Home!

Hi there - we are home now!
We left San Francisco on Saturday, and drove through Napa and Sonoma, wine country one of my favourite places! We of course stopped for a tasting and bought some wine as well.
From there we drove to Redding, CA.
The next morning, Todd was up early, 6:30 am and started driving while we were in bed, needless to say I cannot sleep when driving, so I got up. We made it to Vancouver, Washington that day, Sunday. We set up in a parking lot just to watch the Superbowl - Who Dat? What a great game and we had typical bad for you football food, nachos and ribs and appies. The Saints were victorious and we were happy! Dillon threatened to cheer for the Colts and we threatened to leave him behind!
We again got a fairly early start on monday and got through the Seattle Outlets shopping and went for the border. She did not even come on board and let us through with more then allowed on some things! We ate dinner at the ferry terminal and caught the 8:15pm ferry. That was also our first peek at Canadian TV and we were surprised, although we should have known, at how much Olympic coverage there is. Well it has been very busy since we arrived home. I need to sign off and I will follow up with some pictures and final thoughts on what this trip has meant and my reflections about it - I promise not to bore you...
Tabitha

Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco

Hello there! We are officially on our way home! We are excited to arrive and anxious to see our friends and family!

We drove from L.A. along the Pacific Coast Highway, past Malibu and fianlly through the Santa Cruz Mountains (25 mph for 70 miles with many hairpin turns/corners), until we reached San Jose, then today San Fransico and the Golden Gate Bridge! Today we went to Pier 39 and shopped a bit and drove to Alamo Square where we took pictures of the famous row of homes, think Full House. The drive was absolutely breathtaking and probably the best we have seen on our trip.

We actually got to see a herd of sea elephants resting on the shore and mama's nursing their young while the males compete for dominance. See middle photo. Today we went to Pier 39 and shopped and saw the golden gate bridge and the bay bridge over to Oakland. Tomorrow is Alcatraz Island and more of the hilly city. Take care - Tabitha

Yuma, AZ, Mexico & San Diego, CA

Hello!

From the Grand Canyon, we drove to Yuma, Arizona, where Todd's aunt Simone and uncle Colin live during the winter when Edmonton is freezing! We met up with them in the evening, then made plans to meet in the morning and go to Mexico. We had a great time in Mexico, the boys learned how to barter and get a good price for what they wanted. It also helps they are low on cash with the trip nearing its end!

We had margaritas at a restaurant in Los Algomodes and the boys are enjoying their first - no alcohol of course!

Then we were off to San Diego and Sea World. We went the next day, very quiet and the boys got quite wet on the rafting ride - I went on with Dillon and was soaked! Good thing the sun was out to dry us off. The Shamu show was quite impressive and the boys went back the next two days to see it again. All the shows are great and are a must see. Day 2 in Diego was the boys dropped at Sea World and Todd and I off to downtown, Seaport Village and then to Coronado Island where we stopped at Starbucks to catch up on email and then off to the beach.

Day 3 was meant to take us to LA, however, a new radiator for the motorhome was the order for the day and while Todd stayed back, the boys and I went to Sea World for another day. Saturday proved much busier and thankfully, the RV was able to be repaired in several hours and we got on our way this morning. We are now in Los Angeles and after the boys get through school tomorrow, we will head to Universal Studios.

Take care,

Tabitha

Grand Canyon, Arizona - Day 2

I have to tell you we went back to the canyon today, just Todd and me. We decided since the boys were doing school we would head back and enjoy a low key day. We packed a lunch, some chairs, a book, dressed warmly, drove north, set up at Mather Point and ate in a room with a view! After 3 hours we packed up and went back to our RV park.

Close to a perfect day! Take care!

Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon was absolutely beautiful!

We drove up highway 64 and knew it was meant to be a great day!

It is one of the highlights of our trip and we couldn't have asked for a better day.

Most of the park was inaccessable due to the recent snow storms that piled the area and there was about 3-4 feet of snow today. Highway 64 east to west was closed to traffic so the drive we wanted to do was definitely out.

We visited Mather Point and Yavapai Observation Station, then took the green shuttle to Pipe Creek Vista. The picture is from Pipe Creek. We had lunch at Bright Angel Lodge and travelled through the village on the blue shuttle route.

Simply beautiful and awe inspiring to view and I for one would love to visit again one day, in the spring or fall and do one of the overnight hikes (you can take a mule ride) down to Phantom Ranch and the suspension bridge. One could spend lots of time here and not see it all.

The winter viewing distance is 130 miles, the most of any season. Summer is cool at the top but apparently very hot at the bottom when you hike.

A place to visit I highly recommend!

Take care,

Tabitha

El Paso, TX, Abuquerque, NM, & Williams, AZ

OK - Just a few odd things the last few days! After leaving El Paso, we decided to heard north on the I25 to Albuquerque, then turn west to Flagstaff, Arizona, so we could see the Grand Canyon from the south as the north is closed all winter. Now what do most of you think when you hear Arizona? Desert, hot...well me too, have a look at the picture, snowing when we crossed the border! Before that we stopped in Truth or Consequences, NM! Cool name. The pictures are from driving as it seems that is all we have been doing! We are now the only guests at the KOA in Williams, where they plowed us out a lovely spot!
It feels abit like a ski vacation!
Take care!

Houston & San Antonio, Texas

Alamo on the left & the Riverwalk on the right.

