Almost Home!!!!!! Update from Panama City, FL

WOW... Can you believe this. We're in the state of Florida. Almost 20,000 miles completed. We will post a trip wrapup in a bit. This has been one fantastic journey. Isn't life grand.

Bob and Theresa

Time for another long post

Well, we are now in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Tomorrow we will visit the famous caverns here. We had a fabulous sunset tonight and hear coyotes howling in the distant. The desert gets cold at night.

After leaving Las Vegas, we headed into southern Utah and went to Zion National Park. It has beautiful clay-red mountains. From there, we headed south into northern Arizona and camped a night at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It was at an 88oo' elevation and we were concerned that we were going to wake up with snow on the ground. We had hail that night and it did get into the low 30's. That was enough for us.

The south rim of the Grand Canyon is 10 miles as the crow flies, but to drive to the other side, it is 210 miles. We drove there the next day. We stayed two nights. Quite amazing.

From the Grand Canyon, we headed east into Santa Fe because I wanted to see it. It was a very quaint city, with some great shops and galleries with fantastic Southwestern and Native American art. The town has very strict building codes so that all the buildings conform to the adobe architechural style, even the majority of the homes surrounding the town.

Oh yeah, on our way to Santa Fe, we stopped at Petrified Woods/Painted Desert National Park. The petrified forest was spectacular. They had some trees millions of years old cut and polished to show off all the color of the crystals and minerals that replaced the original wood. They also had some dinosaur skeletons that used to inhabit the area.

We left Santa Fe to head to White Sands National Monument. I LOVED this place. The sand is pure white and looks like snow, and provides a wonderful contrast to the New Mexican sunsets. Very pretty!

We expect to be back in Florida at the end of the month, once Hurricane Wilma passes through. Will update again soon.

Having fun in the "snow". 10/20/05

Look a "snow angel". Made in the gysum (sand). It was fun.

White Sands Natl Mnmt, NM. 10/20/05. This place is very cool. Only thing missing is the ocean.

Grand Canyon sunset. 10/16/05

South Rim looking north. Grand Canyon, Az. Oct 16th.

Another at Zion. Aren't the colors great? 

Zion National Park, Ut. Oct 14, 2005 

Bob at Diddlers Cove on the Coranado Strand outside San Diego, Ca. Taken Oct 6th. We were literally 10 feet from the bay. 

Leaving Santa Fe

Hello,
We getting ready to leave Santa Fe for White Sands, NM. We will post pictures from Zion and the Grand Canyon. (WOW is it ever a big hole). We're doing well and are looking forward to getting back home in Jacksonville. No get-home-itis yet. We're taking our time and will get back safely.
Miss all of you.
Bob and Theresa

Hello from Utah

Hello! We spent a few days in Las Vegas after leaving San Diego. We spent most of the nights at a campground north of the city, but the last night we stayed at the Monte Carlo on the strip. We had a great time. It is amazing how huge these resorts are. Of the south strip resorts, we saw Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Mirage, and Ceasar's Palace. I guess we'll have to go back to see the rest - boo hoo.

We went to the Hoover Dam and I was amazed at how beautiful the terrain was and how large it was. There were quite a few displays and talks about the building of the dam. We walked across the dam all the way into Arizona.

Yesterday, we left Las Vegas and headed northeast towards Bryce and Zion National Parks in Utah. It is so pretty out here. We plan to stay in this area for just a couple of days before heading down into Arizona and the Grand Canyon. We are starting to make our way back east again and will be back in Jacksonville in just a couple of weeks.

A day at the San Diego Zoo

Hello all,
Today we went to the Zoo. It was a great day and very nice at the zoo. We started with a guided tour of the zoo, ate lunch, road the aeral tram (several times) then went to the Sea Lion show. It was a very nice day. Now we're at Starbucks in Coranado relaxing.

Bob and Theresa

Hello from San Diego, California

Well, we have driven almost all of the 752 miles of the California coast. We are about 15 miles north of the Mexican border in San Diego. We wound up spending 5 nights north of Los Angeles. We went to Mann's Chinese Theater where the stars' handprints and footprints are, and walked the sidewalk where all the stars are. We drove by Rodeo Drive and didn't stop, we wouldn't be shopping there anyway. I bought a map of the stars homes and Bob and I set off. We got to the end of one street, at the top of a hill, and had just pointed out Billy Idol's home, and turned around when Billy Idol drove by in a convertible. At least we are 99% certain it was him. It was a lot of fun, though Bob called me a stalker when I bought the map.

We are now in San Diego and the military campground is great. It is on the scenic Coronado strand and our camper is 10 feet from the water of the San Diego Bay. We look out over a marina, with a big bridge behind that, and downtown San Diego just behind that. It is very pretty. Tomorrow, we are going to the San Diego Zoo.

The lagoon at the campground where we camped on the beach was full of these seals. 

We spend 5 nights camper here, just north of LA. The beach is just over the dune in front of where we are parked. 

...more powerful than a speeding locomotive 

One of the drive-through redwoods. We couldn't take the camper through. 

A picture to show how big these trees are and put things in perspective. 

Hanging out inside a giant redwood tree. Kinda made me feel like I was a bug. 

Bob in front of the short lighthouse along the Oregon Coast. 

View from the Astoria Column in Oregon. 

Arrived in LA Area

Hello all,
We're in the LA area. Pt Mugu to be exact. We'll be here for a few days while we see the local sights (Queen Mary, Disneyland, Getty Museum and Hollywood). Things are going great Theresa was able to do some shopping. Take care..
Bob and Theresa