It's been a whirlwind in the last few days. I promised myself I wouldn't get behind in our family blog. The truth is I wrote this posting before going to Universal today, and I lost the damn posting when I hit publish. There was a glitch in the software. It was and is very frustrating!

So, here we go again! On Friday, we left Madison Florida and drove to Crystal River. When we checked in to the RV Park, I asked the lady if there was anything we should be concerned or aware of since we have two small children. She asked what I meant. I said, are there alligators, snakes or any other wildlife we should be on the look out for?! She said snakes yes occasionally, but definitely no gators!

So, we pull into our site which is on a stagnant pond. Pretty place! We look out in the water, and what do we see? An alligator staring right at us! I wanted to march right back up to the office. It seems that this is what you should expect throughout Florida!

After we set up camp, we headed to a restaurant that was highly recommended called Pecks. We drove down a 2 lane highway into a swamp. It was so surreal. It felt like we were in a movie. We weren't even sure if we were on the right road, until all of a sudden we were out of the swamp and in the parking lot to a restaurant on a dock. It was really cute!

The food was pretty good at Peck's! We ordered alligator for everyone to try. I've had it on previous trips but everyone else needed to try it. Even McKinley ate the gator. It tasted like fishy chicken nuggets with a garlic butter. Devlin seems to be getting pickier and pickier. He had clam chowder and salad for dinner. Derek and I had all you can eat blue crab legs. It was good but so much work! Derek and I could have ordered 10 bowls! We ordered two each and then left. I had appointments I needed to get to, so we hustled out of there.

Marty dropped McKinley, Derek and I off at the trailer, while he ran off to Home Depot. Our pantry door fell off the hinges while we drove. Marty needed screws to hang the door back up.

Derek took McKinley to the pool so I could work. Thank God for Derek! He's been such a huge help this entire trip.

By the time I finished working, and Marty fixed the door, the whole camp ground came alive! It was a party everywhere. It was so strange. The best way to describe it is like Newport Dunes the week of 4th of July! Everyone had golf carts they were driving up and down the streets. We went out by the pond and watched the alligator for a while. It so cool to watch these predators. There eyes are so spooky when they watch you!

We went to bed fairly early because we had to get up super early to swim with the manatees. We got up at 6:00 am and I made bacon, eggs and hash browns. We wanted the kids to have a heavier meal because we knew we were going to be on the boat for a few hours.

We arrived at the dive shop at 8:00 am. We all had to suit up in wet suits, and watch a movie about how to treat the animals. After the movie we drove to the dock and got on the boat. We spent over 3 hours snorkeling and hanging out in the water. The manatees hung out in mirkier water which kind of sucked. We couldn't watch them at the bottom. In fact, as I was snorkeling a manatee came up within inches of my face, and I couldn't see it until the cute face was in mine. I squealed and the poor guy got scared and swam away. I didn't mean to scare it but you have to understand how scary and exhilarating it is. Your head is in the water and the visibility is awful! All of a sudden, a giant animal appears and you can't help but freak out.

Unfortunately, this was as close as anyone in our boat got to the animals. We saw them swimming and swam beside them but none of them were interested in interacting. Our captain said sometimes that happens. They are beautiful animals! We really enjoyed this experience.

After swimming with the manatees, we ordered pizza, ate, picked up the trailer and headed to Orlando. We arrived at Walt Disney World later than expected, so we didn't go to Hollywood Studios as planned. We settled at the Fort Wilderness Resort which is fantastic! This is a beautiful RV park! We had dinner reservations at TRex in Downtown Disney at 7 pm which we all really enjoyed!

TRex is exactly like Rainforest Cafe except there are dinosaurs. It was so cool! There was a couple fish tanks, an octopus hanging from the ceiling, cool colored lighting throughout the restaurant. The food was okay, but the atmosphere was incredibly fun!

After dinner we got the lay of the land in the Fort Wilderness Resort! We came back to the trailer and decided on a game plan.

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to Universal. Derek and I are pretty big Harry Potter fans, and we wanted to explore both of the parks. When we got to Islands of Adventure, we headed straight to Hogsmeade. The books came alive! Everything was so well done! We had butter beer, got a wand from Ollivanders, went on the ride through Hogwarts. We took the Hogwarts Express to the other park and went through Diagon Alley. It was so much fun! Marty and I got to ride a big roller coaster while Derek kept the kids, we caught a SpongeBob parade. It was great!

We grabbed dinner and rested for a bit before heading back to the camp ground! We are now going to head over to the pool to play for a few hours. I need to work for a few hours tonight and we need to come up with tomorrow's game plan! So far so good in Orlando! We are having a great time and the weather has been pretty good to us!

