We made it to Oklahoma! We were supposed to stay in an RV park near the city, but a tornado came through and destroyed it in May. We drove past a few others, and didn't find any that we felt comfortable parking. KOA had one site left but it was too small. After researching RV Parky, we found an RV park 60 miles east of Oklahoma City called Catfish Round-Up. They have a restaurant and are known for there catfish. Go figure!

Catfish Round-Up can be best described as a rest stop with a casino across the street. It was fine for the night, but we are up at 6 and already headed to Arkansas. The kids cannot wait to mine for diamonds. We are mining today and tomorrow. Let me rephrase, Marty & the kids are mining for diamonds. I will be working in the trailer :) Devlin thinks he is going to be rich after today. We hope they are not disappointed.

We are at the Crater of Diamonds State Park for the next 2 days, and then head to Conway. We will stop at Hendrix and UCA on Friday. I have sent several athletes to UCA, and have had a few visit Hendrix in the last few months. I visited UCA a few years ago, but there was a coaching change recently, so I want to reconnect with the new coaches. 

Oklahoma is beautiful! It's so exciting to see green after so much desert. It looks like there is some bad weather ahead in the next couple of days, and we are praying we miss it.

Seriously surprised about our adventure in Amarillo! What a great city! We wished we would have spent two nights in Amarillo, versus staying the extra night in Albuquerque. We stayed at a beautiful campground called Fort Amarillo RV Park. The camp sites were spacious, they had a great playground, a pond to feed the ducks, and an indoor pool. 

On our way into Amarillo, we passed by several ranches with cows. Derek said, I wonder if that smells bad out there. Before Marty and I could say a word, Derek rolled down his window and a gust of the most disgusting smell entered the car. It literally took our breath away the stench was so bad. Derek laughed so hard he was nearly in tears. Devlin started to cry. He said he could taste the cow poop in his mouth. It was awful!

We stopped at Cadillac Ranch. Devlin spray painted his name on one of the Cadillac's. It's surely gone by now. There was so much spray paint on those cars, it literally was hanging off the vehicles like icicles. Marty wasn't a fan of Cadillac Ranch. It was dirty and a long windy walk down to the cars. You could smell spray paint and dirt the entire walk down. It's just one of those things you have to say you did on the road.

Once we got settled into the RV Park, we headed out to dinner. I didn't feel like cooking the same stuff we've been eating, and Derek wanted steak of course. So we ate at Hoffbrau Steaks. We ordered fried pickles, chicken fried steak, rib-eye, chicken tenders, and quail. The food was good.  McKinley was a little cranky, so we took turns walking around the restaurant with her while we ate. After dinner we headed back to the trailer and went to the pool. My mom would be so proud of me, I've been keeping up with our laundry at each step. This is a big deal for those of you who know me :)

Today we slept in, took showers, packed up and headed to Torchy's Tacos. The Chocolate Dude and his wife (from Albuquerque) highly recommended this spot! Torchy's Tacos did not disappoint! The food was great! We had the chips & queso, and tacos with ahi, baja shrimp, pulled pork, salmon and jerk chicken. We all really enjoyed the food! Thanks Chocolate Dude!

After breakfast we headed to the Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Museum. The kids loved it! They had an incredible collection of RV's including the Vintage VW Flxible Bus featured in the film RV. This is a family favorite, so it was exciting to see it in person. We thought about Uncle Nick looking at all of the Vintage Harley Davidson's, Aunt Terri with the Airstream, Beautiful Bobbie throughout the entire museum and my mom and dad because this is a place they would definitely want to see. If you are ever in Amarillo, this is a MUST see. 

Right now we are on the road to Oklahoma City (281 miles). We are actually cutting our time short because the kids want more time digging for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park. We're staying at a KOA just outside of Oklahoma City tonight. We are going to head out early tomorrow morning to Arkansas.  Not sure what else today will bring. Marty and I keep telling the kids to just enjoy what each day brings and focus on what we are doing now instead of the future. We are all holding up great, and Derek gets the award for being the favorite child today. He has been so incredibly helpful this entire trip! No arguing, only helping with the trailer and siblings.

