Becca's Babbling Bus

Mon. Aug. 18th... Day 66

2008-08-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today we left Uncle Tom's and headed to meet Uncle Tod for dinner. It was a long day in the RV. We went out with Alexandra and Uncle Tod, unfortunately Aunt Royin wasn't there. We went out to this great pizza place. We drove for a couple more hours and stayed overnight at another rest area.

~Rebecca~

Sun. Aug. 17th... Day 65

2008-08-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today we left the Walz and went to visit Aunt Jeanne and Kathryn at their house in Indiana. It was nice to see Kathryn. We stayed there overnight. It was fun to see them again.

~Rebecca~

Sat. Aug. 16th... Day 64

2008-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Nick!!! Today we went on a walk around Uncle Tom's property and saw all the cool lakes. We also saw his cabin which is in the middle of a renovation. Mom and I went back to school clothes shopping in Peoria while the boys went to Uncle Tom's cabin to put down the living room floor. It was a pretty exhausting day for both groups. Nick even caught a fish, it was pretty big. We did get Nick a cake. I got him a poker set, mom and dad got him a watch, and Uncle Tom got him a T-shirt. It was a fun little party.

~Rebecca~

Fri. Aug. 15th... Day 63

2008-08-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today we made it to Uncle Tom's land and actually stayed in these beautiful cabins next door owned by the Walz. They were amazing!!!! There was a main room with a small kitchen, a table with four chairs, a couch, two double beds, and a stove. There was a sleeping porch in the back with two bunk beds that were really comfy.

~Rebecca~

Thu. Aug. 14th... Day 62

2008-08-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today we went to see Martha, Betty and Dan's daughter. She and her son Joe live across town in a small bungalow. They were leaving for London soon so it was a little messy, but it wasn't that bad. It was really fun to meet them. After we visited them we left on our way to Uncle Tom's land in Illinois. We made it to Nebraska and spent the night in a rest stop.

~Rebecca~

Wed. Aug. 13th... Day 61

2008-08-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

We got to Denver and are visiting with cousin Betty and Dan Rooney, Grandma Lawrence's cousins. We also got to go to a baseball game as an early birthday present for Nick. The Colorado Rockies vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was really cool going to our first game!!!!! We sat eight or nine rows back from the visitors dugout!!!! It was really cool!!!!! It's way better than Hi-Defenition!!! I really enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Rebecca~

Tue Aug. 12th... Day 60

2008-08-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Arches. It was pretty amazing to walk through them and see all the balancing rocks and other formations. I really enjoyed today. It was a little on the hot side but wasn't too, too bad. It was really cool!!!!!

~Rebecca~

Mon. Aug. 11th... Day 59

2008-08-12T08:44:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Mesa Verde. It was really cool seeing all the houses and villages in the cliffs. Nick really liked it. I liked walking through the Spruce Tree Village.

~Rebecca~

Sun. Aug. 10th... Day 58

2008-08-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Lake Powell and went to the Glenn Canyon Dam. It was really high up. It is only 7ft shorter than the Hover Dam. It was really cool! We did look at some house boats just to see what they were like. We also went to the four corners. It was really cool!!!!! Standing in four states at once was really cool!!!!!!!

~Rebecca~

Fri. Aug. 9th... Day 57

2008-08-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Grand Canyon. It was an awesome sight. We went to the North Rim and hiked around here. We stopped at every pull-off in the park. There was one hike Called the Cape Final. Mom said it was .3 miles one way, .6 miles all around. The path seemed way longer than .3 miles. We finally got there and back. Dad checked the trail length and it was actually 2 miles one way. 4 miles all around. She got it mixed up with Cape Royal. AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Otherwise it was a good day filled with some beautiful scenery!!!

~Rebecca~

Thu. Aug. 8th... Day 56

2008-08-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up and headed into Zion National Park and took the bus around the park. It was very interesting. Beautiful views and gook hikes. We headed toward the Grand Canyon and stayed in the Kaibab National Forrest.

~Rebecca~

Wed. Aug. 7th... Day 55

2008-08-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Bryce Canyon and saw some pretty amazing stuff. First thing in the morning we went on a one hour ATV tour. It was cool!!! We drove around and saw all four of the recommended places to see, Inspiration Point, Sunrise, Sunset, and Bryce Point. It was amazing!!!!!!!! After we saw all that we headed toward Zion and stayed overnight just outside the park. We had to go through this short tunnel and they had to close it so we could drive through the middle.

