We drove a lot today! It really only seemed like a lot because we drove through lots of open land. We saw first hand why Montana is called Big Sky Country. A whole lot of nothing there. We kept wondering how standard, paved roads even got there. The workers must have been so bored! We were but thank goodness for books on CD, right? That's when we started out book, Born to Run. It's really fascinating so far, I highly recommend it!
Ok, to begin our journey today we left Bozeman and continued east. As we were driving we came across Custer's Last Stand National Monument and Cemetery in Montana. When we got to the guard booth it was empty so we drove in for free then got out to look around. There were lots of head stones (not nearly as many as Arlington but the same look) and many were of Native Americans who had helped fight and died in different American battles. Some of our favorite Indian names were Curly and White Man Runs Him. I think everyone should have an Indian name but that's just my humble opinion.
After the cemetery we drove through different Indian reservations and a whole lot of open land and nothing. Boring! And it was overcast so it made it more dreary. This is when we started the book on CD. So great! I can't wait to hear more!
Eventually made it to Keystone, South Dakota. It's a tourist town just outside of Mt. Rushmore. Pretty much everything is still closed for the season and guess when it opens? Tomorrow! Yup, May 1st! We drove to the Super 8 and the sign on the door said, "Closed for the season. See you on May 1st!" One day early! But it worked out in our favor. We went to one of the two hotels still open and got a room but the room they gave us smelled like cigarette smoke so they upgraded us for free! Then, after talking to the front desk woman, we decided to go to Mt. Rushmore because she said they turned spotlights on the faces and that sounded pretty cool to us. So we drove up there and getting to the pay booth, you guessed it, empty, gate open. We just drove right into the park without paying! There weren't a lot of people there so we pretty much had the park to ourselves. We walked all around and took lots of pictures. If you've never been to Mt. Rushmore, I recommend it. It was my first time and it was really cool. We were there for about an hour and a half until they finally turned the lights on. Not as cool as we thought it would be but still neat.
We came back to the hotel and here we are watching stupid movies on HBO (like The Green Lantern and Fast and the Furious 4... lame!). Good night!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Today wasn't as uneventful as we thought it would be. Yes we drove through Idaho and part of Montana but it was pretty. Leaving eastern Washington we were still in the backwoods, so to speak and there were many little churches. Not just little community churches, I'm talking tiny, little shacks that looked abandoned but it said "Church" on the side. These "Churches" were so small that our compact car was bigger. We joked about how they held services, one at a time? Or maybe it was just for confessions. We didn't stop because if you blinked, you'd miss it.
We continued our drive east and saw snow! Lots of snow! We were in the mountains thus the snow and we also drove by a ski resort. It was still open! Pretty cool to go skiing at the end of April.
As we made our way out of the mountains we drove through this little town called Leavenworth. It had a German/Bavarian themed feel to it from the building architecture to the street signs. It was really cute and I wish we could have stopped to get out and look around or eat lunch or something but it was about 10 am so we weren't hungry. Too bad. If you get the chance to drive through eastern Washington, try to find Leavenworth. It looked like it would be worth a stop.
After we passed Leavenworth, there was nothing but fields of... Timothy! They were growing little boys! No, just kidding. There were signs in front of the fields saying what was growing there and some of the signs said Timothy. Others also said Sweet Corn, Potatoes, Grass Hay, Peppermint, Spearmint and Dairy Heifers (they are also growing cows!).
We eventually made it into Idaho, the northern tip. It's very pretty. Green, trees and running rivers. We stopped at a rest stop and painted on the road in the parking lot was a sign saying, "Don't be a 'Guberif'". Huh? Thank goodness for the internet. It said it was a campaign to stop forest fires and 'Guberif' is 'Firebug' backwards. Idaho is weird (Scott agreed! He served his LDS Mission there.)
