The Tyner's 2007 ROAD TRIP!!!

More Family, Friends, Fabulous scenery and (of course) Football

2007-11-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

From Tennessee we headed to Louisiana via the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Nachez Trace was absolutely beautiful! It was one of those roads you could have stayed on forever. It was a long, mostly straight road that was generally flat and had very few cars on it [Flat=Good for us bus drivers -J]. For miles upon miles it was just The Moose and the open road. The scenery was stunning and the leaves had not even begun to change yet so I can only imagine how beautiful it is when all the trees are colorful. From there we went to Baton Rough to go to the LSU/Florida football game. We stayed at a KOA Campground and took the bus they chartered with all the other fans camping there to the stadium. Of course we wore our USC garb which ended up possibly not being the best decision as LSU fans loath USC fans [Jeaousy is always ugly -J]. It was a bit scary as we walked around with people yelling at us and cussing at us. When I was not with Jimmy they left me alone but when he was there they gave it to us in full force. Then….the unthinkable happened…USC lost!!!! Jimmy had Eddie (my brother) on the phone giving him play by play for the last few minutes of the game so we knew they lost before the announcement at the stadium [This is now my least favorite part of the blog -J]. You would not believe the cheer that came out of the LSU fans when they announced the USC score at the game. Needless to say it was not a fun walk back to the bus.

From Baton Rough we headed to New Orleans to meet up with Bob (Jimmy’s Dad) and friend Sharon. We stayed in the hotel in the French quarter that they were staying in which was VERY nice. It was a dog friendly hotel so even though it was an upscale hotel Dixie could walk through the lobby with us and go up in the elevator and sleep in the bed. She liked it all except for the elevator which she hated and the restroom facilities. There was no grass for her so she had to just go on the sidewalk which she was not very happy about. Jimmy and Bob found her a little spot of grass a few blocks away which she liked. We ate at some very nice restaurants and tried some new interesting tastes like turtle soup and Gumbo [I highly reccommend trying Gumbo, its very good -J]. Mmmm mmmm good!!! It seems like all you do in New Orleans is eat. Jimmy could barely eat anything for a day after we left. After lunch we took a horse drawn carriage ride around town and saw all the sights. We saw Brad and Angelina’s house, a very beautiful old church and lots of strip joints. After our carriage ride we went back to the hotel so the boys could have their afternoon nap….Then another meal. The next morning after more food (sweet bread and coffee) we went on a swamp tour which was lots of fun. Our tour guide was a bit wacky but it was still fun. We saw some alligators, birds and lots of cool swampy scenery. At one point they pulled out a baby alligator and we got to hold it. I think it was one of their pets that will be returned to the wild when it is big enough. On our bus ride back to the hotel it began to rain and after only 20 minutes of rain the streets flooded and you could see why flooding is such a big problem in New Orleans as there is nowhere for the water to go.

After the swamp tour we said our good byes and headed out via the lower 9th ward. Now you can not imagine how bad it is there. As we headed down the main street toward the Lower 9th Ward the neighborhoods got worse and worse. We kept thinking “This must be it”…but no it kept getting worse. Again we would think “This must be it” as there were houses spray painted with a big X on the front meaning the house had been condemned. Destroyed buildings and debris lined the streets for miles. But then….we crossed over a rusted bridge and saw the lower 9th ward….I don’t think words or pictures could describe the devastation we saw. It was just heartbreaking and breathtaking at the same time. The water literally swept the houses off their foundation and all that was left in this once busy neighborhood is foundations and steps which lead to nowhere, now mostly covered by overgrown weeds. In this once densely populated town where some 10 thousand families lived are now 5 Fema trailers where families are refusing to leave their properties. As we were taking pictures we came across a trailer(actually 2 together) with a flag and a memorial. As we (ok I) was out taking pics the owner came out. I thought he was going to be mad at us but it was quite the contrary. He invited us in and told us his story. He told us of how they tried to escape during the hurricane to the Super Dome and was told to come back later. They went back home and went to bed. They were awakened in the middle of the night with water rising in their house. They cut through to the roof and rode the house down the street where it ran into a tree and broke into pieces. They were able to jump from their roof onto a truck that had lodged itself into a tree. Before she was able to get to the truch Grandaughter slipped off the roof and drowned. This man's mother also died on that roof (She was in grave condition already). In the picture on the right you can see Jimmy and holding up a T-Shirt with his Granddaughter and his mother. Very, very sad!!! An interesting thing we did not realize was many of the residences of the Lower 9th Ward had lived there 40+ years, and their mortgages were paid for years before Katrina. Now all they have is an empty plot of land that most can't afford to build on. The day we were there AT&T were installing phone lines. Crazy how over 2 years has passed and they are just now putting phone lines back in. Just heart breaking…I know it is not a very well engineered city but the families have been there most if not all of their lives in many cases for generations and now what???…Just so sad.

We left the 9th ward in silence and quite humbled as we headed to Texas for our friend Donna K’s wedding. On our way we stopped at the Alamo which was another one of our whirlwind tours. The parking fee for our bus was astronomical so we decided to do it the Tyner way. We parked on the street as there were tour busses coming and going so we were not completely obvious. Then one of us would stay with the bus while the other ran down the street and ran through the Alamo. There were lots of cool things like Davey Crockets Gun and Boone’s spoon. To tell you the truth the best part was seeing my husband come around the corner when I was in charge of the bus. I was so nervous I would be asked to move the bus I was freaking out. We also could not take any pictures inside the Alamo as it is now a shrine and there are guards everywhere. There are lots of good food/barbeques in texas. In Austin we went to Mann’s Smokehouse Barbeque where we had a killer barbeque which included fried green tomatoes. Mmmm mmmm good!!!

Another cool thing about Texas is that it wins the prize on our trip for the most wildlife. Our first night we stayed in San Antonio at a Wal-Mart which was overrun by grasshoppers. We had to have our windows open so some of the grasshoppers made themselves home in our bus. They made a chirping sound like a baby bird [Not annoying at all!!! -J]. I was wondering why it was so loud then realized it was in the bus. One of them got itself stuck in our windshield wiper and hitched a ride for a couple hours. Our next stop was Houston where we stayed at a KOA. The ground looked like it was moving that night and as we looked closer we noticed it was frogs. EVERYWHERE!!! Luckily not in our bus. Dixie likes to play with frogs. In Dallas we stayed at another campground where there were millions of caterpillars on the ground and in cocoons in the trees. Crazy!

Anyway Dallas is where Donna K and Preston's wedding was [Fight On guys!!]. We were invited to the rehearsal dinner which was very nice and lots of fun. Jimmy went to USC with Donna and had never met her parents. We showed up at the church to watch the rehearsal and everyone was lined up in the back. Her mom came up to introduce herself. Jimmy said “Hi, I'm Jimmy” and she screamed “The Jimmy…oh my gosh I have heard so much about you!!” Yep my husband is famous….. I don’t know what for but he is famous!!!! [Many women can't control themselves in my precense sweetheart, its ok... :-) -J] Anyway the wedding was beautiful and so was Donna. We had a few hours until the reception so guess what we did…….. If you guessed watched an SC game you would be right. The problem was no one had it on so we ran around town to all the sports bars until we found one that had the College Gameplan. I think it was the 4th sports bar we found that finally had it on. So we were a bit late to the reception but we made it for the food and the dancing and the cake cutting. Jimmy had a blast with all of his friends from SC….Oh the good old days!!! [Trojan's for LIFE!!! -J]

Before we set out for Kentucky we went by the spot where JFK was assassinated. We did not get out to see the memorial but we did drive by it. We took pictures of the book depository (Where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK) and the grassy knoll (Where conspiracy theorists say JFK could have also been shot). The memorial is on the grass right next to where he was assassinated. We drove the route they were driving when he was shot. It was pretty darn crazy.

Next Stop: Louisiville, Kentucky. We went to Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held. We went in the museum which was pretty cool but what was really cool was the tour. We saw the stables where the horses stay before the race, we walked on the place where they enter from as they go out to the race track and we stood in the winners circle. It was quite interesting to hear the stories that our guide told. Back in the day when the place was much smaller they did not have room to house all the horses who were racing that day. One race was won by a horse who had to run a few miles that morning just to get to the race. Now of course they have plenty of stables for all the horses, and they are warmed up and checked out in the stable area.

Next stop: South Bend, Indiana and the USC vs. Notre Dame Game. We got to our campsite a day earlier than we were supposed to, so we parked in a church parking lot around the corner. There was a spectacular storm that night. Well spectacular makes it sound like it was in some way fun….it was not. It was quite scary as the thunder and lightning raged on and the rain poured like nothing we had ever seen. Lightning flashed every few seconds and the rain was going sideways and we are in a metal box begging to be hit by lightening! We huddled up on the sofa with out rubber soled shoes on (even Dixie wore a pair of sandals) and prayed we would make it through without being struck by lightening or taken away by a tornado. But…..as soon as it started it was over. The next day we checked into our campsite and found out it was a tornado. They were surprised we didn’t hear the sirens as the entire campground was evacuated into the office which is their ‘safe place’ in a tornado. WOW that was a close one!!! Sorry no good pics…I was a little freaked out, I got a couple but obviously they didn’t turn out real well.

The next day we pulled into our campground as early as we could so Jimmy could take a train to Chicago to meet up with Greg, Kylie, Michael and Mrs. Fisher. They had lots of fun…I guess…but nothing beats what I did while he was gone. >>>>>LAUNDRY>>>>> Now don’t worry I volunteered to stay back as it was easier to stay back with Dixie rather than bringing her along. It ended up they came back that night instead of the next day so it wasn’t too bad but I did get some things done around the house which was good. The Notre Dame game was lots of fun [38-0 Fun!! -J]. We saw lots of Notre Dame's beautiful campus. Even Jimmy saw things he had never seen. He has been there many times with the team but was always working so never got to see the campus and the game day activities. We saw the team get there and got some good pics as we were front and center. Then we headed to the “Golden Dome" where there were lots of fans waiting for the trumpet section of the band to play inside. They were positioned so as you looked up into the Dome they were there with their trumpets over the edge. Pretty cool!!! We also saw the Grotto which is like a little area where people can light candles and I guess pray for the game. The Grotto is right next to a lake and across the lake is the college that Rudy went to before he transferred to Notre Dame from St. Mary's. Of course we beat Notre Dame….AGAIN!!! [Have I said Fight On!! yet??? -J] and had lots of fun hanging out. I cooked eggs in a hole for breakfast the next morning and then Greg and Kylie were off and so were we.

