Today started out by waking up on Route 66 in a town that looked exactly like Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. There was an Italian tire shop, a hotel that had teepee rooms (just like the cone rooms from the movie), cars that repressented almost every character, a statue at the end of the road, one stoplight, an army surplus store, and a gas station that was almost identical to the one in the movie...it was pretty cool (except we don't know the name of the town).
We then took off! We drove until we hit a little town called Alpine that was right on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. This town was very unique. There was a grocery store with no produce and a lot of candy. The store also had pickles that were packed singularly in plastic packs with pickle juice... yuck!
There was also a store called the Lollipop Shop. We though that it was going to be awesome; it turned out that almost every single solitary piece of candy was hard (we even saw mold on some of them). And, there were no lollipops! None!!!!!!!!!!!! But we still had fun because it was definately a new experience.
We drove a few more hours, crossed the border to New Mexico and made a little further south to Silver City. We are now camping in a little campsite called Rose Valley Ranch. It is actually quite a cute little place. Once camp was set up we decided to look around at the "sites". We went to Albertson's and bought some detergent. On our way out of the store, we ran into two senior missionaries that were from Logan, Utah (Cache Valley area). They were really nice! And it turns out, Granddad Larsen worked on the sister missionaries teeth...what a coincidence!
After our little reunion, we went bowling at Silver Bowling. I got the first strike, Coby perfected his spin on the bowling ball, Sadie...nothing, Dad had perfect form, Sam was the cheerleader, and Coby won the game for mom. It was exciting! We were going to play another game, but we ended up getting kicked out by some lady who was part of the bowling league...practice was about to start. A lot of senior people came in with their fancy bowling shoes, balls, and special gloves for their wrists. I guess they were pretty serious about it.
When we were back in camp, we had a Nerf gun fight...no big deal.
Now we are in camp...relaxing while mom and dad are getting some change for laundry, and I am writing on my blog, drinking hot chocolate, and living the good life.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Day 3, April 1...April Fools
Day three we woke up and planned for a cold day at the Grand Canyon. I do not think that it would have been cold if it weren't for the stupid wind! When we were getting ready to leave, some dude who was up all night in the cold, got mad at dad because we had our generator on. I think that he didn't get very much sleep, he was mad about his curcumstances, and that he wanted to pick a fight... it was funny because dad didn't even let him fight with him.
We rode shuttle buses to the "points" and took many looks at the Grand Canyon. We were right near the edge, so mom was yelling at us the whole time telling us not to run, stay back, and watch our step or we will die by falling off the edge (what else would we die from mom?) After checking out some of the views, we decided it was time for lunch. We ended up eating at this really nice lodge that was built in 1906. Mom made sure we did not sit by the window so we were not able to see the Canyon (it really was quite large). It was there where I had the best hot chocolate that I have ever had in my life. The waitress brought out the coco cup with a swirl of whip cream and dark chocolate chocolate chips. She then poured the hot chocolate out of a kettle into the cup. IT WAS DELICIOUS! The hot chocolate melted the whip cream and the chocolate chips so the melted dark chocolate was at the bottom of the cup making every sip soooooooo worth it.
After lunch, mom decided to go back to camp with Sam. On her way home, Sam was screaming. The stupid bus driver was being a jerk and told mom that he wasn't running a nursery and she made her go to the back of the bus so that he could "hear his radio." Mom was so embarissed, that she started to cry. Sam screamed the whole way home. Meanwhile, dad, Sadie, Coby, and I went up to Hermits point and got one more view of the Grand Canyon... then we went back to camp.
After we warmed up a bit, we were able to go to the convenience store, buy a few suvaneers, and make a few hotdogs and s'mores. While we were roasting hot dogs and experimenting how to make smoke signals, a big Samoan family pulled in...they were extremely loud. Because we were freezing, dad decided to take off early for New Mexico and he left at 1 o' clock in the morning while we were still sleeping...crazy. That is when Day 4 began...