We are up bright and early this morning, as we make our way to Amarillo! Shhh…don't tell Marty I made a lot of noise on purpose to get everyone up to get on the road. He would not be very happy! We have 305 miles to travel today. At first glance of the map, it doesn't appear there is much between here and there. The campground we are headed to looks pretty nice from the website. It's called Fort Amarillo RV Park. I think McKinley will finally have a play area to put her play yard on the grass. There is an indoor pool and spa. Hopefully it's an upgrade from where we were in Albuquerque. Marty and Derek went into the jacuzzi, and said it smelled like a lobster tank. It took hours to get the smell out of there noses. The rest of the campground was clean and nice. 

Yesterday we headed into Albuquerque and had lunch at Bistronomy B2B. It was really good! They had excellent craft beer and burgers. We tried the fried pickles with wasabi mayo. We are gearing up for all the delicious food to come in Memphis and New Orleans! After lunch we went to a very charming chocolate shop called the Chocolate Dude. The "Chocolate Dude" was actually to guy waiting on us. Definitely an easy going kind of a guy, and moved about the same pace as the "Dude" on the Big Lebowski! The chocolate was fabulous! They had a very unique feel to the shop. His wife and daughter were there. They visited with us for a bit. His wife is a very talented painter. Her art work was on the walls. McKinley had 3 chocolate marshmallows on a stick. She literally wore it all over her face! See in the photos below :) Dev went to the Boba shop next door to get a blueberry boba drink. Derek and Marty passed on dessert. 


At the Chocolate Dude a nice couple came in behind us and Devlin announced we are from California. They are on a road trip similar to ours which was kind of cool. They have been on the road for the last two months, and are making there way to Indiana where is home. Dev has learned he gets quite the reaction from people when he announces he is 6 and we live in California. 

Depending on our arrival time in Albuquerque, I want to hit up Cadillac Ranch, and the Jack Sismore Traveland RV Museum. More pictures and stories to come...

It's Sunday morning, and we are on day 3 of our cross country adventure.  Marty, Derek and Devlin are all still sleeping.  I think the drive is finally catching up with everyone.  We discussed hitting the road and moving on to Amarillo, but I decided we needed a day of rest.  Amarillo is 305 miles away which will be the longest drive yet.  I am catching up with clients and coaches this morning, while everyone else is still asleep.  I have a few appointments this evening, so I want to venture out this afternoon for a few hours while I have the time.  The kids have all done amazing on this drive! 

Yesterday we made an impromptu stop to the Petrified National Park.  It was really cool.  We all got to walk around and stretch our legs.  The view was beautiful.  The described the mountain views like a watermelon.  As the mountains slope down they are red, and at the top it's filled with green brush.  

Last night we headed into downtown New Mexico.  We stumbled on a concert in the park which was pretty cool.  We had some ice cream and walked around.  It definitely felt like New Mexico.  There was a charming Catholic Church, and several really cute shops.  We really wanted to check out the church, as they also had a convent, and a beautiful courtyard, but it was locked during the concert.  Derek suggested mass this morning, as the church is the 2nd oldest in New Mexico and still in operation today, but they are all still resting.  

We made a Walmart stop to pick up a few items.  They sell sparklers!  This is exciting for us folks who live in California.  We picked up several boxes for the kids to light throughout the trip.

The weather is beautiful right now.  It hasn't been too hot yet.  We know it's coming but we are loving it for now.  We will go through the tour book and make a decision on a museum or head over to Route 66 for a burger for lunch.  It looks like they have a Nuclear Science and History Museum that may interest the boys.  We didn't take any great shots last night in Old Town.  We will definitely take more pictures today to share.  We are a little sick of the desert at this point, and we are looking forward to seeing some green.

Yesterday we drove from Needles to Winslow and visited the Meteor Crater.  The Meteor Crater is literally a giant whole in the ground.  We spent $54.00 to walk through the museum and look at a hole.  I wasn't totally thrilled.  Devlin was excited to touch a piece of the meteor, which they say is over 50,000 years old.  He stood by the meteor and as people approached he told them all about it.  This was probably my highlight.  At least he learned something.

We stayed at the Meteor Crater RV park about 5 miles from the giant hole.  It was a great catch up on our rest kind of afternoon/evening.  I got our first load of laundry done, and we watched the stars.  

It's 9:30 a.m. and we are on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We are in search for a bolo tie for my dad in one of the Native American shops.  My mom is less than excited, but it should be easy to find downtown.  

