10/9/2013 8:30PM

End of day 31  Trip odometer  8722.0 miles

First, some pictures that we were enable to post from St. Louis:

The exterior of the Cathedral Basilica St. Louis

The nave of the Cathedral Basilica

View of main altar from the back

 

 Exterior view of the City Museum, St. Louis

 



 External view of the City Museum, St. Louis

The Arch of St. Louis from the Illinois side of the Mississippi

 

 

As we told you last night, we spend the night in Terra Haute, IN.  From there this morning, we headed to home.

Had lunch in Defiance, OH (remember that area, Mimi and Rick?)

We arrived back in Ypsilanti, Michigan around 4PM, just in time to join our neighborhood Wednesday Happy Hour for a great visit.

We are glad to be home.  Thanks for traveling with us, and for all of you that offered us lodging along the way.  We hope you enjoyed our travels as much as we did.

Next year? - maybe we will head south and then up the east coast.  There is so much left to see!

 



10/8/2013 8PM

End of day 30   Trip odometer  8387 miles

We started our day driving to St. Louis.  The first place we stopped was at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.  The cathedral is decorated with all marble and mosaic, no paint.  It was very beautiful with different areas depicting the history of the Catholic Church and of St. Louis.  I am having trouble downloading pictures, so I will have to post them later.
We also planned to tour the City Museum in St. Louis, but it wasn't opened today.  So we drove through the St. Louis University campus and had some lunch near there.  (Sorry, Tom, but where we stopped had no Toasted Ravioli to compare to that we had at Jillian's Saturday night.)   Jim also got some beautiful pictures of the St. Louis Arch from the Illinois side of the Mississippi, but I can't post them tonight.
We are spending tonight in Terra Haute, Indiana and had a great dinner at a Texas Steakhouse nearby.



10/7/2013 9 PM

End of day 29  Trip odometer 8130 miles

Hello, again.  We have some catching up to do.

Saturday, October 5 we left Boise City, OK. and headed into Kansas.  We took a drive though Dodge City which still has one street that looks like the old West.
We arrived at my brother and sister-in-law's in the mid-afternoon.  We had never visited their home in Hutchinson, Kansas before.  Tom and Lois gave us a tour of  'Hutch' as they took me to the market to pick up the saltine seasonings I have promised many of you.  After evening Mass, we enjoyed a great dinner with them at Jillian's Italian Grille.

Sunday, October 6, Tom and Jim played golf in the morning.  Lois and I had a relaxing morning crafting, IPading, taking a walk in the neighborhood, etc.  It was great just to spend relaxing time with Lois.  It was their daughter, Courtney's, birthday, so Courtney and her family (husband, Brian, and children, Nate, Sean, Caeli and Anthony) joined us for a celebratory dinner.  It was so great to catch up with family we don't see very often.



 

 

Today, Monday, we ended our all-too-short visit in Hutchinson and headed across Kansas and in to Missouri.  Tonight we are staying in Sullivan, MO and plan to tour St. Louis tomorrow.  Our plans to ride to the top of the Arch are canceled since it is under the National Parks System and is closed due to the government shutdown :-(    But Lois and Courtney have given us ideas for other places to visit in St. Louis.





10/4/2013 7:30PM

End of day 26   Trip odometer 7387 miles

Our drive from Santa Fe, NM took us past vast ranches and definitely out of the mountains.

 

 

We stopped for lunch in the northeast corner of New Mexico in the town of Clayton.  The dining room in the historic Hotel Eklund had been renovated in 1975 using many features from its original 1892 construction.  The hotel had been an elaborate railroad hotel between Denver and Fort Worth.  It still operates as a restaurant, saloon and hotel with all the latest updates, including an elevator, Jacuzzi tubs and Wi-Fi.

Tonight we are staying in a comfortable motel room in the small town of Boise City, OK.

A couple of weeks ago we were driving through Rapid City, SD.  We heard today that they had a foot of snow there last night.  Glad we missed that!

We will be driving to Tom and Lo's in Hutchinson, KS tomorrow.  We may not have time to post on this blog again until Monday.  Have a great weekend.



10/3/2013 5:30PM

End of day 25   Trip odometer  7130 miles

The drive from Durango, CO into northern New Mexico was beautiful.  The fall colors are out in full in the higher elevations.

