15 States! 13 Days! 3,333 miles (weird)!

WARNING!!! This is long and probably boring for some to read. It is basically our travel log for those who care. Sorry, I'll try not to keep up the habit of these huge blogs, but so much happened. We Made It! Here we are finally in Destin Florida! And it is a BEAUTIFUL place...but I'll talk more about that later. Now, I'll update you on our wonderful roadtrip across the country. We had so much fun and now have so many stories and jokes about our trip we couldn't possibly share them all, but we'll try to share some highlights (good and bad) :O)
We had a lot of fun learning to drive this truck and towing our car behind. I was pretty nervous at first, but after 3,333 miles it becomes second nature.

DAY 1: We woke up early on the 5th and started our Journey with a tearful goodbye and a scary start to our drive with our truck on Hwy 18 and parts of I-90 with the insane hills, pass, and curves. It wasn't until we reached flat eastern WA that I felt comfortable with the truck! We drove an insane 17 or 18 hours until we reached our first stop at a KOA campground in Hardin, MT. We had a nice set up with our tent, mattress pad and sleeping bags. We slept well.

DAY 2: We woke up and headed on our way. We made a stop at the Battlefield of Little Bighorn and saw Custer's Last Stand Hill. (I thought of you Mackenzie!) It was actually VERY interesting and I would like to learn more. We were once again on our way and enjoyed the beauty of Montana and Wyoming and saw all the deer and antelope play.

Our next stop was at Mt. Rushmore! It was an incredible experience. I've always wanted to see it, but never thought I would. While we were there it started to rain. We hung out in the gift shop until it cleared up. The rain fall had made interesting streaks on the Mountainside and it made it look like the carvings were crying. Dan thought that with the issues our country is faced with now - they probably would cry. Then we turned around and saw a double rainbow...hope How about that for symbolism.

This is for you Kenz!



After Mt. Rushmore we had a LOOOOONNNNGGGG drive through the rest of South Dakota and finally got to a hotel in Sioux Falls, SD.

Day 3-4: We woke up the next morning, had a wonderful continental breakfast and made the rest of the way to Lincoln, Nebraska to see Brandi, David, Lincoln, and Henry. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the time and company. My highlights were talking and hanging out with Brandi and David, playing with Lincoln, holding Henry, and visitin the Mormon Trail Center and Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha (It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much about the pioneers and Winter Quarters. Those people KNEW what faith was!).

The Many Faces of Lincoln

The Mormon Trail Center

Winter Quarters Temple

Just some fun video of the nephews! :O) (Lincoln is singing along, and Henry is talking!)



Day 5-6: Our Next Stop was in Oklahoma where we got to spend time with Uncle J, Aunt G, and little M. We had so much fun talking with J&G and seeing the imagination of little M. They were so good to put up with us in their current situation and we loved every moment. We really enjoyed getting to see J's workplace and learn about what goes on behind many of the products we take for granted! We sure enjoyed the hospitality and most of all love and acceptance we felt! We look forward to being together again! No pictures, I kept forgetting I had my camera :O(

Day 7-10: We made our second Stop in Oklahoma and stayed with some more of Dan's family. What a wonderful place. It is so sweet to be surrounded by family that loves you and that you care about. We ended up staying 2 extra days due to the effects of the hurricane passing through where we were planning on driving but no one seemed to mind. :O) We had so much fun with family - talking and getting to know each other better. Some unique experiences for me included bottle feeding baby goats! They were so cute and they cried out "MAAAAA" every time I walked by. Another unique experience, one that I will not elaborate on, was watching a vet do a sperm check on some bulls our Uncle was buying (I guess the seller has to do the testing so that the buyer knows he will get good results...) It was somthing I never thought I'd see...I'll leave it at that. Most of our time was spent talking with family and eating - great food. I really cherish those times. I loved the sweet talks we had with Sissy. I really enjoyed getting to know her better. I love Dan's family and I feel I can call them my own - that is how good they are to me! I forgot to take pictures most of the time, but here are some. Baby goats and an hour old baby calf.