~Rebecca~

Tue Aug. 5th to 6th... Day 53 to 54

2008-08-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Back Row: (L to R) Mr. McClain holding Kelsey, Andrew, Colin

Middle Row: (L to R) Mrs. McClain, Spencer, Bethany, Mom, Me

Front Row: (L to R) Gentry, Katy, Lindsey, Nick

We made it to the McClain's today. They have nine kids but Amy doesn't live at home. Then there's Bethany, Colin, Lindsey, Andrew, Spencer, Katy, Gentry, and Kelsey. Aged from 21 to 4. They're really nice kids and we had a lot of fun. We stayed overnight and and left the next morning. I wish we could have stayed longer. It was really really really fun!!!!!!

~Rebecca~

Mon. Aug. 4th... Day 52

2008-08-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

We left Yellowstone today and headed out for the McClain's in Burley, ID. We spent all day traveling and stayed at our first Wal-Mart overnight. We went through the Tetons and they were amazing. We also went past the Continental Divide.

~Rebecca~

Sun. Aug. 3rd... Day 51

2008-08-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today we drove around Yellowstone and we say some pretty amazing stuff. We saw buffalow heards and Old Faithful. We saw hot springs and geysers. We filled up most of the day with sight seeing and stopping to look at stuff. It was really cool!!!!!!!

~Rebecca~

Sat. Aug. 2nd... Day 50

2008-08-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Peter!!! Today we made it to Yellowstone and stayed in Mamouth. We saw the some of the Mamouth Hot Springs. It was pretty amazing!!! We saw some elk just lounging around some of the buildings. We went to a mass at 6:30pm.

~Rebecca~

Fri. Aug. 1st... Day 49

2008-08-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

We left John and Louise's house and started toward Yellowstone. It was a long day of driving and we stayed overnight at a rest area somewhere in Montana.

~Rebecca~

Thu. July 31st... Day 48

2008-08-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

We stayed today and just hung out Nick spent the day playing with Keegan Dillon down the street. (Tom Dillon and Lori Kasander were at Ventura too) We all went out to dinner at this place where baseball players used to hang out. After we went over to Keegan and Sophia's house and watched "Nanny McPhee". We had a lot of fun staying with them!!!

~Rebecca~

Wed. July 30th... Day 47

2008-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

We satyed overnight at the Ryan's old house last night and today we went down to Lake Chelan and spent most of the day swimming and playing. After the lake we headed up to Wenatchee, WA to meet them at thier new house. Nick really had fun with the kids around the neighborhood. After dinner Dylan, Olivia, Nick, and I walked down to Target and when we got back we sort of had a little concert with Dylan and Olivia on the Violin and me on the piano. It was an interesting experience. We stayed overnight in thier driveway in Wenatchee.

~Rebecca~

Tue. July 29th... Day 46

2008-08-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

We made it to Chelan, WA today and stayed in front of John and Louise Ryan's old house. We went to a great pizza place for dinner with them and thier two kids, Dylan (10) and Olivia (6). It was really fun!!! Olivia is really cute!!!

~Rebecca~

Mon. July 28th... Day 45

2008-07-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

Today we visited the Zamojski's today. Unfortunately Mary wasn't there, but Annie made if for the last half an hour or so of our visit. They have a really nice house and Ann and Edd we very nice. Nick and I watched 10,000 B. C. and played on their zip line! The zip line was awesome!!!!!!! We had a ton of fun!!! It was a fun day!

~Rebecca~

Sun. July 27th... Day 44

2008-07-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today we headed toward the Space Needle in Seattle. It was really cool going up to the top and seeing the city and the Puget Sound bellow us. It was pretty intimidating five or six hundred feet in the air. Mom and Dad went on a sort of tour around the outdoor observation deck. I really enjoyed it.

