Louisville

This was my last stop on my trip. Or should I say hopefully my last stop. I've returned to the Eastern Standard Time zone and am a matter of miles from the Indiana border.
Last night was spend catching with my dear friend Jared. We've known each other since high school. We have one of the friendships that allow us to pick up from where we left off last time we saw each other. It's been at least 4 years since I've seen him, but it felt like we saw each other last week. I'm so lucky to have these types of relationships in my life.
As for the trip, it's time to be home. I've been gone for 26 days now and am ready to "be still" for a little while.


- Posted from my iPhone please excuse the typos.

A great night in Oxford

First things first...the car drove fine today. So I'm hoping whatever was wrong with it was fixed with the fuel filter. On my drive today, I went over a 17.2 mile bridge that spans a huge swamp in LA. from what I can tell from the info folks have told me, it took about 15 years to complete. Something like 35-38 workers died during the construction. Most of them died as a result of water moccasin bites. Luckily, I didn't see any of those on this trip.

Once I turned north for a little while, the scenery started to look a lot more "home-like." I drive through a lot of forest with rolling hills, tall pines and oaks, etc. I made it to Oxford and had a chance to drive around the campus of the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss. It's a pretty campus with a lot old-growth trees, southern influenced buildings, etc. The best part was seeing the Greenes. I haven't seen them a while and it was such a treat. We had a great dinner at Proud Larry's, saw the work being done o their new house, and met some folks from Allen's office. Also, it was a lot of fun to play with the kids. I think they were happy to see a person from South Bend.

Oxford strikes me a town Charmelle and I should come back to and hang out in a little bit. It has a fun vibe and I think we would have a lot of fun hanging out at the Square. Not to mention, visiting our friends!


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Last major directional change

This trip has really been divided into 4 parts and I've just begun the last part. It started with days of driving west, then south, then east. I've just turned north on I55 and will basically continue north until I reach South Bend. I'm less than 1,000 moles from home. That is a comforting thought. I'm looking forward to seeing Charmelle and our home and friends.


- Posted from my iPhone please excuse the typos.

Location:Alligator Dr,Hammond,United States

A short adventure...hopefully

After a great visit with everyone in San Antonio last night, I was up and out at 5:15 a.m. This morning to head to Duson, LA to the Wortmans. I had to leave extra early because I was dropping some stuff off in Huston for Jo. The Huston meet went fine and it was looking like I would be having lunch with David and Emily.
However, as I was driving on I10, suddenly my VUE slowed down and lights on the dash started coming one: reduced power and service engine soon! I was near an exit and took it. It led me to Orange TX. I stopped at one service place, but they weren't really interested in helping me. The focused mostly on semi trucks, but advertised auto service too. So I went out and the car started back up, but the lights were still on. So I looked on my GPS for a nearby service station and headed that way.
I found the service station, but they couldn't even look at it until Monday, the called the station behind them and that station could look at it. So over I went. Dean's Service was just around the corner and they were really nice. They checked the codes, took it for a drive and were pretty sure it was the fuel filter. Luckily they found one in tow and had it sent over. While we waited, I chatted with Dean and Linny. Both we really nice guys. Linny was an 88-year-old WWII vet that used to play in a country swing band. They had a lot of good stories and jokes and it made the time pass pretty quickly. Of course the humidity was crazy and that sort of slowed time down. The part arrived and was installed. After a test drive, the service engine light was still on, so they suggested I go to the Chevy dealer in town and let them look at it.
So I paid the bill and headed to the Chevy dealer. Their service department said they couldn't work on my Saturn and suggested I head back into TX and go to one of the remaining Saturn dealers. So I went back out to my car and piled it out of the parking area to think all of this over, and all the warning lights we off. So I called Dean and said, "I'd keep drivin." So I did. I w about 90 miles from Duson and figured Lake Charles was on the way they had some repair places if needed and that would at least put me closer to Duson.
The car ran fine with no warning lights or problems. Then I pulled off of I10 to get to David and Emily's and the lights came back on? I got to their house and just chatted and enjoyed a glass of iced tea while we figured out what to do. David took me to his mechanic and they checked for codes again. The car drove fine to the garage, but the "service engine soon" light was still on. The code looks to be an air sensor error and Scott, the mechanic, said it was fine and I can get back to IN. David trusts him and says he is quite conservative with things like this, so I should be fine. I'm heading to Oxford, MS tomorrow, so I'll have 425 miles to find out.
Beyond the car issues, things are great. I so love visiting with Wortmans. It's always a great time and I'm sad t be on the road after only a day.

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One word...TRAFFIC!