When we drove into Montana, we stopped for lunch/dinner (we didn't eat the rest of the day) at a Travel Center that sold everything Huckleberry. Scott was in heaven! He gained a love for huckleberry things on his mission to Idaho. He even had a huckleberry shake and a burger with a huckleberry BBQ sauce. I had some and didn't think it was anything that special. He then bought some huckleberry preserves. Like I said, in heaven. As we got back in to the car we decided to clean out the trash and I found Evie's giant rainbow lollipop from Friday! Oops! When I put her to bed Friday night, she asked about her lollipop and I thought Scott (her dad) had taken it out of the car and I said she'd get it back tomorrow (Saturday). I didn't know! I lied to her! I miss her already. Oh well. It was funny.
Kept driving and arrived in Butte around 7-ish. We weren't tired or hungry so decided to press forward. After making the necessary "butt" jokes about the little town we started out but then we were distracted by a HUGE lit statue on the mountains. We drove closer all the while guessing what it could be. Again, thanks to the internet we found the truth. It was a giant 90 ft statue of the Virgin Mary. It's called "Our Lady of the Rockies". It was erected by a local Butte man who's wife had cancer and he prayed to the Virgin Mary and siad if his wife was spared, he'd build a 5 ft statue of her in the front yard. Well long story short, his wife survived cancer and instead of a 5 ft statue, the town helped turn it into a 90 ft statue on the mountain. It now stands to represent all women everywhere, especially mothers. (Information curtesy of Wikipedia)
Now after a long day of driving we are in Bozeman, Montana at a Super 8 motel.
We continued our drive east and saw snow! Lots of snow! We were in the mountains thus the snow and we also drove by a ski resort. It was still open! Pretty cool to go skiing at the end of April.
As we made our way out of the mountains we drove through this little town called Leavenworth. It had a German/Bavarian themed feel to it from the building architecture to the street signs. It was really cute and I wish we could have stopped to get out and look around or eat lunch or something but it was about 10 am so we weren't hungry. Too bad. If you get the chance to drive through eastern Washington, try to find Leavenworth. It looked like it would be worth a stop.
After we passed Leavenworth, there was nothing but fields of... Timothy! They were growing little boys! No, just kidding. There were signs in front of the fields saying what was growing there and some of the signs said Timothy. Others also said Sweet Corn, Potatoes, Grass Hay, Peppermint, Spearmint and Dairy Heifers (they are also growing cows!).
We eventually made it into Idaho, the northern tip. It's very pretty. Green, trees and running rivers. We stopped at a rest stop and painted on the road in the parking lot was a sign saying, "Don't be a 'Guberif'". Huh? Thank goodness for the internet. It said it was a campaign to stop forest fires and 'Guberif' is 'Firebug' backwards. Idaho is weird (Scott agreed! He served his LDS Mission there.)
When we drove into Montana, we stopped for lunch/dinner (we didn't eat the rest of the day) at a Travel Center that sold everything Huckleberry. Scott was in heaven! He gained a love for huckleberry things on his mission to Idaho. He even had a huckleberry shake and a burger with a huckleberry BBQ sauce. I had some and didn't think it was anything that special. He then bought some huckleberry preserves. Like I said, in heaven. As we got back in to the car we decided to clean out the trash and I found Evie's giant rainbow lollipop from Friday! Oops! When I put her to bed Friday night, she asked about her lollipop and I thought Scott (her dad) had taken it out of the car and I said she'd get it back tomorrow (Saturday). I didn't know! I lied to her! I miss her already. Oh well. It was funny.
