Day 11, 12 and 13

The last 3 days have been spent driving from San Fran to Ft. Lewis, Washington. Once we started getting close, I found myself getting a little sad. I think this was for two reasons, one being the end of our incredible journey across this fabulous nation of ours, but also because I realized I was in this foreign, gray and dreary place to stay, not just to visit. I am sure I will be very happy once I get settled in, but it makes being away from family and friends real to me.

Northern California with the coastal redwoods and ocean and then Oregon was breathtaking. The journey through the Redwoods was spiritual. It was as if it put me in touch with my Native American ancestors. It gave me some feeling of how/why they may have worshipped the earth and nature. Being surrounded by that beauty and entire sensory experience, I was aware of something so much greater than myself. For me, that is God.The grandeur is something that can never be captured in a picture because it impacts all of your senses, bombards them. In the middle of the forests, the trees cover you in a canopy, the light just barely filtering through the branches. The air smells of damp earth and is so clean. The air is damp and a gentle mist constantly falls. There is a deep silence...and the burls feel like velvet, they are so soft. It is something I cannot properly describe in words

The drive up the coast was beautiful as well. Hwy 101 curved back and forth between the forest/mountains and the wild Pacific Ocean. You would be riding through deep trees when suddenly the view would open up and you would be driving along a cliff above the raging ocean. The waves were huge. We stopped in one place to take pictures of a lighthouse on a cliff and when we looked down the cliff to the ocean below, there were hundreds of sea lions on the rocks. They were so unexpected and you could here their barking and growling faintly over the crashing waves. I have also determined that people in Oregon are the nicest people i have ever met. They were so sweet, giving us ideas for which routes to take and even giving us weather updates. The people at the hotel this morning even made the kids cups of snacks to go for the road. Small I know, but still such a kind gesture. Oregon also completely changed my mind about Best Western Hotels as I spent the past two nights in two of the nicest Best Westerns I have ever seen.
A funny thing happened on this trip. On our first or second day of our trip, I got a small chip and resulting crack in my windshield. It was at the very bottom of my windshield on the driver's side and probably 7 inches long when we first noticed it. It took us a while because it was too low to be visible from inside the car. With each stop, it got a little bigger and by the time we stopped last night it was a little over half way across the window. By the end of the day today, it has almost completely made it across the windshield.I expect that by morning, it will be completely across. I guess for a lot of people, it would be a major bummer to have a cracked windshield and I have to admit I was a little bummed when it first happened, but now I have a strange kinship with my crack. I look at the twists and turns it makes across my windshield and it is much like the twisting journey we took across the country. I look at each change in direction and known what city we were in when it happened. I think it only fitting that the crack finish it's journey as we complete ours, or at least this leg of it. A new part of our journey begins tomorrow...

I apologize for all my spelling and grammar mistakes. Typing on the iPad is torture. Can't wait to find my laptop cord. I love you and miss you all.

Day 9/10

Rice-a-roni, the San Francisco treat! We had a very nice time in San Francisco. It was a long drive from Vegas, but we finally made it. We drove by NTC(National Training Center) near Barstow, CA and I was reminded why I am glad that we are not stationed there. It is in the middle of the desert with no trees or greenery in sight. Ick! It is definitely not my kind of place at all. It was kind of crazy, though. It was like I blinked and suddenly we were out of the desert and surrounded by these beautiful lush green mountains. Shortly after we got into the mountains, this heavy fog set in that was both beautiful and eerie at the same time. It was foggy off and on from there to San Fran which was blanketed in heavy, thick fog. We passed this cattle farm on I-5 and it was the single most horrendous smell I have ever smelled in my life. There were thousand of cattle crammed into this small muddy area and it stunk for miles and miles. From what I gathered on the Internet it is always a horrid stench. It was definitely enough to make me not crave a steak for a while. Cory still insists that his steaks comes from happy cows on the hill, not that nastiness.