Next Stop: The Shenandoah National Park. On our way there we watched the movie “We are Marshall”. It is about a football team who were all killed in a plane crash. Only the assistant coach survived because he stayed back to recruit and some team members who were injured who were not on the plane. The movie is about the town picking up the pieces and rebuilding the team. Since we were going through Huntington, West Virginia (the town where Marshall is located) we decided to go and check it out. It was pretty crazy to be there and see the town where it all took place. We went on the field, walked to campus and saw the memorial fountain that is in the movie. We also went to the cemetery where there were 6 team members who were unrecognizable so they buried them together at this cemetery. There is a large memorial with their names, but the 6 tombstones are blank with no names. Can you imagine?? ….so sad.

The Shenandoah National Park was beautiful but not a road for a bus. Before we got there Jimmy stopped the bus to clean the windows so we could get the best view and pictures. Well we had a great view until the fog rolled in and then not so much. We were quite unlucky in our timing as there was a storm passing through and visibility was almost zero. Plus we were informed by the rangers at the gate that there was a bridge about half way to our campground that we would not fit under, so we would have to take another route out and come back in. Since we could not see much anyway we ended up exiting the park and sleeping in someone’s empty lot, and we decided not to go back in the next day. But that does not mean we were getting away from the storm. We (ok my husband) decided to go the Virginia Tech game where the storm was passing through [Makes perfect sense to me -J]. I actually thought it would be a bit exciting to go to a game in the rain as long as we were prepared to stay warm and dry. Warm and dry is not exactly what happened. Luckily we were able to see the campus and the memorial (for those slain in the shooting a few years ago) before we were miserable. Evidently when you have a poncho on you are supposed to keep your arms on the inside. I thought my jacket was H2O proof so I didn’t even think about it until my arms were soaked and I was freezing. We (I am at least) are so San Deagoinized that weather like that is just WRONG!!!! I thought for sure the stadium would be empty with weather like that but not a chance… These fans were CRAZY!!!!! The craziest fans we have ever seen and the weather did not effect them one bit. Most fans stood for the entire game. Some did not have ponchos on, rain jackets or even a long sleeve shirt. These people are crazy. I sat there for most of the game praying it would be over as the rain poured directly into my face. When it would rain harder the fans would just cheer louder. It was (for me) not so much fun.. I think my husband didn’t mind as it was a completely manly sporting event for him [It was awesome! -J]. The big problem when we got back to the bus was that we were staying on the side of the road and we had no electricity so no heater ….we got home freezing and stayed freezing. We had no hot water so I boiled some on the stove to thaw out my feet. Even though we both had our UGGs on, out feet were soaked and frozen. I thought I had frost bite. Needless to say we made it out alive with all of our fingers and toes.

Next we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway which was ABSOULTLY BEAUTIFUL!!!! Jimmy described the trees as “a box of crayons”. They were so colorful and beautiful it was breathtaking. The Appalachian Mountains are definitely somewhere you want to visit someday in the fall. We stayed at a campground in Boone, North Carolina which was the most beautiful campground to date. As we walked around we found some mobile homes that people had as vacation homes. These homes had the most spectacular view especially when we were there in the fall. Absolutely beautiful!!!!! Some of the houses were for sale but not the one with the best view…we did look into it but didn’t buy anything yet. Ok so we probably won't …since we are broke…but it is nice to dream!!!

We continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway where the scenery continued to impress. Definitely one of the most beautiful places our country has to offer. The road was a bit curvy and Jimmy took one turn too tight. Everything flew everywhere including Dixie. She ended up on the other sofa and in the picture it looks line she is screaming. Sooooo funny!!! In South Carolina we went to see the ‘other USC’ (The University of South Carolina). We have actually stopped along the way and seen many universities and their football/baseball stadiums (of course). I haven’t added everyone because there would not be enough room and I don’t want to bore all those who are not sports fans [Hater -J]. I did think the “other USC” was kinda interesting so it made the blog.

Next Stop: Charleston, South Carolina. We decided to stay at campground near the city. Less than a mile away from the campground our bus started acting funny so we pulled into a driveway to check it out and the bus proceeded to shut down. We didn’t think it was the gas because the gauge read ¼ of a tank, but we hoped that was it and not a bigger, more expensive problem [Amen sister]. We found ourselves in the parking lot of the Bizzie Bee Bar. Luckily it was an ok part of town and the owner was very nice and said we could stay the night if we needed to. We waited a few hours for Good Sam (like AAA) to show up with some gas ….and sure enough we had run out. Evidently our gas gauge does not work quite how it should. We now fill up before it gets to ¼ of a tank or at least that is the plan. We went to Charleston because our friends from church (Worth and Sandra) are from South Carolina and said it is a pretty cool place to see. They were right as it is a very cool town with lots of old houses and lots of history (some good and some not so good history). We couldn't park our Moose anywhere so we just drove around the historical downtown. We found the Citadel and drove around it which was pretty cool. After Charleston we were on our way to Florida.

Next Stop: Dunnellon, Florida. We visited my family friends Ken and Janine, who live in Dunnellon which is south of Gainesville. They have a beautiful house that is decorated in mostly a Florida theme and a really nice property with a huge beautiful tree in the front yard. Janine and I took the dogs on a walk while the guys talked business/sports… whatever guys talk about. She showed us (Dixie and me) the river which was very clear and beautiful and at some point ends up at the Gulf of Mexico. We had an awesome home cooked steak meal and then chatted in the spa. The next day Jimmy and I went to the Florida football game. Now talk about honoring your hosts…..They wanted us to wear Florida Gator gear …and we did. I couldn’t believe Jimmy wore something other than USC…now that is a first. I had a USC sweatshirt around my waist...it was just too weird not having something USC. We got great seats and had fun in the sun. It was quite a hot day and the game was a blow out so we left at half time, walked around the campus and then headed back to Ken and Janine’s. We had another great meal that the boys ate in front of the TV (watching football) and us girls ate in front of the computer (looking at pictures). Sunday we went to church with them and then had lunch at a local spot. After lunch they took us sightseeing around Florida. We saw their lot which is on another river that also ends up at the Gulf of Mexico, then we saw the Gulf Of Mexico which was very cool. On the way back I got a great picture with a guy swimming right next to an BEWARE OF ALLIGATOR'S sign. He said he doesn’t worry and has never had any problems but that would be pretty freaky swimming with alligators (I guess lots of snakes too). When we got back to their house we packed up, prayed, said our good byes and we were on our way.

Next stop: Alabama!!! We stopped at some football stadiums which I will not go into too much but one was pretty cool, The University to Troy. For those of you who don’t know, USC is the Trojans [If you don't know that we need to talk -J]. The University of Troy are also called the Trojans, which was cool. Ok moving on.

We stopped in Montgomery, Alabama where we saw lots of history including the First White House of the Confederacy and the church where Martin Luther King preached at. That was the same church where they organized the bus boycott after Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus. It was pretty cool to see where all of that took place. The next morning we had ribs for breakfast. Jimmy had heard of some famous barbeque places that we had to try out. One for breakfast and one for lunch. The first was Dreamland Barbeque Ribs which was a pretty interesting place. It was in the middle of an old neighborhood and was pretty much a local bar that served ribs. ..and that was all they served. There was no menu, when we walked in they said ‘take a seat, ya gonna share a slab?’ ahhhh yep were gonna share a slab. We had water instead of sweet tea, I don’t know if it was that or just the way we looked but it was obvious we were out-of-towners as they asked us where we were from. The ribs were good with a very strong vinegar sauce served with white bread and more sauce. We only ate about ½ of the slab as we knew we would be eating again soon. In between our barbeques we went to the University of Alabama. Ok one more mention about Universities. Alabama had huge mansions as their fraternity and sorority houses, which was cool. Next barbeque was the Little Dooey Barbeque and catfish which was near Mississippi State University. This Barbeque I think won the prize as it was not as strong of a sauce and they served sides. After eating we headed on our way to Graceland.

Although we had been in Tennessee 3 times already we had not been to Graceland. We only really visited Tennessee once; the other times we were just passing through on our way somewhere else. This time was supposed to beanotherpass-through but I was able to find a campground right next to Graceland where Elvis lived. It was pretty cool as you take a shuttle up to the house ad have head phones on to take the tour. You see his house (everything but the upstairs master bedroom) I guess not many people saw it as he entertained down stairs and everyone waited for him to come down when he was good and ready. We saw the room where he played the piano and sang songs the morning of his death. It was pretty cool to see the memorabilia, hear the stories and watch videos of his life. The last stop on the tour was his grave site where people leave flowers, notes and other things to pay their respects. They leave flowers until they wilt and everything else stays until the weather warps it. There were some museums of Elvis stuff that were pretty cool especially all his cars and his air plane, The Lisa Marie.

Next stop is where the wind comes sweeping down the plane….OKLAHOMA!!! I know I’m a geek its ok [Whatever you say sweetheart -J]. Anyway we visited some good friends (Josh and Kelly) which was lots of fun. Dixie had fun with their dogs once they stopped barking and nipping at her. We took them out to dinner and then they took us to Freddy’s Frozen Custard which is like a blizzard dessert. You pick the Custard (ice cream) and what to mix in it. YUM!!! The next day we went to the OKLAHOMA football game. Before the game Jimmy got to play with some farming equiptment. They have a lot of property so they had to get a John Deer sit-down lawn mower which Jimmy was pretty stoked about. Josh had already mowed but dont worry my husband found some grass that needed a little cutting...Well mostly he just drove around like it was a race car. Those things can really get up and move. After that excitement it was game time!!!!Josh was gonna go with him but once we described what a day of football with Jimmy is like he politely declined and I, the faithful wife, went along [WHAT A WOMAN!! -J]. Ya know after so many games I kinda enjoy it. Once I know what to expect then I’m ok. We left the game at half time and had the SC game recording in our bus. When we went back I had to go in and rewind it to the beginning so he could see it from the start. Have you ever seen the movie Fever Pitch? That is my husband. If you haven’t seen it, its about a crazy fan…not just a crazy fan.. A CRAZY FAN!!!! That’s my man. He doesn’t want to hear the score or how they are doing, he wants to see it from the beginning. While we were still at the Oklahoma game I had to watch the score board where they showed other game scores and make sure they weren’t showing the SC score so he didn’t accidentally look up and see it. It is like the scene in Fever Pitch when she has to hold his ears when someone is talking about the game [OK... I think they get the idea...]. Totally something my husband would do. Anyway SC won and everything is A OK. We went to church with them the next morning and then to lunch. After lunch the boys took a nap and then Jimmy and Josh went to help with the youth group at their church. Us girls stayed home and watched movies. The next morning we were on on our way.