It was a great treat to see Sharon, Corintha, Lonnie, LJ, Ida, and Brooke. While it was a short visit, it was fun!
San Antonio is a big city. With big cities comes LOTS of traffic. Wow, this was by far the worst traffic I've ha so far on my trip. Of course, tomorrow I get to drive through Huston. Let's hope for a simple drive.


- Posted from my iPhone please excuse the typos.

Small world

According to my Satirn VUE, it's time for another oil change. So I've stopped off in Kerrville TX for a short break and oil change.
As they ate checking my car in, the guys asks where I'm from and upon my answer tells me he is from Columbus IN. What a small world. He was excited about the new era of Irish football and talked about it for a while.
Once the oil change is done, I'll head the ahort distance to San Antonio.


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Officially turning East

After a GREAT visit in Tucson, it's time to turn east. I'm sitting here looking at the mountains enjoying a breakfast burrito and coffee before hitting the road.
It's a small world. As I sit here, I notice the guy next to me has an ND tattoo. So of course we chat for a little while about South Bend and the Irish.


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Visiting Tucson

The trip from Sedona to Tucson was nice, with the exception of that place they call Phoenix. I've just never been a fan of Phoenix, too much concrete and grass. The first high-point of the trip was just north of Bumble Bee, AZ. I came over a hill and suddenly saw saguaros. I don't know what it is about these majestic cacti but they just speak to me in some weird way. They line the hills like guardians of the land. I love seeing them. Of course, not long after that, I hit Phoenix and traffic. I made my way through it and got to Tucson. My thermometer hit 105 degrees at one point! Hit hung around the 102 mark all the way to Teri and Roman's house. What a treat to see them twice in a couple of months. They are one of the things I really miss in Tucson. We just hung out and chatted for a long time, then headed to dinner at La Parrilla Suiza! A nice big order of Queso and fresh tortillas was a perfect start. I just love that stuff. It's served with a business card of a local cardiologist, but it's totally worth it.
I got another treat beyond seeing Teri, Roman, and Alexis. Bria and Devilan are in Tucson as well, and they have their new baby Devilan Jr. with them. He's 5-months old, and a pretty cute little guy. It's great to see all of them. I got a chance to run around town a little in the afternoon and hit some of my favorite old spots: Summit hut, Performance Bike, drive through campus, etc.
One thing that occurred to me as I drove around was how fortunate I am and how happy I am with where my life has taken me. While I have fond memories of living in Tucson, and some not so fond ones, I am truly happy in South Bend. I have a job I love, a wonderful and beautiful wife, great friends, and so much more. I know, that's sappy to say, but it just became so clear as I drove around. I miss many things in Tucson, but I have so much in South Bend. If we could just get some mountains near by, a great breakfast burrito, and a Trader Joe's I think it would be nearly perfect!
In any case, this trip has been wonderful so far, but I'm happy to be heading toward home. I have lots of visits to make over the next week, and I'm looking forward to all of them, but I'm also looking forward to getting home. I think that means this trip has been outstanding.

Underwater fun

After playing in Sedona, we were hot and sweaty and thought it
would be a good idea to sit at the pool and rest.

Charm jumped in and I had her go underwater so I could take a picture of her. My camera is waterproof and we've never done much with it underwater. Then I had to jump in and we both got in the picture. We even got Angela involved and worked hard to get all of us in a photo with the timer. We laughed a lot and the photos are pretty fun.



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Playing in Sedona

We took a trip into town today to wander around. Of course, after you've seen 2 tourist traps, you've seen them all. However, we still had a great time.

We grabbed lunch at an amazing Italian place. It was honestly one of the best pizzas I've ever had! That says a lot considering all the pizza I've eaten in my life!

After that we headed down route 179 to check out Absolute Bikes. It is a bike shop I found online that had a lot of info on rides in the area. It was a huge disappointment. They were nice, but it was a really small shop that basically catered to tourist renting mid-level bikes to pedal around. Such is life. In any case, the were some great views. I took the opportunity to try out a new iPhone/iPad app, AutoStitch. I creates panoramic photos from a group of photos. I'm pretty impressed with how easily it worked and the image I got from a hand-held point and shoot camera.



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More on the Sedona House

We got back from a great meal and found a new friend just outside the door. The photo doesn't give you a good idea of the size of this tarantula. It was sort of wedged under the door to "conference room" area. I didn't want to mess with him. He was just doing his thing and not going to hurt anyone, so I snapped a quick photo and left it alone. An hour or so later when I went out to look at the stars (amazing by the way), he was gone. His body was about 3 inches long, so with legs, he was pushing 5-6 inches. We have lots of lizards around the house too. Last night when the lights to the pool were on, there were lots of bats swooping in to grab bugs. It was pretty cool.