We also went to the Science Fiction Museum and to a small amusement park bellow the Needle. The Sci-Fi Museum was really cool! It had all sorts of books and props from movies and a ton of information about everything Sci-Fi!!! I really enjoyed that. It was attached to a music museum but we didn't have time for that. The amusement park had six or seven rides that we worth going on. (there were a few kiddie rides that didn't interest us) We went on an egg beater type ride called the Orbiter that we went on and a medium sized roller coaster and we went on a swing ship. It was a blast we also played a few shooting games. Nick won a small red bull dog toy. Today was a really fun day!!!!

~Rebecca~

Sci-Fi and Music Museum (Below)

Sat. July 26th... Day 43

2008-07-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

We left for Seattle, WA and made it here around 5:00pm and we went out to dinner at Cutters on the Pike Street Market Place with Anne, Annie, and Mary Zamojski. (Cousins of mom) The food was great!!! I really enjoyed it!

~Rebecca~

Fri. July 25th... Day 42

2008-07-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

We made it to Vancouver, WA late last night and are staying with our friends Todd and Rae Korthuis/Wright they have one daughter, Grace (7). In the morning we met Grace's nanny, Norma, and her three children Kim (12), Johnathan (9), and Emily (6). Mom and Dad took Kim and me to a bookstore called Powell's. Powell's is the biggest bookstore in the world!!! It's a five story warehouse PACKED with books!!!!

~Rebecca~

Thu. July 24th... Day 41

2008-07-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today we headed towards Vancouver, WA and stopped in Florence, OR and did a little sand surfing. On the second or third run Nick took a bad fall and bruised his butt pretty bad. We made it to Vancouver, WA late at night.

~Rebecca~

Wed. July 23rd... Day 40

2008-07-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Junction City and toured the Country Coach factory. It was really cool and we got to see a model called the Veranda 400 which only came out a few weeks ago. It was really cool!!! It had a pop out porch! After the tour we went into Eugene and had dinner at the Filip/Betterton family's house. They have two daughters Sally (16) and Sofia (9) and they were a lot of fun!!!

~Rebecca~

Tue. July 22nd... Day 39

2008-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Today we went White Water Rafting on the Umpqua River with a local river guide named Bill who was very informed on the history and geography of the river. If you do this ride go with the local guide!!! We went 14 miles through class three and four rapids. We saw some wildlife along the way too. I definitely recommend it!!! Nick fell out on the flat water about 20 yards from the landing where we were getting off.

~Rebecca~

Mon. July 21st... Day 38

2008-07-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Crater Lake and saw some beautiful scenery! The water was a very clear blue! We watched a short movie on the creation of this massive lake (6mi in diameter and 1943ft deep). It was formed when a huge volcano collapsed 7,700 years ago and made it the 7th deepest lake in the world. But Nick was more interested in climbing the rocks around it. This was a very beautiful lake!!!! There was still some snow around it that Nick and Dad played in.

~Rebecca~

Sun. July 20th... Day 37

2008-07-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today we headed towards Crater and Diamond Lake following the GPS' instructions through the Siskiyou National Forrest. The road got smaller and smaller and we knew we were in trouble when we saw a sign that said, "This road is not maintained in winter". Although the road actually got wider it went from asphalt to talcum powder like dust creating a huge cloud behind us encasing the RV. We saw some beautiful scenery at the top of the mountain ridge and resorted to using an old fashion map. Arriving at Diamond Lake three hours later than expected.

-Dave

Sat. July 19th... Day 36

2008-07-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

We headed north and crossed over into southern Oregon. We had dinner at the Charthouse and had great fish and chips at the Vargas' recommendation. We stayed overnight at Turtle Rock RV park, it was right where the Rogue River met the Pacific Ocean. It was really windy. They also have a jet boat that you can ride on that delivers mail along the river.

~Rebecca~

Fri. July 18th... Day 35

2008-07-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Today we left the Vargas' and drove north along the California coast among the Coastal Redwoods. We stayed at this small campground overnight.

Thu. July 17..... Day 34

2008-07-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today Dad, Nick, Ben, and Steve went golfing for the morning. When they came back Dad, Nick, Ellie, Sarah, and I went to the movies. Ellie went with her friend to soccer afterwards and we came back to the house. While we were at the movies, Ben found a little lizard and put him in a toy car!

