Home again, home again, jiggity jig!!

October 3, 2010 –  We’re back in da U.P.!  Our last stop was wonderful!!!  We spent two nights with John & Pam and were so happy that both Lauren (and boyfriend, Derrick) and Andrew stopped to say hello.  I forgot to take a picture of Andrew so included one of him and his girlfriend, Nicole, from Matt's wedding this spring.  John & Pam took us to a great restaurant in New Buffalo on Friday night for a great meal then we lounged around their house catching up – they on our trip and us on their very recent trip to Napa Valley.  

 

John & Pam are the best host and hostess . . . they greeted our Saturday with a nice breakfast then we went exploring.  John showed us a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus then we watched the waves at Silver Beach and visited their indoor carousal, refurbished and designed from the original one of long ago.  Joe & I even rode a couple of horses on it (Girls – notice the horse Dad was riding – Go Green!  Go White!).  We checked out the Yacht Club where John & Pam have their membership - it's a beautiful spot and looks like a great place to have fun!  After lunch at a nice pub our next stop was the Round Barn Vineyard and Brewery for 7 beer samples, one wine and one bourbon/rum.  It was great tasting in a great atmosphere.  Of course, we bought some souvenirs!  John & Pam completed the night with a wonderful dinner that included steaks on the grill!!  We relaxed with a movie.  

It was a very nice visit and it’s a very rare occasion that, as we left this morning, we could say, “See ya next weekend” because they have planned a family trip to camp on Thursday J 

Well this wraps up our travel blog . . . until the next trip.  I have to say, when we hit Munising and saw the vibrant fall colors and beautiful Lake Superior, I said to Joe, "this view competes with any that we saw on our trip!"  Ya gotta love the U.P.!

Tha tha that's all folks!!

Back in our own time zone!

October 1, 2010 – Ouch, we definitely felt those blues this mornin’ but it was worth it.  We had so much fun last night!  We ate breakfast at the hotel – if you haven’t stayed at a Drury Inn, we highly recommend it!  We took a walk down by the shoreline of the Mississippi River to stretch our legs before getting back in the car for a few hours.  We’re anxious for our next stop to visit John & Pam and, if we’re lucky, we’ll also get to see our niece & nephew, Lauren & Andrew.   I don’t know if they have wireless Internet so this might be my last blog entry until I write my final one when we get home on Saturday or Sunday.   As I write this we are only 10 hours from Marquette and have put on almost 7,000 miles.  I’m happy to say that we’re still having fun and are still getting along J Thanks to all of you who have travelled along with us through this blog and for the comments, e-mails, Facebook messages and even a couple of phone calls!  It’s so nice to hear from family & friends. Muah – I’ll fill you in on our last couple days of adventure when I can.

Got dem ol' Kosmic Blues again, Mama, St. Louie blues that is!

September 30, 2010 – We wrapped up September with a six-hour drive to St. Louis, Missouri.  We passed through Kansas City (Allison & Angie – I thought of you when we stopped at a gas station that was selling TONS of Wizard of Oz memorabilia) and Sedalia, Missouri (Carol, isn’t this where you went to the rock concert another life ago?) finally checking into the Drury Hotel upon the suggestion of Helen & Jim Riley.  GREAT suggestion – we could have fun without even leaving the hotel!  Most of the best shots (attached) of the St. Louis Arch were taken right from our hotel room!  We did walk to the Arch and rode one of those little pods up to the top.  It’s the highest monument in the U.S. – 630 feet high!!!  

We got back to the hotel in time for the Drury Happy Hour – 3 free drinks per person AND enough hot appetizers to provide us a good base before hitting the blues bars downtown (Mom always says to eat before you drink!).  On our walk, we got tied up with the crowd for the Cardinals' game which was fun plus, we took a "bike taxi" which is where some poor girl peddled our butts to a bar we were looking for while we sat in comfy seats watching her! The blues bars were phenomenal – thanks to our nephew, Mark, Joe & I looked like cool blues patrons because we had Mark texting us songs to request J  (Thanks, Mark, they didn’t know Honey Hush but did know Killing Floor).  You could  have bet me that Joe & I would be dancing with a bunch of locals in a blues bar and I would have said, “no way”, but there we were . . . cuttin’ a rug, ha!  

This is a pic of Joe & I walking back to our hotel from the blues bars . . . we were a little lit, ha!

Next stop . . . St. Joseph, Michigan to see my brother, John, and sister-in-law, Pam.

Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come!

September 29, 2010 – Our hotel was so nice that we opted for a late start to take advantage of the amenities J they had a nice pool but I skipped a swim to do a much needed load of laundry!  Once again, we spent the day traveling through mountains, BUT, we also viewed the beautiful Colorado River! I can’t believe how nice it was to see water!  We stopped to wade it in for a while.  It’s so clear and clean and as cold as Lake Superior.  I stood in it until my feet were numb (yes, those Freddie Flintstone feet that I posted a couple of days ago – that picture was for my friends so they could see my infamous Freddie feet enjoying vacation).  It was killing Joe to see all of the fisherman lining the streams as we drove by, especially since he’s missing the end of brookie season.  He’ll have to clean up on Salmon and Steelhead in October!!  We were thinking of our downhill skiing friends as we travelled through Vail and the other ski resorts of Colorado. We drove 11 hours today and so far have put on over 6,000 miles on this trip.

We're bedded down in Salinas, Kansas, hoping to get an early start in the a.m.

On the Road Again

September 28, 2010 – We spent our last few hours in Las Vegas floating around the lazy river at the MGM Grand Pool.   It was a hot morning, already in the 90’s.  As we cruised out-of-town, we both agreed that Vegas was a good stop.  We set the GPS to Michigan and began a long day of driving through mountains.  We’re realizing that in each state the mountain ranges look different but they are all beautiful!  We are missing water though – we can’t wait to see Lake Superior!!  We’re settled in for the night in Grand Junction, Colorado.

There was a "controlled burn" fire in the mountains of Utah.

Viva Las Vegas!!!!

September 27, 2010 – Has it only been a day?  It feels like a week!  We’ve done sooooo much in the last 24+ hours!!  Highlights include hopping the monorail from casino to casino checking out the sites, walking many MILES, lunch at Harrah’s at Las Vegas Rio, swimming in one of our FIVE pools, watching the Packer game with a bunch of crazed sports fans (it was such a close game!!!!!), playing a few slot machines and, best of all, attending the Cirque Du Soleil show entitled, “The Beatles Love”.  This show alone made the trip to Vegas worth it.  It was unbelievable!!!  Joe & I were both so impressed and recommend it to EVERYONE!!

 

My pillow is calling me . . . Good-night!