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April 2019
We are off on a cross country journey to California, Nevada and Arizona. The last three driving states in our 50. We will finish with Hawaii and Alaska. Read more
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  • TravelerWest Coast

    Troy, michigan

    April 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    This week has been a crazy one as we head into our next road trip adventure. My dad has been in and out of the hospital and is currently in. We don’t know what is wrong exactly. Ben has had his drivers test (he is an official driver now). Well, he still has to go to the Secretary of State but we don’t have time now. The other two have had drama and baseball after school. Ben has had some AP History test practices in the evenings. I am trying to wrap my mind around this trip and packing. Months ago, I booked all of our hotels being that it is spring break for many. I booked some of our activities like Alcatraz, Warner Brothers and the Pink Jeep tours. We have a house rented near the Grand Canyon. We have made plans to visit my sister,, Heather in San Francisco, The McCormicks in Santa Cruz, The Lanstras in Pasadena, Paul’s brother Dave in Las Vegas, and our niece Emily at Mizzou in Columbia. Now I have to pack up the car before Friday. There is a HUGE weather system going through the entire center of the country right now dumping snow and causing storms but it looks like it will be past by the time we leave. That added a little worry as well. We are all excited. Everyone really enjoys the trips. We learn a lot about our country and each other. In 24 hours, we hit the road. Thanks Jen, again, for watching our pups.Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 1

    Omaha nebraska

    April 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Weather: Sunny and 30s
    States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska
    Miles: 747
    Hours: 10 hours and 22 minutes
    Capitals: Drove through Lansing
    University Campus:Creighton University Omaha
    Restaurant: Cottage Inn Pizza
    Hotel/Home: Springhill Suites Marriot
    Movies:
    Audible: A Phone call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

    Paul and I began the last hour before our departure with the usual scramble of gathering, shoving, remembering forgotten things, consoling shaking dogs that think we are abandoning them and cleaning up the house. Kind of like when you are moving to a new house. Except, our new (but temporary) home has four wheels, captain chairs with Sparty printed on the headrests and a 26 inch tv. We raced to grab a pizza (cheese pizza of course-Lent) on the way to pick the kids up at school. I had them pack the night before. Don’t forget your toothbrush, socks, and bathing suit. Did you put all your shoes in the car? After all that.... Oh crap!! I am the one who forgot my toothbrush and pillow and for 5 minutes I thought I forgot my purse. The kids found it amusing that I forgot my things. I shot back with, “I’ll just borrow Matthew’s toothbrush since he never uses it.”

    After worrying about the weather that passed along our path 24 hours before, we have been driving straight into the sunset. Blue skies and open road. We ate in the car. Paul was still hungry so I offered up some corned beef Rueben’s in the cooler. “It’s Lent,” he said with a glare. We stopped later at a gas station. I saw a rib restaurant. “Ribs?” “It..is...Lent.” Oops. Why can’t I remember? While we were in the gas station...”Honey, do you want a hotdog?” Oooo if looks could kill. Me, “What??” Paul says, “It is already hard enough to not eat meat during Lent, but when someone keeps offering every kind of meat that I love...” Small evil smirk. He always says these things make me cute. So, I told the lady if we can’t eat meat then 12 bags of chips, Dove chocolate and coffee will have to do.

    We are now in Iowa. The sun burned itself out on the horizon. Clear skies, clear roads and sleep in an Iowa Marriott. We are aiming for De Moine by11:00 PM but we might go further. We want to knock off as much pavement as we can. Imagine the Pioneers traveling horseback and wagons for weeks with hopes for fortunes and new beginnings. We are just hoping to see a movie star or two. Not really (well a little) but we love the adventure, the learning and the fun together.

