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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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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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.

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.

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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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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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

Grand Tetons National Park

Today I had a real treat. I drove the short 12 miles from Jackson Hole to Grand Tetons National Park. What an amazing place. There is such variety of terrain and vegetation here. Thanks to Randy for offering some advice about the best way to see this park. Following his suggestion, I took the outer (eastern) loop first. I stopped off at all the turn-outs. Looking across the huge plains and following the Snake River provided some amazing sights. As I went further into the park, I reached Oxbow Bend. This was a spectacular place and some of the most impressive photo opportunities I've ever had. I've included two photos from Oxbow Bend below. Of course, I had to include the standard "I'm traveling alone and want to take a picture of myself." For my photo-geek friends, I decided to only take my small Olympus Stylus Tough with me. So these are taken with a rugged little point and shoot. Words can't do this sight justice. 

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Jackson Hole

OK, I really like Jackson Hole. Amazing scenery, great vibe, and lots of things to do. Of course, there are too many people here for me. But I could learn to live with it. In the spirit of just driving, I didn't bother getting a hotel room. I had looked online and there were rooms available in town, so I felt good just showing up. I called one of the hotels I had looked at online, and they did have one room, but for $249, it just seemed a bit steep for what this place looked like. They suggested another place, and they were even more expensive. So I decided to give my GPS another shot. I pulled up lodging and started calling my way down the list. Everywhere was booked. Then I got to the Sundance Inn. I had a good feeling about this place. My childhood dog was named Sundance. They had 1 room left and it was $129! Sundance Inn is a quirky and cool place. It's sort of a old-school place right downtown. I love it. They were super accommodating (stored our bikes for me), and have fresh pastries, organic coffee, and fruit in the mornings. I will be back!!!!



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Please excuse the typos.