For dinner the Vargas' had two friends over for dinner, a duch-born french chef named Peter, and a neighbor named Mary Ann. Peter cooked this rice sort of dish called paella (pie-yay-ah). It was really good!!! After dinner the kids went downstairs and watched Batman Begins. We played a little of Tony the Tiger afterwards. It was fun!!!

~Rebecca~

Nick in front, behind Nick, Rebecca.

To right Ben, behind Ben Sarah.

In very back Ellie, and in front of Ellie Sophie.

To left (front to back) Steve, Susan, Mary Ann.

To right (front to back) Yola, Dave, Peter.

Wed. July 16th... Day 33

2008-07-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today we went tubing down the Russian River. Not behind a boat. We just floated in iner-tubes. until we got to the meeting point where we met Susan, Ellie, and Sophie. Sarah was at soccer and Ben came with us. It was slow at spots but over all pretty relaxing. That night the adults went out to dinner and Sarah and I were in charge. It was really fun! We played Tony the Tiger* after dinner and by the end off the game we were jumping out scaring another. We played until the adults came home with ice cream!!! (It was about 10:30pm by then.)

~Rebecca~

*Tony the Tiger is where you turn off all the lights and one person is "Tony the Tiger" and they have to count to a previously determined number. Everyone else hides and you can hide in plain sight because it's dark. Whoever is found first is Tony the Tiger for the next round.

Tue. July 15... Day 32

2008-07-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

We got dad's glasses around 1:30 - 2:00 pm. After we headed to Steve and Susan Vargas' house in Healdsberg, CA. They have 4 kids, Sarah (13), Ellie (11), Ben (8), and Sophie (6). We got there in time for dinner. They have a very nice house. Sarah and Ellie share a room and so do Ben and Sophie, but thier rooms are HUGE and you could change them into two rooms if you wanted to. I like thier house!!! It also has an amazing view!!!

~Rebecca~

Mon. July 14... Day 31

2008-07-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Today we left dad at home with Emmett, Nick, and Nick and Mom, Wendi (Mrs. Moore), and I went into town to do a little shopping. First we went to Inti's which is a neat store that imports all it's clothing, furniture, and instruments etc. from India. It was really cool and I got some great stuff!!! Then we went to this local bookstore and I got a few books and mom got some health quiz cards. We also stopped at Trader Joe's. We had a lot of fun!!!

~Rebecca~

Sun. July 13th... Day 30

2008-07-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today we went to church at St. Apollinaris Catholic Church. During the homily a cat walked in and lay down on the alter. The Msg. just sat their not really doing anything about the cat while the other priest continued giving the homily. It was very interesting experience having a cat attend church. Unfortunately Rosemary and Marina had to go to sleep away camp this morning so I was left with Nick and Emmett. Also Emmett's cousin Nick came and his friend Marcos. So I got to hang around with more boys. I was VERY grateful for the loft!

~Rebecca~

Sat. July 12... Day 29

2008-07-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite and saw the Giant Sequoia trees. Their life span is about 3,000 years! They can be about 60ft in diameter. We spent most of the day checking out these massive trees. We saw the Grizzly Giant and one of the trees had a small footpath through the middle. The other tree you could drive through fell down in the winter of 1968-'69. Nick was upset about that. After we saw the trees we headed of to the Moore's house (one of mom's residency-mates) They have two daugters, Rosemary (14) and Marina (11), and a son, Emmet (about Nick's age). We got there late and didn't get a whole lot of time to hang out. The girls have this cool loft in between their rooms! It was really cool!!! They also have a HUGE kitchen!

~Rebecca~

Fri. July 11.... Day 28

2008-07-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out around 7:30 am to get to Yosemite Village by 8:30 am for my "Go Climb a Rock" class. From there I headed to a smallish (500 vertical ft, 700 climbing ft) mountain near El Capitan. It was an awesome experience! I would love to, and probably will, do it again! It took my group (our instructor, Nate, a girl named Maggie, her dad, John, and I) our entire class to climb it, so from about 9:00 am to 3:10 ish pm. The good thing was we could just hike down the back so we didn't have to go through the trouble of repelling.

While I was rock climbing Mom, Dad, and Nick took a hike to Lower Yosemite Falls and saw some wildlife. They looked around for me trying to get a picture, but were unsuccessful. By the time they were done with all that it was time to go get me at the bus stop. I was a little late because my group just missed the bus at the bottom that only comes around every half hour. But, over all it was a fun day.