We spent the day yesterday exploring San Francisco. We walked around the city the entire day. We took the train into town from our hotel and walked from the station all around. We went to the Ferry Building which had homemade bread and a cheese store, then down to pier 39 where we did some shopping and got to see Sea Lions in the bay. Fan-freaking-tastic! They were sunning themselves and wrestling. It was a very cool thing to see. After that, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf and had the best fish sandwich I have ever has at Sally's Famous Fishwich. I definitely what that place is famous. We walked around the Cannery and Ghirardelli Square. It smelled so yummy, but I managed to abstain, although I probably could have indulged with all the walking we did. We also, walked up to the top of Lombard Street, which is reputed to be the crookedest street in the world. Only we walked up the straight part and it seemed straight up. My legs and lungs were burning when we reached the top and my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. It was very worth the view from the top, although it would have been easier to just take the cable car up. Walking down was even more fun, while trying not to let Collis and his stroller run away.

After more walking back to Pier 39 and a dinner at Hard Rock, we caught a street car that we thought would take us back to the BART(train station). Only, it went out of service 3 blocks from our stop, so we walked the last 3 blocks before hopping our train and then shuttle to our hotel. I have to say that San Fran has the best transportation system I have ever seen. I wondered if staying as far out at the airport as we did would be a mistake, but the transportation system was easy to navigate and fast, once we learned to ask for assistance. Ha ha.

Now, we are headed north on 101 to the Redwood Forest. We will probably stop in Eureka tonight depending on how the day goes. We miss and love everyone.

Day7/8

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed to the Hoover Dam. It was pretty cool. Lila was super excited because she recognized it from Transformers. It was huge! We got to see some Rams grazing below the dam which was an unexpected surprise. I tried to get some pics, but i am not sure how good they are, as it was a long way to the bottom.

We spent the last 2 nights in Las Vegas and we had a blast. It isn't necessarily the most family oriented place around, but we made it work. We all had a blast. We stayed at Excalibur and Lila loved staying in a castle. It was a very nice resort. When we first walked in and through the casino, Lila was like, " Wow, I see lots of games to play!" she was disappointed when she found out they were adult games. Luckily, there was a huge arcade downstairs so she did get to play some games.

We drove into Vegas in the dark and you could see the strip from miles away. You came around the mountain and then all of a sudden there were lights for as far as you could see and in the middle was the strip. I could not believe how bright all the lights were. The traffic was crazy, of course and when I first walked into the casino of the hotel, the lights and activity left me feeling lightly overstimulated and disoriented.

We fit as much as possible into our day and a half, including so much food that I barely fit into my pants. Someone should have warned me about all you can eat all day buffets! WHOA! It was delicious, though. After breakfast yesterday, we went to see the Bodies Exhibit, Lila has been wanting to see for a while, now. It was very interesting and didn't even faze that kid of mine. After that, we spent some time exploring the Strip. I was honestly glad I was traveling with a girl and a baby boy as opposed to the other way around. We'll just say that prostitution is alive and well in Vegas. The escort services were passing out "business cards" complete with pictures of naked women with stars over their girlie parts. Luckily, Lila didn't seem overly interested other than, "gosh mom, more naked women, really?" I have a feeling a little boy might have paid more attention. We did make sure to see the fountains at Bellagio which were stunning. Both of the kids loved them.

Now, we're back on the road headed to San Francisco. We're over half way to our destination. We will probably spend two nights and then up 101 to the Redwood Forest and Oregon Coast.

To all of our family and friends we miss and love you.

Day 6/7

It's the morning of Day 7 and we're headed to Vegas. Yesterday, we went to the Grand Canyon and I was awestruck!!! It was possibly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was overwhelming. We walked a portion of the canyon rim and around every turn was another beautiful view. I think I was most surprised by how huge it was. I expected it to be big, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be that huge. It was miles and miles of beauty. There was snow all over the place. The kids had fun playing in the snow that was all around the park. Heck, who am I kidding? I had a blast playing in it, too. The weather was beautiful. We were comfortable in just sweatshirts all day until the sun started setting and then the temperature dropped fast. It was 17 degrees when we woke up this morning, but was back up to 45 by 9 am.

