Faux Po-Po

Now that I’ve got your curiosity going, I just thought I’d enlighten you to the fact that as we drove through the little town of Kanab, Utah, we passed not one, but TWO police cars that had dummy cops in them…and I’m not insulting the police, I mean actual dummies, with the aviator sunglasses and all… sadly we didn’t stop to get a picture but hilarious nonetheless.

Well it’s been a few days, but seeing as that we were in the middle of nowhere, it’s not a surprise that the internet connection was a bit hit or miss… we spent the last two days exploring that Grand Canyon and words and pictures will not do it enough justice, but hopefully it’ll get the general idea across… this place is HUUUGE and gorgeous. We had two picture perfect, nearly cloudless days and enjoyed seeing the many colors, shapes and sizes of various areas of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. For those who don’t know, there is a North and South Rim to the Grand Canyon. The South Rim is the more photographed and commercialized part of it, and it sits about 2000 feet lower than the North. The North Rim sits at about 8000 feet or so on average and is much more laid back. The place we stayed at, Jacob Lake Inn, was about 45 miles from the North Rim, and there were only two or three places any closer, but those are very tough to get. We had a quaint little “half” cabin (the picture shows TWO separate rooms) that was probably half the size of the studio we’ll be living in when we get to Hawaii!

During the course of our day and half exploring the Grand Canyon we took several shorter hikes, and saw the sunset from two different areas… so cool! There isn’t really much to say, I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Today we left our cabin and checked out at about 530am and headed for Page, Arizona and took part in the Colorado River Discovery tour that Renee had signed us up for a couple months ago. This was a 3-hour pontoon/raft ride down 15 miles of the Colorado River within the Glen Canyon. It started at the Glen Canyon Dam which holds back Lake Powell, and we wound down river to Lees Ferry. It was a really neat experience and was cool to get a different perspective being down at the water level looking up instead of at the top of the canyon looking down. One other cool experience on the tour was a stop we made to visit a panel of Anasazi petroglyphs that the National Parks Service has preserved and added as an educational element. The panel dates back nearly 3000 years. After that stop, and before heading back down the river, some of the guides challenged as many of the passengers to dive into the water for fun. I decided what the heck, and with about 10 other people we ran and dove into the 47 degree water of the Colorado River… man it was cold, but awesome! And it was easy to get out and warm up because it was about 85 degrees out of the water!

After the boat trip, we got lunch, gassed up and headed for Vegas! Nothing real exciting along that drive except watching our temperature gauge. When we left this morning and 530, it was about 47 degrees, and by the time we got to Vegas, it was reading 109! Now we’ve gotten checked into our room at the MGM Grand, after fighting through traffic and the confusion of just getting to the hotel entrance! We ate some room service and are gonna get ready to go down and check out a few of the attractions downstairs.

The last item is about a 30-second video from the end of an overlook. It's a 360 degree view. Hopefully all (or most) of you will be able to view it. It may take a minunte or two to load for some of you. Until next time…

Exploring Zion...

What an amazing place Zion National Park is/was. We spent yesterday from about 8-4 hiking and exploring through several different trails and parts of the park. We began with the Riverside Walk, round trip about 2 miles, easy paved path that wound around the mountain base and followed along the Virgin River. In our brochure, there was a description saying that you could continue to the Narrows at your own risk, so we thought it sounded interesting. However, once we got to the end of the maintained trail, it then meant we had to go walk through portions of the river to get to the Narrows, and since it was our first hike at the start of the day, we didn’t feel like having wet feet for the rest of our adventures… so we just headed back after taking some great photos along the way.

Our next trail was the Hidden Canyon. In one of brochures it said it was about 2 miles but rated it “strenuous” as it climbs 850 feet. We weren’t sure about doing it, but decided to go for it. When we got to the trailhead it only called it “moderate”, so we decided we could handle it. Boy are we glad we did. There were some incredible views and beautiful scenery along the way. Once we got to the end of the maintained trail, we decided to venture a little further up the mountain and got to some really neat secluded areas, which created more great photo opportunities. On our way back down, we got to the end of the maintained part again and many of the people we had passed were getting to that part. It was here that we found out that one of the men we had passed along the way, who appeared to be a bit elderly we thought, and didn’t assume he’d make it all the way up, was 91 years young! Our jaws about hit the ground! What an accomplishment for him… hopefully he was able to make it down too!