~Rebecca~

Thu. July 10th... Day 27

2008-07-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out to the Yosemite Village which is about a hour drive into the park. We drove around and explored a lot. It was a hot day!!! 105 degrees in the sun most of the day. When it cooled down a little we went on a 1.6 mile hike. It was really pretty. We had a fun day.

~Rebecca~

Wed. July 9th... Day 26

2008-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today we left San Francisco and headed up to Yosemite. We're staying at a 1000 Trails RV Park witch is about five minutes away from Yosemite National Park. We got here late and went swimming in the river. It was really refreshing on such a hot day. Tomorrow we'll head up to the park and explore.

~Rebecca~

Tue. July 8th... Day 25

2008-07-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

Today we went around San Francisco and got a new camera at Best Buy. We started out by getting on a trolley car and going up to Fisherman's Wharf. From there we went out onto the pier and saw Alcatraz. Then we went on this Double Decker bus tour of downtown. We went shopping for a little bit after that at the Westfield Center. You could spend weeks going through all the stores. It had the second largest Macy's in the country (New York has the largest)!!! We went out to dinner and had Chinese again, but this time it was at a place called Four Seas. We saw some pretty amazing sights. I definitely recommend going to San Francisco!!!!

~Rebecca~

Mon. July 7th... Day 24

2008-07-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

This morning we dropped off the Greenberg's at the San Francisco Airport. He arrived back around noon and we packed up to leave. We left about an hour later and came to this camping place called Candlestick Park. It's right across the street from the San Francisco 49ers Stadium. For dinner we went to this Chinese place in China town called Ming's. We ordered WAY too much food but we had a good time.

~Rebecca~

Sun. July 6th... Day 23

2008-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty lazy day. We hung out with the Greenberg kids this morning while Reid and Laurie went out on 17 Mile Drive which is this scenic drive that they took their bikes on. When they got back we headed out for the beach. The water was FREEZING!!!! "At most 40 degrees Fahrenheit," according to Nick who was in for about and hour and a half. From our spot on the beach we could see the smoke from the fire in Big Sur.

(Sorry no pictures, camera broke yesterday, remember)

~Rebecca~

Fri. July 5th... Day 22

2008-07-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today we took the RV to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the day. This place is awesome! We probably didn't see half of the place after it sucked up most of the day! They have all sorts of sea creatures. I like the penguins, jelly fish, sea otters, and the HUGE tank of GIANT fish and sharks! There was also a few touch pools where you could touch crabs, sea cucumbers, and bat rays (which I guess is a type of ray)! I love this place!!! Unfortunately our camera broke before we could get some really cool pictures. We're hoping San Francisco has a Canon shop. Anyway, after the Aquarium we went to a KOA RV park in Santa Cruz, which is just north of Monterey.

~Rebecca~

Thu. July 4th... Day 21

2008-07-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Today we didn't go to any parades or firework shows. There probably weren't any because of the fire danger. We went back to the dunes in the morning and went almost to the beach. We did make it to this HUGE hill/dune thingy and it was about a 45 degree angle and 40ft to the top. I wish I got a picture of Nick going down on the boogie board! I did get some other pictures of Mackenzie and Reid going up and mom coming down. When I went down on the boogie board I made it 4/5 of the way down and the board got stuck and I did a face plant. Talk about whiplash! It took me a minute to walk it off.

After we had to check out from the dunes place we went to this new place called Carmel by the River RV Park. It could only fit "Carmel by the River RV Pa" on the GPS, so it kept saying we were arriving in Pennsylvania. Anyway, this place was out in the middle of nowhere and the road was so tiny and twisty we could hardly believe that it was out here. Then we saw a sign that said, "Whew! You made it this far!" How much more was there?!?!?! Next we had to go down a steep narrow hill with a sharp turn at the bottom to finally get to the park. A miracle we made it!

We signed in and got parked. About an hour after we arrive this kid runs up to Mackenzie and introduces himself. Germany (Jeremy), as Mackenzie called him, was 5 1/2 and LOVED to collect rocks. He kept popping up throughout the day saying hi and running around the small loop with Mackenzie. He was really cute! We had a nice cook out anniversary dinner for mom and dad at the RV and had Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream for dessert.

