Living Life with The Staveleys

On a road to nowhere......

| Oct 13, 2008

Well, that is kind of how life is feeling at the moment - limbo-land....We're in the midst of getting our house ready to sell. It seems the each day brings new challenges, new problems, new setbacks.

If you haven't heard, the world is in economic turmoil and that is impacting how our house will sell. So annoying! So, last week we thought we would get a pretty good price for it...a week later..who knows. Setback #420 (it feels like).

Every job that Bryce does on the house spawns another one, or the need for someone to come out and do something to the house. I think we are seeing the light now, but it was dark there for a bit. Set back #730 (it feels like).

The people that were living in my parents' house where we were moving to next year, have bought a house and are moving out at the end of Nov...this means we have to try and get into their house asap as they are without rent. That's a lot of pressure to sell, and I wanted one more Christmas in my house. Setback #1000 (it really feels like).

So, I feel like we are on a road to nowhere...one step forward, 10 back...I guess those ones steps add up, but right now it is impossible feeling. edit

School holidays already!

| Sep 26, 2008

Well, the kids are on holiday (vacation) for two weeks after only 8 days of school. It is kind of nice as it has been a gentle transition. It has been so fun seeing them re-connect with friends and teachers at their respective schools.

They are both walking to school which is different than before. I, as a mom, have had to let go and let Mike walk. It was a bit scary, but he is behaving very responsibly. Growing up is always hardest on the parents, I've decided.

I got my absentee ballot today from the US for the elections. The funny thing I noticed is the huge list of names seeking to be President. We only here about two, but there are at least 10 if not more. I had no idea that there were so many candidates. Shows my ignorance of US politics. I am looking forward to voting this year in both the US and NZ elections. One of the privileges of living overseas, I guess. HA!

Life is full, interesting, challenging and progressing. Roll on summer!! I am losing my tan. :) edit

Boxes, Boxes and more Boxes.......

| Sep 20, 2008

We've been back in New Zealand for a week now and in some ways it feels like we never left, until I see the mountain of stuff and boxes lying around my house. I am overwhelmed!! Bryce's solution is to throw everything away! "Just get rid of it, pitch it, toss it" are the words I hear consistently. I am a bit resistant to that. :)

Part of me doesn't want to unpack, because we are packing up again in a few months. Part of me doesn't want to unpack, because that means we are settling in here and I am not sure about that. Part of me just wants to go into denial, hang out on the computer, with friends, watch movies, because that is known, safe, comforting. Unpacking means the future and the future is not exciting for me right now. It is lonely, dark, unknown.

Once it's done, I will feel great...but I hate this in between stage. I have realized that I am not a good "mover". I hate the whole process from packing up to unpacking. I guess God is teaching me some new things right now. I wish school was out for a bit.... edit

Cockroaches and more....

| Sep 18, 2008

Well, I wouldn't feel completely at home in our house unless we had a visit by a friendly Gisborne cockroach or two...welllll....it's been more than two...we've had over 10 in a couple of days which wasn't a good sign. Today...THEY DIE!!!!

It certainly has added an interesting element to our unpacking....cockroaches, suspected rats in our loft/storage area, burned out lightbulbs and light dimmers....no ones fault...just a house left surviving for a year. It is good to be home to take care of our house. I am sure it missed us!

Kids started school yesterday. They are coming in for the last quarter of the year before the summer break over Christmas. It was fun to see them in their uniforms and ready to go. We are so thankful that they fit right back in with their friends and the schools.

Today was a so-so day for me.....I have Hashimoto's disease (thyroid disease) and since it is auto-immune and because I also have another problem with my pituitary gland, the likelihood of another endocrine issue is pretty high. That is kind of depressing for me. I am sure it will all be fine but is scary anyway.

Tomorrow hopefully there will be lots of dead cockroaches outside our house and none inside and I can sleep and live happy in our house once again! edit

We've arrived!

| Aug 11, 2008

Well, three nights ago, we arrived in Yorba Linda, California. Last time we were here was 14 months and more than 6,000 miles ago. It has been a fantastic year and we are so thankful for the opportunity to enjoy this amazing and beautiful country.

It's been fun writing this blog over the last 5 weeks or so. Tomorrow it is 6 weeks since we left Orlando and life has changed so much. We are in a different part of the country, we leave in one month for NZ, new Lake Hart Stinters have arrived and life goes on. Crazy, indeed!

Our road trip is over and now New Zealand beckons - one month to go!! edit

Almost over!

| Aug 8, 2008

After 5 weeks on the road, tonight is our last night before we arrive and settle in Southern California for a few weeks. It has been quite a journey full of amazing scenery, incredible history and special friends & family. Hard to believe our trip is almost over and we head back to NZ soon. Crazy!!

Today we headed out from Oakdale, California and drove about an hour and a half into Yosemite. We had to go up a REALLY steep road. Bryce said our car never got out of first gear the whole way. Yikes! Anyway, after that steep road and then lots of curvy driving, we got our first glimpse of Half Dome. It never fails to take my breath away!! It is one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

We drove down into Yosemite Valley. As always it was gorgeous. The last time I was there was 23 years ago and it looked even more beautiful. Unfortunately summer means no water in the Yosemite Falls which is sad as they are so stunning, but we had fun looking around. I really wanted to dip my feet in the Merced river as it isn't too deep, too rapidy or too cold. We found a spot and dipped our feet. The kids asked if they could go swimming, so after a quick change in the car, they were ready to swim. It was really fun watching them enjoy the water like we did all those years ago.