Kept driving and arrived in Butte around 7-ish. We weren't tired or hungry so decided to press forward. After making the necessary "butt" jokes about the little town we started out but then we were distracted by a HUGE lit statue on the mountains. We drove closer all the while guessing what it could be. Again, thanks to the internet we found the truth. It was a giant 90 ft statue of the Virgin Mary. It's called "Our Lady of the Rockies". It was erected by a local Butte man who's wife had cancer and he prayed to the Virgin Mary and siad if his wife was spared, he'd build a 5 ft statue of her in the front yard. Well long story short, his wife survived cancer and instead of a 5 ft statue, the town helped turn it into a 90 ft statue on the mountain. It now stands to represent all women everywhere, especially mothers. (Information curtesy of Wikipedia)
Now after a long day of driving we are in Bozeman, Montana at a Super 8 motel.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
...and this is my partner Ghee Buttersnaps.
We have left Silverdale and family behind and are now in Eastern Washington in a tiny town called Goldbar, Washington. It's off of the Steven's Pass highway which I feel is the road less traveled. It's definitely the scenic route, well I think, it's been dark the whole time we've been on this road so far. Tomorrow we'll know for sure.
As I said, we left Silverdale this morning and drove up to a different ferry to cross the Sound to begin our trip. We drove to Everette, Washington where the Boeing muesum is located. We spent about 2 hours there on a tour of the museum. We got to go inside the actual buildings which house the airplanes they are building like the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Some features of these new planes are they will pressureize at 6,000 feet instead of 8,000 feet like most other planes. They will be more fuel efficient. And one of the coolest features (I thought) was the size of the windows. They are about 2.5 times larger than normal airplane windows. So big!! Also, the building which houses these planes is a mile long! Yup, one full mile from end to end. There is a lot going on in there. The guide said you could fit the Empire State Building in there 11.5 times! It was pretty cool.
After looking at airplanes we made our way up to... CANADA! Getting across the border took a lot longer than I thought but it is Saturday. When we got to the guard booth and when we were asked what the purpose of our visit was we said to visit White Rock, British Columbia because that was where Psych the TV show is filmed. Yes, we are that weird.
White Rock is a beautiful ocean town just 2 miles north of the Canada/USA border. There was a distinct difference between the American side and the Canadian side of the Pacific coast. It seemed cleaner to me. Anyway, our first desination was the Psych office. When we got to the location, I was disappointed because it looked like the right place but the building did not look right. It was the White Rock museum/visitor's center and we went inside to talk to a woman working there. She said that Psych was filmed there and that we were the second people to come in today asking about it. She also said, "Yeah, they come up here, set up a fake outer wall and film for a couple of hours then take it all down. They even change the names of the stores outside when they are here. And the funny thing is, we don't even get that show here in Canada!" I thought that was so funny!
We walked around the downtown area of White Rock for a little longer, walked out on the peir and then drove up to the Henry Spencer house location. It is set right on the beach next to some restaurants. It's the second house on that row of houses but the website didn't say that so just to make sure it was the right house, we walked down the whole row of houses looking at them just to confirm. We walked back, took some pictures then got gelato! Yummm!
This was the last thing we decided to do in Canada so we headed on back down to Washington, waited in the line to get back across the border and drive as far east as we could before stopping for the night. We made it to Goldbar and decided we probably wouldn't see another town or decent hotel for another hour so we stopped at the Stephen's Pass Motel from 1916. It looked it. But it's nice enough.I guess I'm just so tired I don't really care. Tomorrow might not be that eventful. We will be going through northern Idaho and Montana so don't expect anything exciting.
As I said, we left Silverdale this morning and drove up to a different ferry to cross the Sound to begin our trip. We drove to Everette, Washington where the Boeing muesum is located. We spent about 2 hours there on a tour of the museum. We got to go inside the actual buildings which house the airplanes they are building like the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Some features of these new planes are they will pressureize at 6,000 feet instead of 8,000 feet like most other planes. They will be more fuel efficient. And one of the coolest features (I thought) was the size of the windows. They are about 2.5 times larger than normal airplane windows. So big!! Also, the building which houses these planes is a mile long! Yup, one full mile from end to end. There is a lot going on in there. The guide said you could fit the Empire State Building in there 11.5 times! It was pretty cool.
