We are home once more after 23 days on the road! We had a wonderful trip -- good scenery, good experiences, and....best of all, good company. What fun to be together, experiencing new places, revisiting old memories, and laughing together throughout the day.
We left Kingman, AZ around ten o'clock this morning and arrived in Costa Mesa around 4:oo this afternoon. The day was filled with driving, stopping for diet cokes, and reminiscing about our trip. We made a list of "best ofs....". The list included:
Best Ice Cream Cone.....Mitchell, SD - where the ice cream was in homemade waffle cones.
Best Ice Cream Treat...Braums in Clinton, OK - brownie sundae that Elizabeth called a "little boat of goodness"
Best Rest Area....Chamberlain, SD - where the rest area included an interpretive experience about Lewis and Clark's expedition and a room with brochures from areas throughout SD
Best Museum....Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL
Best Historical Village....Prairie Homestead in SD
When we were young and travelling with our parents and we came home from vacation, Dad used to say, "I've been away, but I must say, 'Home looks good to me." We echo that sentiment.
Thanks to all who read and let us know they were following this blog. We appreciate your interest and enjoyed sharing our Triple A Road Trip with you.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
At Grand Canyon
Sing along:
At Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon
You can hike you can hike
Without getting tired without getting tired
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
This is a song Lorie learned when she visited the Grand Canyon with Randy twenty-three years ago. We sung about being safe at the Grand Canyon as we drove in today. It was very hot and there was an extreme temperature warning in effect. We were not planning on hiking or anything like that, but we had our water, sunscreen, and hats ready for our sightseeing.
We started our day with viewing the IMAX film that is sponsored by National Geographic. We had all seen it before, but Elizabeth was a young child when she saw it and did not remember it at all. It had been several years since Lorie and I had seen it and we both had forgotten a lot. It is very well done and an excellent introduction to the history of the canyon. It really struck me today, thinking about how the first people who saw it must have felt. Here they are, walking through a desert terrain with trees and suddenly, the Grand Canyon. I wonder if they thought they were at the end of the world?
After the IMAX film, we drove into the canyon. There is a free shuttle that takes you around the park to the different locations. It was very busy today, but people were remarkably kind and patient. It was amazing. We rode on the blue line to the Grand Canyon Village where the hotels and restaurants are. From there, we transferred to the red line that takes you along the South Rim, stopping at various locations. Because of the crowd, it took waiting through three buses to get on a red line bus. It was extremely hot (although the buses are air-conditioned), so we decided that I would get off at Powell's Point (where you can transfer to go back) and Lorie and Elizabeth would ride up to the next stop, get off there, and hike back to me - only 3/10ths of a mile. This would let Elizabeth get a little hike and let us all see some of the canyon. When Lorie and Elizabeth came back to me, we would all ride back to the Village and eat lunch.
Our plan worked out fine. We ate lunch at the restaurant at Bright Angel Lodge. Our lunch was excellent and the service was fantastic. We really enjoyed ourselves. By the time we left the canyon, we had been there over six hours - we had not thought we would stay that long, but we did and there were so many more things we could have done.
We drove up the road to Kingman for our last night. We are enjoying the hotel room and talking about the wonderful trip we have had.
Elizabeth just came back from trying to get a snack from the vending machine. As with everything else on this trip, she had an adventure. She put in her first dollar and did not receive anything. She put in her second dollar, pushed the button for a Hershey Bar and got a Twix Bar. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and got two Milky Way bars. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for an Almond Joy and got a Snickers. Finally, she tried one more time to get a Reese's and she got a package of Hostess donettes. She decided that she had enough snacks for all of us and there had to something there that everyone would like and she returned to the room, snacks in hand and story on her lips!
Henry texted Elizabeth this morning and said, "I miss you. I miss Mom. I miss Auntie. Come home now." Throughout the day, he texted "Will I see you in 24 hours now?" Yes, Henry, you will see us soon.
At Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon
You can hike you can hike
Without getting tired without getting tired
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
This is a song Lorie learned when she visited the Grand Canyon with Randy twenty-three years ago. We sung about being safe at the Grand Canyon as we drove in today. It was very hot and there was an extreme temperature warning in effect. We were not planning on hiking or anything like that, but we had our water, sunscreen, and hats ready for our sightseeing.
We started our day with viewing the IMAX film that is sponsored by National Geographic. We had all seen it before, but Elizabeth was a young child when she saw it and did not remember it at all. It had been several years since Lorie and I had seen it and we both had forgotten a lot. It is very well done and an excellent introduction to the history of the canyon. It really struck me today, thinking about how the first people who saw it must have felt. Here they are, walking through a desert terrain with trees and suddenly, the Grand Canyon. I wonder if they thought they were at the end of the world?
After the IMAX film, we drove into the canyon. There is a free shuttle that takes you around the park to the different locations. It was very busy today, but people were remarkably kind and patient. It was amazing. We rode on the blue line to the Grand Canyon Village where the hotels and restaurants are. From there, we transferred to the red line that takes you along the South Rim, stopping at various locations. Because of the crowd, it took waiting through three buses to get on a red line bus. It was extremely hot (although the buses are air-conditioned), so we decided that I would get off at Powell's Point (where you can transfer to go back) and Lorie and Elizabeth would ride up to the next stop, get off there, and hike back to me - only 3/10ths of a mile. This would let Elizabeth get a little hike and let us all see some of the canyon. When Lorie and Elizabeth came back to me, we would all ride back to the Village and eat lunch.
Our plan worked out fine. We ate lunch at the restaurant at Bright Angel Lodge. Our lunch was excellent and the service was fantastic. We really enjoyed ourselves. By the time we left the canyon, we had been there over six hours - we had not thought we would stay that long, but we did and there were so many more things we could have done.
We drove up the road to Kingman for our last night. We are enjoying the hotel room and talking about the wonderful trip we have had.
Elizabeth just came back from trying to get a snack from the vending machine. As with everything else on this trip, she had an adventure. She put in her first dollar and did not receive anything. She put in her second dollar, pushed the button for a Hershey Bar and got a Twix Bar. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and got two Milky Way bars. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for an Almond Joy and got a Snickers. Finally, she tried one more time to get a Reese's and she got a package of Hostess donettes. She decided that she had enough snacks for all of us and there had to something there that everyone would like and she returned to the room, snacks in hand and story on her lips!
Henry texted Elizabeth this morning and said, "I miss you. I miss Mom. I miss Auntie. Come home now." Throughout the day, he texted "Will I see you in 24 hours now?" Yes, Henry, you will see us soon.
Friday Fine
We spent today driving from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona. We know that we are mainly driving now - it is time to begin to think of home, but we are making notes of places we want to stop next time. This is just desert driving, but the desert is beautiful in many ways. As we drove, we drove through some of the old towns on Route 66. We also took turns taking naps in "the cave" (as we have called the back seat). Elizabeth is the usual passenger in the back seat, so we call her the "cave dweller". However, she is willing to share the cave when someone else wants to take a nap. And, she left her mother have the cave the whole time she was ill.
While we have shared responsibilities and places in the car, we mainly acted along these lines:
Christie - driver
Lorie - journalist
Elizabeth - cave dweller and reporter of text messages that came in throughout the day, mainly from Melissa or Grandma.
People may wonder about the "journalist" role for Lorie. Lorie keeps a notebook that is a running record of what is happening throughout the trip. It is both a record of events and a recording of thoughts and ideas she has at the time. She records the time and what is happening. She also keeps track of things we spot such as license plates, dead animals, trains, and anything else that we deem important enough to keep a list of. Whoever sits in the passenger seat in the front has to be the journalist. Elizabeth and I are both happy to let Lorie have this role as often as possible, although Elizabeth did become an excellent journalist while her mother was sick.
We reached Flagstaff around 6:30 and went to the hotel - or at least what we thought was our hotel. It turns out there are two Hampton hotels in Flagstaff and we had gone to the one on the east, but our reservation was for the west. We went six miles more down the road to that one and it was nicer, so we were very happy that we were "west"!