Usually when we are driving I find where we will be staying that night (a Wal-Mart or a campground). That day I had a really bad headache and was out of commission, so it was up to Jimmy to find us a spot for the night. He found a nice Flying J (which is a gas station for truckers with showers, restaurant and a market). This one was nice and had more motor homes than trucks so we decided to stay. It was still warm so we had the windows open. We were about to get romantical when there was a loud crunch and glass went flying everywhere. A motor home had pulled in and took out our side window. There was glass everywhere and our broken window out on the ground. The guy was really nice. He worked for the company that makes the motor homes and was towing it to the new owner. He had a perfect driving record for 10 years…until today. BUMMER!! It was a cold night with that window open and no heater. We all (even Dixie when it is cold) snuggled in bed and stayed as warm as possible. The next day we found a lumber yard and bought some ply wood. The guys there were really nice and helped us take the broken fame of and tape the plywood up. We were there for a couple hours and then were on our way. Kinda freaky with the plywood shaking in the wind…hopefully we make it home ok…

Only a week left and we will be home. I can't believe how quick it went. God really has blessed us with a wonderful time as a family. He has kept us and everyone on the road safe and sound. Our next blog entry will be the home stretch. See y’all in a week.

Lots of love,
Jimmy, Roilyn and Dixie

We're Back!!

2007-10-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

So it has been quite a while since we wrote…I wasn’t kidding when I said it would take a while to get back in the swing of things after Chiefers got sick. Well now I waited so long I don’t know if I can remember all the things we did. Luckily I took lots of pictures as I can look back…see Jimmy there is a good reason for all the pictures [right…-J].

So when we last left you we were on Prince Edward Island in Canada heading towards the good ol’ USA. As much as we loved Canada it was really nice to get back to the States. Customs took our meat at the border crossing and questioned us a bit since we still didn’t (and still don’t) have our license plates or registration. Actually all we have is a copy of the bill of sale (unsigned). We got lucky and they let us back in. [Never a doubt! –J]

It took a while for our cell phones and internet to stop roaming since Maine is so close to Canada, but finally we were home free. Maine was beautiful. Of course we had to eat lobster and clam chowder in Maine so we stopped at a lobster pound. It was kinda sad, all those lobsters and clams swimming around in tanks awaiting the inevitable. Luckily they don’t know what the inevitable is but it was still sad. I didn’t watch when they picked ours out and threw it in the pot. They said they die really fast and we heard no screaming so that is good [wimps!]. We ate out on the back deck and had some beautiful scenery as the clouds moved in for a big storm. We sat there as it started sprinkling and by the time we were done eating it was pouring. We also explored Acadia national Park. At first we tried taking the road in our bus but it as so tight and the trees were so low we had to turn back. Luckily there was a free shuttle that took the whole loop around so we hopped on. Speaking of rain….it poured the entire trip so we only got out at one destination to se the white sand beaches of Maine. Well it was beautiful and….wet!! Of course we had to put our feet in the cold Atlantic ocean and yet we weren’t the craziest people there (surprise I know) - there were actually two ladies swimming there. I guess when you come that far to swim in the ocean you swim no matter what the weather.

Next destination…..Big sis Leslie and Catherine’s in Vermont. We couldn’t wait to see a familiar face as it had been over a month since we had seen anyone we knew. Vermont has definitely been one of my favorite stops so far. Not only was it BEAUTIFUL it was so much fun hanging out with Leslie and Catherine. Jimmy voted Catherine top 5 cool ‘chicks’ (his mom and I are at the top 2 so she is in good ‘chick’ company). What is a ‘chick’ anyway???? Vermont was absolutely beautiful. The lot size was huge and so overgrown you would never know you had neighbors if you didn’t go out of your driveway. Their house is really cool. Each room is themed- their sun room reminded us of cape cod, one room was somewhat Spanish and their kitchen was like a country farm. We felt right at home and they were so good with our aging/ailing dogs. Chief even had a little accident and it was like nothing to them. We swam in their pond where Catherine lost her glasses and ring. Well we didn’t know she had lost her glasses till we were looking for the ring and Jimmy found the glasses. They are going to find some treasures when they dredge that pond. We were the first guests to swim in the pond…so whose next?????? Papa ???? Now he will have to since I called him out…hope he does not go to visit in the winter…Brrrrrrrr!!!!! We also hung out with her sheep which was pretty cool. Well Jimmy and I hung out with them Leslie and Catherine worked cleaning and feeding the sheep. Dixie even went in and said hi. Everything was fine until one of the sheep went to butt her and I screamed then all the animals were a little on edge. I’m just a little paranoid when it comes to Dixie. Chief was happy to stay in the house and rest [That’s my boy! –J] . We went to dinner and got a scenic tour around the area. Catherine is the best in understanding how important pictures are to me. Not only did she stop at many ‘perfect shots’ she actually turned around for me to get a picture of the sunset [She is WAY too kind. –J] . Jimmy does not even stop [That’s right!!]; I have to take the shots on the run [That’s right!]. Thanks Catherine, Jimmy can learn from you!!! [Let it be known Catherine was getting tired of the pics after 3 days…no one can endure this torture for too long! –J] I went with them to Pilates which we wont talk much about as I am not very flexible. There was a pretty cool thunder storm while we were there (the loudest thunder CRACK!!! to date.) Jimmy and I stood there in awe wondering what the sound was while they went on like it was nothing. We Californians are so naïve when it comes to storms. Us girls had some much needed catching up ‘chick’ talk on the way to and from the dump [the dump brings out the talking, I know-J]. I didn’t care where we went I was just having fun hanging out and didn’t want it to end. We extended our trip to the dump to a couple hours by checking out some cool shops (shhhhh don’t tell Jimmy). One shop was like an all in all shop from farm equipment to nice clothes. Another shop was serving muffins and coffee out front for free. It was a really nice small town feel.

It was quite exciting getting the Moose in and out of their driveway, definitely our tightest turn to date. We actually had to move their mailbox and trim one of their trees a bit to get out. In all I think it took about 30 minutes to get out of their driveway. We followed them to the freeway and then they drove out of sight. I can’t wait to go back…Maybe we will move in next door…Na don’t worry I don’t think I would be able to talk my husband into the Vermont winters….You guys are safe for now. [Thanks again ladies, you’re the best!! –J]

Next stop: Boston. After tucking the dogs in we took a shuttle to a train which took us into downtown Boston. Then we took a different shuttle touring the Freedom Trail. We then got off to take a boat tour of the harbor. This was pretty cool as we were able to see where the Boston tea party took place as well as some other cool sites. The skyline from the water was spectacular. We would have had a really cool picture of us with the skyline in the background but my grumpy [cough*smart*cough] husband wouldn’t go for it. Stick in the mud at times. We tried Clam Chowder at a couple of places to see which had the best. The Black Rose Irish pub took the honor. We hopped back on the shuttle to check out the USS Constitution which was very cool [BORING!! –J] even though we only got to see the top deck as we did not have time for the full tour. Next we stopped at a famous grave yard where Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, the people killed in the Boston Massacre and my favorite - Mother Goose. [American patriots and the best micro-brewer are buried there and Mother Goose is her favorite…OK Fine… –J] At this grave yard there were some tours going on with people dressed like they would if they lived way back then talking like they were part of society. [Nerds!! –J]. Jimmy thought it was pretty lame but we followed for a while…well until one of them said we could follow as long as we pay [HA!!!]. After that comment all of us who hadn’t paid dispersed quickly. As we walked down the street from the grave yard we came to Park Street Church where in 1829 William Lloyd Garrison gave his first anti-slavery speech which launched the abolitionist movement. The door was open and by George it was Sunday (I never know what day it is) and there was going to be a service soon. We went in and enjoyed a service in the same building where the anti-slavery movement started, pretty cool [Yes, it was very cool –J]. We had to leave early so we would make our train to get back to our camp site. We made it in time to watch the train slowly leaving. Jimmy begged the conductor to let us on as the train was slowly moving but he said “Are you kidding!” and told him to get away from the train. [Jerk!] Since we missed the train and the next one was not coming for another 4 hours we hopped on a subway to check out Harvard. I was starving so we ate at a Harvard Pub and listened to what looked to be professors get drunk and talk about global warming and stuff like that. After we ate we walked around Harvard for a while and then headed back to the subway and got on our train. We finally got home safe and sound around 11pm and the dogs were very happy to see us.

On our way to New York we checked out Plymouth Rock which was short but sweet as my husband parked illegally so I could see the rock.[Luckily I was pretty incognito double parking with a 40 foot bus –J] We also saw the Orange County Choppers shop where they make motorcycles and have the TV show American Chopper. We were hoping one of the guys would come out but they never did. We talked to some people while we were there who were a bit more die hard and stayed all afternoon until someone finally came out. We took a bunch of pictures including one of Senior’s Hummer. Evidently for the guys that is pretty cool. [Finally some cool pictures!! –J]

New York was lots of fun. We took a day tour from our campsite with tour guide and all. First stop was the Empire State Building so we could look out and see all of Manhattan. There was zero visibility. Everyone kept telling us to turn around and come back later but we couldn’t since we were on a tour and the tour was not coming back. So we went to the top and saw lots of fog. Every once in a while the fog would move and you could see the ground but then the fog would move again and it would fade away. I did get a picture of the inside of the elevator for my papa because he always makes fun of me for taking the same pictures when I was there in Jr. High. So I figured he needed a new one with me in it too. [Yes, she is serious…-J] We then headed to the Statue of Liberty where we only spent about 20 minutes on the island. You cannot go up to the crown since 9/11 so we walked around took some pictures [No way!!] and got some ice cream. I almost missed the boat because I wanted to get the ice cream. We were dropped off for lunch by ground zero so after eating some pizza we walked up the hill and saw what is left of ground zero, which is now a make-shift memorial and lots of construction. There was a church with more memorials but we had to head back. We saw a piece of art that had been in between the twin towers and remains intact. It was incredible (and so sad) how perfectly the towers fell on top of each other and not on the surrounding structures. It was crazy being there and remembering pictures and video of that day and standing in that spot where people where running and where people were crushed. Very very very sad and heartbreaking. We then saw Rockefeller Square where the big Christmas tree and ice skating rink is at Christmas time. Now it was a business place with tables for a restaurant. We then went to Times Square which was cool. After some quick pics of time square we went to Juniors for some famous New York Cheese Cake for the ride home. Now I am not a big cheese Cake fan but this was absolutely delicious. Jimmy got a piece of Plain cheese cake with strawberry topping and you can guess what mine was. You got it CHOCOLATE with a little cheese cake. It took me 3 days to finish one piece. It was soooooo good.

