Seaworld and things

Oh Shamoo!
Seaworld was so much fun, the shows there were amazing, we all had a really fun time, the rain put a little damper on things, but it all worked out.
Does it get any cuter? Jason is definietly ready to be home, look at those sad eyes :)
Universal Studios was a blast! If Matt were a cartoon, this is what he would look like.

More Fun

So cute! This is Spencer and Jason at an aquarium in the Epcot center. Yep Jason is walking all over the place, Just kidding, how could anyone learn to walk in a tippy RV? He is standing and holding on to things to walk now a days. He gets the award for the most bumps on the head.
This is Dad's good friend Bobby and the not so lucky alligator. Bobby spent some time with our family at the ocean and universal studios, it was really fun to have him around. Its kind of funny to see alligator as road kill, we don't get much of that in Utah.
Its hard not to get exhausted on this trip. Dad invented a new headstrap for stroller sleeping babies, works like a charm!
Here is the fam at the Epcot Center, what a cool place!

Since last time

This fountain at Aunt LouJean's house was a full time babysitter, so awesome!
It was amazing all of the little creatures at Jack's house in Florida, Jared and Matt had lots of fun with that
Ripley's is a pretty crazy place, lots of creepy cool things

We survived the storm!

Well we conqured Hurricane Fay! After a sleepless night of driving for our captain, we got to Florida thursday morning. We went to the Ripley's believe it or not museum and spent the rest of the day relaxing at Jack Harrison's (Dad's partner in business and family friend). We have spent the last few days seeing the sights. We went to the Epcot center and ocean on friday, Universal Studios on saturday, sunday was a recouperation day, and Seaworld on monday. Florida has been a blast and thanks to our endless ATM (aka Dad) we have been able to do some many amazing things. The rain turned out to be a blessing and a curse, the lines were shorter and it wasn't so hot, but no one likes to be soggy all day :) Though this vacation has been such an awesome experience, we all are ready to return to our lovely little River Heights.

Thank you so much Jack for all of your hospitality, it was great to meet you and get to know your family. You guys sure made us feel welcome and comfortable, just what we needed on this long trip.

Fay Fay Go Away!

Yep, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Fay is right in our path! We're going anyway! ; - ) Hopefully we won't be on the 6:00 News ; - )

Take Good Care,

Bill

Some Fun Pics...

He Sure Looks Honest To Us!
Riding the Metro into DC
In the Smithsonian
The Washington Monument (We went to the top)it was pretty cool.
The original Wright Flyer! The fabric was replaced in 1985, but the rest of it is just as the Wright Brothers left it...Cool!

The Korean War Memorial

I was really touched by the faces and the hardship portrayed in this memorial. My Dad fought in Korea so long ago, and I could see him in the statues as they trudged along. It is a truly respectful and worthy tribute to those soldiers.

Bill & little "JB" Playing in Lake Erie at Cedar Point

On the Mall...

Hi All,

We spent yesterday "On the Mall" as they say in DC. It was really a great day and stirred-up all kinds of feelings of gratitude for our forefathers, veterans, and inventors as we toured the Smithsonian, various monuments & memorials(Washington, Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam War, etc.)

What a great country!!!

There is way too much to see in a day, but we are all exhausted from the whole experience of it. I guess it is probably a combination of the heat, information and sensory overload, and miles and miles of walking. It was a challenge for us all, but well-worth the effort!

Many of our really cool photos are still stuck on cameras. I'll get one of my "IT" pros (my kids) to upload some later today. It was truly an awesome day!

FYI, we aren't going to let Hurricane Fay stop us from going to Florida. We'll probably be leaving in the morning and seeing some sights along the way. The whole fam is really stoked about Sea World, Disney, Cocoa Beach, KSC, and etc. It will be hot and humid, but we are geared-up for it. ; - )

One more thing; there was a default setting that made people register to comment on the blog. I have removed that so anyone can comment (even anonymously) if they want. We'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to comment on anything you like.

God Bless You & Yours,

Bill

Quick Catch-up...

Hi Gang,

Sorry about the delay...we've just been very busy and too tired to type at night.

Visiting Kathee & Kevin was fun...I hope we got out of there without ruining anything in your beautiful home ; - )

"The Sacred Grove" was a cool experience...see http://www.mormon.org if you don't know what that is.

Niagara Falls was wet ; - )

Lost the AC belt on the engine...spent a few hours fixing it...it works ; - ) Daniel was very very helpful in the whole process...thanks Bud!

Currently at LouJean & Mike's house (Lana's sister) very nice folks and treating us very well. Good people and we're glad for downtime with them. Thanks a ton!

Sorry we missed you DDD...we tried.

Hey Jack, Hurricane Fay is becoming a problem...we may have to bump out our arrival time a little.