Hello!
We are in San Antonio, Texas, after spending the night in Houston. We are excited to be in the Lone Star State, have some barbeque, Tex Mex, and check out the Alamo! Texas is alot of driving, with little in between cities. We need to be sure to fill up on gas every chance we get.
The Saints beat the other team, (shows how much I pay attention), and despite being in Texas Todd enjoyed watching the game.
We are off to the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.
Take care,
Tabitha

Lake Charles, LA

Hi there!
We left New Orleans yesterday and drove to Lake Charles, through Baton Rouge and stopping at the largest plantation in the south, Nottoway. It has 64 rooms and is over 53000 square feet! It is also a restaurant and bed & breakfast. We skipped the Tabasco factory as it was too far out of our way. Today we will enter Texas and stay around Houston. Sunday we have reservations at a KOA near San Antonio for a few nights. Take care for now!
Tabitha

New Orleans, Louisiana

We have spent 4 nights in the fun city! We had cafe au lait and beignets everyday. We shopped around the French Quarter. The boys saw the Hornets beat the LA Clippers on Wednesday eevening. We did our city and cemetery tour, saw the houses Brad Pitt is helping to build. We went to Bourbon street l;ast night and saw live music, went to the last show at Preservation Hall just off Bourbon. Wow - great jazz and you are sitting right there with them! Had a hurricane at Pat O'Briens and a Margarita at Margaritaville, ate at Mother's and hung out at Jackson Square in the sun! A fun time and we did our part to boost the local economy! Now it is time to go while people arrive for the big Saints game on Saturday!
We are off to Lafayette, through Cajun country where we plan to tour the Tabasco factory on Avery Island, and check out the Acadian Cultural Centre. Take care for now.
Tabitha

Tallahassee, Alabama, Mississippi, and New Orleans!

Orlando - The day Nicole & Jordan left, we got to visit with my Uncle Dave and Aunt Judith from Niagara on the Lake. The come to Orlando most years to go to Disney. They also had my cousin Heather and her boys Everett and Sam, as well another cousin Brian and his girlfriend Julie. We had pizza together at their condo and caught up a bit, it was very nice to see them and meet the boys. The boys were pretty pumped about having been at the Magic Kingdom that day!
We left the next day and drove to Tallahasse, the state capital, we really just passed through with our next goal to stop in New Orleans, but not before seeing Mac, Bonnie and Richard, (The Savoys) in Destin.
Destin - we got to Destin on Saturday afternoon after entering the Central time zone, and spent the evening with the Savoy family at their beach condo (very nice). Thanks again for your hospitality! The Emerald Coast was very beautiful with fantastic white sand beaches, if only it were warmer than freezing! We drove along highway 90 west through Alabama, through Mobile and then Mississippi on the I10, through Biloxi and into Louisiana.
New Orleans - I am so excited to be here! I was here just over a year ago with Starbucks and spent a few extra days seeing the city. So now I am a bit of the tour guide, and after we got to our park - French Quarter RV Park, we took a walk through the French Quarter, along Bourbon Street one block to Rue Royal where I showed Todd the Hotel Monteleon where we stayed, then walked down Canal Street to the Riverfront. We then walked through the shops and had cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde. We walked back along Bourbon Street and I laughed and thought of Caroline when I saw the 'Big Ass Beer'! I am laughing even now! We had so much fun (and worked hard too) when we were here for our convention! The memories! We will stay for a few days - we have to leave before Friday as the Saints are playing and the RV park is full. We will hopefully see the city and taste some great food, and hear some good music! Damian is sick with stomach flu and missed today, let's hope we do not catch it and he gets better soon.
Take care,
Tabitha

Happy New Year 2010!

Wow - another new year, how exciting!
We rang in the new year with what seemed like most of Orlando at Epcot. If you can believe it, our original plan was to spend the 31st at the Magic Kingdom, however, at least 100,000 or so others had the same plan because as of 10 am on New Years Eve, the Kingdom was closed as it was already at capacity! So we diverted to Epcot at about 1pm and stayed until about 2am. (The fireworks were amazing and Damian heard from a 17 year annual pass holder that Epcot always has the best NY fireworks.) We went to go on the Space ride, a simulator with a 100 minute wait, the wait took 3 hours and we all thought we would die, it was very intense! All the way to Mars! We managed a few more rides, then after the fireworks got in a few more, it was fun and we were tired, and that was day 1!
Friday was low key with local odds 'n ends.
Saturday Todd, Damian and I went to see the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Pittsburg Penguins. Tampa beat the Pens 3-1 and we had great seats 9 rows up from the ice, just to the left of the Tampa bench. Very good! Nicole and Jordan drove the other way to Daytona Beach and did the Daytona 500 Experience. Jordan loves fast cars so they also had a great time!
Sunday was more sports, with Todd and Dillon attending a Bucks game again in Tampa. The Buccaneers played the Atlanta Falcons, and it was a close game until Atlanta pulled ahead and won the game. Todd was pleased with his seats and they had fun! Nicole, Jordan and I dropped then off and proceeded to check out Treasure Island, west of Tampa, and explored the beach a bit.
Monday was the Magic Kingdom with all the classic rides, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Its a Small World, fun and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and the gang!
Tuesday was Hollywood Experience and one of our new favourite rides the Aerosmith Rockin' Coaster, which we managed to ride on 3 times! Fast and fun!
Today was Animal Kingdom and the Safari ride, the Everest Expedition - everytime I go on the first time I think, what am I doing? This is crazy! We could see the screaming coaster plunge out of the mountain, nuts and I go on, then we go on again later, anyway it was fantastic, we also liked the Dinosaur Adventure and went on that one twice as well! there were also lots of low key and fun adventures we liked, It's tough being a bug, was fun!
We are all dead tired, getting or are sick, cold, and I am not exaggerating, freezing, but so happy we got to do so much over the last week, we packed it in, now for some sleep...

Take care, and don't forget those resolutions!
Tabitha