Grand Canyon is on our schedule for Saturday!
While we have shared responsibilities and places in the car, we mainly acted along these lines:
Christie - driver
Lorie - journalist
Elizabeth - cave dweller and reporter of text messages that came in throughout the day, mainly from Melissa or Grandma.
People may wonder about the "journalist" role for Lorie. Lorie keeps a notebook that is a running record of what is happening throughout the trip. It is both a record of events and a recording of thoughts and ideas she has at the time. She records the time and what is happening. She also keeps track of things we spot such as license plates, dead animals, trains, and anything else that we deem important enough to keep a list of. Whoever sits in the passenger seat in the front has to be the journalist. Elizabeth and I are both happy to let Lorie have this role as often as possible, although Elizabeth did become an excellent journalist while her mother was sick.
We reached Flagstaff around 6:30 and went to the hotel - or at least what we thought was our hotel. It turns out there are two Hampton hotels in Flagstaff and we had gone to the one on the east, but our reservation was for the west. We went six miles more down the road to that one and it was nicer, so we were very happy that we were "west"!
Grand Canyon is on our schedule for Saturday!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Today we followed Route 66 through Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and into New Mexico. We enjoyed seeing the remnants of some Route 66 motels and curios. We also had fun looking at the outside of motels that are still there. We enjoyed pointing out to Elizabeth some places we had stayed as children and talked about what made a motel "good" back then - it was all about the pool and did it have a diving board and slide?
We stopped at a Stuckey's and purchased a pecan log for old times sake. The one we stopped at was right before the Texas/New Mexico border. The woman there told us that the daughter of the original Stuckey's owner still owns seven of the Stuckey's there in Texas and New Mexico. We wanted to show Elizabeth the type of souvenirs we used to purchase. Stuckey's had a lot of those old type souvenirs, but they did not have those little ceder chests that had the name of the town printed on them. Lorie and I used to collect those.
Tonight we are in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We drove through the town on our way to find something for dinner. There were some interesting places: the Lizard Lounge and the Cowboy Place where you could have your own powwow, but we ended up at Subway. We enjoyed seeing the old signs, but most of the places are closed up or already gone with only the sign left. One of our favorite signs was for an old RV campground and it said, "Horses welcome". We liked that.
Lorie is much better today. She says she is finally beginning to feel like herself again. She stayed awake most of the day, so that is a good sign.
Our Triple A Trip is almost over-just a couple of more days. We are trying to squeeze a lot into them.
We stopped at a Stuckey's and purchased a pecan log for old times sake. The one we stopped at was right before the Texas/New Mexico border. The woman there told us that the daughter of the original Stuckey's owner still owns seven of the Stuckey's there in Texas and New Mexico. We wanted to show Elizabeth the type of souvenirs we used to purchase. Stuckey's had a lot of those old type souvenirs, but they did not have those little ceder chests that had the name of the town printed on them. Lorie and I used to collect those.
Tonight we are in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We drove through the town on our way to find something for dinner. There were some interesting places: the Lizard Lounge and the Cowboy Place where you could have your own powwow, but we ended up at Subway. We enjoyed seeing the old signs, but most of the places are closed up or already gone with only the sign left. One of our favorite signs was for an old RV campground and it said, "Horses welcome". We liked that.
Lorie is much better today. She says she is finally beginning to feel like herself again. She stayed awake most of the day, so that is a good sign.
Our Triple A Trip is almost over-just a couple of more days. We are trying to squeeze a lot into them.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
From Missouri to Oklahoma
Lorie is feeling a little better, so we were able to get back on the road. Elizabeth was happy that we got out of the land of "Misery" (Missouri). We had a slow morning, but were on the road by around ten.