From NYC we went to Pennsylvania where I got to line dance at the campsite barn dance. Jimmy conveniently took a shower at that time [hygiene is incredibly important- J]. So I danced with old men, old ladies, little kids and myself. It was lots of fun. Jimmy came at the end and danced one dance and got attacked by a beetle…better him than me…sorry sweetheart. The next day was not so fun. Chief’s walking was progressively getting worse to almost non existent. We then realized he was getting very bloated and we began to really worry. Our neighbors came over and said they had been watching Chief and they were worried about him. The man was a doctor and his wife a nurse. He brought over his stethoscope and listened to Chief’s heart and lungs. He said it looked like air in his stomach and not congestive heart failure. I went to the office and they called the emergency vet and let us use their pick up truck. Jimmy drove and I laid in the bed of the truck with Chief. I knew he was not feeling well because he was not growling at me. He would even put his head on me when we went around corners. He seemed to like the ride as any male would although I was pretty freaked out. We got to the vet and heard the bad news - the bloating was easily fixable, but the cancer in his spine was not. I was so sad I even wanted to hear Chief growl just one more time. The doctor put a morphine patch on chief so we could send the x-rays to our vet for a second opinion. Chief liked the patch and was in much better spirits while the pain meds were at work, he even growled at me again. YEAH!!! We were taking some family pictures since we knew the end was near. You can’t even tell he is sick. I took a bunch of him and Jimmy and a bunch with all of us and I wanted one with Chief and me. Well he wanted nothing to do with me, he not only growled at me but our dog who was almost completely crippled got up to move away from me [That’s my boy!!!]. So I felt better knowing the Morphine was working. From then on we made sure he was up in the bus with us at all times even if we had to carry all 120 pounds of him up the stairs, which is what we did.

We then headed to Washington DC where we stayed with our friends the Oxendines in Virginia. They are the nicest people to not only let us stay there but they also let us put Chief down in their dining room. We were also moping around the whole time so I’m sure they will take some time to recover from the Tyner visit. It was a really hard time for us and they made us so comfortable and were so good to us. We took over their down stairs as Chief could not go up stairs and we needed to help him out at night. We got the call from our vet confirming that Chief had cancer in his spinal cord. It was such a hard decision, something that neither of us has had to make but we knew it was the right decision and as you read in a previous blog entry he went completely peacefully after a meal fit for a king.

We headed out the next day with sad hearts without our big ol’ hairy lug The Chief. We prayed for a diversion unfortunately we had no idea how big a diversion God would give us. As we headed for a Penn State football game someone flagged us down saying we were leaking oil. We pulled over to check thinking it just the air conditioning water, but as we pulled over the bus died. The entire back of the bus was covered in oil like something had exploded. We called Good Sam (like AAA for RV’s) who sent someone out who looked in the oil tank and told us there was gas in the oil tank. Jimmy went back with the mechanic to the shop to decide what to do and get a rental car. Finally a huge tow truck came at took the bus to Detroit Diesel. It would take 5 days and $2,100 to fix the fuel injector and to get our bus back. The 5 days we spent waiting for the bus to be fixed were quite interesting. We were over an hour away from where the game was and I didn’t want to leave Dixie alone too long so I wanted to get as close as we could to the game. Well….the hotel we stayed in was……um…. pretty bad. Welcome to the Port Matilda Hotel and Tavern. Yes there is such a place. Jimmy actually had to go into the bar to check in with the bar tender to get the key. I was hoping he would not choose this place but he did [Nice and cheap! –J]…pictures will do fine telling the story of this “hotel”. When we got inside the room and unpacked it looked like Jimmy was sweating really bad. He said he thought someone had spilt beer on him in the bar because it was sticky. When he took his shirt off we couldn’t believe what we saw. He was covered in blood. AAAAAAHHHHH!!! Enough distractions…What is going on????? When we finally got him cleaned off we found it was a tiny hole in his armpit from a skin tag that ripped off. The problem was it would not stop bleeding! After a while I called my papa who told me to use a hot tea bag. So I went down to the bar [I prefer to call it the concierge desk -J] where they had no tea bags so I went across the street to the gas station where I found some tea bags. I grabbed some dinner in the bar [Concierge!] on my way back to the room, then after almost 30 more minutes of firm pressure on the wound we finally had the bleeding stopped. We then put the twin beds (of different heights) together and went to bed. We got up the next day and went to the Penn State game which was lots of fun. The parking lot is more like a cow pasture but the whole area was just beautiful. We got some heckling for wearing USC garb by a few hundred people. The stadium was cool and the game was lots of fun. I’m sure Jimmy will have more to say about that. After the game we went the Penn State creamery for some yummy ice cream. After that we went back to our good old hotel and tavern to watch the rest of the days football where USC beat Idaho. FIGHT ON! The next day we went to the town where our bus was being fixed and stayed in another fine hotel. It was actually luxury compared to the hotel and tavern but still a one star I’m sure. We hung out there for a few days until the bus was ready and finally we were back on the road.

Next stop: Cleveland Ohio for a quick visit with my grandma’s sister Moni and her husband Marcel. We were only there over night but we made our mark. We had a bit of a parking mishap and their neighbors were not so nice to us. Luckily the police realized it was all a big misunderstanding and we made it out unscathed (even though we still didn’t have our license plates or registration). We are two very lucky people. Moni and Marcel were lots of fun to hang out with. We got a tour of the house which is more like a museum, walked down the road to see Lake Erie and had a wonderful breakfast before we got back on the road.

Next stop: Detroit, Michigan and the koprowicz family. Before we got to their house we went to pick up Kathy (Jimmy’s mom) at the Detroit Metro airport. It sure was perfect timing because we needed some joy as the last few weeks had been really difficult. Even on our way more things continued to go wrong. My favorite was the bathroom door getting locked shut. I had to go to the bathroom so bad I finally had to take the door off its hinges to get it opened. Needless to say Kathy was a breath of fresh air. We stayed in a hotel by the airport since she had already paid for it which was nice. We ate at Bob’s Big Boy which was fun since there are not many left in California and then headed to Aida’s house.

Michigan was fun. It was really nice to get out of the bus for a few days and hang out with the koprowicz’s. The first day there was pretty exciting as there was a tornado warning and we almost had to go into the basement. Luckily it turned out to be a false alarm but it was exciting for a few minutes there. The kids loved The Moose especially the secret door where Chief used to sleep. Jimmy played football in the street with all the neighborhood kids while Aida and I went to get pizza. The next day we went to the Cider Mill where we pet animals, went on a hay ride, watched a magic show went through a corn maze and ate donuts and of course cider. For us kids (myself included) it was lots of fun…I’m 100% sure my husband would have rather been at the Michigan game [No way…-J]. The next day we went to church with Aida and the kids as Chris was still out of town and then to the Ford Museum. This was a pretty cool museum with old cars and planes. My favorite one was the Kennedy car. It was the actual car he was in when he was assassinated. They had to make some changes to it after he died like bullet proof glass and a roof. Very interesting!!! That night we had dinner Famous Dave’s with the family including Chris as he got back into town that night. The next day we packed up and headed to Chicago.

Chicago was fun not only because Chicago was cool but we also had Kathy traveling with us. While we were there Kathy and I fixed the wind shield wiper and got the oven working. The generator was not so lucky. The guy got it running then proceeded to find out the wires inside were fried. So no generator until we get back to California. Oh well we are used to not having it. We stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot the first night then went to our Campground. While in Chicago we stopped over in Evanston and visited Northwestern University where Jimmy’s Grandpa Wayne went to school to get his PHD in Chemical Engineering. Jimmy’s Grandpa is actually famous for inventing Tang and the toothpaste pump along with some Top Secret work for the military. At the time he was going to Northwester he and Grandma Shirley had just got married. She worked as a secretary in the Newberry library which we went to see. It was very cool to see where they were long ago. We also went to see Wrigley field…Home of the Chicago Cubs which was way cool. It is in the middle of the town with no parking. You are literally driving down the street and then there it is. The buildings around the field (mostly apartment buildings) have seats on the top of their roof and they charge people to watch the game from there. We went up in one but the door at the top was locked and Jimmy tried to get into the stadium but they would not allow it. While in Chicago we also tried 2 different pizza joints - Giordanos and Gino’s East - both very different and both very good. Our favorite was Girodanos as it was stuffed pizza, everything on the inside except the sauce...mmmmm good. We also went up in the Sears Tower. You would not believe how fast the elevator is. Finally our time in Chicago was over and sadly we had to take Kathy back to the airport and say good bye.

Next stop: Burlington, Iowa where we saw some old Bethany Church friends. Marshall Jackman is the pastor at a church in Iowa which we went to see as it is right behind their house. We had dinner with the Tim and Nina King and Cindy Jackman as Marshall was working, then sat on their porch and chatted all evening. Dixie kept everyone entertained with her sever gas [This dog has such bad gas it literally waters your eyes!! –J]. Better there in an open room than on the bus!!! We only saw Marshall for a short time as he was off visiting someone in the hospital by the time we got up the next morning. Burlington was a beautiful and quaint little town. Tim King got to drive the bus a bit as they showed us the way to the freeway while Nina followed in the car. It is funny how guys really like driving this beast...I am nervous every time!!!

Next stop: Good old Nebraska. We picked Michael (AKA Fish) up at the airport and it was FOOTBALL from then on [God Belss America!!! –J]. They hung the USC flag on the front of the bus (which flew off on the freeway before we got there) and set up our speakers and opened the windows so when we got into Lincoln everyone on the streets could hear our USC fight song and know who was going to win. We dropped Michael off at his hotel and headed to our campsite, which was absolutely beautiful. It was on a lake with rolling hills and lots of exciting weather. Jimmy had to take a cab into town as Enterprise rental car would not pick us up. Even though we were only 15 minutes from town we were in the middle of NOWHERE. Jimmy had fun with the guys and borrowed one of their cars to pick me up for the game. It was a good game as we kicked some…well you know. FIGHT ON!!!!! Jimmy took Michael to the airport the next day and we ended up staying in Nebraska a few extra days as we were so tired. We missed going to Mt. Rushmore but we got some much needed rest and got to see some more very cool stormy nights.

