Home Sweet Home!

We're home! As much as we loved the entire trip it is good to be home. Thanks to my brother Mike and sister-in-law, Donna for picking us up at the airport and to Mom and Dad for dropping us off two weeks ago. Thanks to my friend, Steve Vipperman for pushing us to get the Garmin GPS (He actually offered us his to use, but we decided on making the investment ourselves). This was worth every penny, as restaurants and bunches of other points of interest were found without any trouble.

It sounds goofy, but I thank Nikon for developing such a cool new camera. I purchased the D5000 before the trip and it took some fantastic pictures. It was somewhat pricey, but I plan on using it for several years and hope for several thousand future pics. I would highly recommend it. I am not sure of the exact amount, but I believe I took somewhere between 800-1000 pictures. That doesn't include some video and the digital camera the Jen was using the whole trip.

We thank God for safe passage and overall good health throughout the two weeks. We traveled nearly 3000 through some of the most dangerous territory known to mankind (LA, Las Vegas and San Francisco) and made it without incident. Jen was very close to receiving a ticket from a kind police officer, but we were blessed with a friendly warning instead.

Finally, we thank all of you who were following and posting comments along the way. Some of the days were very long and it was nice to sit down and read some of the messages that many of you posted. It made us feel like we were still just a short distance from everyone, even though we were thousands of miles away. It also made it feel as though some of you were on vacation with us. We loved having you along for the ride!

I will try to post final day pics tomorrow and maybe even add a few more here and there. Thanks again! Stay in touch.

Leaving Las Vegas

We are waiting to board our plane to Atlanta.
(I thought I'd try entering this from my phone)

Day 14 - Last Day of Vacation

Last day of the White Vacation 2009. We had a great time and thank God for His protection along the nearly 3000 mile trek around much of the western US. There were a lot of great highlights and memories made along the way and I am thankful for those, as well.

Today we drove from Williams, AZ to the Hoover Dam. I enjoyed it and I think the other family members did too, but with temperatures around 103, the kids were more attentive to the ice cream in the cafe than the impressive structure of the dam.

I couldn't believe how low the water level of Lake Mead was. Some of the pictures I have posted show where the level used to be and it is hard to imagine it ever rising to that level again.

We are staying at Circus Circus in Vegas tonight. There is quite a bit to do for the family. We just finished watching a quick change circus act by a Russian couple. Pretty cool.

We will be going to bed early tonight, as we need to rise around 4:30AM, drop the car off at the car rental and get to the airport and through all the checkpoints to catch our plane by 7:00AM. I'll try to post a another update once we are home.

Day 13 - June 18

Saw the glorious Grand Canyon today! Jen and I visited 16 years ago, but the kids have never seen it, so it was nice to see it with them for the first time. It's too bad we didn't have the time to do more in the canyon, but that has been the story of this vacation. We wanted to see as much as we could in the two weeks we had.

We are staying in Williams, AZ tonight at a Howard Johnson. Old Route 66 runs right through the center of town. Williams was the last town to bypass Route 66 with Interstate 40. They truly take on the Route 66 theme and it was fun driving downtown a while ago and seeing all the shops, sites and a few live performance along the streets and outside some of the restaurants. Jen dropped us off and then went to look for a store that would sell something for swimmer's ear. Ben has been dealing with that the past couple days. For his sake (and ours), I hope she finds something.

Tomorrow, we will head back to Vegas and stop at the Hoover Dam on our way. I'm taking the kids down to the pool in a few minutes so I'll upload today's pics later.

Day 12 (June 17) - From Tahoe Back to Vegas

Yesterday was such a long day that I didn't have time for an update. We were in the car most of the day, but managed a couple neat stops along the way. Those of you who have driven it know that there is no straight shot from Tahoe to Vegas. We drove Rte. 50 from South Lake Tahoe and hooked up with scenic Rte. 89 and decided to go a few miles off the path to take a look around the ghost town of Bodie, CA. The last few miles of Rte. 270 turn to washboard dirt and stone as you enter the town. At the time I was thinking that this would be a good place to get shot and have no one find you for several days, but when we finally arrived we found several other people had made the trip up, as well.

Bodie was a very cool ghost town. We took lots of pictures and read about all the things that happened back when the town was booming with 10,000 people. We spent about an hour there (could have spent at least two) and then headed out the dirt road exit down to Rte. 167 and 394, where we finally picked up Interstate 95 to head south for Las Vegas.

