we will try to make a connection there as well. Tonight we had Pizza delivered to the RV for dinner, then hit the hay early.

Tues., May 31, 2011 Mt. Rushmore

We got up fairly early today to drive to Mount Rushmore. It was beyond windy out there! We could hardly open the doors to the car or RV because there was so much pressure against them, and then it was hard to get out without them snapping back on us. It was very slow going out on the road. We were traveling through the grasslands for hours where there were absolutely no wind breaks, manmade or otherwise, for as far as we could see. As we were getting closer to Rapid City, we began seeing signs for Wall Drug, another spot in the coffee table book. As we pulled into the town of Wall, it was evident that this was not just a little store in the middle of nowhere. The store opened up into a huge indoor shopping mall of souvenir shops, cafes and themed areas.

We gained another hour as we traveled further west, so we ended up getting to Mount Rushmore around 2pm. It was a perfect day to walk around the Park. The wind had died down some, and it was in the high 80’s. The mountain is very impressive! Around every bend, I took picture after picture trying to capture every angle of each of the Presidents J We took a short Ranger hike to the base of the mountain and learned a lot of interesting facts about the history of Mount Rushmore. We walked down a bazillion steps

to the sculptor’s studio where they had models and pictures of the entire process of carving the mountain. They even have a room 8ft by 12ft built into the mountain behind Lincoln’s head where they have documents of historic interest and small busts of important Americans. This chamber is not visible from any public access road or walking trail, and is not open to the public. We then took another bazillion steps back up to the gift shop and parking lot J

We left Rushmore and headed a few more miles down the road to Crazy Horse Mountain. After 50 years of working on this magnificent memorial to the Native Americans, only the face of Crazy Horse is recognizable. You might think that not much has been done over the years, however, there are crews blasting, carving and removing stone 5 days a week all year long (weather permitting). The size of the carved face alone would hold the entire four figures at Mt Rushmore! This is a huge undertaking! It was all started by one man and his desire to honor the Native America story by carving a huge portrait of Chief Crazy Horse, (on his beautiful horse, overlooking the land of his people), into the side of a mountain. His name was Korczak Ziolkowski, and he owned the property that the mountain was on. He began his work, climbing over 700 steps to the top of the mountain each day (sometimes several times a day) carrying his drilling equipment on his back. He worked alone on the mountain for 14 years. During that time he married and had 10 children. When his boys reached 7 or 8 years old, they began to help drill and carry the dynamite up the mountain. It has from the beginning, and still is a family operation. In recent years the family has hired work crews and experts in rock science, but the family remains in charge of the operation. Several family members are still actively working on the mountain, as well as running the gift shop, tours and museum. Mrs. Ziolkowski, at 85 years old, still lives on the property. This entire project has always been, and will always be run through private donations. Starting next week, they will for the first time ever have two work crews on the mountain at once. They have hired a Canadian team of experts to start the carving of the horse as well as the back of Crazy Horse’s head.

We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s, and headed back to the RV so Brett could iron his clothes for his interview and get all packed for his flight in the morning.