Aloha...

We are finally here in Hawaii. It is so amazing. I wanted to catch the blog up before I really got in to the Hawaii stuff.

We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Las Vegas. I simply can't blog about Vegas b/c what happens there, stays there. Seriously, it was amazing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. After that we headed to Atascadero, CA to see my dad and stepmom. It is a beautiful part of CA - right between LA and San Fran. We got to go see the Hurst Castle too. From my dad's we left for LA were we flew to Oahu on Monday.

Hawaii is awesome. I'll post more on that later.

Hoover Dam

One of the pools at the Bellagio


























Bellagio




































Bellagio
























Bellagio























Bellagio





































Venetian

























Venetian





































Ceasar's Palace

































Watershow at Bellagio - so beautiful.






































Me, Dad, and Diane at Hurst Castle






























ALOHA!!!!

Ain't it Grand....

Mon. 8/11:
We leave New Mexico and head to Tucson to stay with Edward’s friend, Tim. While in Tucson I find out one of the many “benefits” of being married to an aviation freak. Tucson happens to be home to the Pima Air and Space Museum which manages the military's plane bone yard. It is basically a place where they store operational aircraft that are not in use. They choose to do it in Tucson b/c of the temperature and lack of humidity. Edward was like a little kid on the tour. He said he had dreamed about coming here since he was a little boy. Thank goodness he wasn’t let down.

Tues. 8/12:
We wake up early so that we can make it to the Grand Canyon in time to do a little hiking. The drive through Northern Arizona is really pretty. All of a sudden you go from desert and cactus to green trees. The neatest was when we hit about 6000 ft. all the trees turned white; I guess they were birch trees. We stopped for lunch in Flagstaff and couldn’t believe the change in weather. It was almost 90 at 6:30am in Tucson and it had dropped to 75 in Flagstaff.

We rolled into the Grand Canyon around 1:30 and started our hike. This will sound so cheesy but the first time I saw the Grand Canyon it took my breath away. Maybe it was the elevation of around 8000 feet but it really is amazing. Pictures can not do it justice. It is HUGE. We think from the maps that we hiked around 6 miles and I was pooped. One of the stranger things at the Grand Canyon, I would say 9 out of the 10 people we passed on the trail were foreign. Seriously, we might as well have been in Europe or Asia. It was truly bizarre. However, all in all it was amazing. I truly recommend going and seeing it in person.









C130's at the "Bone Yard"













More planes...

















Tim and Mandy in Tuscon












The white trees in Northern Arizona














































































My first view of the Grand Canyon.



























Amazing!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Jackson! Being TWO will make you tired...or at least it'll make everyone else tired. I love you and miss you, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Edward, and Cousin Teddy

Texas is ridiculously huge...

Not only is Texas huge but it is HOT. I like Texas but I think it should be two states - East Texas and West Texas. Enough about that - let me get caught up on where we’ve been.

Wed. 8/06 and Thur. 8/07:
We leave PCB and head to Pensacola to pick Edward’s dad up at the airport. He flew down to spend Wednesday and Thursday with us in Pensacola. Edward picked Pensacola b/c he loved being in flight school there. We had a great time and I even got to visit the Naval Air and Space Museum for the SECOND time. I will have to say I never thought I would have to say I’d been once.

Fri. 8/08:
After we leave Edward’s dad at the airport we start the trip to New Orleans. Edward decided that in an effort to save money on gas we would set the cruise control at 60 MPH. After about an hour of driving and many obscene gestures and honking horns he bumped it up to 65 MPH. At this point I was just praying we would make it to California in 2008. We FINALLY get to New Orleans and head out for dinner and drinks. I think I am getting too old for all New Orleans has to offer…it sure was fun though.

Sat. 08/09:
We wake suffering from last nights festivities and hit the road by 7:45am. I think I was still under the influence to get up that early. San Antonio is our destination and I wasn’t sure we would make it. It all started to fall apart around Lake Charles, LA when I swore that I saw a short cut around the stand-still traffic on I-10. Turns out I was looking at the map upside down and we got off track for about 2 hours. I know you’re probably wondering how this could happen since we have a GPS. Well, I often feel like I know more than the GPS. I obviously don’t. One good thing, while on our little detour we stumbled upon a Books-A-Million where we finally got some books on tape. Since Edward had been controlling the radio I felt confidant that one (me) could lose there mind if they were forced to listen to NPR all the way to California. We get to San Antonio and feel dirty, tired, and hot. We see the Alamo and Riverwalk. It was crowded and I was not in the state of mind to deal with such things. We eat and go to bed. We finally pushed the cruise control to 70 MPH.

Sun. 08/10:
Today we finally reached Las Cruces, NM. We spent the whole day, 9 hours or so, driving across Texas. We only drove about 40 miles in New Mexico. That is just silly. It felt like we weren’t making any progress to still be in Texas around hour 7. Don’t have much to say about Las Cruses. We ate an Outback. We pushed the cruise control to 80 MPH today. I’m thinking we’ll actually make it to CA.

Air and Space Museum in Pensacola. Couldn't miss this photo op.

Mississippi - boring.

WHAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I tried to get a picture of the 9th ward. Pictures can't show the damage.

Pat O's - Edward has to get his fruity drink!

Some of you will see that some things never change.

The Alamo

The Riverwalk. We ate at the restaurant with umbrellas.

Still alive, but barely

Wow, sorry for not posting in so long. We have been BUSY. I left for Alabama on July 9th, leaving Edward to finish out Ice Patrol and check us out of our apartment in NC. He joined me in Montgomery for my friend Anna's wedding on July 26 and from there we went to Dothan to see my family, than back to Montgomery to see Edward's family, than to Bham to see friends, and finally back to Dothan to regroup and repack for the trip.

My "retirement" is going well, but I thought I would have more free time. Don't get me wrong, I've had a day or two of lounging in my nephews baby pool but the rest has been squeezing in all the family time I can. I was so lucky to get to stay in Dothan for two weeks with my family. My brother-in-law is a saint for putting up with me that long. I am also pretty sure I left his house a mess with no food and his son saying a few words he shouldn't.

Well, we've finally said all our sad goodbyes and are on the road. We spent last night at my families beach house in Panama City and met Edward's dad in Pensacola this morning. Next stop...New Orleans.





The trip begins! Edward and me before we left Dothan.


















My sister and me with my precious nephew Jackson.













Dinner with friends (Robinsons and Carrolls) in Bham. It was so hot my hair looks wet.


















On the deck in Panama City.