Most of the way is 70 MPH, but every little bit, we would come across a broken down old town out in the middle of nowhere with a speed limit of 25. I suppose the three people who live in some of these towns need you to slow down enough to at least read their hand-painted signs. Jen drove a couple hours of the trip yesterday and that was helpful. I got to close my eyes for a little while. In Beatty, I took over again and drove the last hour and a half into Vegas. We stayed at the Luxor and will plan on making the few hour drive to the Grand Canyon today. I wanted to see Zion, as well, but there won't be enough time this trip.

Monday & Tuesday (June 15 & 16)

Didn't have time to update yesterday, so I thought I would just combine the past couple of days. Monday, we traveled from Red Bluff to Lake Tahoe. We took a lot of pictures coming down to South Lake Tahoe from the west side of the lake. What a beautiful stretch of mountains, waterfalls and lake views! We stayed at the Horizon Casino Resort last night. Our room had a great view of the lake. It started raining around 4:30PM, so we decided to take the kids to see UP (the movie). It was a cute family movie and the kids have been wanting to see it, so it was a nice opportunity to do so.

Today (June 16), we drove north about an hour through Carson City and up to Virginia City. We had a lot of fun seeing the old town of Virginia City which just a week ago celebrated it's 150 year history. The kids enjoyed this old town alot and they even got to try their hand at panning for gold. We stayed there until about 1 pm then headed back to South Lake Tahoe to spend another night in this beautiful lake/mountain resort area.

Tomorrow we will start our long 8-9 hour journey toward the Las Vegas area where we hope to fit in a trip to the Grand Canyon before hopping a plane on Saturday morning bright and early to come back to reality and our great state of Ohio!!

Day 9 (June 14) - Eureka to Red Bluff

We took our time checking out in Eureka this morning and made our way down Route 299 to Redding. This was another beautiful drive. Most the route follows right along the Trinity River. Much of the river is white water and we saw a few people doing some white water rafting along the way. Route 299 also had a couple neat historical towns. We didn't stop, but both Whiskeytown and Shasta looked pretty interesting.

We are staying south of Redding in Red Bluff tonight at a Hampton Inn. We arrived about 1:00PM and the kids have been swimming a couple of hours. We are heading out shortly to get a bite to eat and take a look at some nearby sites. I wanted to see Lassen National Forest, but it's about an hour down the road and we have a big drive again tomorrow from here to Lake Tahoe area, so we probably won't put the kids through much more driving tonight.

Day 8 (June 13) - Trees of Mystery & More Coastline

Another fun day filled with more beautiful sites. We drove an hour north, to the Trees of Mystery this morning. This was one of the places I remember going with my family when I was a boy. We hiked the trail and then rode the Sky Trail to the top lookout. Very neat walk. There is also a native american museum attached to the gift shop, so we walked through that taking a look at all the interesting things.

On the way back down to Eureka we spotted some elk and got some good pictures of them. We also drove up to Patrick's Point State Park and hiked down to the rugged shoreline. It was filled with boulders and other rock formations of all sizes. The kids climbed around on those while I tried getting some good pictures.

Change in plans - We were planning on seeing Crater Lake in Oregon, but decided instead, to start heading southeast tomorrow. It's another six or seven hours north to Crater Lake. We would have to turn around and come right back down. Rather than do that for one attraction, we will save some time and gas and start heading for Lake Tahoe tomorrow. While we are heading down, we plan to take a look at Lassen National Forest. We may even stay near there for the evening.

Day 7 (June 12) - Giant Redwoods & Beautiful Coastline

Today we traveled from Rohnert Park up to Eureka. We decided to take Route 1 part of the way, so we took Route 20 in Willit over to the coast. Well worth it even though we will probably see more of the same tomorrow. We jumped back on 101 and went through the small village of Leggett to drive through the Chandelier Tree. It was a tight squeeze, but we made it through without a scratch. From there we drove up and got on the Avenue of Giants. What a beautiful drive! Tomorrow we would like to drive to the Trees of Mystery. When I was a boy I remember stopping there with Mom, Dad and the rest of the family. I'd like to stop just to see the place again. We will also take a short trip up the coast and spend the night in Eureka again. Going swimming with the kids now!

Day 6 (June 11) - Summary

We started the day by traveling from Turlock to San Francisco. We spent most the day at Fisherman's Wharf, eating at Bubba Gumps and viewing some of the neat things there. We had a great view of Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge and several harbor seals sunning themselves at Pier 39. We made our way across the bridge and up to Rohert Park to spend the night tonight. We are staying in a beautiful Doubletree hotel/resort (Jen got a good deal). Tomorrow we make the four hour (give or take) drive up to Eureka. We plan to stay there a couple nights while exploring Redwood National Park and the area.

Day 5 (June 10) - Awesome!