~Rebecca~

Thu. July 3rd... Day 20

2008-07-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out from Rich's place early and went to Firestone Vineyards and took the tour. Then we came to this awesome campground with access to about 7 sq miles of sand dunes! This place is awesome!!!!!!!!!! We were at the dunes from about 1pm to dinner time and after dinner we stayed for another hour or so. We had loads of fun and we didn't even make it to the beach! (the dunes were in between the campground and the beach) We had a BLAST!!!

~Rebecca~

Wed. July 2nd... Day 19

2008-07-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

We didn't really do much today except for hang around the avacado rach. Mackenzie woke up early to pick some avacados and she picked a TON!!! I'll probably never be able to eat an avacado again after this trip! We had fun just hanging around.

~Rebecca~

Tue. July 1... Day 18

2008-07-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day in Ventura. Mom went to round at the Hospital around 7 am and when she got back Laurie, mom and I went up to this state park where this pretty cross overlooks the city. It was awesome! When we got back we had to pack up because check out was 11 am. From there we went to Carpenteria where we stayed at Rich's (a really nice friend of Reid's) house/avacado ranch. They also have a really nice and private strip of beach that you have to access through a huge storm drain (probably why it's so private). He aslo has two sons, Jack (9) and Zane (almost 3). Nick really enjoyed having Jack around! They we're playing videogames together as soon as we got back fromthe beach! Nick even ended up staying overnight at his new buddy's home! (Crazy how guys make lasting friends so quickly!) Also, while we were at the beach, dad lost one of his pairs of glasses. (lucky he has a spare)

~Rebecca~

Mon. June 30th... Day 17

2008-07-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

We went mini-golfing at this HUGE place today! It had two courses and two video game rooms! But, before I get too far along we must mention the two birthday girls, Rachel Glogowski (17) and Elizabeth Olis (1). I hope you had an excellent birthday back east! Dad left to go pick up Ried, Laurie, Mackenzie, and Tabor Greenberg at the airport around 4 pm (their flight landed at 6 pm at LAX). While dad was at the airport we walked down to Emma Wood State Beach, just down the road. We were there for about an hour. Dad and the Greenbergs arrived back at the campground around 9 pm.

~Rebecca~

Sun. June 29th... Day 16

2008-06-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

We went to church today at the Buenoventura Mission, the place where I was baptized. After church we went to the beach with the Glenns and walked along the pier and went boogie boarding in the pacific... Brrrr.... After a long day at the beach we headed back to the Mariot and got into the hot tub... Ahhhh... Then we all came back to the campground and had a BBQ and s'mores... Yumm... Today was AWESOME!!!!

~Rebecca~

Sat. June 28th... Day 15

2008-06-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Our second week on the road!!! Today mom headed off to an all day reunion thingy at the hospital and Dad, Nick, and me went out for breakfast at the Busy Bee diner. It was a huge breakfast! After that we went back to the campground so we could meet the guy who was going to was the RV. He got most of the diesel fuel off, but there were dome areas that stained. Then we went to the farmers market and got some delicious fresh fruit! We also went to Real Cheap Sports and Dad got a rain jacket, Nick got a T-shirt and I got some Capri's. We went over to the Mariot where the Glenn's were staying and swam in the pool and hung out. For dinner mom and dad went to the graduation dinner while Nick and I stayed in the hotel room with Elizabeth, Paul, and Sarah (Glenn). We ordered pizza and watched movies.

~Rebecca~

(sorry no pictures)

Wed. June 25th - Fri. June 27th... Day 12 - 14

2008-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

We've been really busy and without wi-fi for a few days so here's the recap.

Wednesday:

We made it to Amarillo, TX late tonight.

Thursday:

After, yet again, a lond day of driving we made it to Kingman, AZ, yet againg, late lastnight.

Friday:

We made it to Ventura, California around noon today and went out to dinner at Yasmine's with a bunch of mom's old friends and their kids... I'm tellin' ya it felt like Thanksgiving or Christmas with all the cousins! The campground is also nice, it has a pool & hot tub, a small store, and a playground.

~Rebecca~

PICS:

Wed. June 25th... Day 12

2008-06-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

DAVE NAPPING AND NICK PLAYING XBOX 360.

