Boulder is already amazing, we get to sleep on a pull out bed instead of two car seats. Uncle Steve and Susan have opened their home to us as we explore Colorado. After a long drive we were able to get to sleep and wake up fresh enough to explore Boulder. It all started at the Putt-Putt Golf course, which we thought was a visitors center. Billy went inside and did end up coming out with some useful information, maps of trails and activities, now we just had to decide what to do. We went to the Pearl St. Mall, which is the historical area of Boulder, and walked around using the self-guided tour map of historical sites. Between the Urban Outfitters and Ben and Jerry's we learned about the old theater, historical homes, and the first bank. This area is now the cool part of town with boutiques and cafes. Billy just had to have a burger for lunch so we stopped in the first spot we saw burgers (Toms Tavern), after checking a few other menus that were more then we were looking to pay. This place did not have a menu posted, boy did they have some gourmet food, the salt was from Bali, Balinees salt which they provided for you to put on the bread since the butter wasn't salted. It was some dang good bread. And one of the most expensive burgers I have ever eaten. Tomorrow, sandwiches from the house! After the Balinees salt and sunburn we decided to drive up Boulder-Canyon Rd. This drive was beautiful. The snowmelt is coming from the mountains and the river that flows down the canyon is rushing. We stopped at several pulloffs to enjoy beautiful blue skies, huge boulders, and rushing water. We did a very short walk to Boulder Falls to view a large falls coming off the side of the mountain. I think we were just in aw of the beautiful scenery. We saw some rock climbers, real rock climbers, on the side of a mountain! Crazy, but that is Billy's next goal.
With our idea of activities exhausted and the urge to use the bathroom terrible (the Circle K had lost their bathroom key!) We headed back to the house to enjoy BBQ Salmon and Rice a'la Steve. Yum.
Billy had the opportunity to drive Steve's 600 Honda, motorcylce, which makes the Rebel feel like a moped but we almost had to send a search party because he was enjoying it too much and we were a little nervous. We are calling an early night since we have a great bed to sleep in so we'll post more after tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Day 2- Kansas
Besides chips-a-hoy soft cookies, pretzel bagles, and coffee Kansas was pretty much a bore. If you have time be sure to check out the OZ museum and Dorothy House on your way through. We did not have time. : ( BOO
PS: I did learn that the East side of Kansas is actually quite pretty, its the Western side that is SSOOO Boring.
PS: I did learn that the East side of Kansas is actually quite pretty, its the Western side that is SSOOO Boring.
Day 1- St. Louis, MO
430 am sure comes early but it comes much easier when you live with the best sister and brother in law and you walk into the kitchen to sausage and eggs cooking! Lis and Joel got up and made us a great breakfast to send us off. We hit the road about 30 minutes late due to the breakfast but it did not matter, this is a long trip we need a good breakfast. We did head out in the rain which we were a little concerned about since our activities would be outside for the day. I begain driving and made it as far as Indianapolis and I could no longer hold my eyes open so Billy took over and I slept till MO. The Arch is pretty amazing, I was more entriguied then I had expected to be. It is so large. Had I known before hand that you went to the top in these 4ft tall pods that were 4ft wide and held 5 people, and were completely enclosed for 4 minutes to the top, I may have changed my mind. I am glad I couldn't because the ticket was already purchased because the top was pretty amazing. You could feel the sway of the structure while you were looking down at the city below. For the $10 ticket you also had a museum of Westward Expansion to explore and there were many interesting fact about the journey West.
After the Arch we headed to the Anheuser Busch Brewery. It was a cool place. The tour was very extensive and family friendly (you wouldn't think so for a brewery but it was true). We were able to see the Clydesdale horses, that are bread on a farm specifically for Anheuser Busch. The stables these horses live in is problably cleaner then many of your houses (j/k)! The floors are spotless! You cannot even smell a horse when you walk in. The buildings of the brewery are spread across many blocks and it is a very neighborhood feel. The architecture was intriguing to Billy.