We arrived at Jellystone Park yesterday around 5:30 pm. They have a water park here for the kids, as well as jumpers, and a large play ground. This is also home to more bugs than I have ever seen in my life. We haven't seen a Walmart to get the OFF fans yet, and the little nats attack your eyes. It's awful! We have decided not to stay this morning to play. We are headed to a Walmart in Perry and then we will drive to Crystal River!

Tomorrow morning we snorkel with manatees. I am so excited! The rest of the crew will be excited once they see them. It should be really fun! After we snorkel with the manatees we drive to Orlando. In the afternoon we are going to Hollywood Studios for the last Star Wars day. We have reservations for dinner at TRex tomorrow night. I'm sure this will be a favorite for Dev! It's going to be an action pack day!

No pictures in the last 24 hours! But I'm sure we will have a lot to share soon!

Yesterday was a full day for the kids. I woke up early and worked out of the trailer all day, while the kids went to Stone Mountain to explore. They had a great time, and really enjoyed the top of the mountain. It's a busy time of year for recruiting, and as we approach these end of season tournaments, emotions run high and work becomes more intense. I spent my day on the computer and on the phone working.

Last night, our old neighbor and friend Donna Lee came to the trailer for dinner and the Laser Show. It was great catching up, and having her see my kids. Derek has grown up so much since the last time she saw him, so I think she was a bit surprised with how big he has become. We chatted about all the mutual friends and family. We reviewed our road trip, and since Donna has done this trip several times we discussed re-routing our trip on the way back. We are going to really look things over when we are in New Orleans to figure out the best way to return home. We have been on the road for a little over 2 weeks now, and we are enjoying it immensely. At some point, I think we are really going to want to get home. We are supposed to hit up the Carlsbad Caverns, but since we saw Ruby Falls, we are questioning whether it's really that important. We may take a northern route back. We would love to see Denver, but there are some concerns about pulling our trailer through the mountains, so we are going to do some research to figure out what would be best. 

After dinner, we caught the shuttle to the Laser Show. Donna was perfectly prepared with a blanket for us to sit on and a OFF to keep the bugs away. We are going to Walmart to pick up one of the portable OFF spray for Florida. It's like a little fan that has a constant release of bug deterrent, but it doesn't smell and you can't feel it.  Donna said the bugs will get worse as we continue to head south. We are not enjoying the bugs people deal with out here.  Everyone loved the laser show, and it was nice because although we sat on the grass, no one got bit! Haha, thanks Donna!

Devlin made lots of friends throughout the camp ground, so he was really disappointed we were leaving today. Derek and I visited Georgia Tech this morning which we absolutely loved. Then we packed up and got on the road. Our neighbors at the camp ground are from Florida, and they told us about a place to camp that they love right off the 75. We are on our way there now. It's in Madison Florida.

We made it safely to Atlanta yesterday around noon. We settled in our camp site quickly, so we could make the most of our day. Marty and I decided we needed to cut a day short in Atlanta, because he's been sick, and the drive to Crystal River was going to be too much in one day. From Stone Mountain, the drive is 402 miles. The most we have driven in one day is around 360. Since we cut our time here short, we knew we needed to get a jumpstart on the site seeing upon our arrival.

We left the campground, and headed to the city. Marty finally gave in to go to Urgent Care, since he continued to get worse. Derek spotted an urgent care on our way to the Coca Cola Tour. We pulled over, there was no wait, and Marty just walked inside and got treatment. The doctor thinks Marty got an ear infection from the pool in New Mexico. Remember, it smelled like a lobster tank? Yes, this is not normal, and he got an infection. (Sarcasm) He had a fever, tested negative for the flu, but he got his antibiotics, so we were all relieved!

We headed over to Rite Aid to drop off the prescription, and headed to downtown in Olympic Park. The first stop was the Coca Cola Tour. They closed at 5:00, and we arrived at 3:45. This was really cool! It was fun to learn the history, see all of the memorabilia over the years, and taste all of the flavors. It was really interesting. The tasting area was of course the kids favorite! They had so much fun. We let McKinley taste too, and she didn't want to leave. She has a sweet tooth like her momma! 

After the Coca Cola Tour, we walked right over to the Aquarium. Since we arrived at 5, we saved $50.00 which was great! The Aquarium was nice. They had 4 whale sharks in the tank! They were gorgeous. We all enjoyed walking through. By this time everyone was getting hungry, and I wasn't about to buy food, because I had pot roast in our crock pot at the trailer. So we completed the walk through and headed back.