    Well, we kept going and made it to Omaha at 1 AM. We were feeling good and ticked off another couple of hours. We are staying at a Fairfield. Our trusty Marriott Bonvoy. We are now Platinum Elite now (Ghilani’s). I tell you, we have stayed in every level of Marriott and they do not disappoint. So Dad, we just did your Omaha drive that you told me today you used to do when you lived here. Thinking about you. I hope they figure out what is going on. Get Better. Hugs.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 2

    Salt Lake City, utah

    April 13, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Weather: Sunny and 40s
    States: Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah
    Miles: 935
    Hours: 13 hrs and 25 min
    Capitals:
    Restaurant: Coyote Creek
    Hotel/Home: Residence Inn SLC
    Movies:
    Audible: A Phone call from Heaven by Mitch Albom (finally over)

    We began the day with our daily Marriott breakfast bar. Pretty much what we do on our road trips. Big money saver to get a free breakfast at Fairfield’s, Springhill Suites and Residence Inns. At breakfast, we met a nice family from South Dakota. After Paul chatted and kept running into the man, Randy, they decided to exchange cards. Fate was telling them to connect. Then we hit the road.

    We are now headed on the long road to Salt Lake City. We have been there already and really enjoyed our stay. We swam in the Great Salt Lake, went to Snowbird, visited the site of the Winter Olympics, and hiked Ensign Park. (Visit our trip to the Northwest on this blog.) Nebraska is really cornfield America. We have a 13 hour drive ahead of us but this will be our longest day. It is really not that bad. It is an adventure and a practice of patience in a world of instant gratification. Our kids keep asking us how long the drive will be. The longer the better. Weird. They like the long ones. I’m not sure why.

    We purchased a discounted year subscription to Audible which allows us to redeem 12 books anytime. If you pay for a monthly subscription, you get one credit each month (and have to purchase books after that). We rented Mitch Albums book The First Phone Call from Heaven. It is ok. We don’t love it. It is a little slow. Or his reading is.

    Oh my gosh! We stopped for gas and bathroom stop in the middle of Nebraska. I just freaked myself out. I walked out of the building and stopped in my tracks in a slight panic. The gas pumps were gone. I was all alone. I slowly walked along the building hoping I would find my family and the car around the corner. Whew! I had walked out of the opposite side of the building. I wasn’t alone. Listen, when your mind thinks you should be in one place and then you aren’t....twilight zone. Especially in the cornfields of Nebraska. Makes me cute?

    As we drove further into Nebraska, we can see signs of Spring storm Wes. The roads were dry and clear. We saw more and more snow toward the middle of the state but thawing quickly sat 41 degrees. I am just glad the roads are clear, the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

    We hit some weather in Wyoming. Just some snow squalls through the mountains but quick, thank goodness. Most of the way through Wyoming has been clear roads, partly cloudy and chilly but we are in the car so we don’t care. It is crazy how much the landscape changes.The rock formations that look like they have been intentionally carved to look alike but impossible to duplicate. It is truly awe inspiring. Now we are going to stop in a small town Rock Springs for dinner. Looong day.

    We ate at a restaurant in an old part of Rock Springs called Coyote Creek. It was actually a pretty nice restaurant. If it weren’t for being in Wyoming, I’d say we were underdressed. Aint nobody dress up in these parts. We had a nice meal and headed to Salt Lake City for the night. 2 1/2 hour drive. We have been graced with a gorgeous sunset over the bluffs. Now we just need to stay awake for a couple more hours. Unless something else comes up before we get to SLC, I’m out. See you tomorrow.
    See more pix below.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 3

    Bonnevillle salt flats

    April 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Instagram: @vangogh50states

    Weather: Sunny and 60s
    States: Utah and Nevada
    Miles: 519
    Hours: 6 hrs and 56 min
    Capitals:
    Restaurant:
    Hotel/Home: Residence Inn Reno Sparks
    Movies: Devil Wears Prada
    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    We opened the shades this morning to a panorama of beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding Salt Lake City. We did not appreciate this beauty last night as we came in at dark unaware of them except for the declining switchback roads leading us into the city. The guide rails keep you from running into the mountain sides or off of their steep cliffs. Night makes this a little less unnerving to drive.