Next we went through Minneapolis where we got to see Siggy Hayter. She and I went to get our hair cut one day which was lots of fun. The lady did a good job but then coated our hair with way too much hairspray. Siggy was lots of fun as she likes ice cream as much as I do so after our hair cut we went to Cold Stone and had some much needed…ok probably not needed….more like wanted ice cream. On Sunday on our way out we met her at church and then got lunch and another fly zapper from Camping World. I left my last one at my sister’s house and have been lost without it.

After leaving Minneapolis we headed back to Chicago as we realized Adam & Ryan Hinsen’s mom and her boyfriend and Jimmy's good friend Ramey were living there. We took them all in the Moose to dinner at our favorite pizza place Giordanos. Ramey is doing really well and it was lots of fun hanging out with him again. We left that night as to not hit Chicago traffic (which we hit anyway). We decided to get out of the traffic and head down another freeway to St. Louis. We went through St. Louis pretty quickly as there was really no place to stop the bus. We were going to go up in the arches but our bus would not fit under the bridge on the way to the parking lot. So we had to turn around on a major street and I ended up having to direct traffic in the middle of the road. Again...good thing Jimmy is such a good driver.

Next stop: Tennessee where I finally get to see my family. YEAHHHHHH!!! Our first stop was at a church for a family reunion. We met some of my grandma’s cousins and their families. Jimmy even found some kids to watch a football game in the bus with. All the southern cookin’ was delicious. We then went to Jean (my grandma’s cousin) and Claude’s house where we stayed in the bus on their property. Dad and Eddie arrived late that night. Ohhh we also got 3 packages of mail and such including our registration and license plates. YEAH!!!! The property we stayed on was huge as they share property with some of Claude’s family as well as with some of the neighbors so all of the livestock have room to roam. They have cows/bulls, horses, a donkey, chickens/roosters, ducks (one with a limp and the other with a mohawk) and about 20 cats. The only animal that didn’t run from Dixie was the baby chick….soooo cute. We also tried to save some 3 day old kittens but were unsuccessful. The mama cat was not able to care for the kittens and before we got there one of the 3 had already died. We tried feeding them and keeping them warm in the Moose at night. One died over night and Tenny Aquafina (we named him that because he was born in Tennessee in an Aquafina container) died at church( yes we actually took it to church with us). It was very sad, but we did our best. We buried then in the yard that night.

It was lots of fun seeing where Grandma was from. We went to the church grandma went to when she was a kid. She and her family had to walk 4 miles to church every Sunday which we drove after church to see the distance. We then went back to Claude and Jean’s for a home cooked southern meal - Mmmmm good. We also got a chance to ride an ATV on their property. It was lots of fun as the edge of the property is a forest with a river we were able to ride through. Eddie drove me first then mom, uncle Jerry and even grandma. Eddie feared for his life when he went with Jimmy. We went on a tour of Murfreesboro which was cool. There were things Grandma’s knew that the tour guide didn’t and she told stories along the way. We saw where Grandma got her first prom dress and the house they lived in which her dad built and the post office he worked in. We also saw where the movie theater(Princess Theater) was where grandma saw her first movie wich was Midsummer Night's Dream on a 5th grade field trip( it cost a dime). She told us about the line down the street when Gone with the Wind opened there. We also had dinner where she used to eat where coffee used to be 5 cents. She told us a story when her dad took her for something to drink and asked the waitress for some “H2O”. The waitress told them “we don’t serve alcohol here”. There was a piece of furniture in the entry way that was in the original diner. It was a dream come true for my mom for Grandma to show us our roots. It was very cool!!!

After leaving Claude and Jean’s we went to Nashville and took a tour of the city. We also went through the Country Hall of Fame where we saw lots of cool stuff including Elvis’ car [Dude was a PIMP!! –J]. We stayed at a KOA in Nashville where we had the most guests sleeping in the Moose at one time (My parents-on the sofas, Grandma Clara-fit just right on the table bed, Eddie-slept in Chief’s room and us in our room). It was tight but worked out great. We got up at the crack of dawn to take them to the airport, fed them some breakfast and they were on their way. It was so sad to see them go as we won’t see them for another 2 months. We drove off and headed to Louisiana.

Ok so next stop Louisiana. Hopefully it won’t take us so long to update this time.
Lots of love, [Fight On!!]
Jimmy, Roilyn and Dixie

Hail to The CHIEF!!!!!

2007-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

We are writing today with sad hearts. Our sweet dog Chief's battle with spinal cancer ended Thursday, Aug 30 at about 1:45 PM. It is really hard to write about but we wanted you all to know how peacefully he went. The vet came to us (we were staying at our friends house in Virginia) and was very kind. After the first shot to make him sleepy (takes about 10 minutes to take effect) we started feeding him his last meal which consisted of 3 steaks (one for breakfast that morning = 4 total), at least 30 milk bones and finally 1 pound of ground beef. He ate bones and steak until he could not chew anymore because he was so sleepy and then sucked down the ground beef until he was asleep. She gave him the last shot and he was gone. He died with ground beef on his tongue a piece stuck on his nose (so he was breathing and tasting ground beef) looking into Jimmy's eyes while we held him and talked to him. As hard as it was it really was the best was to go...for anyone.

Dixie is still sad and misses chief but seems a little better. It was really hard to get on the bus the next morning and leave without chief. We all miss our big harry lug...the Chiefers and it wont be the same without him but we are glad he is not suffering and that he went so peacefully.

Thanks for your prayers. I will try to get back into writingas soon as possible.

Jimmy, Roilyn and Dixie

Update

2007-08-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hello friends

Sorry it has been so long since we have communicated. Our (big harry lug) 'The Chief' is sick and we have been all consumed with him lately. It looks like we may have to make the very difficult decision of putting him down. The emergency vet we took him to a couple of nights ago diagnosed him with cancer in the spinal cord. Chief's ability to walk has progressively gotten worse over the past few months. We are waiting to hear back from our vet who got the x-rays today to see if he agrees with the diagnosis. Chief has a morphine patch on so he should not be in pain. He still loves to eat and loves attention from Jimmy. He even growled and got up and moved away from me the other day so the patch must be working. Please keep him in your prayers to be pain free and happy until the end and pray for us to make the right decisions. Dixie has been acting weird too...We are hoping it is just her way of dealing with Chief being sick and not something worse...When it rains it pours!!! We would really appreciate your prayers at this time as our dogs are very special to us. I will try to get back to the blog as soon as we get through this.

Thanks Canada!!!

2007-08-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

From Niagara falls we headed to Montreal which was a very cool city. We took a shuttle from our campsite into the heart of Montreal where we began our sightseeing [AKA "Cameraing" -J]. We declined the guided tours and followed the map and huffed it on our own two feet around town. We did take a tour of the Montreal Canadians hockey arena which was cool especially for my sports fan hubby. They even took us up to the press box which was pretty cool. As usual I was STARVING so we found a place to eat lunch at a little hole in the wall place where I'm sure it is very busy during hockey season. Not so busy when we were there as the cook/manager/owner sat down and talked with us while we ate. We proceeded to walk around town on a very hot day and see all there was to see, well as much as we could before our shuttle left to take us back (or before we crashed with exhaustion). We saw some beautiful churches (Basilicas), I believe most were Catholic in Montreal. As we sat in the Notre-Dame Basilica, it was amazing how beautiful it was and yet heaven will be even more beautiful and spectacular [That place is the only nice thing named Notre Dame I know of. FIGHT ON!! -J]. I was not able to take any pictures but I did get a post card so if we get our scanner working I will add it to the blog. As we meandered through the town I began to crave a diet coke so my sweet husband found a place and before I was able to check the price I had tiny little diet coke sitting in front of me which cost us over $3. It definitely hit the spot but I don’t think my husband thought it was worth that much. After we paid the guy told us just a block over we could have gotten one for much cheaper…GEEEE thanks!!! We headed back to the shuttle as we were hot and tired and we ended the day with an ice cream cone as we waited for the shuttle. That night we had another lightening storm but not quite as cool as the last one. This is the campsite where chief decided he liked to sleep under the bus...only problemis he cant get out...You will hear about this more in our ' Bloopers Blog'.

From Montreal we headed to Quebec city - the most French city in a predominantly French province which was really fun. Everyone spoke French and some did not speak any English, which made it interesting. We arrived there 3 days early which meant there was a chance of no campsite and that is pretty much what happened. We ended up staying in the overflow parking which was at the entrance of the KOA right on the main drag, with no water or dump and only 15 amps which did not run the air….but it was a place to stay where I felt ok leaving the dogs in their fence while we were gone. Now that I look at the pics this was here where the lightening storm was and not in Montreal [wups]. We took a shuttle into the city and again did our own self-guided tour through the city. We followed one walking tour group for a while then headed to the Citadel. We spent a lot of time at the Citadel where we saw the changing of the guards. Jimmy was amazed at how still they stood as they guarded the Citadel. The changing of the guards was a long ceremony where the last group of guards got off duty after 24 hours and the new group got on duty. They marched around, stomped their feet, paraded a goat around, brought the band out, checked their uniforms and weapons and then marched around more. It was very cool...well, not the weather…we were hot and these guys were in these suits with these hugs hats on that only showed their nose and mouth, they had to be baking in there. Not one broke their serious demeanor as they carried out their duties. My husband tried to break them but they stood there like statues. Some of them did not even blink…crazy. We then took a tour of the Citadel which was cool to see everything that was there. The buildings were covered with grass to camouflage the place which was pretty ingenious. After the Citadel we continued to explore the city. We have tried to eat at the most authentic cuisines in each place we have been and we found a quaint little place in Quebec city. We did not realize it in the beginning but their specialty was rabbit. So of course wanting to get the full experience we ordered the platter that had samples of all of their authentic food, including rabbit. It was actually pretty good if you did not think about it. Jimmy thought too much about the little white tailed fellow hopping around and did not enjoy it all that much. Had I thought about it at all I would not have been able to eat it so I didn’t and it was kinda like a more savory tasty tuna. After our exciting lunch we walked around the lower part of Quebec city while a festival was going on and then headed back to our shuttle. Quebec city is bi-leveled [as opposed to hetro-level -J]. The big hotel on the top used to be the castle of the French king (some kind of French ruler) who from there could see the towns people in the city on the lower level but also across the river to their enemies, the British [GO BRITISH!! -J]. The more affluent people lived on the upper level which was on the same level from the Citadel. Very cool city but it was time to head back to our shuttle to take us back to our Moose in the overflow parking.