We rode shuttle buses to the "points" and took many looks at the Grand Canyon. We were right near the edge, so mom was yelling at us the whole time telling us not to run, stay back, and watch our step or we will die by falling off the edge (what else would we die from mom?) After checking out some of the views, we decided it was time for lunch. We ended up eating at this really nice lodge that was built in 1906. Mom made sure we did not sit by the window so we were not able to see the Canyon (it really was quite large). It was there where I had the best hot chocolate that I have ever had in my life. The waitress brought out the coco cup with a swirl of whip cream and dark chocolate chocolate chips. She then poured the hot chocolate out of a kettle into the cup. IT WAS DELICIOUS! The hot chocolate melted the whip cream and the chocolate chips so the melted dark chocolate was at the bottom of the cup making every sip soooooooo worth it.
After lunch, mom decided to go back to camp with Sam. On her way home, Sam was screaming. The stupid bus driver was being a jerk and told mom that he wasn't running a nursery and she made her go to the back of the bus so that he could "hear his radio." Mom was so embarissed, that she started to cry. Sam screamed the whole way home. Meanwhile, dad, Sadie, Coby, and I went up to Hermits point and got one more view of the Grand Canyon... then we went back to camp.
After we warmed up a bit, we were able to go to the convenience store, buy a few suvaneers, and make a few hotdogs and s'mores. While we were roasting hot dogs and experimenting how to make smoke signals, a big Samoan family pulled in...they were extremely loud. Because we were freezing, dad decided to take off early for New Mexico and he left at 1 o' clock in the morning while we were still sleeping...crazy. That is when Day 4 began...
Day 2, March 31
Sorry about the long wait, I haven't had service for two days because we were in the Grand Canyon (I will elaborate later).
Anyways, day two...We woke up and left Leed's RV at about 10:00am, kinda a late start. We stopped off at a Walmart in Hurricane to grab a few things; dad pronounced it Hurricin' the whole time we were there. The Walmart was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a super Walmart...plus! Coby and I had a fun time running around the store going on "impossible missions to find supplies for the trip (some of the tasks were seriously impossible). Once that was done, we were on the road again. We drove for a long time and eventually made it into the state of Arizona. I took a nap and then we were at lake Powell. There, we stopped off at the Glen Canyon Dam. Coby loved it because he was allowed to swear a little and not feel bad about it. We got to see the dam people, look through some dam windows, and see the dam visiting center. We thought that was cool...I don't know if Sam did.
We took off and began driving through desert wasteland. What we thought was going to be a two hour drive ended up being three because of the uphill climb. Then, we were in Grand Canyon National Park. When we pulled up to the entrance of the Park, dad was asking directions on how to get to our campsite, a place called Grand Canyon Village. Dad asked the man and said, "Do you know the way to Grand Teton Village?" The park ranger gave dad a silly look and told him the directions anyway... Silly dad.
When we pulled into our campsite, the wind was blowing something fierce! Surprisingly there were campers who did not have anything but tents and sleeping bags (most of them ended up leaving that night). Unfortunately, there was no service or wi-fi, so I couldn't blog! We got into camp late, so we went to sleep pretty quickly after being there... it was a cold, hard night for Sam and mom.
Anyways, day two...We woke up and left Leed's RV at about 10:00am, kinda a late start. We stopped off at a Walmart in Hurricane to grab a few things; dad pronounced it Hurricin' the whole time we were there. The Walmart was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a super Walmart...plus! Coby and I had a fun time running around the store going on "impossible missions to find supplies for the trip (some of the tasks were seriously impossible). Once that was done, we were on the road again. We drove for a long time and eventually made it into the state of Arizona. I took a nap and then we were at lake Powell. There, we stopped off at the Glen Canyon Dam. Coby loved it because he was allowed to swear a little and not feel bad about it. We got to see the dam people, look through some dam windows, and see the dam visiting center. We thought that was cool...I don't know if Sam did.
We took off and began driving through desert wasteland. What we thought was going to be a two hour drive ended up being three because of the uphill climb. Then, we were in Grand Canyon National Park. When we pulled up to the entrance of the Park, dad was asking directions on how to get to our campsite, a place called Grand Canyon Village. Dad asked the man and said, "Do you know the way to Grand Teton Village?" The park ranger gave dad a silly look and told him the directions anyway... Silly dad.