Marty got his medication on the way back, we had dinner, and Devlin went outside to play. We love this campground! It is a little close together, but there are kids everywhere, and there are a lot of activities. Today, I am working all morning while they go out and explore. Our old neighbor Donna Lee is coming over for dinner and we will watch the laser show this evening. 

Marty and I need to figure out our next stop. Somewhere between here and Crystal River. We want to travel between 200 and 250 miles. So we will scope out the map this afternoon and make some decisions.

Yesterday we arrived in Chattanooga, and a storm hit not long after we set up. It was perfect timing! We had a crazy thunder and lightning storm. The kids really enjoyed it.

We are staying at the KOA not far from Lookout Mountain. Our old neighbor Donna Lee highly recommended we visit Ruby Falls and Rock City. We had the best time today! Ruby Falls is this incredible cave 260 feet into Lookout Mountain. It's over 1,120 feet underground. The waterfall is 145 feet, and it's absolutely magnificent! The pictures we took will hardly do it justice.

After seeing Ruby Falls, we headed over to Rock CIty. The views allow you to see seven states at 1700 feet above sea level. There is an amazing garden, and we enjoyed lunch at Cafe 7. The food was pretty good. Better than the food at most museums. Devlin told every soul around us every detail of our life, minus the social security numbers. Derek begged him to be quiet.

Marty is pretty sick, and went out to the car after lunch while the kids and I explored Rock City. We hiked the Enchanted Trail, and Fairyland. It was fun. Marty said he enjoyed the peace and quiet in the parking lot.

We finished Rock City, hit up the Starbucks for an iced coffee and then went to the Battlegrounds. We saw a 30 minute video on the Civil War, and then explored the Battlegrounds where the war occurred. My dad would have really loved this stop. It was really interesting. There was a lot of hiking here but we kept it to a minimum. By this time we had been on our feet for 6 hours and Marty felt awful.

Tonight I am working, Marty is resting, and the kids are playing. The campsite tonight is gorgeous. We are surrounded by fireflies! Tomorrow morning we leave for Atlanta. We are staying at Stone Mountain for the next 3 days. We are hopeful Marty feels better in the morning.

We all had a very nice time in Memphis! Yesterday was a relaxing day for Marty who had a fever, and Devlin who wanted to fish. I was able to get some work done in the morning, before heading to the University of Memphis. Derek, McKinley and I walked around the campus to get a feel for it. The campus is beautiful. The surrounding community is pretty nice as well. It looks like a great place to send some of my athletes.

Marty and Devlin hung out at the trailer yesterday. Marty felt like he needed some rest before our big drive today. We both have been battling allergies while we've been gone. Devlin wanted to fish in the ponds at the RV park. They didn't catch anything, but Devlin got better at casting. Derek and I thought standing out in the sun was a horrible idea. It was 100 degrees outside and really humid. Yesterday was the most miserable day of weather we have experienced thus far on the trip.

We saw the ducks at the Peabody Hotel last night at 5:00. They were very cute. McKinley sat on Derek's shoulders to get a good view. She really enjoyed it! There were tons of people who came to watch. You would have thought the President of United States was in the pond with all the security standing around. They literally had ear pieces on and wore suits to watch over the ducks.

After watching the ducks march at the Peabody Hotel, we went to a restaurant called Flight. The food here was excellent. The menu is organized in a way where you can choose three entree's in small plates. There were so many excellent choices on the menu that it was hard to narrow to three.The wine was served the same way. It was a unique experience, and definitely worth the money.  

After dinner we headed back to the trailer so I could do our laundry before packing up and going to bed. We wanted to get an early start this morning. It's 7:30 am and we are on our way to Chattanooga. Our old neighbor Donna Lee highly recommended Ruby Falls and Rock City. We were originally headed to Birmingham, but we decided to re-route our trip because it looks so cool. So the next two days we will be hiking off all of the calories we ate in Memphis. The kids are not excited about hiking, but they loved the pictures of the caves! We have 315 miles to drive today.

Yesterday was a busy day in Memphis. We left around 9:00 am and headed to the Stax Museum. If you ever come to Memphis this is a must see. We began out tour with a 20 minute video that really got you in the mood for the whole museum. They went over the history of the blues in Memphis and throughout the rest of the nation. It was very cool. After the film, you walk through the rest of the museum. They have costumes, guitars, a sound studio, and Isaac Hayes Cadillac from Shaft. We dressed up at the end and took a picture with the Cadillac and the Stax sign on a green screen. It was fun.

By the end of the museum we were starved, so we headed over the Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken. The fried chicken is to die for. Derek wanted to beg the owner to open in Laguna. They had amazing coconut pie that was deep fried as well. This was not a healthy meal. We ate fried chicken, cole slaw, baked beans, mac & cheese. Yum! I am not kidding, we may be too fat for the trailer to haul us to our next stop. We need to get out of this town though!