 

 

We had a great lunch at Martyr's Steakhouse in Taos, NM.  The sun was shining and we were able to ride with the top down from there to Santa Fe, where we are spending the night.  Still trying to decide where to have dinner.



10/2/2013 8:30PM

End of day 24   Trip odometer 6825 miles

With the government shutdown, all the National Parks we wanted to tour were closed today.  So we decided to stay in Durango an extra night.  We enjoyed walking around this neat old down - eating, oil change for the Vette, shopping, manicure, eating again.  I even worked in a nap this afternoon.  Tomorrow, off to New Mexico.

 

Views of the southwest Colorado countryside.



10/2/2013 7:15AM

Beginning of day 24  Trip odometer       miles

First of all, we are so happy to welcome Lennon Kate Van Hise to the family.  Congratulations to Katie and Dan!

We left Cameron, AZ yesterday morning heading to the southeast corner of Utah.  The pictures below are from Monument Valley.

At Four Corners, where Arizona, Utah, Colorado

and New Mexico meet

 

 

After these amazing sites, we continued into Colorado where we spent the night in Durango.  We wanted to take the

narrow gauge train to Silverton, but there were no available reservations for today.  So we will drive ourselves through the sites nearby.



9/30/2013 9PM

End of day 22    Trip odometer 6477 miles

We started today heading into Phoenix, Arizona.  We were able to find the 1-bedroom, furnished apartment we lived in 43 years ago.  The apartment complex is not as well taken care of as it was when we lived there.  Sad to see.  But Phoenix had grown so much since we were there and had lots of beautiful sites to offer.  We had a great lunch at a place called Kiss the Cook!
Then we headed north.  We took a spur-of-the-moment turn to see the Montezuma Castle, caves and homes that were built and occupied by Sinagua farmers between years 1200 and 1400.

 

 

From there we took a drive through Oak Creek and Sedona.  Lovely towns in a beautiful mountain setting.

 

 

tonight we are staying at the Cameron Trading Post.  This cluster of buildings was originally built in 1916 and has since added a lovely lodge and a good restaurant.  Such a treasure to find in an area where there are no other towns or buildings within 15 miles in any direction.



 





9/29/2013 9 PM

End of day 21  Trip odometer 6096 miles

We are a couple of days behind, so we will try to catch up tonight.   First some pictures from Thursday.

Lighthouse at Pidgeon Point

 

Coastline on Monterey Peninsula

 

The Lone Monterey Pine at Pebble Beach

 

 

Friday morning we took the tour of the Hearst Mansion.  Quite an amazing place with an equally amazing history.

 

One of three cottages and surrounding gardens

Neptune Pool

Dining room in the main house

 

As we continued to drive south we had lunch in Santa Barbara, then continued to LA and Brian and Mary.

 







 



At Brian and Mary's

 

That evening we had dinner at their good friends, the Rich's.  It was wonderful to see Louis and Marlene, and their daughters, and Jourdan.  Maureen, a family friend, was also with us for a wonderful dinner and visit.  Sorry, no pictures were taken there.

Saturday after breakfast, Jim, Brian and I took their dog Jeff Buckley to the dog park while Mary worked out at the gym. 

Mary and I went for manicures and pedicures, then Brian and Jim joined us for lunch.  Brian's friend, Tim, had arrived by then and was also with us.  Saturday evening, Brian had to work and Mary had tickets for her friend, Katie's, play.  So Jim and I moved over to Oakwood apartment where we stayed the night at Rachel's apartment.  Rachel was out of town for the weekend and graciously offer us her place to stay.  This is in Marina Del Rey, where Brian and Mary were married a year ago, so Jim and I knew the area and could get around on our own.

Today we met up again with Brian, Mary and Tim - and Jeff Buckley, of course - and all walked over to the Farmers' Market.  We sat under a tree and ate our yummy breakfasts from the vendors, and Mary did her weekly shopping.

We sadly left them at 1PM and started driving East.  Tonight we are staying in Quartzsite, Arizona.  Had a delicious dinner at Silly Al's Bar and Pizzeria. 

 





9/26/2013. 9:30 PM

End of day 18.  Trip odometer  5569 miles

We are having trouble with the WiFi on our laptop tonight, so I am writing this from my IPad.  Will have to add today's pictures tomorrow.

We continued down the California coast from San Francisco on Rt 1 today.