When we pulled into our campsite, the wind was blowing something fierce! Surprisingly there were campers who did not have anything but tents and sleeping bags (most of them ended up leaving that night). Unfortunately, there was no service or wi-fi, so I couldn't blog! We got into camp late, so we went to sleep pretty quickly after being there... it was a cold, hard night for Sam and mom.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Our First Day...OOOHHH YAAA!
The number one thing to remember when rentIng an RV...never trust the orientation video (which, bytheway, was thirty minutes long).
Sadie's Comments: First of all, the drive was supposed to be four hours, but it ended up being seven hours.There was a lot of wind. And there was a big hole in the ceiling that kept making a lot of noise...we couldn't hear anything, we had to yell at each other for seven hours.
Mom's Comments: It is going to be an adventure!
Sam's View: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz........
Dad's Comments: So far...it has been a learning experience, one that will help me in my life for many years to come, I am sure. The wind was completely working against us and this rig handles like a cucumber fighting against the current. I am sure that our gas consumption was well above what had been budgeted, making the plane tickets and hotel room look like a blue light special. Tomorrow Zions to the Grand Canyon,, yippee!
Coby's First Thoughts: Delightful!
I will not give my thoughts since this whole blog is about my thoughts.
Right now, Coby's taking a dump and it smells like a poop. He is also giving us a play by play about what is happening in the bathroom.
We started out the trip and things were going well. When we hit the freeway, things got a little bumpy. The wind was blowing at extremely high speeds and the RV felt like a jet that was taking off. Like sadie said, we couldn't hear anything. I think that our top speed was about 60 miles per hour (a speed that does not do the best on a freeway). We only passed two vehicles, and they were both semi trucks.
Our first pee stop was at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, someplace called Filmore( The mayor of Filmore's name is Mayer Butts...you can finish that joke yourself (give you a hint...put the two names together)). Mom and Coby played a little baseball and then we were on the road again.
Now we are here...somewhere close to St. George but we aren't really sure where (the name of the town is still unknown). The RV parks name is Leed's RV park. We drove in to the park and felt immediately out of place, the pictures that I will post tomorrow will tell you why. The first thing Cub said when he saw the place was, "Cute, and cheap." The place is overflowing with fake flowers and old people who are "true RVeers", if that is even a word. The guy who works here showed us where our campsite was and then watched my dad hook up; I think the dude thought that my dad was clueless about the whole thing just because our camper is rented and is labeled with 1-800-RV-4-RENT on the side... weird.
Once that was done, we realized that we were hungary. My dad said that in order to start the stove, you needed a match to help light the burner; the video also said that the RV had matches included. We looked around...no matches. So, my dad asked a friendly looking senior and asked if they had matches to spare, it turns out that they did. While the senior was going back to his RV to get the matches, my dad had an apifany. He realized that you actually might not need matches to light the stove. He came in and tried, and of course the stove worked. While it was burning bright and strong, the senior came back with the matches. Scared, for some reason, my dad quickly turned off the stove and got the matches from the senior. Yes, he took the matches anyways even though he did not need them (heartless).
Right at this moment dad is with Sadie and Cub riding around the RV and the "town" (there is at least a sign that says main street). Dinner is yuummmyyy raviolies.
It is surprising, but this is only one day of the trip.
(Sam slept through all of it... it is going to be a long night)
Sadie's Comments: First of all, the drive was supposed to be four hours, but it ended up being seven hours.There was a lot of wind. And there was a big hole in the ceiling that kept making a lot of noise...we couldn't hear anything, we had to yell at each other for seven hours.
Mom's Comments: It is going to be an adventure!
Sam's View: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz........
Dad's Comments: So far...it has been a learning experience, one that will help me in my life for many years to come, I am sure. The wind was completely working against us and this rig handles like a cucumber fighting against the current. I am sure that our gas consumption was well above what had been budgeted, making the plane tickets and hotel room look like a blue light special. Tomorrow Zions to the Grand Canyon,, yippee!
Coby's First Thoughts: Delightful!
I will not give my thoughts since this whole blog is about my thoughts.
Right now, Coby's taking a dump and it smells like a poop. He is also giving us a play by play about what is happening in the bathroom.
We started out the trip and things were going well. When we hit the freeway, things got a little bumpy. The wind was blowing at extremely high speeds and the RV felt like a jet that was taking off. Like sadie said, we couldn't hear anything. I think that our top speed was about 60 miles per hour (a speed that does not do the best on a freeway). We only passed two vehicles, and they were both semi trucks.