We just mainly drove today, but we did make one stop that we all really enjoyed. In Carthage, Missouri, the Precious Moments Chapel and Gardens is open daily for visitors. The Precious Moments creator, Sam Butcher, has built a beautiful chapel and gardens with Precious Moments statues, paintings, and stained glass windows, all reflecting and telling of the glory of God. They call it a "ministry of art" with 9,000 square feet of artwork, 84 hand painted Biblical murals, and 30 verses and stories in stained glass. It was a little bit of a struggle for Lorie to walk through it all, but we took it slowly and just were really blessed by it. We had heard about it, but had no idea it would be so beautiful. Lorie used to collect Precious Moments figurines, so it was extra special for her to see some of the stories that went along with the some of the figures.
Elizabeth had been waiting all day today for a Big Mac, so that is what we had for lunch. Christie has been waiting the whole trip to eat at a Cracker Barrel, so that is where we ate dinner. Food is quite cheap these days because Lorie is not eating - she is only sharing bites of everyone else's meals.
Elizabeth has been struggling at every hotel with the showers and the faucets. Each night it is a challenge to help her understand how to work the various equipment. She would like to make it known that she had a 4.0 GPA, is a high school graduate and a commencement speaker and she can't help it if the hotel suppliers are intent on making getting a shower nearly impossible. Tonight she came out of the shower and announced that she had scalded her big toe. Her mother said, "I meant to tell you how it worked, but you were already in and you didn't ask."
So, as you can see, we are having an exciting time. And you thought all we were doing was traveling.
Elizabeth's Birthday Pictures
Elizabeth on the morning of her birthday. Lorie had found a piece of cake at a local store. We put the numerals "1" and "8" candles on it. We got matches from the hotel desk clerk, so we could light the candles and sing "Happy Birthday". We sang fast, just in case the candles might have made the smoke alarm go off.
You can see Elizabeth's American Girl dolls in the picture.
Elizabeth at Soldier Field on her birthday. Soldier Field is the home of the Chicago Bears. One of the things Elizabeth wanted to do on her birthday was go to Soldier Field.
Elizabeth and Lorie sitting on a bench on the side of Soldier Field.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A Day in the Hospital
We spent the day at St. John's Hospital in Rolla, MO. This was obviously not on our original plan, but sometimes plans change. Lorie has continued to get weaker and weaker and feel worse and worse, so we knew we had to do something. We took her to a clinic this morning, but after seeing her and hearing her symptoms, they said we needed to go to the emergency at the hospital.
We could not have asked for the hospital to be nicer. They took us in right away and began to listen to Lorie and try to figure out what was wrong. The conclusion was that she probably has a very nasty bug and it just hasn't worked its way out yet, even though she has been ill since July 9. They gave her something to stop the vomiting and control the nausea and that has already helped her to feel better. They said to push liquids as much as possible, eat yogurt, and rest.
We are staying in Rolla again tonight. We were released from the emergency room at about 3:00. We went and got a room and put Lorie to bed. Then Elizabeth and I went to get her prescription filled. Those of you from small towns will appreciate the directions the hotel gave us to get to Wal-Mart: "Go down to the large cow and turn right. Drive to the first big intersection and turn right. Go down the road and you will see Wal-Mart." Guess what? The directions worked. Lorie's insurance also worked for which we are thanking God!
We are in the hotel tonight and hope that we can be on the road again tomorrow.
We could not have asked for the hospital to be nicer. They took us in right away and began to listen to Lorie and try to figure out what was wrong. The conclusion was that she probably has a very nasty bug and it just hasn't worked its way out yet, even though she has been ill since July 9. They gave her something to stop the vomiting and control the nausea and that has already helped her to feel better. They said to push liquids as much as possible, eat yogurt, and rest.
We are staying in Rolla again tonight. We were released from the emergency room at about 3:00. We went and got a room and put Lorie to bed. Then Elizabeth and I went to get her prescription filled. Those of you from small towns will appreciate the directions the hotel gave us to get to Wal-Mart: "Go down to the large cow and turn right. Drive to the first big intersection and turn right. Go down the road and you will see Wal-Mart." Guess what? The directions worked. Lorie's insurance also worked for which we are thanking God!
We are in the hotel tonight and hope that we can be on the road again tomorrow.
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