We left Florida on July 30 and drove to Leif’s mom’s house in Aiken South Carolina where we spent a long weekend catching up and being tourists in downtown Aiken. Her boyfriend Philip from France cooked us a beautiful Paella dish that we washed down with some yummy wine. We toured the Aiken County Historical Museum where the kids were fascinated by ‘old time’ items like cash registers and horse drawn fire engines.
We left South Carolina and drove through Georgia and onto Mobile Alabama where we visited the Gulf Coast Exploreum for a few hours so the kids could get their wiggles out before heading to our friends for the night. Got up early the next morning and drove through Mississippi into New Orleans Louisiana where we spent the day discovering all that New Orleans had to offer. We ate Beignets at Café Du Monde near Jackson Square. We walked down Bourbon Street in the daytime we took a trolley ride all around the town and visited the New Orleans Museum of Art. We met up with some friends for dinner that we hadn’t seen in five years! We got an early start the next morning and checked out the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. There was an exhibition on graffiti art which the children found fascinating. We met up with some more friends, who had just relocated from Jacksonville, for some ice cream at the Creole Creamery.
We headed towards Texarkana which is on the border of Texas and Arkansas. We had arranged for a behind the scenes tour of an elephant refuge as a surprise for Ella. She was able to give Dore the elephant a bath and we were all able to feed her and pet her. It truly was one of my most favorite experiences to date.
Close by was the town of Paris Texas where they had a 3 story high Eiffel Tower that Ella was able to climb up on. Now she is more than convinced to travel to Paris France to climb the real thing.
Next up on our adventure was a drive to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We stayed at a hotel that overlooks the ballpark and there just so happen to be a ball game which we were able to watch. We stayed in Oklahoma for two nights in the part of town called Bricktown. We were able to take a water taxi to a beautiful monument call the Centennial Land Run Monument. It is 47 larger than life cast bronze statues depicting Oklahoma land run participants in 1889. It was a stunning piece. The next day we visited the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum which was the memorial for the Oklahoma bombing, it too was a beautiful memorial. We also wondered around the Myriad Botanical Gardens before driving along the iconic route 66.
We stopped off at the Cadillac Ranch where there are 10 Cadillacs 1/2 buried in the ground and you can spray paint them with spray paint. The kids had so much fun graffitting the Cadillacs. We also stopped off at a restaurant called The Big Texan where they serve 72-ounce steaks! Don’t worry we didn’t order one.
We got to the midpoint on route 66 which is 1139 miles in either direction to Los Angeles or to Chicago. The journey continues through Albuquerque New Mexico into Arizona where we visited the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.
We stayed the night just south of the Grand Canyon so we got up bright and early the next morning and headed into a day of exploring in the Grand Canyon – what an amazing amazing place, we all loved it.
The next morning we drove to a place called Four Corners. This is where four states meet, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. I sat right in the middle which meant I was in four places at once! It’s my superpower! Then each of the three kids stood in one state and I stood in the other so all four of us were in four different states holding hands at the same time!
The next day we backtracked and headed towards Denver Colorado to spend some time with Leif’s dad and his wife. We were able to catch up on laundry and eat some home-cooked meals and just enjoy each other’s company. We did make a trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Next, we drove to Billings Montana through Wyoming and spent a week with Leif’s grandma. We were able to visit with Leif’s Grandpa, uncles, aunts and cousins. His uncle even brought us on his boat to his cabin on the lake that had no electricity for a night – it was bliss! We went to the Montana State Fair and spent a few hours riding carnival rides and eating carnival food it was a fun day out.
Next up on our month-long journey across America was a drive on Beartooth Pass with a summit elevation of over 10,000 feet. It was now the middle of August but we could see snow a little off the road but we couldn’t get to it, unfortunately.
We continued on our journey to Yellowstone National Park where we had to give the right-of-way to Buffalo that passed in front of our car and then a few miles later a huge male Elk crossed right in front of us too. We hiked around the park and saw different hot springs, gushing geysers, including its most famous Old Faithful. The diversity of the landscape is simply awesome. We were able to swim in the Yellowstone River right where the boiling water’s from the hot springs enter so it was a natural Jacuzzi and it was really enjoyable.
That night we stayed in a Teepee Tent right outside the park. It had no electricity and it was one of the coldest nights but we all had down comforters and slept well! The next morning we went white water rafting on the Gallatin River and that was another one of our favorite experiences of the summer. We all slept so well again that night.
The next morning we got up and headed towards Coeur D’Alene Idaho and stayed with Leif’s cousin who showed us around and took us out on his boat on the lake for a few hours. It was our last night before heading to Seattle Washington so we went out for the biggest ice-cream dessert I have ever had!!
We arrived into Seattle and stayed at a hotel for a night and then all our household goods were delivered to our new house. So the unpacking and settling in to our new home in the Pacific North West begins…………..