After looking at airplanes we made our way up to... CANADA! Getting across the border took a lot longer than I thought but it is Saturday. When we got to the guard booth and when we were asked what the purpose of our visit was we said to visit White Rock, British Columbia because that was where Psych the TV show is filmed. Yes, we are that weird.
White Rock is a beautiful ocean town just 2 miles north of the Canada/USA border. There was a distinct difference between the American side and the Canadian side of the Pacific coast. It seemed cleaner to me. Anyway, our first desination was the Psych office. When we got to the location, I was disappointed because it looked like the right place but the building did not look right. It was the White Rock museum/visitor's center and we went inside to talk to a woman working there. She said that Psych was filmed there and that we were the second people to come in today asking about it. She also said, "Yeah, they come up here, set up a fake outer wall and film for a couple of hours then take it all down. They even change the names of the stores outside when they are here. And the funny thing is, we don't even get that show here in Canada!" I thought that was so funny!
We walked around the downtown area of White Rock for a little longer, walked out on the peir and then drove up to the Henry Spencer house location. It is set right on the beach next to some restaurants. It's the second house on that row of houses but the website didn't say that so just to make sure it was the right house, we walked down the whole row of houses looking at them just to confirm. We walked back, took some pictures then got gelato! Yummm!
This was the last thing we decided to do in Canada so we headed on back down to Washington, waited in the line to get back across the border and drive as far east as we could before stopping for the night. We made it to Goldbar and decided we probably wouldn't see another town or decent hotel for another hour so we stopped at the Stephen's Pass Motel from 1916. It looked it. But it's nice enough.I guess I'm just so tired I don't really care. Tomorrow might not be that eventful. We will be going through northern Idaho and Montana so don't expect anything exciting.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Silverdale, Washington
We have been in Washington for three days now visiting with my brother, his wife Larissa, and daughter, Evie. We arrived on Tuesday evening and ate pizza with them at a local pizzeria. On the next day, Wednesday, it was over cast and a little rainy but that was to be expected, it's Washington. We traveled Bremerton where the naval shipyard is to visit the museum there. It was interesting for the men but to myself and 4-year-old Evie, not so much. We found the children's area in the museum and remained there for about 30 minutes. There was a galley and chef's clothing and books, toys and an informational video for children explaining about the ship. When it was time to leave, we went out to the back of the museum where there was a water garden with pools of water with large fountains in the middle. There was a total of five and they were sequenced to "erupt" at certain times. It looked like a volcano spitting out a mushroom cloud of water that cascaded to the pool beneath it. Evie very much enjoyed watching the fountains explode. Scott, my brother, captured a video of her watching the fountains and the squeals of excitement coming from her are the definition of pure, unadulterated joy that only a child can make. Dinner took place at a local brewery restaurant near the mall in Silverdale which made delicious root beer and ginger ale.
Thursday the weather was sunny and beautiful with a breeze making the temperature a comfortable mid-60's. Before heading out for the day I decided to do some yoga to stretch out. I was in the main living room (which has the most space) and Evie thought I was playing some sort of a game and she was running around me and under me while I was in certain poses. So I decided to take that time to teach her some things. Instead of calling the different poses their actual names I explained them to her and she did a great job of copying me. It was really cute.
We went to a park and beach shore near Scott's house where we practiced skipping rocks on the lake and gathered shells. Then we drove to the library in Bremerton where Larissa works. It is a quaint, cozy, small library with an endearing atmosphere. Next stop was Mom and Dad's hotel where Scott (my husband) and I swam in the pool with an excited Evie. It was an indoor pool but that didn't make the water any less chilly. She was having a great time and I don't think she noticed the temperature of the water until she got out and realized she was cold.