For the night we were debating as wether to stay in the campground (Graham Cave State Park) or head further into Kansas to have a shorter drive the following day. The decision came after Billy insisted we drive through the campground and check it out. It satisfied him, even though the cave was no larger then a two car garage, so we set up shop. This however proved to be a mistake. After checking the weather status with Lis over the phone it was established that the thunder we were hearing would pass quickly and we would be dry for the rest of the evening. It began to rain while we were trying to cook dinner over the fire, this lead to cooking on the Coleman stove using cut cans as foil (since we forgot foil and a pot). After dinner was cooked the rain stopped, we popped in a movie and went to sleep. We woke up about 1:30am to what I thought was a tornado ripping our tent apart! The most violent storm ever was tearing through MO. We ran to the car, I know when Billy is scared it is bad because he is never concerned, and drove to the bathhouse since it was made of cement blocks to protect from the terror. Poor Lis (who had to work the next day) and Joel were on the phone with us throughout checking out the radar and helping us figure out our next move... run away and hit the Days Inn up the road or tough it out, we mistakenly picked the latter. After a night of sleeping in the car we woke to find an inch and a half of water in the tent, had to take the tent down in the rain, and spend the next 13 hours, IN THE CAR.
Wow what a first day.
After the Arch we headed to the Anheuser Busch Brewery. It was a cool place. The tour was very extensive and family friendly (you wouldn't think so for a brewery but it was true). We were able to see the Clydesdale horses, that are bread on a farm specifically for Anheuser Busch. The stables these horses live in is problably cleaner then many of your houses (j/k)! The floors are spotless! You cannot even smell a horse when you walk in. The buildings of the brewery are spread across many blocks and it is a very neighborhood feel. The architecture was intriguing to Billy.
For the night we were debating as wether to stay in the campground (Graham Cave State Park) or head further into Kansas to have a shorter drive the following day. The decision came after Billy insisted we drive through the campground and check it out. It satisfied him, even though the cave was no larger then a two car garage, so we set up shop. This however proved to be a mistake. After checking the weather status with Lis over the phone it was established that the thunder we were hearing would pass quickly and we would be dry for the rest of the evening. It began to rain while we were trying to cook dinner over the fire, this lead to cooking on the Coleman stove using cut cans as foil (since we forgot foil and a pot). After dinner was cooked the rain stopped, we popped in a movie and went to sleep. We woke up about 1:30am to what I thought was a tornado ripping our tent apart! The most violent storm ever was tearing through MO. We ran to the car, I know when Billy is scared it is bad because he is never concerned, and drove to the bathhouse since it was made of cement blocks to protect from the terror. Poor Lis (who had to work the next day) and Joel were on the phone with us throughout checking out the radar and helping us figure out our next move... run away and hit the Days Inn up the road or tough it out, we mistakenly picked the latter. After a night of sleeping in the car we woke to find an inch and a half of water in the tent, had to take the tent down in the rain, and spend the next 13 hours, IN THE CAR.
Wow what a first day.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Amazing coincidence
I answered a post from a friend on facebook inquiring about where we are headed on our trip. I gave him the short answer and said, "Across the middle of the country to L.A. and back through the South". Amazingly my beautiful cousin responded that she is going to be in L.A too. Through a series of emails we found out that we would be in L.A at the same time, along with my lovely Aunt and my younger beautiful cousin. This is amazing because I haven't see them in so long. It is perfect timing. They are leaving the same day we are leaving. So dinner is set up, at Le Courdon Bleu (a place we would not have visited on our own that I bet will be amazing!) Needless to say we are thrilled to see our family... it has been too long with too much heartbreak in between.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Itinerary
Here is our itinerary for the 3 week trek. Please feel free to shout out suggestions of what to see, where to eat, and what to do. If we have an opportunity we'll try them out.
St. Louis
Graham Cave State Park, MO
Boulder/Denver
Arches National Park, Utah
Vegas Baby
LA
Phoenix
Van Horn, TX KOA
San Antonio
Montgomery, TX
New Orleans
Biloxi
Nashville, TN
Berea, KY
HOME (with all appendages in tact and still married!)
Phoenix
Van Horn, TX KOA
San Antonio
Montgomery, TX
New Orleans
Biloxi
Nashville, TN
Berea, KY
HOME (with all appendages in tact and still married!)
Prep-work
Simple it is not to try and figure out what to pack for a road trip that will be spanning the city, mountains, and everything in between and still leave space for Husbands things! Space is not plentiful in the Mustang. The backseat is a glorified extension of the trunk. Camping gear and high heels... I may need to rethink what to pack. Luckily there will be opportunities to do laundry along the way. Back to the drawing board on how to pack our bags so everything will fit into the car and we can still have some breathing room. At least we have a few more days.
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