We woke up to a very bright morning in Williams thinking that it was going to be a warm one…well, we were a bit mistaken. The temp was in the mid to high 60’s and the wind was blowing like crazy (a little chilly) which didn’t help us to keep warm as we were dressed for weather in Phoenix! No worries, we didn’t have far to go for our final meal at Max & Thelma’s Diner (a cute buffet restaurant where we ate most meals at over the 2 days at the canyon). We even got to check out the steam engine as it took off for it’s first journey of the season into the Grand Canyon. Very cool way to start off the day! Read the rest of this entry »

This is getting tougher and tougher each day. Keeping this updated, especially with pictures, is definitely a chore. We’ve been doing our best to do it nightly, but sometimes we are just exhausted from the days activities and/or traveling. We got a good night’s sleep last night..I think I got a bout of dehydration yesterday. I guess the beers at Poncho McGillicutty’s didn’t help, especially that early in the evening. Should’ve drank water. All was well this morning though, and we awoke to a beautiful morning. Yes, we succumed to the tourist trap that is the Grand Canyon Railway, but had a very enjoyable time. We were treated to a “gunfight” before we boarded the train to the South Rim, and the first class car was definitely worth it. The Steam Engine Bloody Mary was excellent, and the ride up was relaxing and scenic. Even had our own in car entertainment…Colonel Jim Garvey serenaded us with traditional country tunes. Read the rest of this entry »

Falling Down, Falling Down…London Bridge is Falling Down, My Fair Lady! After a late night (trying to get caught up on the blog), we woke up and headed out just in time to catch the free breakfast at the Best Western. There was the necessary stop for Starbucks (of course) where we felt a little strange getting hot coffee when it was 93 degrees out (it was only 10am!!!). One last stop to stroll across the London Bridge and to check out a souvenir shop (we needed to find another shot glass for Brad’s collection) and we were on our way for Williams, Arizona. Read the rest of this entry »

California is finally behind us…it only took us 4 days, (plus over 1000 miles on the Jeep already!) We spent almost twelve hours on the road today, but luckily it didn’t seem like it. We backtracked a little to get headed east because we wanted to head through the Joshua Tree National Park before spending the night in Lake Havasu City. We took a quick detour through Palm Springs, filled up the tank ($3.45/gal..for regular!!) and headed east on the I10 until we got to park entrance…what an absolutely beautiful place. I don’t think we anticipated spending the entire day there, but after a 3 mile hike, and a few other milers, most of the afternoon had passed. I didn’t realize how big the park was, and how different the vegetation and surroundings are from one end to the other. The pictures just don’t do it justice…we’re both really glad we got to experience it. Read the rest of this entry »

Believe it or not, we survived a GREAT (and exhausting) day at Disneyland and was still able to stay on track for destination F - San Diego the next morning! We even got a chance to experience a morning in the life of the Davis family! Mark hurried off with Martha in order to get her to Disneyland and Tricia hurried off to get Becca to school on time…all this while Tricia was making cookies for her get together at 9 - it was definitely exciting to watch as it all play out seemlessly After everyone left, we picked up our room, got ourselves ready, loaded the car, and were on our way. Read the rest of this entry »

Heidi inadvertently set her alarm clock using Mountain Standard time..it’s one of those Oregon Scientific thingys with a little “zone” button on the back. So, it wasn’t really 7:00 am . Read the rest of this entry »

Sorry we missed the past few days. We had some issues with internet access. Probably won’t be the first time on this trip! We woke up early Sunday and rushed to Hearst Castle to make a 12:20 tour reservation. Little did we know that we were in for a very wet day with little traffic on Highway 1 (getting us there earlier than expected). We actually got there early enough to see the introductory IMAX movie prior to taking our tour (this worked out really well!). The tour was great, but every time we stepped outside, the amount of water that our shoes and pants had to hold significantly increased! It’s a beautiful “ranch”, but the rain could have stayed away. Read the rest of this entry »

OK…we left San Ramon a little later than we anticipated, but we did complete everything we set out to accomplish before saying “goodbye” to the bay area digs. We arrived at my Grandparents home in beautiful Pebble Beach just a short 2 hours later. Such a nice place to get away to, even though it’s such a short jaunt from home and we’ll only be here overnight. Grandpa, the traps are all clear. Enjoyed a light dinner after an evening drive down by the water. The sunset wasn’t as pretty as we would of liked due to some cloud cover, but couldn’t help but think of Grandma and how much she loved those evening drives along the water, just to get the chance to see that perfect sunset. It’s getting late, the eyes are getting lazy, and we’ve got a long day tomorrow. Looking forward to the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway to San Simeon, and then on to Thousand Oaks for a few nights.

Below is our tentative itinerary for our cross country trip: ===================================== 5.20 - Leaving San Ramon & will stay in Pebble Beach 5.21 - Leave Pebble Beach early, take a tour of Hearst Castle in San Simeon at 12:20 and land in Thousand Oaks for a two night stay 5.22 - Spend the day at Disneyland with Mark, Trisha, Martha, and Becca…stay in Thousand Oaks again. Read the rest of this entry »

“This page is dedicated to our cross country move to Charlotte, North Carolina. We’ll be using this blog to keep you updated on our travels; the sites we see, the people we meet, and the pictures we take. Don’t hesitate to post a comment. It won’t show up immediately, but if all goes well, we’ll be updating this page on a daily basis!”