Life is Good and I am grateful for you all.

All the Best,

Bill

No Kidding! It Happened Again! ; - )

This is an unrelated photo of an Italian Beef Sandwich at Novi's in Chicago...YUM!!!

Hi Folks,

We've been having a ball visiting friends, family, and going to cool places like Cedar Point, Mackinac Island, etc. Yes, we are all getting along really well too ; - ) So far we're still happy to be together ; - )

Believe it or not, Tuesday night our driver's side rear hubcap came off (just like the other one,) ripped off both valve stems (just like before,) and left us on an off-ramp near Richfield Ohio with 2 flat tires! That is getting really old! And yes, those hubcaps are GONE FOR GOOD!!!

A tire guy came with his heavy duty jack (it worked on the angle of the off-ramp and mine didn't) and changed us over to our spare at about 3:00 a.m. then, (just like magic) and...$285.00 later we were rolling again and arrived at the Thompson's house at about 5:00 a.m. It was a long night.

The next day we found a couple of new tires (yep, another $498.00) and we are about to set sail again. We also spent a couple of hours troubleshooting the automatic stairs...it turned out to be a fuse that looked good on the outside but had an internal short. Lesson: Always check fuses with a voltmeter!

Although this trip has certainly been a major "pain in the wallet," and a bit trying at times, it has been wonderful to be with these good people and visit people we love around the country. We have a pretty full agenda, but are looking forward to the activities ahead.

Thanks to Tom & Lisa Thompson for their great hospitality and help on the RV! You guys really gave a bunch of road-weary travelers a welcomed reprieve and a warm welcome. You Rock!

Will post again sometime, but it's time for brunch.

Take Good Care,

Bill

Oops!
Santa Claus to the rescue!!
What a blessing to have manly men around :)
Its a hard life without a Ricky

A Few Fun Shots...

Dinner with Aunt Peggy and her family


This was the house Dad grew up in. We saw the famous lake where my dad picked up poo, and this is also the place where we got a flat tire. Hooray!!

Here we are all loaded onto the carriage
There were so many pretty flowers on the island, it was amazing!!
Thank you, thank you very much!
Oh no you didn't girlfriend!

Adam and Emily, the wind in their hair
Land Ho!! Once on the Island we spent most of our time on a carriage ride around the island. That is the Grand Hotel in front of the carriage.

Here is the ferry we took to Macinac Island on Friday

What A Day!

Wow…when it rains it pours!

First the good stuff. It was great seeing my Aunt Peggy again over in Traverse City… and thanks for treating us all to lunch. We really enjoyed meeting up with you all. Dan, I hope you don’t think I’m kidding about the charter fishing trip, I’ve wanted to do that for years so expect a call ; - )

The scenery in Michigan is really extraordinary to say the least. It is truly a beautiful place with all of its rolling hills, forests, lakes, streams, quaint little towns, etc. I wish we had more MI in UT.

Today was the big reunion and I really enjoyed myself. After 25 years my friends are still my friends and the semi-familiar faces are still…well, semi-familiar. There were plenty of hugs and handshakes, and a good feeling among everyone in attendance. I’m really grateful that I was able to attend. I even passed our cell phones around so people could talk with Bobby Ryan, another classmate that didn’t make it. He enjoyed himself from far away and people enjoyed talking with him again.

Jeff Harney…You Rock! Thanks for putting it all together mate! Your efforts brought a lot of people a cherished memory…thanks again!

On the way back from Traverse City I decided to stop by my old stomping grounds near Lake Margarethe. That was special to me, and the kids politely humored me as they listened to my stories of playing ball over there and fishing over there, etc. It was nice to see the area, but it has sure grown. Lots more people live there now, but I can’t blame any of them; it’s a great place to be.

The excitement came when I went to show the kids the campground where we used to camp on occasion. On the way there a hubcap on the passengers side rear wheels (2 wheels) somehow came off and ripped both valve stems out of the tires. This made both tires go flat almost immediately. I have no idea how this happened, but the results weren’t much fun!

After tires started going flat I needed to turn around and get off the road a bit. Well, as soon as I tried getting off the road the lack of air in the tires and bare rims sticking out sort of drug me into the ditch. Not only did we have two flat tires, but now we were stuck in a ditch as well! It was pretty dicey there for awhile, but a tow truck driver “Dave” came by and got us out after a lot of strategizing and a couple of different attempts. It was really touch and go for a bit there! KaChing $190.00 Ouch!

A lot of nice people stopped to try and help; one guy even tried pulling me with a tow strap…it broke in about 10 seconds! I sure appreciated his help and he wouldn’t even let me buy him a new tow strap. That really warmed our hearts, and then several people from the neighborhood stood around watching as we were pulled out. It was a real spectacle I suppose for that area ; - )

After we got both flat tires off and put the spare on we discovered that it barely had enough air to stay up. We borrowed “Dave’s” (A local good Samaritan) air compressor and were able to get underway.