Next destination: Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia was absolutely beautiful. We took 3 day trips around the area in a rental car. First day we rested and had some home made chicken soup which was perfect for the rainy weather. It actually rained/wind/stormed the whole time we were in Halifax and did not let up until we left for PEI. Our first excursion in Nova Scotia took us through the town of Halifax and through the scenic route to Luneburg on which I believe was the lighthouse trail. We saw a bunch of lighthouses and some beautiful scenery. We stopped at Peggy’s cove which is supposed to be a famous cove. It has a population of 40 and is a quaint little town. We saw an old lighthouse, got some pics of the Atlantic and then got some homemade ice cream on homemade waffle cones at a little shop in town ( best ice cream so far). The Atlantic ocean was very cool and a bit different from the Pacific which we would see more of on our next days adventure. Since we were on the scenic trail we did not get as far as we would have hoped but as the rain got heavier we started worrying about the dogs so we started back. Although it had taken us 6+ hours to get where we were on the scenic route, our trip home was only an hour on the main road. Of course the dogs were all snuggly buggly wuggily in their padded little bedroom/luggage compartment under the bus. The next day we awoke to lots of wind which ended up making our trip very exciting. We drove the very scenic Cabbot Trail on the little island of Cape Brenton. As we arrived to the land bridge the wind was so fierce the waves were crashing over the bridge. It reminded me of that scene in the movie ‘Twister’ when they are one that little strip of land in the middle of a lake and two twisters twist around them and spin the car around them and cover the car with wind and water. Well that was what it was like except for the twisters, the car spinning and there were no cows flying by. It was pretty crazy, I actually had to stop the car in the middle of the bridge as a semi was coming the other direction and a wave hit us so hard I was blinded for a few seconds even though the windshield wipers were on. I got a few pics but was focusing on driving at that time (After that experience Jimmy drove the rest of the day). The rest of the day ended up being VERY LONG as we had not realized how long of a trip we had embarked on. We had already driven 2+ hours and had left around noon. The tourist information guy informed me we had 6+ more hours to go. Well it was more than that. We didn’t stop too much but we did stop for some authentic clam chowder and fish cakes which was delicious. We also stopped to get some cool pics and experience the furry of the wind. It took us about 10 pics just to get a pic with my hair somewhat out of my face. The wind was crazy which made the waves even crazier. Jimmy kept saying “ this ocean is pissed’…and it was. After a while the storm broke a bit and the clouds were beautiful. If you look closely you can see the coastal road we traveled on...So pretty!! OH YEAH this is where we finally saw a moose and got a picture. I was so excited!! It wasn’t a bull moose with the big horns but it was a moose…FINALLY! I started out this trip in the front seat leaning over Jimmy or having him open the back window and leaning back to get the pics because the ocean was on the left. Finally a smarted up and ended up sitting in the back seat for a few hours because he wasn’t much for stopping as we had a long day ahead of us. Don’t worry I got some great shots as he would pull over quick and give me a few seconds at each pullout and then we were off. Our book said something about some special Scottish Scones at a little restaurant so our taste buds were ready for some yummy scones but being spoiled by my mom’s friend (Cathy Burns’s) scones we were a bit disappointed. We got home late that night and were up the next morning to head to head to Prince Edwards Island (PEI).

Luckily we heeded my parents advice and took the bus as we ended up spending the night at the KOA there. PEI was beautiful although my husband and the moose had some struggles with the roads. They were a bit hilly and curvy for the good ol' moose. The main thing I wanted to see on PEI was the house of Anne of Green Gables. There are 2 sites one which is the town of Avalon which is like a re-creation of the town. The tea house my mom told me about was not open so we had sandwiches and tea in a Styrofoam cup. I was a bit disappointed but my husband made it fun. He put on his proverbial tea party hat and pretended he was one of the girls at a tea party (trying to have a tea party conversation-whatever that is) using words out of his repertoire like magnificent, superb and then the best one he kept trying to get us to pose for more pictures and when I asked where we should stand he said ‘I cant decide’. I died laughing and we went on our merry way. It was an interesting ‘tea party’ but definitely unforgettable. We found out that the enchanted/haunted forest was at another site and since I really wanted to walk through it so I could tell my mom all about it we packed up the bus and headed over. Jimmy stayed with the dogs (I can't imagine why he didn’t want to pay money to see Ann of green gables house and walk through the forest that was in the book) [Yeah...me neither -J]. Anyway I thought it was going to be just a nice little stroll, I mean how hard could it be, a little girl did it all the time to go to her cousin's house. Well it was a long mile hike and Jimmy was waiting back at the Moose so part of it I tried to run. By the time I got back I was exhausted. The house and garden were beautiful and the forest was quite enchanting but im sure if she left late and got back after dark it could seem a little scary for the little girl.

We left PEI ( which cost us $40+on the toll bridge—YIKES!!!) and headed for the U.S. border. We spent the night in an empty lot at Frenchy’s store (thanks Frenchy) which ended up being one of our favorite places to stay. Great weather, quiet and lots of space for the dogs, we didn’t even have to put up the fence. We got up early(well Jimmy got up early) and we headed for the border.
NEXT STOP…… THE GOOD OL' US OF A!!!!!

We are excited to get back to the U.S. although Canada has been fun and beautiful. We are ready to use our phones and internet as much as we want since there won't be anymore roaming charges and we are hoping we can get our TV working. We will be staying with my sister in a couple days which I am really excited about. We haven’t seen a familiar face in quite a while so it will be really nice to see Leslie and Catherine (and to get off this stinkin bus for a few days). I have never seen her place and we haven’t spent quality time together in years so I am really looking forward to Vermont.

Hope all is well with everyone [Couple more weeks till football season!! -J].
Lots of love
The Tyners

Busses, Helicopters, Boats, Falls and a bunch of Bison!!

2007-08-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

We apologize it has taken us so long to write but we have been so busy…I know no excuses. My brother said I need to update the blog…so since I always listen to him (haha) I thought it was a good idea. Thanks for being patient.

Our next adventure took us to Edmonton where we camped in the parking lot of the West Edmonton mall [Nice parking lot!! –J]. Luckily we were able to park next to the grass so we could set up camp with our dog fence and all. One might think what would Jimmy and Roilyn do in a mall being that neither one of us are big shoppers. Well…..this thing was huge…I believe it is the biggest mall in the world. Anyway it has on top of all the normal shopping stuff, a full sized water park, amusement park with roller coasters, ice-skating, a pirate ship, seal show….the list goes on and on. We went on the rollercoaster which was cool…I think we were the only ones who were not in their teens there. But we didn’t care we had had a rough day with the internet and needed a little pick me up. Then I was able to talk my handsome husband into ice-skating which was so much fun .I hadn’t ice skated in years…so I had a blast and he did pretty good himself. I fell a few times…but that is expected since I can fall just walking down the street [LOL…you have no idea… -J].

From Edmonton we headed toward Niagara Falls with a few pit-stops along the way. After leaving Edmonton we went to another national park in hopes of seeing some wildlife (preferably a moose). Instead of a moose we found more bison [Which are way cooler than Moose -J]. Oh my gosh…there were so many bison just walking in the middle of the road. There were some really young ones that looked like they had just popped out, so cute how they stayed close to their mama. Obviously they could care less about humans as they took their merry time meandering in our path. We followed them around for a while and took some pictures and then my husband was ready to go (I could have stayed all day…but then we would never make this trip in 5 months). It was such a big heard we finally had to turn our 40 ft bus around on a narrow two-lane road to get out. Good thing my husband is an awesome driver.

We spent the night at a Wal-Mart in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the ‘Land of the Living Skies”. Not knowing exactly what “Land of the Living Skies” meant we snuggled in for a quiet nights sleep [as quiet as a Wal-Mart parking lot next to a free-way with our windows open gets… –J] unaware we were going to find out exactly what ‘The Land of the Living Skies’ really meant. We were awakened at about 5am by a sudden gust of wind that shook our bus and threw papers everywhere, loud rain and bright flashes of light. As we looked outside we saw the most amazing lightening storm you could believe, literally lightening every second. We watched from inside for a while not sure if going outside would be safe and then finally deciding to be brave we headed out. It was so awesome, I wish my camera could have done better but i'll show ya what I got. Anyway it lasted for about ½ an hour and then the storm faded in the distance, the rain stopped, the wind slowed down and it was over. We don’t have storms like that in San Diego. I guess now we now know why they call it Land of the Living Skies [Also cool, nearly equally as cool as the storm was the fact they did not have many mosquitoes –J].

Speaking of mosquitoes, our next stop was good ol’ Winnipeg where we were reacquainted with the nasty little bugs. These guys were huge. I think they wait outside the bus for you to come out and then ATTACK!!!!! You could literally feel them land on you…all over you. YUCK!!! I whipped out my mosquito zapper and put it to good use. The zapper looks like a tennis racquet and the middle part has an electrical charge so you barely touch the little suckers and ZAP!!!!! They disintegrate. Well the little ones do, most of them just cook on there. The smell is pretty nasty but much better than getting bit or worse the dogs get heart worm (should be hard with all the preventative stuff we have them on- but I get a little paranoid some times).

Next stop: Marathon. Short but sweet. We stopped at a Travelodge so we could get some much needed internet access and ended up sleeping in their parking lot. It was actually pretty cool…as we were sitting in our bus right next to a big field, a helicopter came down and parked right next to us. The guy stayed at the Travelodge for the night and then headed on his way. We also found an outlet and plugged in for a few hours so we could have some air as it was hot with lots of bugs. The helicopter man told us if we want to see a moose we would have to leave at about 5:30am. WOW that is early but we were determined to see a moose so we were out of there by 5:45 and through the fog we finally saw a moose. It was in the fog, pretty far in the distance and it was running but it WAS a moose!! I really hope we see more as it was so fast my camera didn’t even see it. But…we saw our moose finally [And the Moose saw our Moose, and I would like to think he liked what he saw. –J]

Next stop: Sault St. Marie. This was supposed to be a quick boondock and pass through stop and ended up being a 3 day rest. We were so tired and getting burnt out we needed a few days of just doing nothing to recharge our batteries (our bus batteries were not as lucky as the battery charger does not work). Anyway we ended up loving this place and one night turned into 3. It was good to rest up for Niagara Falls.