Albuquerque is known for there chili peppers, so we will eat out this afternoon.  Derek and I will head to the University of New Mexico to check it out.  We are here for 2 days unless we feel like we have seen enough and decide to move on east.  Unfortunately, there isn't much to see these first few days in the desert, so we are all a bit anxious to continue on in the drive.  Marty is literally doing all of the driving while I work, so we are gauging how much he wants to keep moving.

We made it safely to Needles around 11:00 pm last night.  Rather than continue on down the road to Bullhead City, we found a KOA site and decided to stop and sleep over.  The campground was very clean and perfect for an overnight stay.  There is nothing we want to see in Needles, so we are back on the road this morning to Winslow, Arizona.  

I wanted to see a coaching friend at Northern Arizona, but with all of us recovering from the flu I thought it was a bit rude.  So, we will head to the Meteor Crater site and stay overnight.  The kids want to explore the crater.

The day we have been waiting for has finally arrived.  We are about to hit the road for 7 weeks!  The last of our stuff is being loaded, and we are on our way to Bullhead City tonight.  

McKinley, Devlin and I all have the flu.  We are praying we will not vomit on the road.  Marty and Derek do not have it yet, and hopefully they don't get it.  Feeling pretty certain our first few days on the road are going to be rough!  As you can see, we are totally prepared!

Our family is getting ready for a major cross country road trip!  Planning for 7 weeks on the road with 3 kids is exciting and overwhelming.  McKinley just turned 1, and we are most concerned about the long days on the road while she is strapped in her car seat.  I have purchased several new toys that are small to keep on hand while we are traveling.  She has just began watching TV, so we are planning to download all of her favorite Wiggles episodes on the iPad to watch.  Derek and Devlin surprisingly love long car rides.  They have all their gadgets and will entertain themselves.  


We've put together our road map of all our stops, and are now planning what we want to do in each city. We will be hitting up college campuses, meeting with college coaches to understand their program, and then touring along the way.  Marty is most excited about the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.  We saw a show on TV about this place and he hasn't stopped talking about it for nearly 10 years.  Needless to say, we are mining for diamonds for a day.  Walt Disney World has probably been the most difficult place to plan.  They have so many resources, but it's seriously overwhelming!  I've read through so many tour books, and they all say you have to book reservations in advanced.  

Most of our camp sites have been booked, so we have our timetable down.  We didn't want to take a chance in the most popular areas of the country.  The boys and I are most excited about the 10 days at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort.  We are booked to swim with dolphins at Epcot, the Illuminations Dessert Party, dinner at T-Rex and the Coral Reef.  Everything else will have to wait.  We may not get to experience everything, but we have some great things planned.  The first 5 days in Orlando are free days for me, as the volleyball tournament doesn't begin until the 19th of June.  So we are spending the first 3 days at Universal exploring Diagon Alley, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Since Derek and I are die hard Harry Potter fans, we can't wait. 

We plan to blog our journey with pictures throughout the 7 weeks we are gone.  We will begin packing next week and getting everything together.  We've been planning this journey for a year now, and we can't believe it's around the corner.  In 3 weeks we will be living in our trailer on a road trip across the country.  Pretty cool!

Our Journey:

• May 28th - leave Laguna Hills, California 
• Bullhead City
• Flagstaff, AZ 
• Albuquerque
• Amarillo
• Oklahoma City
• Crater of Diamond State Park
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Gainesville, Florida
• Orlando, Florida
• Tallahassee, Florida
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Houston, Texas
• San Antonio, Texas
• Carlsbad Caverns
• El Paso, Texas
• Tombstone, Arizona
• Tucson, Arizona
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Home

Yesterday, our schedule was jam packed as we took the train to the Grand Canyon, spent the day, and then caught the Polar Express later in the evening. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Yes, it was an exhausting day, but if you are like our family, staying busy and being entertained is important.

We had breakfast at our hotel in the morning, and headed to the Train Depot to catch the train to the Grand Canyon. We were all very excited about riding the train. Devlin has only been on the train at Disneyland, and he has been begging to go on a train trip for as long as he could talk. The train departed Williams at 9:30 am. We sat in first class, and honestly, it was well worth the money. It was so nice to lay our seats back, with lots of leg room and enjoy the scenery. Drinks and snacks were included in the fare, and we got 50% off, because we had also booked the Polar Express. 