After that hike, we stopped and got some lunch in the park and then headed out for the Emerald Pools Trails. There were three different paths, but you could cover all three in one trip, so we did that. More interesting views and scenery. Last night we ate at Parallel Eighty-Eight which was recommended to us by our friends Eric and Beth from Orlando that were here about a month ago. It was really good food, so thanks guys!

Now it’s Saturday morning and we’re packing up and about to check out a few of the shops around this little town before we leave for the Grand Canyon this afternoon. Until next time…

Denver from the air and travel to Zion photos

The photos are as follows (you can click on them to make them larger): The pilot and passengers, Downtown and Red Rocks from the air; Red rocks in person (awesome!); driving from Denver en route to Zion, the Rockies are amazing; Colorado River; and a scenic overlook of off I-70 in Utah;

We're here safe in Zion now and will be hiking and exploring tomorrow... until next time!

Denver rocks!

(no pics yet, but wanted to update on our adventure...will post soon). After finishing up a wonderful visit to my Nana's house in Topeka, we survived the drive through Kansas (the flatest state in the world...ever). Overall it really wasn't that bad of a drive... there is a slight bit of rolling hills in western Kansas and we had the ipod and laptop to keep us occupied. We got to Denver yesterday in the early evening and were greeted by a brief hail storm!... seriously there were gumball-sized hail pelting us as we made it into town. We were afraid our nice new car would be damaged and dented, but it survived unscathed. We got to my mom's cousin's house and hung out and had a great family cookout and caught up and chatted the evening away.... lots of fun.

This morning we got up and had a reallyl great unexpected adventure. My cousin Jennie is takingg flight lessons to become a pilot and she had a lesson scheduled this morning. So last night she asked if we'd be interested in flying along with her and the instructor over Denver... so of course we said yes! So Renee got to go up for about a half hour with her in the Cessna, and then they landed and we switched places and I got about a half hour trip as well. We flew out of the airport and flew past Red Rocks, and the Coors Brewery, and near downtown, and some other cool parts of the city... it was SUCH a great experience and we've got some great photos to be posted in the next day or two hopefully!

After that awesome trip, we headed to lunch just outside of downtown and met up with James and Greg (who many of you blog followers will kn0w). We had a good meal and got to catch up with them for a bit which was a good time. Then Jennie took us out to Red Rocks to see it in person, not just from the sky.... and man that place is a lot bigger than it seems from the air. What a great place and incredible venue for a concert... wish we could have seen one... but we justvisited for a bit and took some photos and climbed a few stairs.... man that altitude will get ya pretty quickly!

Then we came home and changed and rested for a few minutes and then Renee and I drove about 45 minutes north to meet up for dinner with our friends Lacey and Jason... oh and did I mention we encountered another hail storm!! Unseasonably crazy weather according to the native Colorado-ites. We got to see Lacey and Jason's beautiful house (luckyyyy) and catch up with them over drinks and dinner at a neat local restaurant called the Pumphouse that is built within the shell of an old firestation. We had the best time hearing about all the outdoor adventures and travelling etc. and sharing stories of our upcoming travels as well. It was great to see them and hopefully they'll be visiting us in the future!

Now it's getting late and we're getting up early for the 9 hour trek to Zion National Park... I have a feeling the drive and scenery will be a little more interesting than the Kansas trip.!

Indiana...check; Illinois...check; Missouri...check; Kansas... check!

Well as the title says, we've made our way from Indiana all the way across to Topeka, Kansas now...another 550 or so miles under our belts. We spent most of the day yesterday making that drive and it was a great day... clear blue skies and no traffic issues. We got to Nana's house yesterday evening about 730 and just spent a few hours talking and catching up. We got her set up with a webcam now, so we can all keep in touch better and she can see her grandkids and great-granddaughter more often.

Then this morning we got up and went over to the Ensley Gardens a few miles away because Nana was really excited to take us over there and see them. They were really nice gardens and I've posted a couple of photos below. We'll just be watching the rest of the US Open and sitting around the house today... the heat index is supposed to be 105+ during the day so we'll be staying indoors with the A/C for sure!

Tomorrow is another long drive, this time to Denver... we'll be visitng many friends and family out there... until the next post, enjoy these pics.