Had brunch at Zachery's in Santa Cruz.

We really enjoyed the drive around the Monterey Peninsula and the 17 Mile drive through the Pebble Beach area.

We arrived at the Hearst Castle too late to catch the last tour.  So we viewed the 40 minute video about the building of the castle and will return for the tour tomorrow morning.

We had dinner at The Hungry Fisherman in Morro Bay near where we are staying tonight.

9/25/2013 9 PM

End of day 17  Trip odometer 5316 miles

We drove from Merced to the San Francisco area.  We had lunch at the Buckeye Roadhouse.  Jim had been there about 18 months ago when Mary O'Malley's uncles to him and Brian on a tour of the city while the women-folk were at a wedding shower for Mary.
Jim wanted to get a good picture of the Golden Gate Bridge so we  drove up to a lookout point above the bridge.  We couldn't figure out why there were so many people up there until we realized the final race of the America's Cup was going on in the bay.  So, by dumb luck, we were able to watch the final 15 minutes of the race.  Congratulations, USA!
then we spent a few hours walking around Fisherman's Wharf.  Lots of people there too due to the America's Cup.
Tonight we are staying with Mary Rose and Dave.  Fran and Mary Claire joined us for dinner at The Corner Store.  So nice to see them where they live.

America's Cup Race San Francisco Bay

 

Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco background

 

Mary Claire, Fran, Mary Rose, Kate, Jim and Dave

at The Corner Store.

 

 



9/25/2013 6:15AM

Yesterday was day 16.  Trip odometer 5148 miles

Tuesday we left Fresno to head to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  We continue to be amazed and inspired by all the beauty this country of ours has to offer.  Jim, once again, managed all the curves and narrows of the mountains roads.  He enjoys driving these, but has had enough in the last 10 days to last him awhile. 
Spent the night in Merced, CA..Had a great dinner at De Angelos Italian Steakhouse. 
Today we head for the coast and San Francisco.

 

View of Sequoia Nat'l Park

 

 

A young bear feeding as we walked to Sherman Tree

 

Sherman Tree - the largest tree in the world

 

 

This doesn't do justice to how large the Sherman Tree behind

us really is!

 

 



9/23/2013 9PM

Hi, All.  Did you miss us?
Our motel last night didn't have Wi-Fi so we couldn't enter a post.  Now we can catch up.

Sunday, September 22     Day 14    Trip odometer 4452 miles
This was probably the least successful day.  We woke up to heavy rain.  After breakfast, we drove into California, heading to Redwood National Park.  We saw some amazing Redwoods as we entered the area.  But then we missed a turn, and had to add several miles doubling back.  Then it was a long drive to Santa Rosa where we spent the night.  The rain continued for the majority of the drive.

 

 

 



Monday, September 23    Day 15  Trip odometer 4768
Today was a MUCH better day.  We awoke to beautiful, clear skies.  Our destination today was Yosemite National Park.   It was a beautiful drive to and through the Park.  Both of us thought that today was the most awesome and majestic views yet.  We try to capture some in these pictures.

 

Welcome to Yosemite

 

 

9/21/2013 9:30PM

End of day 13.  Trip odometer 3993 miles

We left Ellen and Charles at 9AM.  We had a short, but delightful visit with them. 
From Portland we traveled west on Rt. 18 to return to the Pacific Coast of Oregon.  Yesterday, we traveled the Washington coast and the northern part of the Oregon coast in rain and mist.  And the coastal road didn't always stay near enough to view the Pacific. Today was a little cloudy at first, then sunny.  And Rt. 101 gave us a view of the shore 98% of the time.  What a beautiful drive!  Sometimes sandy beaches, sometimes rocky cliffs, but all of it stunning.
Tonight, we are staying in Brookings, OR. just four miles north of the border with California.

Oregon Coast from Cape Meares National Wildlife Reserve

 

Lighthouse at Cape Perpetua, OR

 

At Newport, Oregon

 

View from Strawberry Hill, OR







9/20/2013. 10 PM

End of day 12. Trip odometer 3671

We continued our drive along the coastal roads of the Olympic Peninsula today.  We crossed the Columbia River into Astoria, Oregon around 11:30 AM.  We had lunch at the Portway Tavern there.  It was raining after lunch as we drove the coast line in Oregon to Tillamook and Seaside until we reached the lighthouse at Cape Meares.  The rain had stopped by this time, So we could see the wild surf of the Pacific and the rocky coast that is the home of a variety of birds. Driving inland, we arrived Portland around 5 PM at the home of my niece, Ellen Stearns, and her husband and son, Charles and Max.  Ellen's sister, Lilian, joined us for drinks at Raciones and dinner at Tasty n Alder.  We are sorry we only have one night to spend with them.  

