Category Archives: 2013 USA Summer Trip

DAY 65 It has long been a goal of Brenda’s to visit New Orleans – and today she finally got that chance. Unfortunately, what Brenda had built up in her mind is a far cry from what the French Quarter … Continue reading →

We are now at my folks’ place – we’ll spend the 4th of July week here enjoying the HOT Oregon weather. Grandma got sucked in to a marathon game of Monopoly. Driveway hill races. A walk in the woods. Yesterday … Continue reading →

Adam’s post:  Yesterday, Rita took the day off of work (Randy couldn’t get out of meetings) to guide us around the town. Isabella woke up feeling sick (sore throat, no energy) and we were worried that she might be getting … Continue reading →

When I was a little girl, my dad had a gunsmithing license.  He created his own guns, restored antiques, and repaired broken ones for other people.  We had dozens (if not hundreds) of guns in our home at any given … Continue reading →

All moms probably know this phenomenon; your husband comes home from work and the kids go nuts over “fun Daddy” while you stand in the kitchen nagging, “Did you do your homework?  Did you eat your peas?  Have you had … Continue reading →

Saturday & Sunday (June 15, 16) Several weeks ago, I emailed my parents that Josie was really interested in pigs and asked my dad if he could arrange a little field trip to a pig farm. Dad took that idea … Continue reading →

Adam’s post:  On Wednesday we drove into Boise, Idaho.  Brenda wanted to spend a couple of days visiting with her childhood friend, Claire, and her family. After eating lunch the group split up – I went back to check us … Continue reading →

The air quality has improved so dramatically in Holden’s vicinity that he isn’t fighting his new dietary restrictions anymore. He’s more or less resigned himself to his new fate. This morning he woke up and said, “I know this doesn’t … Continue reading →

Holden’s digestive issues have continued unabated. He trails behind him a cloud of gas that clears rooms. Strangers catch the eyes of others in their group and regard each other suspiciously: Oh my God. Was that you? As my grandma … Continue reading →

We left Choteau this morning in a caravan with Brian & Phuong. They had enough time in their schedule to spend one night in Yellowstone with us before they had to head home. We arrived mid-afternoon and decided to at … Continue reading →

Today was bittersweet.  We laid to rest my grandfather, Rodney Hanson. I didn’t know my grandfather very well because we lived so far from each other.  I’ve always known he was a really special man, but in the vague way … Continue reading →

The good folks at Starbucks managed a miracle! They were open right at 6 a.m. like the lady said they would be. Somebody pulled an all-nighter to get that job done. I have mixed feelings today. We’re headed to Choteau, … Continue reading →

Yesterday all three kids bought novelty T-shirts in a tourist shop in Estes Park. Josie’s is black and says “Minecraft” above a picture of a thing called a Creeper. The shirt is way too big and hangs down past her … Continue reading →

This morning we stopped at a ranger station to buy an America The Beautiful pass (for $80 you get unlimited access to all National parks) and stumbled onto a fox den.  The mother was nowhere in sight, but four cubs … Continue reading →

I usually do most of my writing while riding in the car between locations, but Colorado is so beautiful I didn’t want to miss any of it.  I spent all day gazing out the window. Not so for Isabella … … Continue reading →

The area between Wichita and Colorado Springs is the land the internet forgot.  The majority of Adam’s & my “in drive” entertainment is to listen to the radio and research factoids that occur to us based on what we hear. … Continue reading →

Colorado Springs is gorgeous. The town is beautiful and the setting is magnificant. It makes a terrific first impression. I don’t know what it would be like to live here during a brutal winter, but on a nice day in … Continue reading →

We drove out of Oklahoma City this morning on I-40; the very same road that took the lives of nine* people last night. All the restaurants were shut down in our part of town, so we did without breakfast today. … Continue reading →

Yesterday at the Gateway Arch candy shop, I bought a packet of old-fashioned horehound hard candy.  They have a couple big negatives:  the first is a weird, unpleasant flavor.  The second is that after the sugary coating has dissolved, they … Continue reading →

Day 06 — driving from Louisville to St Louis, MO After driving through Europe last summer, this trip through the US illustrates just how vast our country is.  Today is the first day we’ve spent several hours in the car … Continue reading →

Day 04:  Brenda’s post We continue north toward Louisville.  Adam has work meetings all day on Tuesday there. On the way, we stopped at two different Abraham Lincoln related locations. – his birthplace (where he stayed until he was 2) and his boyhood … Continue reading →

Probably the most famous thing about Kentucky is Churchill Downs in Louisville, home of the world famous Kentucky Derby horse race.  Today we visited the Kentucky Derby Museum and toured the Churchill Downs racetrack. No races were on, so we … Continue reading →

Day 03:  Brenda’s post I’ve heard of Bowling Green, Kentucky my whole life and now that I’ve been here, I have no idea why. I thought they were famous for horses, but no …. the biggest claim to fame of … Continue reading →

Day 02:  Brenda’s post: Yesterday we visited Belle Meade plantation near Nashville.  The family that owned it was named Harding (no relation to the guy who became president) and they made their big bucks in race horses.  The patriarch, William … Continue reading →

DAY 01 (Adam’s post) … and, we’re off! Vacation has begun and so thus has our ill-planned, probably highly regretful, yet surely unforgettable summer road trip throughout the U.S. We are officially Griswaldin’. Most of you know that experience and … Continue reading →