    We woke up, had breakfast and hit the road to Reno, Nevada. Our first plan was to drive through Yosemite on the way to San Francisco but the west gate road isn’t open until Late May or early June. Bummer. So, we are detouring through Reno and on to San Francisco (“that’s fun to say, Fran-cis-co. Frann-ciss-co.”).

    When you drive out of Salt Lake City, you drive on a split highway that runs right though the Great Salt Lake. The water surrounds the road but doesn’t quite look like water because it is so saturated with salt that it is crystallizing on the surface. We were driving along admiring the waters and mountains and the changing landscape when we were taken by complete surprise by a lake of water, still as can be, reflecting the mountains in the background. So startlingly beautiful that everyone jumped up and started taking pictures. Paul swerved in a parking lot for viewing. It was so beautiful. We weren’t the only ones feeling lucky to fall upon this sight. It is the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was like standing on the edge of heaven. See the picture of Ben looking out. We stayed and took pictures. Paul and the boys played ball for a few minutes with an incomparable background. Of course, the ball went astray and rolled into the water. Before I knew it, Paul and the boys were creating a body chain to reclaim the ball from the salt flats. I videoed in hopes of a wet mishap. They managed to retrieve the ball. Off we went. To Reno.

    We are now listening to Escape From Alcatraz. We are going to visit Alcatraz in San Fran so we thought this would be interesting. Electronics put away and we are all listening. Right when we think they aren’t listening, they give a shout that they can’t hear it or when are we turning it back on. Happy sigh.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 3

    Reno nevada

    April 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    OMG! If you are learning now, when I start with OMG, I’ve got a story to tell. I took the wheel for half of the way to Reno. Elizabeth, my co-pilot. “I got the wheels rolliin’, radio scrollin’...” then, just as we are singing through the mountain ranges, the dreaded light comes on...OMG, OOG! Out of Gas. 40 miles till empty in the middle of flippin’ no where. In a bit of panic, “Um, Biddy, we might be running out of gas. Please ask Siri for the nearest gas station.” Nothing, nothing, nothing for 80 miles. We don’t have enough gas to get there. “Wait! Flying J’s and Terribles Casino and Truck stop...39miles.“ Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. We have 40 miles left and it is 39 to the gas station. Paul has his headphones on and may be asleep. “Paauuulll, we might run out of gas.” As always he is calm as a J-bird. Yes, Paul. He can get wound up about some things but these things, the ones that have me crying or angry or (like now) sweating, heart beating out of my chest, my hands sweating on the wheel, well, yup, calm as a J-Bird. Elizabeth and I were freaking out. We were watching the gas tank tick down as the miles to the gas station ticked in unison with only a mile to a mile and a half difference. I’ve never prayed so hard on a Palm Sunday as I did today. Paul was having fun saying, “+1 difference in milles,+1.2, +1.5,+1.” Then it got down to only a 1/2 mile difference in miles. Elizabeth just got her permit and was learning a hard lesson in keeping your taking full in BFE. Would this lowly gas station even be there? Maybe J is dead now. Maybe they aren’t open on Sunday. Please God don’t make Paul walk down the highway amongst the tumbleweed and, eek, the murdering like man all in black we just saw walking down the highway. Thoughts of Paul coming upon him makes me shudder. The man coming upon our van on this remote highway, shudder. Well,, we literally made it to the gas station pump at 0. I was shaking. My adrenaline was through the roof. We made it. OMG! “Can I get a hallelujah? Can I get an amen?”(Maren Morris Song-My Church- we were just listening to it.) Another story to tell.

    We are now in Reno heading to another Residence Inn Marriott and then check out Reno.