Day 5

It's officially near the end of Day 5 of our travel. There wasn't much to report yesterday except for a very long drive across western Texas and a fantastic dinner at State Line BBQ in El Paso. It was phenomenal. We continued to drive for several more hours after dinner all the way through New Mexico and ending up in Willcox, AZ. It was a very long drive with the highlight being going through a border control checkpoint where we got asked if we were American citizens and were all related. I guess they decided we weren't smuggling any illegal aliens as they didn't make us open up the haul trailer.

Last night, we realized that we were only about an hour from Tombstone so we decided to put off driving and make a quick stop which ended up being an almost all day stop. I am so glad we decided to make the detour as it ended up being a blast for both us and the kids. We got to see a gunfight, take a stage coach ride and learn more about the way brothels and ladies of the night operated than I ever needed to know. Perhaps the most interesting part of the day was a tour of the Bird Cage Theater. It is one of e few buildings to survive both of the major Tombstone fires and is completely original. When it was closed down, they literally just boarded it up with everything still inside, so when they reopened it as a museum, everything is still original, including bullet holes from shootouts. The last show posters are still on the wall. It was like walking back 130 years in time. They haven't done any restorations so it is pretty much like it was left, right down to the whiskey barrels in the basement. It was a combination theater, casino and brothel. Talk about a multi-purpose facility. We even got to see Wyatt Earp's house, but not Virgil's since some hoodlum kids burned it down while playing with matches on the lot in 1998. I can't even begin to describe how excited I was about going to Tombstone. I was like a kid in a candy store. The people that live and work there even dress up in old western garb. It was well worth the lost time on our trip.

Now, we are on our way to Phoenix for the night. Our original goal was to make it to Flagstaff, but we've decided to make it an early night and then on to the Grand Canyon in the morning. We are thinking about staying at a lodge in the park overlooking the canyon, but haven't completely made up our mind.

To our family and friends, we love and miss you guys.

Random thoughts

As we drive across the country with our kids in the back seat and a small trailer of our most important possessions being pulled behind us, I can't help but think how few people have really had an opportunity to see this great country of ours through the window of a car and on foot. So many times, we hop on a plane to hit the big tourist destinations and miss the best parts of the country, those small places in between that you don't see on the travel channel. What an experience it is for us to be able to do this as a family. Not only to we get to explore our country from Georgia to Washington, but we get to do it as family, spending over two weeks together. I know for some people two weeks in a car with two little ones would seem like a special kind of torture, but what an adventure of a lifetime. It's such a great thing to have nowhere in particular to go and to pick the next destination and route as we go. Like this morning, we knew we wanted to eventually make our way to the Grand Canyon, but didn't decide until we hit the road to stay on a southern route through El Paso or head up toward Albuquerque. We chose El Paso and the drive down the interstate is beautiful. Right now, we are surrounded by beautiful rocky hills and scrub brush and beautiful cloudless sky for as far as the eye can see. There isn't an exit or building in sight, nothing to disturb the natural beauty of this place. Every once in a while, we come up a hill and it looks like the world is going to drop off when we reach the top, but when you get there the view opens up to even more beauty.

I only hope that our lives continue to give us the opportunity to share this country with our children. I can't imagine raising children in a city of concrete and metal and them never experiencing all the natural wonders of this country. For now, I get to thank God and the U.S. Army for this fantastic opportunity for our family. I pray that I can instill a sense of adventure and a desire to explore the world around them in my children. There is so much out there that can't be found in a video game or behind a computer screen, if you are willing to go out and find it.

Day 3

Here is the day 3 update, but on the morning of day 4. We spent the entire day in San Antonio and had a fantastic time. Spending more time there just made me love it that much more. We were tempted to spend another day, but decided it would be a wiser decision to get back on the road. So, we are now headed down I-10 toward El Paso. Hopefully, we will make it past El Paso to the border with New Mexico before dinner time. It has been recommended that we eat at the County Line.