I actually arrived at the reunion about an hour late and a bit grungy from lying on the ground and handling greasy tools but I made it!

All in all it was a pretty good day…even with a few serious rinkles….pictures to follow.

If no one else writes about Mackinac Island and the whole experience I’ll put something together. We went to Mackinac on Friday and really had a ball.

All the Best,

Bill

Thursday's Update (8/7/08)

Another day has come...and is fading fast. We made it to Grayling Michigan late last night and are happily camped at "Jellystone Park" just a few miles out of town. It's a fun place to stay and we'll be uploading some pictures soon. Spencer is feeding me imaginary cookies from a small tray he found in a cupboard...he is really a delight these days.

We spent some of Wednesday eating really fantastic Italian food and going right down town in Chicago. I have to admit, driving the RV on the narrow and congested city streets was a bit intimidating. It was, however, worth it. Once we left the city and hit the turnpike my heart finally stopped racing and I was glad we did it...Not sure if I'd do it again however, but the kids are really glad we went there.

We also got hooked-up with my Uncle Larry and Aunt Sandy and his son (my long-lost cousin) Larry Jr. and his wife. It was nice to see people again after so many years away. All good folks; the kind you are grateful to have as neighbors.

As we were touring around today I pulled off the road to turn around and got stuck in just a few inches of sand. As it turns out the RV is not really much of an "off-road" vehicle afterall ; - ) It cost $82.00 for a tow truck to come and pull me about ten feet before we were on our way. Kind of a bummer, but it worked out just fine.

The most exciting part was during the couple of minutes I tried to get it un-stuck on my own. A radiator hose blew off and spewed a few gallons of antifreeze making a pretty impressive mushroom cloud of green funk. For a minute it looked like a major problem, but Daniel found and fixed it within a few minutes...my new hero!

It's cool seeing my hometown again, but things sure do change (as they should.) We ate lunch in the restaurant I used to buss & wait tables, wash dishes, and goof around at (Elias Bros. Big Boy.) They still have some fairly good food there. Maybe that's an overstatement ; - )

Though many things have changed around here, my affection for the community and surroundings has only increased. And although we're not even thinking about moving back here, in so many ways it feels good to be home. In truth, anywhere I can be with my beautiful little family works just fine for me.

Tomorrow we're off to Mackinaw Island...we're all really looking forward to that. I promise we'll post some cool photos soon.

God Bless You and Yours,

Bill

Bill's Update...

Hi Folks,

Things are going pretty well considering "The Griswalds'" are 1300+ miles from home in an RV ; - )

Just an FYI, the "transmission leak" people are writing about is actually a "power steering fluid" leak. The devil is in the details I suppose ; - )

If you don't already own a GPS GET ONE! This thing is so handy for finding gas stations, RV parks, stores, restaurants, cities, entertainment, etc. We have a Garmin Nuvii 750 and are really grateful for it!

Today is a very exciting day for us. Today we get to chomp on Italian Beef sandwiches near downtown Chicago! Yippie! I've been really looking forward to this part ; - ) Then its' on to Michigan.

The old horse (Bounder) is running well and a really nice way to travel in many ways. We sure are grateful and I can't help but feel very thankful as we are driving down the road and everyone is playing games, laughing, talking, surfing the net, watching movies, chowing-down, etc. It really is great to be together!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more.

All The Best,

Bill

The good, the bad and the ugly...

So far, we've gone just over a thousand miles. And so far, all of those thousand miles have been filled with a plethora of emotions but I am happy to write that the predominant feeling around the RV is quite positive. The mothership is holding up fairly well besides the leaks we spoke of earlier, the latches on a few cabinets being fussy, horrible gas mileage and the lack of extremely comfortable sleeping spaces. We all slept in the RV in Ogallala with no tents pitched outside due to the freak storm we happened upon but the weather is looking good tonight and the KOA we will stay at looks promising... It has a pool and everything! The good: we're having tons of fun and staying happy, healthy and grateful. The bad: so a few things have broken, big deal! The ugly: this is the part where I make a joke about the appearance of my family, however, I will secede to the sheer beauty in which this family posesses and get back to you on the ugly sometime later! :)
Til' next time...
What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger!
Adam

A few random pictures!

Awwww! I don't care who you are, that's cute!

Hello, Mr. Heartache!

What's on your mind?

You're probably wondering something like "Why the funny look on Matthew's face?". Well, (This is Adam writing NOT Lana) I've been wondering the same thing for a long time and I still can't figure it out so good luck! Just kidding! Matthew is quite a stud just like the handsome young man sitting next to him! ;) As you can see, listening to music is one of our favorite past times while driving the long road with many a winding turns!