    We had dinner at this Italian restaurant..The. Olive. Garden. It was by our hotel. Now the boys are playing basketball and Biddy and I are watching Devil Wears Prada. We love that movie. We are settling in for the night to move on to San Fran tomorrow. Good Eve.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 4

    Reno

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Weather: Partly sunny, cloudy, sprinkles and 60s

    States: Nevada and California

    Miles: 218

    Hours: 3 hrs and 26 min

    Restaurant: Pompei’s Grotto

    Hotel/Home: Courtyard Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf

    Movies:

    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    After a nice sleep, we woke early to get head start to San Fran since Reno itself is a bit of an armpit. Sorry. Where we stayed, in Sparks, is nice. It is about 10 minutes from downtown Reno. On our way out, we stopped in downtown Reno to see what it was about. Pretty much a seedy pit of druggies and down and outs. We had the kids step over a couple of syringes to get a picture of the Reno Arch. Ben says sarcastically, “Now I can tell my kids about the time I was in Reno.” Similar to the trip Paul’s dad took to Mexico the family while they were in California. Paul’s mom suggested visiting Mexico while they were so close to the border. His dad unenthusiastically obliged. He drove across the border of Tijiuana, turned around in a parking lot and drove back across. Mexico.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 4

    Golden gate bridge

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We are now driving through the snowy mountains of California. Roads are clear and it is 45 degrees at 9 AM. We are driving to the north of the Golden Gate Bridge from Reno so we can cross it. As the Golden Gate Bridge revealed itself over the trees, the kids gasped in awe. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them excitedly ask if we were crossing it though I told them multiple times that we were. Teenagers. We stopped at a park near the bridge. Everyone loved it. These trips take a lot of planning but I pretty much know exactly where goIng with little effort.Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 4

    Lombard street

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    I hiked them all up a steep street to the bottom of Lombard street. That sounds like an oxymoron. Hike up to the bottom. We hiked up to the top of the street. The kids liked this iconic street. We hiked down, down, down toward another steep street to our hotel with a stop at a Starbucks. It was chilly and there was a slight sprinkle so a coffee sounded good. Weirdos all got iced coffees. It is in the 60s but breezy and damp. If the sun were out, it would be warmer.Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 4

    Fisherman’s wharf

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We have had a great first day in San Francisco. After the bridge, we found our way to our Courtyard by Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf, unloaded and took our van to the lot a block away. We can’t park in the hotel’s lot because of our size. The lot is in the heart of the Wharf so we started exploring. We had lunch in Japanese restaurant at Pier 39 overlooking the bay, the bridge and Alcatraz. We had some good sushi and sashimis. We appeased Elizabeth with a few gift shops.

    We got to our hotel when Paul announced that we were going to the Spy Store across the street to shoot guns. Yay (sarcasm). Cool store of spy stuff. Elizabeth played a virtual game and the boys shot air soft guns or whatever they are. Now we are back at the hotel waiting for my sister to come in from Oakland. Yay. Can’t wait to see her. It has been way too long. We are going out to dinner now.

    We had dinner at Pompei’s Grotto in Fisherman’s Wharf. It was good food and we had a lot of laughs with Heather. We closed the restaurant. Heather and i sat and talked at the hotel until late. It’s great to catch up. Tomorrow morning, Heather is going with us to Alcatraz. Now, I am going to bed. Busy day.    Read more

  • TravelerWest Coast
    Day 5

    Alcatraz

    April 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Weather: sunny and 60s

    States: California

    Cities: San Francisco and Santa Cruz

    Miles: 70 miles

    Hours: 2 hrs and10 min

    Restaurant: Hula’s Island restaurant

    Hotel/Home: Movies:

    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    Today, we voluntarily went to prison. We walked where the infamous criminals walked. We met my sister, Heather down at Pier 33 to take a boat to the iconic Alcatraz. The skies, as blue as they could be. Weather in the 60 with a warm sun. We caught the 910 boat on the same waters of San Francisco Bay as those whose fate was sealed by their own felonious actions. It was a 20 minute boat ride to the island which is really a panoramic site to see from the Bridges to the city skyline to the island itself which was not as ominous as you’d expect. We took a headphone guided tour which was very interesting. Really cool to see the inside of the jail. It was nesting season for all of the island birds and the spring flowers were in bloom. I think this might be the best time to come because it seems summer crowds would be overwhelming in Alcatraz as well as, in Fisherman’s Wharf. Everyone enjoyed the tour.    Read more

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