Next Stop: Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls was awesome. You would not believe (well maybe you would) but I took over 300 pictures there in just one day [Yes if they have read any of this blog they believe it and they are saying a prayer for my sanity. –J]. It was just so spectacular I just couldn’t stop. The falls are enormous and just a remarkable display of the beauty and power created by God. There were literally rainbows everywhere. We went on the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat ride which takes you right up under the falls (well as close as you can get without harming all the passengers). They gave us ponchos which Jimmy did not wear as it was extremely hot and because Jimmy always has to do the opposite of the crowd. It was pretty spectacular being that close to the falls. The guide said “And this is ‘Niagara Falls!!!” and right then we were hit by swirling wind and water. It was pretty dang cool. After we returned to shore we rested and ate in the Maid of the mist restaurant which looks out onto the falls. After a rest we headed for the edge of the falls for a different look and for the ‘Journey Behind the Falls’. This self guided tour took us down an elevator to tunnels that lead to 2 spots behind the falls and one right next to the falls. Jimmy was not too impressed (and would have rather gone to ride the ‘Maid of the Mist’ again) but I thought it was pretty cool. Just being behind the falls and hearing the rumble was exciting for me and then to be so close…WOW… those falls are huge. My camera got pretty wet on both expeditions but don’t worry it is still working like a champ [Phew! –J]. Next we went up in the Skylon tower where you can see everything from above; which was cool to see where all the water comes from before it goes over the falls. We also watched a tight-rope walker perform right under us, which was fun. [Some people may think this is bad but I was hoping we get to see the show where he falls. -J]. Wow...my huband is sick. ANYWAYS...I was able to talk Jimmy into staying till dark because they light up the falls. We watched that for a while and then headed to the bus stop to catch a ride back to our Moose. All in all Niagara Falls was AWESOME, I’m glad we rested up for it because it was a long day!!!!

Well I guess that is all for now. We are doing great. Bus still has some kinks to get out…A few new problems like the shower doesn’t work….but who needs a shower when you are roughing it….I DO!!!!!!! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers we (Jimmy, Roilyn, Chief, Dixie and The Moose) can use all the prayers we can get!!

[You may have already sent one for me after the whole tight rope walker falling thing, so thanks for that. –J].

With lots of love [Holla atcha girl!!]
The Tyner’s (Jimmy, Roilyn Chief, Dixie and The Moose!)

OHHHHHHHHH CANADA!!!!!!!!

2007-07-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ok….where were we?????
AAAAAAHHH yes, canoeing….if that is what you call it. We like to call it ‘walking the canoe” [or drowning the canoe or swimming along side the canoe –J]. Not exactly 'canoeing' anyway.......

On to Calgary, Alberta, Canada where we went to the annual Calgary stampede. It was pretty much like a fair with rides and games. We were too late for the chuck wagon races so we just walked around and went to a very lame virtual reality game [5 bucks each, we were robed!! Maybe we should have known being we were the only ones above 5 on the ride –J]. The cool rides were a bit out of our budget so we headed back to the train which took us to our good old Moose parked at a Wal-Mart [God bless Wal-Mart – J].

Banff was beautiful. We stayed at an awesome campground by Lake Louise which reminded us of Yosemite. Lake Louise was beautiful [Special thanks to Teresa Fuchik of MortgageIT for suggesting Lake Louise when I told her we were going through Canada…Thanks Teresa!! -J]. The lake is teal due to the glacier runoff (Glacial sill ). All of the Glacial fed lakes are a beautiful teal and are cold.

(Some pretty flowers with the glacier in the background for my mama)

We took the gondola up the ski lift to see it all from the top of a mountain which was cool…. Of course I got many pictures which my handsome husband is beginning to get used to (key words: ‘beginning to’) [numb to –J]. We spent most of our time at the campground since it was so peaceful and …..since I sliced my leg open. Remember that make shift fence we made for the dogs…well it keeps me in too…I was trying to step over it and didn’t make it…ouch…Dr. Jimmy fixed me right up. He knew I was ok when I started taking pictures of the open wound….hehehe

There are lots of cool lakes and rivers on the way to Jasper which you will see if I can get my computer to upload them. This is why it has been a while since we have updated….technical difficulties.

Jasper was awesome. There were so many glaciers my camera could barely keep up. Then all of a sudden a huge glacier…yea baby that is the one we are going up on. The Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Ice fields. We took a 6 wheel ice explorer on our adventure up to the glacier. It was an awesome experience and amazing to see how much the glacier has receded since it was first discovered. It was quite chilly up there too, possibly because we were standing on ice as thick as the Empire State building is tall in sandals. Of course we wore sandals…what else would the Tyner’s wear. It was only cold for a few minutes as they only gave us 20 minutes on the glacier probably to keep people from exploring too much. There were a bunch of little streams of glacier water which was delicious and FREEZING!!!! It was almost too good, I don’t think we are used to such pure water. We explored as much as we could in the allotted time and before we knew it our tour guide/driver blew the horn of our ‘ice explorer’ and our adventure was over. (Thanks Papa for making sure we experienced that...It was awesome). I got a great shot of the Athabasca falls (about 45 minute drive from the glacier) with a rainbow….sooooo prettyyyyyyy!!!!

More kool lakes and rivers on our way to our next destination......

We then headed to Maligne Lake AKA Spirit Lake where the famous Spirit Island is. Well they say it is well known…We are not so sure, Jimmy thinks it is their way of getting tourists to go on the boat trip there (we would have gone without the island). The boat trip was awesome and the views were spectacular. The island itself was more of a peninsula with some trees maybe 25 X 10 max. I bet it was a bit more exciting back in the day when lake was fuller. It seems the ‘island’ is a newer attraction, as they used to just take people around the lake, which is the best part of the trip. Now the destination is ….The Island….The view from the island….well not exactly the island because you are not allowed on the island but on the land it is connected to. Anyway the view from there is really remarkable with mountains, trees and glaciers up against the teal water of the lake. Just beautiful!!!! I took quite a few pictures…but I’m sure you knew that. [Yes….Yes they did…-J] I don't think the pictures do it justice...but i took them anyway. This island is a different one which was more photogenic.

Finally on our way back to the main road from Spirit Lake we saw some wildlife….. A whole family or whatever you call it of Big Horned Sheep….Whoa were they big horns…We stopped in the middle of the road to get some close up shots and then we were on our way.

Soooooooo the truth of the matter is we probably bit off a little more than we can chew with this trip. But now there is no turning back. Most days are great but some have been difficult. Luckily Jimmy loves driving this thing because some days have been very looooooongggggggg driving days, like 7-9 hours. It is not too bad if we were staying in a place for a few days but usually we see what there is to see and then head out again. A few days we had to forgo sightseeing and just rest to refill our energy-tanks. We have also been having some trouble with our MOOSE…I know it is not a perfect machine (sorry guys...don't want to let you down, but it is the truth). First of all our generator doesn’t work properly and as you can see from our itinerary we are not at campsites where we can plug in every night. A generator is really important in a Wal-Mart parking lot or on the side of the road. We have learned to run as little as possible in times like these. The problem is the further east we go the hotter it gets and more mosquitoes we encounter [I loathe mosquitoes!! –J], therefore you can’t sleep with the windows open therefore you need the air which needs the generator to work. Yaddaa yadda yadda…you get my point.. hmmm lets see what else is not working….The batteries wont stay charged, the windshield wiper (on the drivers side of course) is not working (which made the last rain storm exciting) oh and we ran out of gas a couple of days ago on the Freeway…. Evidently you are out of gas before it gets to ‘E’. Oh one more thing Jimmy’s phone was turned off because we owed $950….WHAT????? That has to be impossible…no, it was correct, evidently the lady who signed us up for the Canadian plan misinformed us about our internet usage which we were told was unlimited….It was not. So until we get out of Canada we will be using the computer much less…. It looks like they are going to credit it to our account but we will probably be charged from now on… fun fun fun [I will be starting a new anti-Sprint blog, look for it soon –J]. Who said this was going to be easy….. I'm sure it will smooth out once we get through the learning curve.

Lets end this one on a happy note....Beautiful scenery and great company....Awesome experience!!!! God has kept us safe ....What more could we ask for.

'The' Chief

and.....Dixie

'The Little Princess'

Anyway, hope all is well with you and your family. We love hearing from you so let us know how you are doing. We miss you all and look forward to seeing you when we return or when you come visit us on the road. The MOOSE is big and loves company [You can sleep with Chief - J]. Hopefully by the time you get here we will have fixed all the kinks.

Love u long time,
Jimmy , Roilyn, Chief and Dixie

The Moose!!!

2007-07-18T21:17:00.001-07:00

We thought you might like to take a look inside our MOOSE!!!

Sorry guys I got rid of all of the animal skins!!!

We made it to Glacier National Park.......

2007-07-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

....and this pretty much sums it up!!!!!

Better late than never

2007-07-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

YEAH BABY we are finally writing. Thanks for being patient, it took me a while to figure ot this whole blogging thing and how to add pics. Now I am good to go. So here goes nothin.

After a rough start (a dead battery before we even drove off and Jimmy fried the electrical inverter on the way out of San Diego) we are well on our way!! Only 11 days out and we are almost RV pros…ok maybe not but we sure are learning a lot.

Here is a quick background about us and our bus the Moose. We have never slept a night in an RV before we decided to take this 5 month trip. We really are not camping type people. Our dogs are old and very frail; they currently take 5 different prescriptions between the two of them and at home spend 23 hours a day on our couch. Now we are asking them to ride in a big bus for 5 months and spend their days outside on dirt or asphalt or whatever else the bus is parked on that day. Needless to say Dixie did not eat for the first 2 days of our trip, probably trying some kind of hunger strike.

Our “RV” is actually a converted charter bus. The inside looks like a log cabin. The builder Mike Kadletz named his creation Moose Creek Motorcabin, and dang if this thing aint cool!!

Back to the trip…Jimmy drives this thing like he has been driving forever; he backs up and turns corners like it is nothing. I freak out just going straight. Luckily he likes driving so I only have to do a little and keep him fed. [She feeds me well. I am happy -J.]