After lunch we headed over the a Metal Museum. They had a lot of cool artists on display. It was pretty interesting. This was a quick stop. We were in and out of this museum in about 30 minutes. The title pretty much sums up what the place had on display. Everything was metal. Metal doors, metal figurines, and other metal artwork. Oh, my favorite was a metal sculpture of a pregnant womb. I took a picture and told my mom I bought this for her birthday and we would display it in the entry way of the house. #Sarcasm

Devlin was getting a little cranky and wanted to play, so we found a children's museum. This was very cool! The boys played checkers, while McKinley climbed all over blocks and played with a few other kids. We milked a plastic cow, which hurt by the way. The cow tells you facts while you milk it, and Devlin really enjoyed it. McKinley looked confused. There were so many neat things here to do. We spent 3 hours playing, and then went outside to the play yard. It was nice for the kids to get there energy out, while Marty and I were able to rest a bit.

We made a pit stop by a grocery store to get a few things before making our way back to the trailer. Marty rested for 20 minutes while I put the groceries away, and then we went back out for dinner. We ate at The Germantown Commissary. The BBQ Nachos were amazing! They were smothered with spicy cheese, pulled pork and bbq sauce. Seriously good! Derek got the Boss Hog, Marty and I had pulled pork and pulled turkey sandwiches. Devlin & McKinley shared with Derek. He really had enough food to feed all of us. He is ecstatic to eat the leftovers this morning.

After we ate, we headed over to Levitt for a concert and to meet up with the University of Memphis Head Coach and her family. By the time we got here, the place was so packed. There was literally no place to park and the kids were exhausted. We just didn't have it in us to find a parking spot and walk a long distance to the concert. McKinley was cranky at the restaurant, and there was a very loud party behind us, so we were a bit agitated on the way over.

As we made our way back to the trailer, I got off on the wrong exit and we ended up at the Bass Pro Shop which is a giant pyramid. GIANT does not even describe how big this place is, and how crowded it was inside. This had to be the size of 3 or 4 Costco locations combined. Marty forgot his fishing pole at home, and the kids wanted to sleep in today and then go fishing. So we stopped and went inside. There was a shooting range arcade for kids, and so much stuff on display. It was pretty neat. My friend Paige has been telling me to stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Dallas when I have been in town, but I just never made time to do it. Finding a parking spot was just like it is at home at Costco on a Friday afternoon. This was Saturday night! 

Marty got 2 fishing poles and we headed back to the trailer to call it a night. We saw fireflies along the sides of the road as we drove back. They are too cool! We don't get anything like that in Southern California. This is the only bug I like here though. I feel like I am a feast for bugs. I have bites all over, and I am the only one. It's ridiculous. They don't like the kids or Marty, but they LOVE me! Bug spray seems to be a perfume that makes them flock to me, because I have practically bathed in a bottle each day and it doesn't help! Unfortunately, I know there is only more to come.

Today we are doing laundry, fishing and working from the trailer. This evening we have reservations at Flight, and we are going to the Peabody to see the ducks march at 5:00 pm. It should be a pretty relaxing day.

After spending the last week in less populated areas, I couldn't be more excited to be back in a city! Yesterday, we left the Crater of Diamonds State Park and headed to Conway. We stopped to eat breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Conway next to the college. We had a great breakfast, and then headed over to visit Ryan Meek, the Head Volleyball Coach at Hendrix College. What an incredible school?! Absolutely beautiful! Derek really liked it and could even see himself going to school like Hendrix. He felt it was a little too far from home.

We spent a couple of hours touring the campus and hanging out with Ryan. He really has accomplished so much with this program. One of our favorite things about the school, is on your birthday the students throw you into the fountain. 

After we left Hendrix, we headed to Memphis! We are staying at the Tom Sawyer RV Park on the Mississippi River. It's a bit of a rough neighborhood heading into the park, but once you get here, it's really spectacular! It's fun to watch the barge's pass bye with there load. 

Once we set up camp, we headed into the city. My friend Sam said we should take the kids to a restaurant called Huey's, where the kids get to shoot toothpicks out of straws onto the ceiling. The boys loved it. All 3 of them shot them to the ceiling. Marty developed the craft first, then Derek, and Devlin got a few up as well. The boy's ordered burgers, and I had a Po'Boy with fried shrimp. It was pretty good. After dinner we walked over to Beale Street. There was live music everywhere. 