Friday (today) was our last full day here with my brother. We took a day trip to Seattle today and it was very enjoyable. We rode the ferry from Bremerton into downtown Seattle. I'd never ridden a ferry that large before. It was an hour long trip just to cross the Sound. It was windy, chilly and fun. Scott and I stood out on the deck for most of the trip, watching the water and waves looking for whales but, alas, no whales on this trip. Once we got into Seattle, we found parking and then walked around the famous Pike Place Fish Market looking at different crafts and food items they were selling. Scott and I bought a really cool cheese tray/ decorative wall hanging. It is an old wine bottle, melted down flat (long ways), with a picture glued on to it for more flare. It looks really cool.
After lunch we went up the Seattle Space Needle to look at the view. Did you know that it's $20 per person?! I thought that was a little excessive but I didn't pay for it and the view was worth the money. Plus while we were up there walking around the outside I thought I heard some familiar foreign words coming from the group of three women in front of me. As Mom and Dad opened the door to go inside I held back and followed the women. After I got close enough to hear part of their conversation, I did in fact recognize the language. It was Hungarian!! I seized the moment and interrupted them asking them if they were Hungarians and started a conversation with the three of them. Really nice ladies and they were very impressed with my speaking abilities and so was I, seeing as I've been home for almost 2 years with basically no one to speak Hungarian with. So that little interaction made the whole trip worth it for me. Very exciting to speak Hungarian with actual Hungarians in America.
Once we came down from the Space Needle it was time for us to start heading back to Silverdale so we dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport (their flight doesn't leave until 11pm!) and we drove back to Scott and Larissa's apartment. Tomorrow we leave here to continue the rest of our journey but first we will go to Canada to see some Pysch filming locations. As you can see, we really like that show!
Thursday the weather was sunny and beautiful with a breeze making the temperature a comfortable mid-60's. Before heading out for the day I decided to do some yoga to stretch out. I was in the main living room (which has the most space) and Evie thought I was playing some sort of a game and she was running around me and under me while I was in certain poses. So I decided to take that time to teach her some things. Instead of calling the different poses their actual names I explained them to her and she did a great job of copying me. It was really cute.
We went to a park and beach shore near Scott's house where we practiced skipping rocks on the lake and gathered shells. Then we drove to the library in Bremerton where Larissa works. It is a quaint, cozy, small library with an endearing atmosphere. Next stop was Mom and Dad's hotel where Scott (my husband) and I swam in the pool with an excited Evie. It was an indoor pool but that didn't make the water any less chilly. She was having a great time and I don't think she noticed the temperature of the water until she got out and realized she was cold.
Friday (today) was our last full day here with my brother. We took a day trip to Seattle today and it was very enjoyable. We rode the ferry from Bremerton into downtown Seattle. I'd never ridden a ferry that large before. It was an hour long trip just to cross the Sound. It was windy, chilly and fun. Scott and I stood out on the deck for most of the trip, watching the water and waves looking for whales but, alas, no whales on this trip. Once we got into Seattle, we found parking and then walked around the famous Pike Place Fish Market looking at different crafts and food items they were selling. Scott and I bought a really cool cheese tray/ decorative wall hanging. It is an old wine bottle, melted down flat (long ways), with a picture glued on to it for more flare. It looks really cool.
After lunch we went up the Seattle Space Needle to look at the view. Did you know that it's $20 per person?! I thought that was a little excessive but I didn't pay for it and the view was worth the money. Plus while we were up there walking around the outside I thought I heard some familiar foreign words coming from the group of three women in front of me. As Mom and Dad opened the door to go inside I held back and followed the women. After I got close enough to hear part of their conversation, I did in fact recognize the language. It was Hungarian!! I seized the moment and interrupted them asking them if they were Hungarians and started a conversation with the three of them. Really nice ladies and they were very impressed with my speaking abilities and so was I, seeing as I've been home for almost 2 years with basically no one to speak Hungarian with. So that little interaction made the whole trip worth it for me. Very exciting to speak Hungarian with actual Hungarians in America.