We're at Miami, OK information center off of route 44 taking an afternoon rest after leaving Aunt Jeanne's and Uncle Tom's at 7:30pm yesterday. Drove through the plains of Indiana and Illinois, the rolling hills of Missouri, over the Mississippi, past the St. Louis Arch, and by Busch Stadium. I'm hoping to cheer Dave onto Amarillo, TX today. We'll keep y'all posted.

~Yola~

Tue. June 24th... Day 11

2008-06-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

We're finally fixed (knock on wood)!!! We fixed the initial problem around 7:30pm and headed out! About a half an hour down the interstate we pull over and we're spraying diesel again. Luckily, we found Jim Craig's home phone number in the phone book at the truck stop and he and Junior drove out and fixed the problem right on the spot. One of the fuel injector thingies came loose, so they tightened it and triple checked all the others. Really nice guys! That got resolved around 9:30pm. Then we pulled an all-night er. I fell asleep, but dad was up driving for most of the night with only an hour and a half of sleep. We arrived at Uncle Tom's and Aunt Jeanne's in West Lafayette, Indiana at about 7:30 this morning. What a beautiful house!!! There's even a baby grand piano! We'll probably be back on the road after dinner.

~Rebecca~

Thu. June 20th Sun. June 22nd... Day 7 - Day 9

2008-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a few days. We're still stuck in Erie, Pennsylvania. This is what has happened so far. We're staying in a fancy Holiday Inn with a Water Park. On the first day (day 7) we went golfing.

Today we went to the Water Park attached to the hotel. We had a blast!!!!

~Rebecca~

Wed. June 18th Day 5 & Thu. June 19th Day 6

2008-06-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

We left Niagara Falls, headed for Cleveland, Ohio. We planned to meet up with my brother Tod for dinner and maybe tour the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, about 2 hours outside of Buffalo, the fuel pump on the motorhome quit and spewed diesel fuel all over the Honda and the back of the coach.

After many calls to Cummins Dealers, RV Dealers, and a couple independent mechanics, we finally had the motorhome towed to Jim Craig's Service center near Erie,PA. The fuel pump will be flown in tomorrow and hopefully we will be back on the road Friday. (Sure am glad we spent the extra money on the extended warranty to cover the repairs!!!!)

While we were stranded beside the road for about 24 hours, we had a large number of local folks stop in to see if they could be of help. It was really nice, and the people were very friendly. We learned that we were in the middle of grape country. Nearly 10,000 acres of grapes are grown in this county. A large Welches juice plant is here in North East, PA. Wineries are beginning to sprout up all around as well. Lake Erie is on the horizon from most of the town.

-Dave

P.S. We also stopped by a fabulous restaurant called Johnny B's!

Tue. June 17th... Day 4

2008-06-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

Today we went back to Niagara Falls for the daytime attractions. We went up on the observation tower, road the Maid of the Mist, walked through the Cave of the Winds, and watched a movie

on the history in a mini - Imax theatre. We had a blast! Oh, and we had Dippin' Dots, the ice cream of the future!!!!!! YUM!!!! It may have been kind of yucky out, but that didn't really dampen our spirits. Niagara Falls is definitely a must see!

~Rebecca~

Mon. June 16th... Day 3

2008-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

We left Babcia and Dziadzius' Monday morning and set out on our all day journey to Niagara Falls. Along the way we met up with some pretty nasty storms. Rain and hail brought traffic down to 20mph on the highway. People pulled off the road and it was chaos for a few minutes.

We arrived at the campground around 6:30pm. After we settled in we headed to Niagara Falls to see the falls all lit up. It was beautiful.

Sat. June 14th... Day 1

2008-06-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

Dinner Party at Babcia and Dziadzius' house! New Britain CT.

Sorry, it's at an angle, the only way to get Uncle Dave and John in the same shot.

Sat. June 14th... Day 1

2008-06-15T04:38:00.000-07:00

Today started out in a packing frenzy! We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off and ended up leaving an hour and a half behind schedule. We arrived, none the less, in Connecticut before we had to go to bed.

Oh, and in the first three hours on the road, we already hit a tree... No one was hurt and the damage was minimal, we already fixed it.

~ Rebecca ~