Extra Photos

Our only fire so far.  There has been a fire ban throughout the country and the first time we could have one or even wanted one due to the high temps was in Bodega Bay.  

And of course we had a nail in the KZ tire.  Thank God my Mechanic was still with us for this.  

Trying out Selfies with our new camera.

See the Ferns in the background?  Some were 4 feet tall! 

Have to have these shots!!

This guy was massive in the boondocking spot at Grand Canyon!!

It actually reached 120. Never going to Utah in the summer again.  Zion would be the only reason I would go back.  I am not a desert rat and can not live like one.  The people who live here love it, they come out early in the morning then go into hiding until about 8pm.  Then suddenly it gets loud with kids running everywhere and adults doing there thing.  Not for me. 

The boys swimming in the Pacific Ocean, only Owen would turn for the photo.

Selfie with momma :) 

Thoughts

I just want to say that it took 2 years of planning to organize this trip and it is flying by! When we started and even before,  we would tell people it is a 10 week trip. Seems long right? Well, let me tell you it is flying by! We are halfway done. Unbelievable! Oh and so far I have driven over 7000 miles! This country is huge.
Yesterday we finally turned onto a highway going East.  We have gone south or west and now we head back east slowly. Did some school shopping for the boy today, cleaned the truck inside and out and then got to relax in my first Hot Spring fed pool and hot tub.  They actually have to cool the water to be used in the pool to 92 and the hot tub to 103.
This part of Oregon has been good, now we move on to Idaho. I will post when i can.

It's been a while...

Here I sit in the middle of Portland, Oregon in my too small but yet too big camper when I should be sleeping but can't.  I am thinking of my family that is now up in the air flying home.  It has been a whirlwind 5 weeks, especially the past couple, man that went by fast.  I miss my husband already and I know he misses me and wishes he could be here.  I promised him I would enjoy myself and I plan to.  It is now just Owen, Molly and I on the last half of our cross country trip. 
A lot has happened since I posted last.  We have been back to the Grand Canyon, spent a couple days on the west coast in Bodega Bay, Seen the Giant Sequoia trees and the Ancient Redwoods, walked through a Ghost Town that was once a thriving Boom Town, driven over the Golden Gate Bridge and through downtown San Francisco (with a camper), ran into the Pacific Ocean, Seen the deepest Lake in the USA and finally got the hell out of California!!
It is hard to put into words what we have seen and done.  There are so many small moments we have had or little things that we have done that we might (or the kids might) remember more than the big ones and that is okay.  I have learned that the kids and all of us really can not live without some kind of internet or phone signal for more than a day.  I think we have all learned some things about each other and maybe some things that we would rather not know by living in this 27 foot camper together for weeks on end.  I couldn't wait to have some peace and quiet when everyone left, some room to move without bumping into someone but I fear I will crave the closeness that will not be here too soon.  Poor Owen, he has to put up with me for the rest of this trip.  :)I better get to bed before i get too sappy.

Hoover Dam / My mechanic came to visit!!

tryWe went to the Hoover Dam today and took the Dam tour.  It was a dam fine time in the 107+ degree heat.  Andy and the boys went for the longer dam tour that takes you farther through but said it really wasn't worth it.  You will notice a couple of these pictures are from that tour, they let you stick your hand out of a vent and take photos. The only thing i didn't get a picture of was a monument and grave that honored a dog that was by the side of the dam workers for years.  He was the only dog ever allowed on the bus and in the dam.  It was a cool story of him.  You know how much I love dogs :)

This trip is awesome so far, look at us touring the country!!!

So a few days ago the truck started acting up.  Not wanting to start and such.  It was decided that we would wait for my mechanic to fly in from NH on Saturday to fix it and that it is probably only the batteries that need replacing.  So about 15 minutes after he landed we had him at a chevy dealership buying batteries for the truck and installing them within the hour of his landing.  He is a very good mechanic, I highly recommend him :)

Long Beach, California!

One of my many "things" for this trip was to be in the Pacific Ocean.  Well, we made to Long Beach Cali just in time for the 4th of July.  We stayed at the Golden Shores RV park and had a chance to see fireworks that were set off next to the Queen Mary, a ship that everyone here talks about.  Jen's big "thing" was to see Endeavor, the space shuttle that was retired.  She was there to see it roll out for the last time and go off to do its mission.  It is my second space shuttle that I have seen.
We took the metro from long beach to LA where the California Science Center is.  The ride took about an hour and we learned and saw a lot!!!! The kids were a little bit shocked by what they saw and heard but for the most part everyone seemed very friendly cuz we definitely didn't look like tourists; 8 of us with all matching 4th of July shirts, nope we blended right in.  Not sure why people asked us where we were from and what our plans were. It was very nice in Long Beach , the beach we went to was warm and there was some trash hanging around but it was lovely to be in the Pacific.  And the moisture in the air and the trees, enough can't be said about trees and moist cooler air! Next we are off to Nevada to check out the Hoover Dam and pick up Andy for a Couple of weeks!

Huge shipping container unloading area here.

 Toes in the Water, Ass in the Sand!!

 This is the Long Beach Marina. It was huge, tons of sailboats.

First time on a Metro for Owen