Brief update...

This post won't be quite as lengthy, but figured I'd post for all those antsy followers we've got!

Since the last time, Renee and I have been up to Anderson for a few days to visit my aunt and uncle, and also got to meet up with my cousin Ali and her daughter Becca (see pic below). After a couple days with them we visited with our friends Danielle and Erik and got to see their gorgeous house in Fortville. We had some good dinner and got to catch up for a couple hours with them... and spent a few minutes convincing them to come out to Hawaii some time soon... we'll see whether or not it works!

Yesterday we just relaxed in Santa Claus, IN with Renee's sister and her little ones, Meredith and Jonathon... some of the cutest kids ever (in our humble opinion). Then we all went to the drive-inn and saw The Hangover (my second time, but still hilarious). Also a few of us stayed for a second movie, UP... gotta say, we were less than impressed with that one.

Today I got out and played some golf with Byron and then we all went swimming at the pool... Meredith loves it, but then again what little kid doesn't. Now getting ready to go to a wedding reception and then we'll be back here packing up clothes and preparing for the REAL road trip. We head out for Topeka, Kansas tomorrow morning. Will update again in a few days. Until next time...

1100 miles travelled...

(warning, lengthy post ahead...) Alright, alright, I'm updating! Well, after the goodbyes and many kind words, we got on our way Thursday morning and headed out of Orlando by about 11am. We made our way up the turnpike and I-75 and got to Atlanta by about 6:30 in the evening. When we got there, we went to my brother's house and spent some time with he and his wife Kari, and our cute niece Nora (see pics below). We had a great time with them, eating dinner, reading books to Nora, and just hanging out. That night we headed just north of Atlanta and stayed at a semi-sketchy La Quinta, where I'm pretty sure I heard "you have the right to remain silent" not too far away from our room... but somehow, neither Renee or her parents seemed to hear it, so whatever... makes for a good story anyway.

The next day we headed up through Chattanooga and made it to Nashville by late morning and walked around the Opry Mills Mall for a few hours and ate some lunch. Did I mention that I'd been driving the 16' Budget Truck so far... it wasn't too bad... the mirrors rattled and sounded like they were gonna fall off when you hit about 72mph, but other than that it was a pretty good vehicle. After lunch, Renee's dad took over the truck driving and took the truck up to Tell City. The rest of us (Renee, me and Renee's mom Lucy) shopped a bit longer and then headed up to Kentucky Lake to spend the weekend with Lucy's side of the family in a couple of cabins. It was a nice relaxing weekend with not much activity, but plenty of food! Sunday morning we packed up our clothes and food and headed for Tell City. We got back in the afternoon and went over to the St. Paul's Church picnic and auction. After some more good food, and bidding on a few items, we headed back to the house and with the help of Renee's parents and a couple of uncles, the truck was finally unloaded! All the boxes and furniture fit pretty well in the basement, phew! After all of that, we ate again!, and then headed home exhausted...

Then this morning we got up at 5am! UGH! We had to take the last few boxes over to a FedEx dropoff where my brother-in-law's father works and got us a great discount on some of our bigger boxes. Oh, and on the way we nearly took out two dogs, one that was on a country road just over a hill, filling up on road kill... it was a near miss, but we (and he) survived! After dropping the boxes off, we drove to Owensboro, Kentucky, and picked up Renee's parents van from the airport, and dropped off the truck! No more boxes and no more truck!

We got back and helped Byron and Lucy begin to clean out their garage... quite the task but I'd say we made some definite progress! Then, we ate some lunch and took a nap amidst the construction noise of a wood floor being installed in the new kitchen and dining room at the Alvey house! Now we're refreshed and just relaxing for the next couple of days! Until next time... enjoy the pics below!

Story time with Uncle Drew and Aunt Renee; story time with Uncle Drew (Poky Little Puppy...classic!) and Nora showing us "butterfly" pose that she learned at yoga camp

5 days!

T-minus 5 days until we leave Orlando! Just as an FYI, this road trip will include visits to:
Atlanta
several cities in Indiana
Topeka, Kansas
Denver
Zion National Park
Grand Canyon
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
San Diego
and of course finishing in Hawaii!

We'll have our laptop and hopefully be uploading and updating along the way for everyone to see!