Once we came down from the Space Needle it was time for us to start heading back to Silverdale so we dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport (their flight doesn't leave until 11pm!) and we drove back to Scott and Larissa's apartment. Tomorrow we leave here to continue the rest of our journey but first we will go to Canada to see some Pysch filming locations. As you can see, we really like that show!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Washington
One last final day drive before reaching our semi-final destination. The whole point of this side trip was to visit my brother and his family up in the Seattle, Washington area. Well, today we finally made it there. They live in a nice little place called Silverdale, Washington. We got to see our niece whom we haven't seen since our wedding last year and boy, has she gotten big! And her hair is long too! That's what happens when you haven't seen a little kid in a few months, they look big. She was a little shy when we first got there but she quickly remembed me. She took a little more time with Scott. She'll look at him and answer a couple of his questions but she's still not real sure about him yet. Maybe she'll warm up before we leave...
When we got there it was about 6:30 so we went out for pizza for dinner at a local place across the street from their apartment. Then we went back and played some games as a family. Nothing more really exciting happened today. We'll be here until Saturday so we might not get everyday but we'll write about the highlights.
When we got there it was about 6:30 so we went out for pizza for dinner at a local place across the street from their apartment. Then we went back and played some games as a family. Nothing more really exciting happened today. We'll be here until Saturday so we might not get everyday but we'll write about the highlights.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Paul Bunyan vs. Giant Redwoods
We hit the Redwoods today and it was more than incredible. It was breathtaking. If you've never been to California you need to go. If you've never been to the Redwoods, you haven't seen nature. It was sad to learn there are only about 5% of the original Redwood trees still remaining for us to admire today. There was once 2 million acres of these beautiful giants and now there are so few. When people first settled in the northern California area they saw these huge trees and saw several houses or buildings out of one tree rather than several trees for one building. While it is upsetting to see the lack of trees in the forest, we still gawked and marveled at the largest single Redwood tree service station in Ukiah, CA. It was quite a site.
Before we left Ukiah, we had to pay homage to the monument dedicated to Ladies of the Night. Yes, it really exists! The plaque read:
Back to the Redwoods... We took the scenic drive and we were surrounded by the wooded giants all day. I'm sure you've heard of those Redwoods that you can drive through. Well, we actually got to do that today! It was called Chandelier Tree and it's still living. There is a large tunnel-like hole cut out of the bottom of the tree that you can pay $5 to drive through as many times as you want, so we did it twice. Hey, gotta get our money's worth. We also got out of the car several times to walk around and get up close and really see the trees. We saw Tall Tree and Giant Tree (yes, they are really called that, with a plaque in front of them proclaiming it). Giant Tree is so big around that it would probably take about 20 adults with arms stretched out and holding hands to reach all the way around.
We ended our journey today in Crescent City a small coastal town with a jetty, pier and lighthouse. We drove up to the beach to wander around the driftwood and see the lighthouse up close....see it up there on the cliff?
And Mom found a driftwood treasure and insisted that we take it home for her. Sometimes I wonder about that woman....
Before we left Ukiah, we had to pay homage to the monument dedicated to Ladies of the Night. Yes, it really exists! The plaque read:
To the ladies of the night,
Who plied their trade upon this site.
Awesome!
Back to the Redwoods... We took the scenic drive and we were surrounded by the wooded giants all day. I'm sure you've heard of those Redwoods that you can drive through. Well, we actually got to do that today! It was called Chandelier Tree and it's still living. There is a large tunnel-like hole cut out of the bottom of the tree that you can pay $5 to drive through as many times as you want, so we did it twice. Hey, gotta get our money's worth. We also got out of the car several times to walk around and get up close and really see the trees. We saw Tall Tree and Giant Tree (yes, they are really called that, with a plaque in front of them proclaiming it). Giant Tree is so big around that it would probably take about 20 adults with arms stretched out and holding hands to reach all the way around.
