Universal, Florida - Day 1

Highlights from today included Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Cat in the Hat, The Hulk rollercoaster, Hogwarts Express, Minion Mayhem, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Train #3

We splurged and upgraded to the sleeper car. Hopefully we'll be well rested when we hit Orlando!

Layover in Washington

Can you see the Washington Monument in the background?

Millennium Park

We had fun walking around downtown Chicago and riding the loop.

Union Station

One train ride under our belts. Now to explore The Windy City.

Nearing Chicago

It is hard to take a good picture on a moving train, especially with light behind the subject.

Not Back To School - 2015 version

Croquet with friends who also don't go back to school.

Pay Phones

They still exist, and it had a dial tone!

Mount Rushmore at Night

After an inspirational speech about liberty and a short movie about the history of the monument and the four presidents, the mountain was lit. They also asked all present and former military personnel to come to the stage. After we sang the National Anthem and the flag was retired, each service member said their name and branch, and the all received an ovation.

(Pictures are on a different camera and will be added later.)

Climbing Devils Tower

We all hiked up the trail to the base viewpoint of Devils Tower National Monument, but only Hans & Dad went clear to the boulder base. Hans even climbed up about 40 feet. The orange spot in this photo is him, and the red spot is Dad taking his picture.

Picnic in the Park

There are many things about this trip that remind me of a family trip taken 38 years ago. The picnic lunches remind me the most. This one is in Yellowstone National Park near Yellowstone Lake.

Geothermal Features of Yellowstone National Park

Be glad that my blog doesn't have smell-o-vision!






We are staying in West Yellowstone, MT; most of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming; and a sliver of it is in Idaho.

Car vs Bull Elk

We saw a car hit a huge 6x6 point bull elk that we missed by mere feet. The people were not hurt, the car was totalled, and the elk is dead.

Dad was driving & hit the brakes as the elk jumped out from some trees on our side of the road. The driver of the car coming toward us on the 2 lane highway did not have time to react.

They hit the elk & veered across our lane (behind us) & up the small ridge. Their hood was vertical, so the driver couldn't see. We turned around & went back to the spot, then Mom hiked up the hill looking for the car.

The couple was getting out by the time Mom found them. The airbags had deployed, which undoubtedly saved them. OnStar had started talking to them already, and another driver who stopped also was talking to them. The entire front end was demolished & the windshield was broken, but the sides were okay. The lady's glasses were broken, her neck is a little stiff, and the guy's arm is sore from trying to steer.

God blessed Sally & Edson.

Golden Spike

Even though we didn't know about the reenactment ahead of time, we were able to see most of it.

Pojos

After our first full day visiting Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie, we had some fun at the local family arcade.

On The Road

Only an hour later than planned. That's one hour better than last year's start.

Post-Trip Lists

I'm a list maker, number cruncher, and box checker deep down, so here are a few lists from our 3 week trip. We had a few "rough" days, but overall it was a great experience!
 
Things we took but never used

• Camp chairs, Hans' small tent, camp stove, propane, and cookware (we only camped once & didn't cook)
• Bag of "activities" for the boys in the car (DS was played more than we expected)
• "Where's George" stamps (used only once, then I stopped stamping new money)
• Many seldom used toiletries (OTC meds), heating pad, and 12V battery charger (but I'm glad we had all of these anyway)
• AAA Tour books (we used AAA maps, AAA app, Google, National Parks app, our GPS, and roadsideamerica.com)
• TV tray for a table in the van

Things we forgot

• OFF lantern (would have been nice, but since we only camped once it was okay)
• Antihistamine cream (many mosquito bites)
• Mom's NYSC camper and staph name tags
• Brita water pitcher and filter (some places have really awful tap water)

Things we had, but didn't have with us at the right time

• Insect repellent
• Umbrellas
• National Parks passports - left them at the hotel the day we went to Jefferson Expansion Memorial, aka Gateway Arch, in St. Louis

Numbers and Statistics

• States visited: 10 --- KS, MO, IL, IN, OH, WV, VA, DC*, MD, KY, TN
• Elevation minimum & maximum: 35' to 4848'
• Miles put on vehicle: 3698
• License plates seen: All but 3 of the 50 states (North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Utah missing), plus US Gov't, Washington DC, 2 Canadian provinces, and 1 American Indian nation
• License plates seen on moving vehicles while in our moving vehicle: all of the above except Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Montana (either they were parked or we were walking)
• Number of smashed pennies I collected as souvenirs: 10
• Number of National Parks passport stamp cancellations collected: 8

St. Louis Fun

Our plans changed again, and we had a good day anyway, again!

All four of us went up to the top of the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Hans liked it the most, and Fritz liked it the least. The museum and shops were a hit with everyone.

We also went to the St. Louis Science Center. Our original plan was the City Museum, but since it doesn't have reciprocal membership with Exploration Place, and we would have had only about 2 hours, we opted for plan B. Dad & Hans watched the planetarium show while Hans and I explored.

posted from Bloggeroid

Day 15 - Plan B

Today started out great! We checked out of the resort with 5 minutes to spare before a $50 late fine. We headed west, back toward Kansas.

After a couple of hours we had lunch which took longer than expected. Since Mom was driving when we passed the New River Gorge visitors center at Sandridge, we stopped to look around and get our National Parks passports stamped.

Those two things, and needing gas, prompted a stop in Beckley, WV. We all visited the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, and Hans and Dad took the underground tour of a coal mine.

Instead of driving on to Charleston and setting up camp in the dark, we opted to camp in Beckley. Tomorrow we will have about 90 more minutes of driving, but we hope to be able to hit the Children's Museum in Charleston if we get going early enough in addition to Mammoth Cave.

Today has ended up great, too, just with Plan B instead of Plan A.

posted from Bloggeroid

Rollercoaster Fiends!

Hans and Fritz rode the Ricochet at least 7 times in a row! Three of those were completely on their own when Mom and Dad went to ride Shenandoah Lumber Co. (log flume). Later Fritz rode it 3 more times solo while Hans went to ride the Hurler solo.

posted from Bloggeroid