Spencer, Emily and Jason's cute head.

Most of our time thus far has been spent driving which looks something like this. Sitting on couches and recliners is nothing to sneeze at though, as you can tell from our earlier pictures of the beast in which we drive, it is a luxurious deluxe machine and we are very greatful to have it! Spencer, Emily and Jason's head are looking rather cute in this picture, don't you think?

Lincoln Monument, Wyoming

Welcome to Wyoming, so far away from home! As you can see, we've made it pretty far in our wonderful RV... This is the place of the transmission fluid leak of which I wrote about earlier in the blog. All is well and as you can see, the kids are having fun admiring the marvelous wonder that is the Lincoln Memorial.

Captain Bill of the "Mothership" Hanover!

Ahhh, Motherland!!!
Welcome to... Home! Apparently we haven't taken off yet in this picture but it sure does look promising! As you can see, the door opens along with the... thing that opens on the side... not quite sure what that is but I'm assuming that it's supposed to open! Oh and nice shirt, Captain! :)

Tuesday on the road.

It's Tuesday and we've finally crossed the border of Nebraska and Iowa. We're having a great time and loving every minute of our togetherness. So far our trip has been pretty uneventful other than leaks in all of the following: the side window by the table (Which we found out the hard way in a freak storm in Ogallala, Nebraska), the bathroom sink, and the transmission fluid container. Other than these few difficulties, the going has been... going. Thanks to all our friends and neighbors in River Heights who were so thoughtful before our trip and who have saved us from learning several other things the hard way! Thank you for the food and the cute gifts, we have really enjoyed them and thank you to all of you who have wished us well and kept us in your thoughts! We will stay the night in Peru, Iowa and are looking forward to parking the RV and getting our land legs back. That's all for now so peace out til' the next post!

Our driving responsibilities are split up evenly between the kids to make everything fair and it just happens to be Spencer's turn to take the wheel! Standing just over the two foot mark, this kid is a real road hog and trucker at heart.

Itinerary & Such...

Many have asked bout our journey; where are you going, why are you going, are you crazy? etc.

Well, the "Where" is a big question and I'll get to that in a minute. I think the "Are you crazy" question is self-evident ; - ) And the "Why" is really where the rubber hits the road you might say.

Why are we going across the country in the heat of the summer sharing a bathroom no bigger than a breadbox may be the most interesting question.

It really comes down to time...time that flies by so quickly and never comes back. Although we've been wanting to take such a trip for many years, our increasing awareness of time and opportunity escaping us has raised our desire to take the trip while we can still all go together.

Whitney is 20 and almost engaged (at least that's what we've been hearing,) Married = Gone! ; - ) Daniel will be serving a mission for our church during the next two years (leaving by the end of the year = Gone!) He will then be followed by his brothers over the next several years as they serve missions all over the world...again Gone!

In other words, if we don't do this right now, we probably won't get a chance to have the entire family go on such a great trip for many years, if ever. Now is the time!

Where: It just so happens that this is my (Bill's) 25 year High School reunion in Grayling Michigan. Yep, I'm definitely getting old! ; - ) This is also part of the reason to push the issue and take a trip this summer. Our agenda looks sort of like this:

(Subject to Change)
August 4th 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. start driving toward Michigan

August 6th eat an Italian Beef Sandwich "WET" at "Novi's Italian Villa" near downtown Chicago ; - )

August 7th - 8th visit family, friends, old neighborhoods, Mackinaw Island, and general sight seeing in Michigan

August 9th 25 Year High School Reunion (It's probably going to degrade into a drunken brawl, so I'm planning to visit while the majority of the classmates are still sober and then bug out)

August 10th Church & Relaxation (all that traveling is hard work you know!)

August 11th Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio...whoopee

August 12th Visit the Thompsons' in Canton Ohio

August 13th Niagara Falls

August 14th - 16th Maryland with the Schenks' (Lana's sister's family) we'll also be checking out the Smithsonian, National Aquarium, Historical, and DC sights

August 17th Church & Relaxation (probably still in Maryland)

August 18th - 19th Travel to Orlando area

August 20th - 23 Disney, Cocoa Beach, KSC, and all the other fun you can have in the area...Thanks again Jack for letting us stay with you! You may live to regret it mate!

August 24th Church & Relaxation (probably in Florida)

August 25th - 27th See if we can find our way home from Florida...if we still want to come home that is ; - )

It probably won't go exactly as planned (does anything?) ; - ) But this should give you a general sense of what we'll be up to. We are also planning to upload photos and a few video clips along the way...mostly for our own enjoyment in years to come, but we hope you enjoy them as well.

God Bless You & Yours!

Bill

Home Sweet Home...

Here it is...the "Mother Ship" ; - )