Another feature of the house that wasn't captured well in the slideshow was the stone bathtub. The water pours out of the stone wall into the tub. It's pretty amazing. You can sit in the tub and look out at Cathedral Rock. Of course, you can stand in the glass shower and see that too. You feel a little (or a lot) exposed, but the view of the mountains and rock are breath taking. Luckily with views like these, no one would be looking at the house, so there are no views of me in the shower.

Much needed rest

From my seat

Somehow, I managed to have the entire house to myself this morning/afternoon. Some folks went shopping, others went sightseeing, and I just wanted to sit and enjoy the amazing views from this house. I've included a series of 3 photos to "try" and show you what I'm looking at. The first photo is from my seat. My little point and shoot camera isn't doing it justice because of the wide variation in light. The second photo is standing just at the edge of the table. You can begin to see the landscape. The third photo is standing right at the edge of the patio. It's truly a wonderful site.

At the edge of the table

At the edge of the patio

Sedona...You won't believe this!

We left Henderson NV in the morning and headed for Sedona. After our drive through Death Valley we were reading for anything. This drive proved to be pretty simple. We got to drive over Hoover Dam. This was really cool! What a structure. We entered Arizona and headed toward Flagstaff. In a lot of ways, once we got near Flagstaff, it felt similar to being in Tahoe. Huge pine trees, Elk Country, and lots of up and down mountains.

Then we headed to Sedona, via Oak Creek Canyon. I've made this drive many times before and it is still a great drive. Angela and Charmelle really enjoyed the drive. There are amazing views around every twisty turn.

That's when we rolled into Sedona. It's so a lot more touristy these days, but it's still a great town. That's when the real excitement started...we arrived at the house! This place in out of control. I think I counted 6 bedrooms, 4 or 5 baths, an outdoor shower, pool/hot tub, fountains, etc. There is no way to describe this place. Basically, I think the owner had unlimited funds, and told the architects and decorators to make it amazing...and they did! I've included a slideshow that sort of walks through the house. These pictures do not do this house justice, but I think you'll get the idea. The detail of the huge doors, stone sinks and tub, glass showers, stone drawer pulls, etc. just can't be shown in photos.

Vegas baby

It was hard to leave Tahoe, but every vacation must come to an end. Of course, this vacation isn't ending just yet.

We're on our way to Sedona AZ. So today we drove to Vegas. We'll get up early tomorrow and drive the remaining 5 or so hours to Sedona.

Right now we're waiting for a take-out from IHOP. It's right in front of the hotel, so 24 hours and easy win out. Food then some sleep.



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The great meatloaf cook-off

After years of heated debate, the official meatloaf cook-off took place and the results are in. We had plenty of impartial judges to sample the variety of meatloaf.
For many years, my dad has claimed to make the best meatloaf in the world. However, Rhoda also makes a great meatloaf. So a blind taste-test was needed. Here are the results:
Rhoda's: 4 votes
Dad's: 3 votes
Both tied: 5 votes

Basically, they are both great!


- Posted from my iPhone please excuse the typos.

Location:N Lake Blvd,Lake Tahoe,United States

Golfing and "the bear"

This morning we had a 9:15 tee time at the Incline Village Mountain Course. This is the course that goes right behind the house. The house looks out at


the #5 tee. As we drove the short distance to the clubhouse, we came across a black bear. Of course my camera was in the trunk so we don't have any photos but it was really cool. She/he was coming off the #5 green (just down from the house) and then checked out the restrooms and wandered down #6 fairway. We didn't run into it again...thankfully.

This course was BEAUTIFUL! It's a narrow mountain ourselves with really tough greens. We had a great time. We didn't play the best golf, but we had a lot of fun.

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A trip around the lake

We started our morning with a trip to the post office. We all just love this place. We ordered way too much but did out best to eat ALL of it.

From there Charm and Angela went home, and I led the "caravan" around the lake. No matter how many times I drive around Lake Tahoe, I don't get bored.



Of course, Brooke was convinced that we were all going to die when we drove over the Emerald Bay pass. It's always a good laugh when people go over that stretch of road for the first time.


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Squaw Valley was a bust

After reading about it and calling them to get info about the trails, we drove about a an hour to get to Squaw and ride. When we got there, they tell us all their trails are extreme downhill and require body protection pads and should have full-face helmets, etc.

Since


I had called and explained that we had pre-teen riders and we were looking for beginner/intermediate trails, we were a bit annoyed. So we loaded


everything back up and some of the group headed to the beach and some of us went inn search of some trails. We found a GREAT set of trails not far from Incline Village at a cross-country center. They were great. We ended up above the tree line looking out at the lake. What a view. The trail was empty and peaceful. There was a nice mix of terrain, fun and tough climbs, and some really fun descents. We'll be back!