The dogs are traveling great and enjoying sleeping most of the time. Dixie is finally starting to eat again but only if I feed her by hand. Chief ….is Chief [Great dog!! -J]. Still growls at me…only a great dog for Jimmy!!! He sleeps in the padded, air conditioned luggage bin and is happy as a clam (no problem eating…surprise surprise). We have made a make shift fencing system for them when we are at the campsites which is a work in progress. The first day they got out and roamed the campsite while we were gone. Luckily they like to stay close to home and they were by the RV when we got back. We got chastised a bit by the management and got the heck out of there as quick as we could. Our second one we thought was great because they didn’t get out while we were gone (7 + hours)…well it was until Dixie followed me out that night. So we still need to work on fortifying it a bit. Third time is the charm…

We have been quite busy and sightsee in whirlwind trips. Zion and Brice were beautiful. Jimmy is already tired of me taking pictures of everything (and sometimes nothing) but I like every shot even if I have take over 900 already [You have no idea how much I loath that camera. I want it dead –J]. Thank goodness for digital cameras and CDs or else it would be quite expensive. I’ll try to add some of my ‘good’ pictures [you will never see any pictures they are lost forever after she takes the shot. SO frustrating!! – J].

We had lots of fun with Jimmy’s friend Michael (Fish as Jimmy calls him and Mikey as all the girls call him) in Sun Valley, Idaho. We fly fished in the Wood River where Jimmy lost his sandal [most frustrating sport of all time… Roilyn is really good at it, I suck royally - J]. We didn’t catch anything but had fun trying [I caught every branch on that river –J]. We also saw some beautiful lakes, mountains and countryside. Michael taught us how to Trundle which is ….um…….yea…..finding big rocks and throwing them down the hill. It is safe since there is not much at the bottom except trees and a river and more rocks but fun???? I’m not so sure….but the boys love it so I guess it is as fun for them as ice skating in the outdoor rink would have been for me [Ice skating is lame –J]. We had a great time with all of Michael’s friends….Thanks guys for making us feel right at home. Mrs. Fisher was a great host and we enjoyed getting out of the bus and staying with her (even if her dog was mean to Dixie- Well…Dixie didn’t notice much…..most of the time she was wondering who everyone was growling at.).

'Trundeling'....FUN!!!!

Yellowstone was awesome; it took us forever because I wanted to see every single thing. Many of the geysers and pools were the same but I didn’t care and don’t worry because there are pictures of EVERYTHING [EVERYTHING!!!!! –J]. I took over 300 I just the bottom half of Yellowstone [I know – J]. We never made it to the top half because we [NOT WE] …ok I wanted to see everything. I was trying to find the ‘Morning Glory Pool’ which my Papa said was his favorite. Nope…we never found it but we saw every other stinkin pool. OH!!! And we saw buffalo( yes that is one behind us). Our first one we [NOT WE!!] took a million pics of then we turned the corner and there were hundreds more buffalo. They are HUGE!! I can’t wait to see a moose because I think they are even bigger.

‘Old Faithful’ was faithful for us and quite cool. Jimmy’s favorite of the day. He is so patient as I’m trying to take a picture of it with us in it, he ended up missing some of the excitement…but don’t worry because there are plenty pictures to reenact the moment. Hehehe…… [I am speechless…- J]

Now we are driving through beautiful Montana. BEAUTIFUL it is. So much open road…open curvy road where my husband likes to take the corners fast and wide [hater - J]. I have spent much of the day picking things up that have fallen from his WILD driving!!!! We will really be glad to get to our campsite today as we have been driving over 7 hours and are not there yet. The land out here is just beautiful in which words or pictures just don’t do it justice [but that didn’t stop us from taking LOTS of pictures!! – J]. Miles and miles of rolling hills attached to miles and miles of sky. Just so peaceful!!! God has made so many beautiful things for us to enjoy. We are both so grateful we have been given this awesome opportunity of a life time. [Well said!! – J]

We miss you so send us a line on our little blog. Thank you for your prayers as we have not hit anything other than bugs (we may have hit a bird today) L so sad!!! All in all we are doing great and we along with the other travelers, pedestrians, locals and most of the animals have been safe with us being on the road AMEN!!!!

[Thanks for reading this and thanks to my beautiful wife for writing this, she did a great job and it kept her away from her camera for an hour or so. Thanks sweetheart!! –J]

With lost of love,
[Jimmy] and Roilyn

Our Itinerary

2007-06-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hello family, friends and strangers!! We have never blogged before but we thought we should try it out for our upcoming 5-month road trip accross Canada and the USA. We are really excited about this trip and all it has to offer; we fear we may be a little over our heads but who cares it will still be fun.

I am posting our Itinerary so you can take a look at it and tell us what you think. I would love to hear your opinions on places to stay within the cities we are visiting, must-see places you know about, or any other helpful hints you can tell us about the places we are going. We haven't bought our RV yet, so when we do buy the little lady we will post the pics for all to see.

Thanks for reading this, we love you very much and hope to see you (or at least write to you) in our travels!!

Tyner’s Road Trip 2007 Itinerary

July 1 – Leave, stop in Vegas
2 - Zion National Park

3 - Bryce Canyon National Park

4 - Ogden, Utah via Salt Lake City
5 - Fish’s house (Sun Valley, ID)
6 - Fish’s house
7 - Fish’s house - if fish isn’t home go to Yellowstone earlier
8 – Yellowstone N.P.
9 - Yellowstone N.P.
10 – Glacier N.P.
11 – Glacier N.P.
12 – Calgary
13 - Calgary
14 - Lake Louis Village
15 - Lake Louis Village
16 - Lake Louis Village
17 - Jasper
18 – Edmonton
19 – Edmonton
20 - Edmonton
21 - Saskatoon
22 – Winnipeg
23 - Winnipeg
24 - Winnipeg
25 - Thunder Bay
26 - Pukaskwa National Park
27 – Pukaskwa National Park
28 – Sault Site Marie
29 - Ottawa
30 – Ottawa
31 - Ottawa

August 1 - Montreal
2 – Montreal
3 - Montreal
4 - Quebec
5 - Quebec
6 - Quebec
7 – Edmonson or Presque Isle
8 – Nova Scotia / Prince Edwards Island
9 - Nova Scotia / Prince Edwards Island
10 - Nova Scotia / Prince Edwards Island
11- St. John
12 - Acadia National Park (down the 1 frwy) - BACK IN THE USA!!
13 - Acadia National Park (down the 1 frwy)
14 - Acadia National Park (down the 1 frwy)
15 - Somewhere in New Hampshire
16– White Mountain Trail into Roilyn’s Sisters place (Vermont)
17 – Roilyn’s sisters place *** Arnett's meet us??
18 – Roilyn’s sisters place
19 – Boston via Connecticut River byway
20 – Boston - Sox Game? – Greg’s Birthday
21 - Rhode Island
22 – Manhattan via Orange County Choppers - Cooperstown??
23 – New York – Statue of Liberty & Broadway show?
24 – New York – Coney Island / Long Island
25 – Philadelphia
26 - Philadelphia
27 - Washington DC – Stay with Oxendines
28 – Washington DC - White House, Capital building
29 – Washington DC - Tomb of the unkown / Arlington
30 – Colonial Parkway, VA
31 - College Station, PA via Lancaster (Amish country)

September 1 – Penn State vs. FIU (USC Football vs Idaho)
2 - Pittsburgh, PA
3 - Pittsburgh, PA
4 - Columbus, OH, via Amish Country
5 – Cleveland via Canton, OH.
6 – Cleveland
7 - Chris and Aida’s house via Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail
8 - Chris and Aida’s house
9 - Chris and Aida’s house
10 - Chicago
11 – Chicago
12 – Chicago
13 – De Moines, IW (Marshall’s place??)
14 – Lincoln, NE (in Lincoln by noon – USC pep rally??)
15 – USC vs. Nebraska *** Dad meets us
16 – Chadron, NE
17 – Mount Rushmore via Wind Cave N.P.
18 - Badlands NP via Peter Nobok Scenic Byway (South Dekota)
19 – Sioux Falls
20 - Fargo, ND
21 - Minneapolis via Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway
22 - Minneapolis (USC Football vs. )
23 - Minneapolis
24 – Green Bay, WI
25 - Milwaukee
26 – Madison
27 – Madison
28 – Peoria, IL via Illinois River Road Byway
29 - St. Louis (USC Football vs. )
30 - St. Louis

October 1 - Nashville, TN
2 Nashville
3 Natchez Trace Parkway
4 – Natchez Trace Parkway
5 – Baton Rouge
6 – LSU vs. Florida (USC Football vs. )
7 – New Orleans
8 – New Orleans
9 - Houston
10 – San Antonio via Creole Nature Trail
11 – Austin
12 - Dallas
13 – DONNA K’s WEDDING!!! (USC Football vs. )
14 – Little Rock, AR
15 - Memphis, TN
16 – Louisville, KY via Ohio River Scenic Byway
17 - Indianapolis
18 - Indianapolis
19 – South Bend

20 – USC vs. Notre Dame *** Mom meets us??
21 – Cincinnati, OH
22 – Charleston, WV via Ohio River Scenic Byway
23 - Shenandoah N.P. via Staunton–Parkersburg Turnpike
24 - Shenandoah
25 – Blue Ridge Parkway
26 - Blue Ridge Parkway
27 – Smokey Mountains N.P. (USC Football vs. )
28 - Smokey Mountains N.P.
29 - Atlanta (Cassidy’s house)
30 – Columbia, SC (other USC)
31 – Charleston (Worth’s place??)

November 1- Charleston (Worth’s place??)
2 - Roilyn’s family friend’s house
3 - Florida vs. Vanderbilt – Scalping legal in FL. (USC Football vs. )
4 - Tallahassee, FL
5 - Panama City
6 - Tuscaloosa, AL via Selma to Montgomery march byway
7 - Little Rock
8 - Josh and Kelly’s house (Oklahoma)
9- Josh and Kelly’s house
10 – Oklahoma vs. Baylor (USC Football vs. )
11 - Josh and Kelly’s house
12 – Amarillo, TX.
13 - Albuquerque, NM
14 – Santa Fe
15 – Santa Fe (drive in car up to Taos)
16 - Gallup
17 – Flagstaff, AZ via Petrified Forest N.P. (USC Football vs )
18 – Flagstaff (drive in car to Sedona via Red Rock Scenic Byway)
19 – Grand Canyon
20 – Grand Canyon

November 21 – HOME – Arnett’s – Mom meets us there

November 22 – Thanksgiving (USC Football vs. ASU)

November 26 - Back to SD

December 1 – USC vs. UCLA