The train ride was 2 hours each way. The scenery along the way was beautiful, lots of trees, and mountain views. The service was really good, and they had a musician playing which was nice. McKinley slept a good portion of the ride on the way up, which was awesome for me to just relax. (Not something I get to do often)  

Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we got off the train and headed to the first viewing point. It literally takes your breath away. It is known as one of the 7 wonders of the world for good reason. I was actually really disappointed I didn't spend more time planning this trip. Looking back now, I would have booked a night at the El Tovar hotel, so we could catch the sunrise and sunset. I would have loved to have been able to hike one of the trails. We all really want to come back. We will likely book the same weekend next year, and invite some family and friends to join us. 

We spent an hour walking along the rim, and taking pictures. Then we headed to the El Tovar for lunch. The service here was awful. The waiter was clueless, and we waited forever for our food. The food was seriously over rated, but the view and the ambiance is what we paid for. The hotel has a very cozy feel, and I plan to book a night here next year. It's pricier than the other hotels in the area, but I loved the warmth and feel of the hotel. There are some nice places to gather with family and friends to enjoy the view, play a game, and just spend time together. 

After lunch, we spent more time admiring the view, and watching the colors change inside the canyon as the sun moved. It was truly remarkable. We bought the kids a few souvenirs and then headed back to the train. The day trip allows for 3 1/2 at the Grand Canyon, and with two young kids, it was enough. Marty and I could have spent hours walking and taking pictures. Definitely something I plan to work in our schedule next year. 

The train ride back was great. There were less people in our car, and Devlin made a friend. Derek got a row to himself to relax, Marty and I were able to put our feet up and McKinley was passed back and forth. Another musician came in to play a few songs, and this one was better than the last. McKinley smiled and watched him the entire time he played. We also had train robbers on the way back which was really fun for the kids. 

Once we arrived back to the Train Depot in Williams, we had a short amount of time to change into our pi's and head back for the Polar Express. Our train ride was at 7:30. Williams at night is truly magical this time of year. There are thousands of Christmas lights in the trees and windows. The hotel was decorated so cute. The kids all really liked it. 

We grabbed some hot chocolate on the way to the train, and waited to board. It was 25 degrees outside, and we were all freezing. It was awesome to be surrounded by so many families with smiling faces and Christmas music. This was a great way to get into the holiday spirit.

We boarded the Train, the Conductor read the book, while the chefs walked up and down the aisles singing and sharing the pictures from the book. It was pretty cool. Santa's village at the "North Pole" was decorated cute, and then Santa boarded the train and passed out a special bell to each kid. It was really cute. Devlin enjoyed every minute of it.

We got off the train and headed to the buffet to eat dinner before going to bed. Devlin's eyes were glazed and he made no sense as he rambled about the day. The rest of us talked about how we want to do this again next year with our family and friends…long day = long post and lot's of rambling! 

We had the greatest experience at Bearizona today! We didn't arrive to Williams until 2:00 am this morning, so it was a bit rough getting out to bed. Marty, Derek, and I stayed up most of the evening on the drive. Devlin enjoyed the car ride. He was awesome the whole way. We left Laguna Hills at 3:15 pm and hit a ton of traffic. Let's just say we have learned our lesson and will not be doing that again! 


After breakfast at our hotel, we headed to Bearizona. In the car ride over, we enjoyed the scenery. Devlin said, "we live in such a beautiful world." Bearizona exceeded all our expectations. We had the best time! When you drive up to the entrance, you pay your fee, and they give you a gps that connects to your radio, so you have commentary throughout the drive. It was so cool! We saw bison, deer, black bears, wolves, and so many more animals. They were about 10 feet from the car, which was very exciting. After you drive through the park, you pull into a parking lot and walk through an area with more animals, a gift shop, and concession stand. They had times to watch them feed the otters, and offered a few shows.


We only spent a few hours at Bearizona, and looking back I wish we would have stayed a little longer. There really isn't a lot to do in Williams, and I didn't spend too much time reviewing the tour book. (My mother, who always read the tour book, had a map in the car, and planned ahead is rolling her eyes right now!) The boys got hungry, and we wanted to head into downtown Williams to see if we could catch a train to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the only train ride they offer is in the morning. We are scheduled to take the train tomorrow morning. 


We ate lunch at the Red Raven Restaurant. The food was decent. Derek and I had a burger, Marty had tacos, and Devlin had soup. There are not a lot of choices around here. None of us are in a driving mood after yesterday, so we don't want to head to Sedona or Flagstaff.