Day 11-12: Next stop was in Memphis, Tennessee. We got there in the evening. Just in time to see the march of the Peabody ducks. There is a famous Hotel and every morning there is a march of ducks from the roof, down the elevator, and into the fountain at the center of the hotel. Then, in the evening the ducks are marched back up. Oh, and it happens on a red carpet. (sorry the video is sideways for most of it and you can hardly see...bad lighting. But you'll get the picture.)



Next, we went to check out Beale Street and saw some of the shops, restauraunts, and music. There weren't too many tourists and we didn't really want to be in Memphis after dark (we've heard by many outside and inside Memphis that it isn't the safest place) so it wasn't as exiting as it sounds. Besides, we don't drink and that seems to be the most popular thing there. BUT, we did have some mighty fine BBQ. On our way out of town we found the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It is now a Civil Rights Movement Meuseum. There were many other places and meuseums I would have loved to see, but it was getting late, and I was anxious to be on to Destin.


We stayed at a KOA campground again, a ways out of Memphis. The next morning we woke up and saw one more spot in Memphis called Mud Island. It is a miniature replica of the Mississippi River. It really was quite amazing. It was 1/2 a mile and every 30 inches was equal to every real mile of the Mississippi. All along there were historical facts, and cities along its path. It finally ended at the Gulf where you could rent paddle boats and paddle around. Mud Island also boasted a hanging tram ride that would take you to see the sights of downtown Memphis. Being my birthday I convinced Dan to take me. When we got there I was all ready for the trip. We were on it for about 1 minutes and it came to a stop. We asked the conductor if it went on, but we found out thet tram only goes as far as crossing the river, not even near downtown. And to make matters worse, there was a FREE walking bridge above that we took back to the island and it took LESS time. I was a little miffed, so Dan told the lady who sold us the ticket(although it wasn't much) that their advertising was misleading. As a result she gave us one free entrance to the museum. The museum ended up being interesting, so that made me feel better.


Finally, on our way again with a drive-by view of graceland. Don't heckle me for not paying the $60 for us to go in and get the bare minimum tour of only part of the mansion (not even the estate, authentic clothes, or plane or car collections...or whatever it was). I really like Elvis music...but I'm not THAT much of a fan.


We spent the rest of my birthday driving through Mississippi and finally arrived in Mobile Alabama. We were trying to find a hotel for the night, which proved to be difficult and scary! One hotel had no place for our huge rig. The next displayed huge signs that read: "We are not liable or responsible for lost or stolen belongings". That made Dan uncomfortable, as we saw people loitering and drinking while sitting in the back of their trucks in the parking lot. In the NEXT hotel we pulled around the corner and immedialtey were forced to come to a stop as we heard men yelling and two men in front of us getting ready to fight. Suddenly, a woman came running to one of the men and pulled a GUN out of her purse swinging it around. Then the man (the apparent boyfriend of the woman with the gun) starting flinging the gun around and yelling. Dan just kept saying, "Don't look sweetheart - you don't want to see this." And I kept saying, "You have got to be kidding me, this is NOT happening!" Luckily NO incident insued. You can be sure we didn't stay there! We finally settled for a nice hotel, with a well lit parking lot, plenty of room, and big signs with a smiley face that said, "You are being monitored and recorded". The price was about twice what we were intending, but peace of mind was all that mattered that night! The day ended well with delivered pizza and a nice place to sleep.

Day 13: We woke up and enjoyed a continental breakfast and found ourselves on our way. We eventually arrived to Destin that day at about 11 or so. We were so excited, and suddenly felt nervous as we started seeing sand, and water.

Frist WEEK in Destin: We got moved in. Four Elders from the Sandestin Branch came and helped us unload our PENSKE truck in about 1 hour. Destin is an amazing place. We had no idea what a "travelers hot spot it was", but having been here now, we can see what that means. Destin has been voted the best "beaches and white beaches in the United States". The "worlds best fishing resort town" and is ranked within the top 5 places in the United States for scuba diving. I know alot of you are probably reading this and saying "the sand can't be as nice as it was in the Carribean, or Mexico, or Hawaii, etc... but I would have you know that it is actually like walking on fine powder- truly amazing. The only way to findout is to come and visit! We are so happy to be here, and we will be sure to keep you updated with all our new adventures!