North to Bend

On Christmas Day, we drove through New Mexico to Phoenix, where we stopped for the night. Tuesday morning we stopped at a Bass Pro Shop on the way out of Phoenix. 

 

We then continued north, stopping at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas (No 23) for lunch. From there we drove north through the desolate center of Nevada and stayed the night in Winnemucca. 

Yesterday we made it to Bend and enjoyed a late Christmas meal with Susan and Jenn.

Across Texas

Sunday morning we drove south of Houston to the San Jacinto Monument. This is the site of the battle that won Texas independence from Mexico.  

The monument was closed because it was Christmas eve, but we were able to walk some of the grounds, and view the USS Texas battleship nearby.

 

We continued on to San Antonio, where we visited the Alamo.  

We also walked along the Riverwalk, and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (No. 22).  

We then drove west, stopping for the night in a little town in west Texas.

Leaving Tampa

Earlier this month Bryan got the opportunity to work in Portland, so I flew out just before Christmas to help him pack up his stuff and drive back to Oregon. This would be my tenth drive across the U.S.

He finished his last day at work and we headed north, stopping at the Hard Rock Casino outside Tampa to eat dinner at the cafe there. This was the 20th HRC I have visited.

We stopped in Tallahassee for the night, then continued west Saturday morning. We turned off I-10 as we approached Pensacola in an attempt to visit the Gulf Islands National Seashore, but the headquarters was closed for the weekend. We decided against continuing to Fort Pickens, and instead took I-110 through Pensacola to rejoin I-10.

We then drove through southern Alabama, and stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe in Biloxi Mississippi for lunch (No 21). This one was located inside a casino as well. We continued on through Louisiana, and stopped east of Houston for the night.

Christmas in Florida

This week, while I stayed home and worked and watched the dogs and the snow, Susan and Jenn flew to Oklahoma to attend the wedding of a girl Jennifer had met through Rainbow. 

The wedding was held in Purcell, a small town that had seen better days. After the wedding they flew to DisneyWorld for a quick stay. 

They stayed at Coronado Springs and after a visit to Disney Springs to see the Christmas Tree Trail they spent the evening at the Christmas party at Magic Kingdom with one of Jenn’s friends from her college program.

The next day they went to the Universal resort and checked out the new Harry Potter area, Diagon Alley, in the Studio park, and rode the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure and back. On their last day they visited Epcot.

Disney World

Last week, Jennifer flew out to Disney World.  She went to one of the Halloween Parties, and visited each of the parks with friends from her College Program.

October 1st was the 35th anniversary of the opening of Epcot.  Bryan drove over from Tampa to hang out with her.

Summer Update

 

It’s been pretty quiet since we got back from Florida.  The dogs are getting bigger. I’ve been working fairly long hours and often at night watching highway construction around Bend. After his Disney internship ended, Bryan got a job with one of the Big 4 accounting firms in Tampa.

We enjoy visiting the Old Mill District, eating, shopping, or just walking around. Last month we watched the eclipse from there.

Our house in Bend is fairly close to the river so we enjoy taking the dogs for walks along it.

West to Bend

Friday we continued west to Kansas. After a brief stop in Kansas City, we made our way into Colorado and then turned north to Wyoming.

We drove west through Wyoming on the Lincoln Highway, finally stopping at Rock Springs for the night. 

Our last major stop on our ninth trip across America was at Shoshone Falls outside Twin Falls, Idaho.

Indiana

Thursday, we stopped at two National Park sites in southern Indiana. The first was the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. It had a pretty extensive visitor center telling about Lincoln's early years, and some nice grounds to walk around.

The second was the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. He was a Revolutionary War hero who won an important battle against the British. After Jenn completed the Junior Ranger program at both sites, we drove west across southern Illinois.  

We got to St. Louis just after dinner, and stopped for the night at a campground a few hours to the west.

Kentucky

From South Carolina we headed west through Georgia to Columbus, where we had dinner Monday night with friends.

Lily and Walter got to know each other as we drove.  

Tuesday we turned north and drove through Tennessee, then stopped in Kentucky for the night. Wednesday we stopped and visited the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park. This park preserves Sinking Spring Farm, where Lincoln was born. The memorial building contains a recreation of the log cabin he was born in. 

We stopped near Louisville for the night, and had dinner at the Hard Rock there (No. 19), then drove around the downtown for a bit.

Leaving Florida

 

Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast at Trail's End, the restaurant at the Fort Wilderness Campground.  We walked around the old River Country area, then we took the boat into the Magic Kingdom so Jennifer could say goodbye to a few friends and coworkers and we could enjoy a few attractions.

That night we caught the Wishes fireworks show.  

We left Florida Sunday morning and drove to South Carolina, where we picked up Walter, another Sheltie. 

Pandora

 

Once in Florida, we began packing Jenn up and checked into Fort Wilderness.  We then spent Friday at Animal Kingdom and Saturday at Magic Kingdom.  

At Animal Kingdom we were able to spend some time in the new land based on the movie Avatar - Pandora.  The Navi River ride was nice, but the Flight of Passage ride was phenomenal.  

That night we watched the new Rivers of Light show.  It was pretty good, but no where near Fantasmic!

Trailer Trip Part 2

Tuesday we continued on into Texas, stopping in Austin to visit friends and stay the night.  We went up to the Oasis at Lake Travis for dinner. 

By the time we reached Louisiana Wednesday, the weather was getting worse.  We decided to continue driving through the night and get to Florida a day earlier than planned before the worst of the storm hit Mississippi and Alabama.  

There was a lot of rain and lightning, but we made it to Florida early Thursday morning, then continued on to Walt Disney World.

Trailer Trip

As Jenn's Disney College Program was coming to an end, we planned a trip out to Florida with our trailer to bring her back.  Saturday, we loaded up and headed out through the Oregon Outback on our eighth trip across the U.S.A.

Our first stop was at Fort Rock State Park southeast of Bend.  We then drove through the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge and stopped for the night in Winnemucca Nevada. 

Sunday we continued east into Utah and stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats to stretch our legs.  Then we drove to Moab for the night.  

Our next stop was at the Four Corners Monument, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet.  Owned by the Navajo Nation, the monument is surrounded by stands where tourists can buy native American art and small items. 

We continued on into New Mexico, passing Ship Rock, and stopped for the night.

Spring Update

 

Besides our trips to Disney World, nothing too exciting happened this spring.  Lily got bigger, and Susan and I drove back and forth over the passes between Bend and Portland to spend time together.  We made short trips down to Fresno in California and up to Seattle, but didn't get to do anything fun during them.

I interviewed for and was hired for a position for ODOT in Bend, and started on June 1st.  Although I'll miss my co-workers in Beaverton, I'm looking forward to not driving over the pass weekly.

Dapper Days at Disney World

 

At the end of April Susan flew out to Florida to visit the kids.  On Saturday she and Jennifer attended Dapper Day at Magic Kingdom.

On Sunday they went to Epcot.  

On Friday I flew out to join them.  We stayed in a villa at Saratoga, and spent one day checking out the Flower and Garden festival at Epcot. 

We spent another at Animal Kingdom, and had lunch at the new restaurant next to the future entrance to the Avatar land, Tiffins.  It was very good.  We flew home this morning.