Yesterday, we took our time getting up and out on the town. It was nice to semi sleep in for a change. Once we got up, we hit the River Center mall for breakfast and some shopping. The mall is awesome! Cory and I both bought new cowboy boots. We did a lot of walking around and just seeing the stops. The Alamo was only a couple of blocks away so we spent some time walking around there. It is almost overwhelming to stand in the middle of the Alamo and think of the sacrifices that were made there. I was surprised by how small it is, but very little of the original walls still stand. A huge portion of the original foundation is under buildings across the street. The gardens on the grounds of the Alamo are beautiful. They have a museum that has all kinds of treasures from people who were there, including a locket with a piece of David Crockett's hair which I found odd. The day ended with dinner at Fogo de Chao. YUMMO!

We are currently driving through the middle of Texas and I am amazed at what a beautiful state it is. We've seen so many different types of land in this state, from wetlands to beautiful prairies to the rolling, rocky hills of west Texas. It is so very different from Georgia. I can also tell you that the people of Texas love George Bush.

To our family and friends in Georgia, we hops y'all survived the winter storm. We love you guys and miss you.

Day 2

Today was a day filled mostly with driving. We all slept late this morning, or later than lately which meant 7 am. I slept great last night for the first time in probably a week so it was awesome. We hit the road around 8:30 and stopped for breakfast about an hour later. Other than a quick stop for gas and to fix sandwiches it was driving the rest of the time. The kids have done really great with all the riding. I have been pleasantly surprised. Collis has his moments, but has been good for the most part. Lila hasn't complained a second about all the riding and has been documenting all the states we are going through in her journal. She is excited about traveling to so many new places. We finally got to San Antonio about 4 pm and after some minor issues with construction we got checked into our hotel which is right on the Riverwalk.

For the record, I LOVE San Antonio. Immediately upon getting here, I fell completely in love. The atmosphere and history here is just amazing. I think it will definitely make it on my short list of retirement possibilities. We spent some time this afternoon walking on the Riverwalk and had an awesome dinner at this Mexican restaurant. It was amazing! Now we are settled into our hotel room, the kids are bathed and I am considering a cup of coffee on the balcony(without the kids). Tomorrow our plans include a trip to the Alamo, more exploring on the Riverwalk and maybe a stop at some of the missions. I am sure my camera will be working overtime.

Day 1 Part 2

Day one of our cross country adventure is coming to a close. We sent the afternoon in New Orleans and are now settled into our hotel in Lafayette, LA which leaves about 7 hours until we get to San Antonio. We will be in San Antonio for a couple of days.

I really enjoyed New Orleans this afternoon even though it was a very short stop. We spent some time walking around the French Quarter which I loved, especially the street performers. They were awesome. I wish we would have had more time to peruse the antique and art shops, but with small children and limited time, we avoided then for the most part. I have to admit that I was a little shocked about how dirty it was, especially canal street. ICK

I was also very sad to are how much of the devastation from Katrina is still evident. There are so many homes that are still destroyed and entire areas that are deserted. I guess I was expecting it to be so much better since it has been 5 years. It was heart breaking.

I wil try to post pics as soon as possible and hopefully write a longer post, but my laptop cord is missing, so I am relying on the ipad for now and the virtual keyboard is giving me fits. For our family and friends who are reading this, we love you and miss you.

Day 1

It's day one and we are officially on our way. We are a couple days later than we planned, but bumps in the road are expected. Thank goodness for fabulous friends and family that helped us finally get through packing and loading and on the road. It is hard to believe we have left Columbus and are headed to Washington to live for the next three years. Saying goodbye to friends and family was hard. Saying goodbye to my mom was gut wrenching. However, I am very excited for the adventure in front of us. First stop is New Orleans and from there San Antonio.

We hit the road at 0-dark-30 this morning with a quick goodbye to Cory's Dad and Step-Mom. Luckily for us, the kids slept until breakfast time. We pulled off at an exit that boasted a Waffle House and ended up at a little family restaurant with a country breakfast buffet that was awesome and cheap which made it even better. So, if you ever stop in Defuniak Springs off I-10, try McLain's Family Steakhouse. Now, the kids are watching dvd's quietly in the back seat and we are about 2.5 hours from New Orleans. The weather is beautiful and traffic is fairly light so far which is good.