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It isn't always sunny in Tahoe

This is the third year we've been in Tahoe and we finally experienced some rain. It even hailed! Even with rain and hail, it's pretty amazing. What a sight to see the clouds roll in over the mountains.


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First Ride

Charm and I got a chance to get a ride. We went up to the Tahoe Rim Trail At Tahoe Meadows. I rode this trail last year and it was a blast. This year was equally as fun. It's a really technical trail with LOTS of rocks and rock steps that you have to negotiate.


Here is a picture of Charm and I at the top of the Saddle. I haven't ridden as much as last year and I could rally feel it at 8,400+ feet above sea level. Charm really rode well. Me on the other hand, I just felt a little off. I had a couple of nasty little crashes. Nothing too serious, just a skinned up knee. We didn't do the full trail, just and out and back loop, but it was a lot of fun.




After we got back to the car, we headed to the house and got cleaned up. Then we headed to MoFo's Pizza! Charm and I walked down and dad drove everyone else. Let's just say there was some confusion with the directions, but they finally made it. It was SO good a special thanks to Tom & Tiffany for introducing up to the spinach, garlic, and artichokes. It is amazing!!!!!

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Wandering the beach

After a great breakfast at The Post Office, we wandered around at Kings Beach. It was a such a great morning and the lake looked GREAT.





Dad, Brooke, and I wandered out on some rocks and enjoyed the water and views. It's just beautiful here! I really like this oho to of my dad.

We walked along the beach and boardwalk for a while and then walked up through all the shops we even stopped into Luck 7 Tattoo to say "hi."


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At the Post Office for breakfast

We're ready for a great breakfast at the Post Office. My mom has tried to create a new dish. A 2-egg omelette "over easy" with cheese. The server was certainly confused. The first of many laughs to come!


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Location:N Lake Blvd,Lake Tahoe,United States

My family has arrived!!!!

What and absolute treat to have my mom, dad, sister, and niece here with this is such a treat, my family is joining


us in Tahoe. (this photo is not from Tahoe, there will be some) This is the first time in this part of the country for all of them. As it is with my family, the fun began right away. I was at lunch with Brian and Susan (some great spicy sushi) when they arrived at the house. When Brooke called to tell me they had arrived, she informed me that the drive over Mt. Rose was the scariest drive of her life (she was not driving), and she didn't think she would ever come back (just wait for the Emerald Bay drive). So we paid the bill and headed up. As we got out of the car, I hear my folks and Rhoda laughing uncontrollably. Brooke is freaking out a bit and diving into their car. It turns out that just as we arrived at the house, Brooke's nose started to bleed a little from the altitude. She said "there are no hospitals here, I'm going to die!,,," so begins our vacation.

After introductions and just hanging out a bit, they all needed some food. So I took them to T's for some outstanding burritos. Then a quick stop at the grocery before heading back to the house.back at the house we just hung out on the deck and chit-chatted. After a great dinner, the stories and laughter continued. Finally it was time for bed. His is going to be a fun week!


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Fun day hiking and visiting

Yesterday was another great treat. Jim and Caren came to Tahoe to see us and Caren's parented down in Homewood. So we went down there and picked them up. We did a couple short and wonderful hikes.


We climbed up to the top of the huge rock outcropping and took in the amazing view of the lake. What a great place. Then we headed down and had some lunch.

From there we headed down pass Emerald Bay to hike at Falling Leaf Lake. It was a nice flat hike and then we got to the lake. What a great place. One of the coolest things at this lake were the two dogs playing in the water. There was a two-year-old golden named Marley. He was SO cute! It really made me miss NiiJii. Charm was loving him too. Too bad goldens shed so much. I could see us having a couple someday.


We had a great time and then got to visit briefly with Caren's parents and fell in love with their house. It's such a cool place. Although, there rare a lots of bears that are breaking into house to raid the fridges. A bear went into their neighbor's house and took a gallon of ice cream and left!

On a related topic, Brian played golf in Truckee yesterday and they had a bear issue too. The night before Brian played, a bear broke into the club house and ate ALL the candy bars and drank ALL O'Doules.

We all got back to the house and got cleaned up and went down to The Lone Eagle for dinner. We enjoyed a great view of the beach and lake and some awesome food. Our server was so sweet and had the greatest accent. She is from Romania.


All-in-all it was a great day!

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Made it to Tahoe!

Made it to Incline Village yesterday. It's great to see Charm. Dinner at MoFo's and visiting with Brian, Susan, Tom , & Tiffany.

Lots of fun in store for this week!

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Location:Donner Pass Rd,Truckee,United States