9/19/2013 8:15PM

End of day 11   Trip odometer  3395.5 miles

 

We sadly left Maureen and Ron this morning to catch the 8:40 ferry from Edmondson to Kingston on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.  We drove the road that kept us near the water of Puget Sound most of the morning.  Stopped for brunch in Port Angeles at Café New Day - horrible service, but good food.  Then we drove inland on Hurricane Ridge Road through Olympic National Park.  Beautiful views of the snow in the surrounding mountains.  Thanks, Ron, for suggesting this route.
Tonight we are in Hoquiam, WA.  Had a great dinner at the 8th Street Ale House across the street.

 

Beautiful Seattle

 

                                                                      Glaciers on Olympic Mountain

 

9/18/2013. 8PM

Day 10. Trip odometer unchanged from yesterday.

We have had a great day in Seattle with Maureen and Ron.  After a morning walk up and down the trails in Interlaken Park, we had a breakfast that included Grandma Smith's sour cream kuchen.  Yum!

Later they drove us to the Seattle Locks where we could watch the movement of boats through the locks and walk the gardens nearby.  We had a delicious lunch at Chinook's at the Fisherman's Terminal.  We drove to Kerry Park in Queen Anne where we had a wonderful view of the Seattle downtown skyline and Puget Sound.

We have just returned from having dinner with Rob Duerr and his delightful children, Eva and Chas at Pizzuto's Italian Cafe.

We are closing the day back at Maureen's with her homemade apple pie!

A wonderful day filled with good people and good food!

9/17/2013. 8PM

End of day 9. Trip odometer 3113 miles

We left Othello, WA (which was at trip odometer 2889 miles) this morning and arrived in Tacoma about 1 PM.  We spent a couple hours enjoying the cars at LeMay American Automobile Museum.  This being the 60th anniversary of the corvette, they still had about a dozen corvettes in the museum since their big event last month.  Also many, many other great cars from 1890 to the late 1980's.

Now we are with Maureen and Ron in Seattle.  Maureen fixed a wonderful dinner and now she and Ron are helping us decide what to do when we leave here in 2 days.

9/16/2013 8PM

End of day 8.  I forgot to check the odometer when we checked in, so I will have to catch that up in the morning.

After breakfast, we headed north out of Boise on Rt. 55.  We continued to be amazed at the beautiful countryside we are driving through.  Mountains and mountain passes, valleys, ranches, potato farms in Idaho, and apple orchards in Washington.

 

River view near McCall, ID

 

We crossed the Snake River to enter Washington at Lewiston, ID.  We are staying the night in Othello, WA., about 1/3 of the way through Washington state.  Onward to Tacoma and Seattle tomorrow.

 

 

A view from Panorama Point in the Badlands National Park, S.D.

 

One of the many mountain peaks in the Grand Tetons National Park, WY

 

 





9/15/2013 8:00PM

End of Day 7  Trip odometer 2475 miles

It was raining hard and 49 degrees when we left the Togwotee Mountain Lodge this morning.  The heavy clouds prevented us from getting sunrise pictures of the Grand Tetons.  We took a few pictures through the rain.  Drove through Jackson, Wyoming which looked like a really nice place.  It gets very busy in the winter with all of its ski resorts.  We did some more mountain driving as we entered Idaho.  But the sun was out by then, so it was much nicer than the mountain passes of yesterday.  We had lunch in Idaho Falls then continued west, passing through some more incredible landscapes.  This included the crate moon area which is made up of ancient lava rock.  The rain had stopped, so we were able to drive with the top dowm again.  We are spending the night in Boise.  It was sunny and 93 degrees when we arrived.  Had a nice dinner at the Kopper Kettle near our motel.
Here are some pictures from yesterday and today:



Mount Rushmore illuminated at night

 

 

Eye of the Needle rock formation in Custer State Park

 

Entering Yellowstone

 

 

Our cabin at Togwotee Mountain Lodge.