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.