We walked through the Peabody Hotel, but the ducks come out at 11:00 am, so we will return on Sunday morning. We were all pretty exhausted after the drive, so we came back to the trailer to watch tv. A thunder and lightning storm hit, it began pouring rain, and we lost our power. We are definitely not accustomed to this kind of weather. Our trailer has a battery, but not a generator, so we limited the use to a flashlight in case the power didn't come back on. We thought it was our power at first, until Derek went outside to check with the neighbors and they said the whole park was out. Thankfully it was 9:00, so we all went to bed.

Today I have some appointments this morning, and then we are going to head into town. We decided to skip Graceland. I know, for Elvis fans (which we are) this is a total sin. How do we trek across the country and skip Graceland? Well….I'll tell you, it's $160.00 on the low end to gain entrance for our family. If we want to see the airplanes, which Devlin would want to see, it's $75.00 a ticket. We checked to see if there were any specials on Groupon and we didn't come across any. We are not the kind of museum people that sit and look through everything so I made the decision to skip it! We bought tickets to see the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and we are looking at the Civil Rights or Cotton Museum. We shall see what our day will bring :)

Yesterday we spent our last day at the Crater of Diamonds. Marty spent the entire day at the mine from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm last night. He did find a diamond. He also found some other stones. 

Derek, Devlin, McKinley and I spent the afternoon by the pool at the water park. It was pretty humid out, so we enjoyed the cool water. We did a lot of walking to and from the camp site. It was a half of a mile to and from the water park to the camp site. I didn't tell the boys we could actually drive because I thought we all needed the exercise. Especially now that we are on our way to Memphis. I am sure we are going to eat ourselves into a coma!

Last night as I was coming back to the trailer from the laundry machine I almost stepped on a copperhead snake. I've learned never to walk at night without a flashlight. What a concept?! If it wasn't for Devlin who ran out with the light to walk back with me to the camp site I would have been bitten for sure. Thank God I didn't get bit. There were not any hospitals near by, as we were far into a forest. Marty came out and snapped a picture. He was following the snake into the bushes. He thought it was a corn snake. After he snapped a shot and went online to research, he discovered it was poisonous. 

As I returned to the trailer, there were bugs flying around. A moth, and a beetle flew into the trailer. Derek and Devlin were running around screaming like little girls. Marty got our hand vac and vacuumed them up. Derek refused to go to bed until Marty got the bug out of his bunk. You would have thought there was a murderer in our trailer trying to kill us all. I am sure our neighbors all thought we were absolutely stupid. Then they looked at our license plates and realized we are from California. Totally explains it!

This morning we are on our way to Conway to visit Ryan Meek at Hendrix. It's 130 miles from the Crater of Diamonds State Park. I am excited to get a feel for the campus and the program. I have had two athletes visit recently, so it will be nice to see it in person. After we visit, we will head to Memphis to the Tom Sawyer RV Park on the Mississippi River. We are going out to dinner for bbq tonight for sure. We will be in Memphis for the next 3 days. 

We arrived at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas in the late afternoon yesterday. This is a long trek, on a 2 way highway, out in the middle of nowhere. Literally! The drive was beautiful! We saw turtles walking along the highway, and lot's of other wild life. 

We stopped in Broken Bow Arkansas on the way to the park. There was a very charming restaurant called The Raging Espresso. I had one of the best pulled pork sandwiches ever! The vanilla wafer pudding with bananas was amazing, and so was the broccoli cheese soup. I am really disappointed we won't drive back through on our way out of here. We can actually drive north east to Conway from here without back tracking. 

As soon as we arrived, the boys rented the equipment to go out on the diamond mine and started mining. So far they haven't found any diamonds, but they are having a great time digging in the dirt! They returned to the camp site last night absolutely filthy! I barbecued salmon, and roasted Brussels Sprouts for dinner. They were so relieved that food was ready when they got back because they were all starved!

Derek got bit by a horsefly at the diamond mine. It bit right through his sock. After it bit Derek, it landed on Devlin and he ran. Devlin had a nightmare about the horsefly last night. He does not like the bugs here. None of us do!

Today, the boys are headed back to the mine and McKinley and I are at the trailer. We think someone attempted to brake into the trailer in Oklahoma, because our door lock is jammed, and we can't get our key inside. It's like someone broke something on the inside. 

I am working from the trailer waiting for the locksmith and McKinley is crawling all over the floor. In the afternoon we will head to the pool. It's like a water park with slides. It looks really nice. I am making chicken soup for dinner in the crockpot, and packing up early. Tomorrow we leave for Conway early in the morning. We will meet with Ryan Meek, the Head Coach at Hendrix. After, we may try and meet the new coaches at UCA before heading to Memphis in the afternoon. I have sent quite a few players to UCA, and I love there campus.