So after coming out of the woods, we drove up the coast to EUREKA! It's a fun name to say and a fun place to visit. We ate dinner at this great local place called Lost Coast Brewery. They have some really delicious food. I feel like half of these blog postings have been promoting food. Well, we love food and we love eating so there will be plenty more of this in the coming days!
Not only did we see giant Redwoods today, we also drove across Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The were enormous statues about 20 minutes south of Crescent City, CA (our final destination) so naturally we made Dad pull into the abandoned parking lot so we could take a picture. Paul was 49 feet tall with a 27 foot ax by his side with Babe coming in at 35 feet from tail to horn tips. It was pretty huge.
And Mom found a driftwood treasure and insisted that we take it home for her. Sometimes I wonder about that woman....
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Hollywood, Psych and Clint Eastwood
So we made it to LA last night! Everything moves really fast here and I don't just mean the traffic... So we started the day by going into downtown Los Angles to see Hollywood. My goals for this venture was to see the Hollywood sign on the mountain and the walk of stars, ya know, the things that make Hollywood Hollywood. Well the day was horribly overcast and there was smog in the air so we couldn't see things far away or anything at higher altitudes than we were currently traveling. So, I didn't get to see the sign.
Once we got into the city, there wasn't too much traffic, it being Sunday morning and all. We got right to the stars and Dad drove along side us or parked while Mom, Scott and I got out and walked down the sidewalk looking down at the ground. Among the different stars we walked by, we saw Bing Crosby, twice! Yes, he has two stars! Then we saw all the hand and foot prints in front of the Chinese theatre. It was pretty cool.
After that, just for Mom, we drove up into the Hollywood hills to look at the houses, nothing too exciting, just houses on the side of a really steep hill. Then we went to Beverly Hills where we saw the really big houses. Much more impressive. Then we took off for Santa Barbara.
Scott and I love the USA TV show Psych. It is set in Santa Barbara, CA but is actually filmed in Vancouver Canada. There are a few scenes in the show that are filmed in Santa Barbara like some of the areal shots. So we went to the Police Station and the County Court House which is a very beautiful, Spanish influenced building.
While we were there we witnessed the beginning of a Jewish wedding. Then we drove to the center of town to eat lunch. We ate at a delicious, almost gourmet Mexican restaurant. I had a bit of everyone's food and everything was superb!
We continued the drive up the coast and finally saw the sun. We stopped for dinner in Carmel, a little town south of San Francisco where Clint Eastwood was the mayor back in the 80's. We ate at a restaurant he used to own called The Hog's Breath. Then it was back on the road, through an hour of traffic, through San Francisco and to our final destination of Ukiah, CA where we spent the night.
Once we got into the city, there wasn't too much traffic, it being Sunday morning and all. We got right to the stars and Dad drove along side us or parked while Mom, Scott and I got out and walked down the sidewalk looking down at the ground. Among the different stars we walked by, we saw Bing Crosby, twice! Yes, he has two stars! Then we saw all the hand and foot prints in front of the Chinese theatre. It was pretty cool.
After that, just for Mom, we drove up into the Hollywood hills to look at the houses, nothing too exciting, just houses on the side of a really steep hill. Then we went to Beverly Hills where we saw the really big houses. Much more impressive. Then we took off for Santa Barbara.
Scott and I love the USA TV show Psych. It is set in Santa Barbara, CA but is actually filmed in Vancouver Canada. There are a few scenes in the show that are filmed in Santa Barbara like some of the areal shots. So we went to the Police Station and the County Court House which is a very beautiful, Spanish influenced building.
While we were there we witnessed the beginning of a Jewish wedding. Then we drove to the center of town to eat lunch. We ate at a delicious, almost gourmet Mexican restaurant. I had a bit of everyone's food and everything was superb!
