Badlands!

Today we spent hours in South Dakota going through Badlands National Park and it is a good thing a picture is worth a thousand words because all I can say is WOW!

Nebraska...Who Knew?

What a great day!

Started early leaving the icky hotel and driving from Cheyenne, WY to Gering, Nebraska.  The scenery was amazing.  Going through the prairies you can see forever and then you start to see the sandstone bluffs on the horizon. 

We stopped at Scotts Bluff and walked on the Oregon Trail a little, took some fun pictures and then headed up to the top.
The rock formations are beautiful. I couldn't get enough and took a ton of pictures.

We kept going east and saw Chimney Rock (just from the car), Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock.  There was a great sign and view from a spot just off the road.

After a lunch of McDonalds (don't judge - the grand city of Alliance, NE didn't give us many choices), we saw Carhenge.  It was worth a 20 minute walk around and some goofy pictures.

On our way to South Dakota we drove through Oglala National Grasslands/ It was interesting for about 5 minutes but then it was just a whole lot of grass.

Finally at the Holiday Inn in Rapid City, South Dakota and getting ready for a big day at the Badlands tomorrow!

Weird Little America

Okay this hotel was just weird.   You know when you are using the bathroom and you suddenly think I could really go for a soda and a hot pocket?  This hotel solves that little life problem like this:

That's right it is a mini fridge and microwave right across from the toilet!  Yuck just yuck!

They must also feel like the 70's look isn't working anymore and are redecorating but the furniture is outside and has been for for at least a day and night.

Hartford - Denver - Cheyenne

We said goodbye to my parents and our puppies and departed Hartford at 1pm EDT.  After a brief layover in our beloved NC (Charlotte) we arrived in Denver at 6pm Mountain time.

We proceeded to baggage claim and then Enterprise for our ride (Kia Sportage) and hit the open road.  Next stop - Cheyenne, WY. 

Made it to our hotel:

This sign and the lobby are beautiful but the room is straight up 70's shabby (no chic). 

Some sleep and then up early heading to Nebraska! 

NC to CT

After being home for only 5 days we are on the road.  We packed everything including the two dogs and drove to Connecticut.  Leaving at 6am on Thursday September 11th it only took us 12 hours to get there.  Having to drive through Washington DC and New York on 9/11 really brought back the memories of 2001, especially seeing military jets flying in formation just past DC.

We have since spent all our time with family and friends and it has been nice and relaxing while we prepare for our two weeks on the road through 6 states out west.

We leave Tuesday September 16th and fly to Denver.  Tomorrow will be filled with laundry, more family visits and spending time with our dogs before we leave.  We are very thankful that my parents are watching our dogs and they will be loved and cared for while we are gone.

Nervous and excited but here we go!

Beach and Beach

To make a long story short, Ryan requested and got 8 weeks off from work.

Part one of our extended vacation included most of the last two weeks at Myrtle Beach, SC.  

We spent the first week with my family.  Here is some math for you: 8 people in a 3 bedroom condo for 5 days equals infinite emotions.  Mostly good, some bitchy but they are all memories we can talk about for a long time.  Spending the whole day with my niece on her 14th birthday was great (as great as a teenager can be), seeing the joy of my 10 year old niece go down a slide at the pool and play in the ocean, and my Dad stabbing himself in the leg with a fork that went through the plate while eating a slice of pie are the priceless pictures I will carry with me forever.  Let's all forget the time I said taking family pictures turned into a shit show and remember the great meals, nice weather and laughs!

Thanks family of mine for a memorable and fun trip!  Here is the view from our condo:

Week two at the beach was Ryan and I with friends - Julie and Moseley and their 21month old and 5 month old baby girls.  Although Moseley had to get back to work we had a great time.  Not having kids ourselves (by choice) we found out how exhausting but rewarding spending every day with them can be.  I still don't want any kids of my own but could not imagine loving these two fantastic kids more than I do!

Every morning waking up and hearing "Hi Jess" or "It's Jess" from little Stella was so sweet, I want a recording of it.  The endless smiles from Isabel (Izzy) made everyday better.

 We watched a lot of Disney movies and spent time at the pools but we also went to Ripley's Aquarium and took the girls to hold a baby tiger and baby monkey at Barefoot Landing.  It is so much fun seeing new experiences through those little eyes

I got to hold a baby tiger again too!

I have held a baby tiger 4 times now and I am that happy EVERY time!

All in all I had a couple of weeks at the beach full of fun and memories.  After about 7 years at this same resort and the same view I still don't get sick of it. Who knows, maybe one day we will own a condo there.  This summer we even walked all the way down the Apache Pier. We have seen it from our balcony almost every summer but we got (or needed) some alone time and decided to walk to it.  A big THANK YOU to everyone who came with us and shared some of your precious time off with us this summer!

This about sums it up!

Grand Re-opening!

A few things led up to us restarting this blog:
1. We are planning a trip out west for a couple weeks.
2. Rereading our Vancouver blog made us remember a couple things we might have forgotten if we didn't have it written down.
3. Hopefully this will also be a place to keep track of funny, weird, happy or interesting ideas and events we have going on.
The goal here will be to blog weekly with the mundane happenings of the week and more often with pictures on trips and vacations.
Wish us luck!