Our first pee stop was at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, someplace called Filmore( The mayor of Filmore's name is Mayer Butts...you can finish that joke yourself (give you a hint...put the two names together)). Mom and Coby played a little baseball and then we were on the road again.
Now we are here...somewhere close to St. George but we aren't really sure where (the name of the town is still unknown). The RV parks name is Leed's RV park. We drove in to the park and felt immediately out of place, the pictures that I will post tomorrow will tell you why. The first thing Cub said when he saw the place was, "Cute, and cheap." The place is overflowing with fake flowers and old people who are "true RVeers", if that is even a word. The guy who works here showed us where our campsite was and then watched my dad hook up; I think the dude thought that my dad was clueless about the whole thing just because our camper is rented and is labeled with 1-800-RV-4-RENT on the side... weird.
Once that was done, we realized that we were hungary. My dad said that in order to start the stove, you needed a match to help light the burner; the video also said that the RV had matches included. We looked around...no matches. So, my dad asked a friendly looking senior and asked if they had matches to spare, it turns out that they did. While the senior was going back to his RV to get the matches, my dad had an apifany. He realized that you actually might not need matches to light the stove. He came in and tried, and of course the stove worked. While it was burning bright and strong, the senior came back with the matches. Scared, for some reason, my dad quickly turned off the stove and got the matches from the senior. Yes, he took the matches anyways even though he did not need them (heartless).
Right at this moment dad is with Sadie and Cub riding around the RV and the "town" (there is at least a sign that says main street). Dinner is yuummmyyy raviolies.
It is surprising, but this is only one day of the trip.
(Sam slept through all of it... it is going to be a long night)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
On Our Way
It is Saturday, our first leg of the trip is taking a three day "break" at grandmas house...That is in Utah. We will stay here until Tuesday. On tuesday we will be picking up the RV. We still have to name it. I am sure my dad will come up with something clever. But the rule will be, we cannot name it until we are in the RV and driving for at least an hour. Right now I am using my grandmas computer and my dad is watching the Kuntucky vs. West Virginia Colledge basketball game...he is pretty enthralled.
The drive here was...interesting. Last week we got a new mini van; my mom was not excited. We would have had a lot of room if weren't for the massive amount of stuff that we had to bring. My sisters bike was taking up most of the space. Sam was good until the last three miles. He started to get really fussy and we faound when we were taking him out, that he was completely soaked in his own urine (poor kid). I slept most of the way, while Coby watche the movie Fantastic Mister Fox. For some reason, the ride seemed extremely long. But i guess we better get used to it, we are going to have ten hour driving days...whoopie!
The drive here was...interesting. Last week we got a new mini van; my mom was not excited. We would have had a lot of room if weren't for the massive amount of stuff that we had to bring. My sisters bike was taking up most of the space. Sam was good until the last three miles. He started to get really fussy and we faound when we were taking him out, that he was completely soaked in his own urine (poor kid). I slept most of the way, while Coby watche the movie Fantastic Mister Fox. For some reason, the ride seemed extremely long. But i guess we better get used to it, we are going to have ten hour driving days...whoopie!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Lead Up to... "The Trip"
We are crazy...I swear. For spring break we have decided to take an RV trip all the way to San Antonio, Texas: a place we have never been before, so that will make it fun. Some things that make this trip close to insane...
1) We are taking the 2 month old baby. If you didn't know, babies are the fussiest at this age because their nervous system is starting to work...interesting little fact.
2)We don't really know if we have places to camp every night, and even if we do have reserved spots, we aren't even sure if we know how to get to the RV park (this could be an issue)
3)We are renting a Cruise America RV that has pictures of Mount RushMore and old married couples riding horses....Did I mention that it is thirty feet long?
My dad is so excited for this trip, he has it all planned out. He has been sending emails to people that have our route information and a link to Google Earth so you can see EXACTLY where we are going....it's awesome. My dad is awesome when it comes to family trips, no matter how crazy they are.
Do you know what? I am actually very excited for this trip. I will be blogging EVERYTHING that happens. Everything is going to be a very new experience for us...it's different from Europe, that is for sure.
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