Unbelievable! We saw so much in Yosemite today. Amazing! First, we went up to Mariposa Grove to take a look at the huge Sequoia trees, including the largest one, Grizzly Giant. Then we traveled down into the valley. There was one amazing site after another. We saw Bridalvail Falls, El Capitan, the Upper Falls, Half Dome and many other beautiful sites. We were also lucky enough to see a couple brown bear cubs. The weather was perfect and so was the traffic. Apparently, early June is the time to visit Yosemite.

We left the park after lunch and drove the back way into Turlock. Along the way, we passed through what was originally an old west town, called Coulterville. This is the home of the oldest bar/grill in California (1851). It looks much like it did back then. Tonight, we are staying at a new Comfort Inn in Turlock. We stumbled upon it in the travel coupon guide that we picked up in Oakhurst before leaving this morning.

We'll take our time getting around tomorrow and head for San Francisco. I haven't checked the mileage yet, but it shouldn't take us very long.

Day 4 - Tuesday, June 9 Summary

We began the day driving from Santa Clarita (LA area) to Oakhurst (South Entrance to Yosemite). We were able to check into our room early, so we purchased a few groceries and ate lunch in our room. We took a long, winding drive into Yosemite and up to Glacier Point. That has to be one of the most beautiful views on Earth. From here, you have a great view of Half Dome, Liberty Dome and Nevada Falls. I managed to take a few good pictures, but they still pale in comparison to the real thing. After Glacier Point, we made the 45 mile drive back to the Best Western in Oakhurst. The kids and I did some swimming and got a pizza for dinner. Tomorrow we plan to head back into Yosemite and see the sites of Yosemite Valley and then begin the trek toward San Francisco. We'll probably stay near Modesto. Not sure yet how far we'll get.

A Day in LA

We began the day making the 250 (give or take) mile trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. We arrived in LA around 11:30AM and had prearranged to meet our niece Kristi and her boyfriend and son, Aron and Avery. We met at a Korean BBQ restaurant near their home in Culver City (a suburb) to eat lunch. It was nice seeing them again and sharing a couple hours together. After lunch we drove up to the Le Brea Tar Pits (interesting attraction) and then into Hollywood. Late this afternoon we drove from Hollywood to Santa Clarita (city driving on 12 lanes is highway are not for me), where we are spending the night at the Hampton Inn. Tomorrow we head north for Yosemite (Now we're talking my kind of vacation spot). I am looking forward to it. We thank God for our safety and health. We wish all of you following this blog the same.

Final Day in Vegas

Today we took in MGM Grand (What a huge complex), M&M World, the Coca-Cola Store and the Rainforest Cafe along the main drag. Things were much quieter for most the day, being Sunday and all. This afternoon and evening we drove around to take a look at some of the rest of the city and to locate Circus Circus. We will be staying there the last evening of vacation before flying back to Ohio in a couple weeks. We will get up early tomorrow and head for Los Angeles. We will take in a few sites there and meet Jen's (and my) niece, Kristi, her boyfriend, Aron and their son, Avery, for lunch.

What Happens in Vegas...

We got crazy last night and walked down to the Bellagio to look at the fountains and other sites and then walked around forever trying to get some food on that end of town. We finally found a restaurant around 9:00PM (Midnight-Ohio Time)inside the Miracle Mile Shops to get a quick bite then came back and hit the sack. Today we plan on using the pool on the top floor of our hotel (Polo Towers) and we'll try to keep the kids from looking down if we do any walking due to the high amount of graphic material lying about on the sidewalks. Oh My!

Arrival

Arrived in Vegas around 5:00. Waiting in line for the car rental.

Layover In Atlanta

Another hour and a half wait, then the three hour flight to Vegas. Good times!

Departure

Tomorrow we fly out of Akron 9:45AM. We should arrive in Vegas at 4:00PM (7:00PM, Ohio Time). I'll send an update tomorrow.

White Vacation 2009

Welcome to our vacation blog 2009. Our summer vacation will cover several key landmarks throughout the west. We will begin the trip by flying into Las Vegas. We will head to LA (Not looking forward to city driving...Pray for us!)from there and then up to beautiful Yosemite. From Yosemite, we will make our way over to San Francisco and then up the coast to the Redwoods. We plan on going as far north as Crater Lake, Oregon, before turning back and stopping at Lake Tahoe. From there, we'll make our way back toward Vegas and hopefully still have time to take in Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. If you'd like to follow this blog you may select the "Follow Blog" link at the top of the page or just stop back often to see what has been updated. I'll do my best to keep everyone posted on what we're doing.