We continued the drive up the coast and finally saw the sun. We stopped for dinner in Carmel, a little town south of San Francisco where Clint Eastwood was the mayor back in the 80's. We ate at a restaurant he used to own called The Hog's Breath. Then it was back on the road, through an hour of traffic, through San Francisco and to our final destination of Ukiah, CA where we spent the night.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
"I believe our adventure through time has taken a most serious turn"
After staying up packing and cleaning basically all night (packing from 9pm until 5am, 2 hour nap, then completely finished by 8am) we started our trip with Mom and Dad in the front and Scott and I sleeping in the back. Nothing too exciting on day one. Drove down to St. George where we stopped for lunch at In-and-Out then through Las Vegas and into California. We stopped for dinner at a cute 50's style diner. The food was great and so were the chocolate, hot fudge malts. Before I continue, please don't misunderstand me, I loved this place and I would recommend it to anyone traveling through Victorville, CA. This being said, it was a strange combination to see a 50's style diner run by Mexicans. Our waiter was fantastic and really funny. We cracked a joke after ordering our chocolate, hot fudge malts by saying, "You're a good man, Charlie Brown." He chuckled then said, "No. Not Charlie Brown. Pablo."
We jumped back on the highway and drove past San Dimas (any 80's film trivia geniuses?? Hint: it stars a young Keanu Reeves) then reached Los Angles where we stopped for the night.
We jumped back on the highway and drove past San Dimas (any 80's film trivia geniuses?? Hint: it stars a young Keanu Reeves) then reached Los Angles where we stopped for the night.
WARNING: We might be insane.
So I graduated today! Hooray! and my husband and I are about to embarked on a cross country road trip of epic proportions bringing along with us my parents for the first leg of the journey. We normally drive back and forth from Virginia to Utah at the end of each summer and at the end of winter semester at BYU. That distance is nothing new to us. But this time, as a graduation present for myself, we are heading back home to Virginia via California, Washington, Vancouver, then across the United States (and a little bit of Canada as well) back to Virginia. In total, it will be a 15-day, 5,213 mile (give or take a bit) journey to last a lifetime. And we're going to chronicle each day right here...all the amazing sights, quirky roadside attractions, and good times. We hope you enjoy it!
Our trip route...with all the stops in between Provo and Ashburn.
Friday, March 9, 2012
The first of... many?
So my husband made this blog for us... then he left me to my own devices to figure out how to make it our own.
That was his first mistake. I'm completely computer challenged. However! after about 30 minutes of fiddling with different settings and backgrounds, fonts, colors, size of font, etc. I think I have something that I like. Then I didn't save it... So I did it all over again and NOW I finally have what I want.
I don't usually like to express to the entire world my faults such as this but I thought it would be good fuel for me to start my first post in this blog.
The title of our blog isn't really supposed to be profound, as some of you might think it is. It's actually just a thing my husband and I started doing when we were dating as Freshmen in college. We walked out into the snow one night and noticed that our shadows were very crisp so we decided to trace them in the snow with out fingers. We ended up with a really cool effect and new favorite snow tradition. Now when ever it snows, we walk around outside and trace our shadows in the snow.
And now, whilst attempting to upload a picture of said shadows, I am unable to do so at this time. Pictures will be forthcoming....
That was his first mistake. I'm completely computer challenged. However! after about 30 minutes of fiddling with different settings and backgrounds, fonts, colors, size of font, etc. I think I have something that I like. Then I didn't save it... So I did it all over again and NOW I finally have what I want.
I don't usually like to express to the entire world my faults such as this but I thought it would be good fuel for me to start my first post in this blog.
The title of our blog isn't really supposed to be profound, as some of you might think it is. It's actually just a thing my husband and I started doing when we were dating as Freshmen in college. We walked out into the snow one night and noticed that our shadows were very crisp so we decided to trace them in the snow with out fingers. We ended up with a really cool effect and new favorite snow tradition. Now when ever it snows, we walk around outside and trace our shadows in the snow.
And now, whilst attempting to upload a picture of said shadows, I am unable to do so at this time. Pictures will be forthcoming....
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