After the swim, we drove around a bit and then headed out to Mariposa Grove where there are Giant Sequoia trees. We went a short distance on the trail and enjoyed seeing the amazing trees!! It truly is an amazingly beautiful area. We arrived in the early evening at our hotel and got to enjoy the pool and just relaxing for a bit.

Tomorrow we head down through Fresno and Bakersfield and into Orange County eventually. It will be good to be settled for a week or so before we head to Texas in a week. I am excited about seeing my family too. The Olympics start tomorrow so I am SUPER STOKED!!! I love the Olympics. Go NZ, Go USA, Go Fiji....oh boy, too many countries to support....... edit

California Dreamin'

| Aug 7, 2008

Well, we finally made it back to California after 14 months. Kind of weird and feels like forever ago and then not so long ago either.

We had a great drive down from Oregon through the moutains and into the valley of Central California. Well, not quite central, but getting close. We are visiting Yosemite tomorrow which will be so cool! Hopefully there is water in the waterfalls and the river as August it can be pretty dry. The last time I was at Yosemite was in 1985 and it was with Bryce. We had been dating for about 6 months, but for 4 months of that I had been in the States. He came over to visit for three weeks at the end of our trip and we camped in Yosemite for 5 days. Lots of memories. So fun!! It will be cool to show the kids another part of our dating history. HA!

I said to Bryce today that the closer we get to So. California, the sadder I am getting as it means we are leaving the US. I am excited to see my friends and family in NZ again, but it is sad to say goodbye to friends and family here. So hard being torn between two countries now. Oh well, that is my life. Try not to think about it too much or it gets too sad. edit

Stunning Oregon

| Aug 6, 2008

Sunday we headed out of Seattle, Washington and drove down to Portland. We had a good friend from Stint that we wanted to catch up with. It was so great to catch up with Alex (unfortunately Sue wasn't there) and we had a great time with him. I know that Bryce is going to miss the times they hung out together in Orlando. We didn't see much of Portland, but we enjoyed what we did see.

Monday morning, we headed out of Portland for Redmond, Oregon. My cousin, Kelly lives there with her family and I hadn't seen her in 11 years or so. We were excited to reconnect. The drive was gorgeous as we drove through the Cascade mountains. I had been talking to Bryce how it would be fun to eat in some small town diners. Well, Detroit, Oregon had a small diner that we ate in. The food was excellent, but the prices were a little outrageous. Oh well!! It had character.

We arrived in the early afternoon at Kelly's home. She and her husband Terry live in a the country just outside the small town of Redmond. They have a gorgeious home there. It was so fun to meet my cousin Ashley as an adult. Last time I saw her she was 10. We had a great time chatting about life and where it has taken us over the years. We also enjoyed their two Weimariner dogs, Jackson and Gallon. Terry is a hunter and a real outdoors-man. Michael really enjoyed hanging out with him. Terry has this cool three wheeled bike and took the kids on it. Unfortunately there as a bit of a mishap as they were riding through the small pond and the bike flipped and they all ended up in the mud and water. It was rather funny, but could have been quite dangerous. Oh well!

Dinner ended up being quite late, but it was worth the wait. Delicious fresh salmon and yummy chicken as well as fresh corn, potatoes and salad. Yum!! For dessert we had s'mores. The kids had a blast making those. We all had a late night, but it was a terrific time.

This morning Terry made us an enormous breakfast. Bacon, eggs, waffles, fruit, donuts and it was delicious. Bryce, Terry and Shawn talked for a couple of hours outside, while Ashley, Kelly and I hung out inside and chatted. Ashley is a dancer and so we had fun talking about her future dreams. Cool!

We finally left Redmond around 1pm, a bit later than planned, but it was worth it. We really enjoyed our visit with Kelly & Terry. We headed to Crater Lake, Oregon. That was AMAZING!! It is the deepest lake in the USA at over 1900 feet deep and one of the deepest in the world. It was a volcanic crater filled with melted snow and ice and felt like it was at the top of the world. The water is so blue and it is truly stunning. Bryce said it was one of the most beautiful places he has seen in the US so that was high praise indeed. The rim road down was a little terrifying as it was quite narrow and no guiderails, but we made it down fine.

Tonight we are staying in Grants Pass, Oregon. My grandparents lived here for almost 30 years and I have many wonderful childhood memories of their home here so it was fun to drop by their house and see how it looks since I was last here 11 years ago. My grandparents are now with the Lord, so it was a bit emotional seeing their place when the last time I was here they were alive. It was fun to show Michael and Laura where their great-grandparents lived for so long.

Tomorrow we head to Yosemite in California. We've come full circle nearly. A bit emotional really!! I am feeling pretty sad about finishing our adventure, but know that good things are still to come as we head back to NZ. It has been an amazing trip and I can't wait to do it again! edit

Almost Canadians for life!

| Aug 3, 2008

It has been an eventful day in the life of the Staveleys.

It all started with an early morning wake up call from a friend in the US. I completely forgot that I was international so who knows how much that call will be. Oh well! We all dozed off for awhile so that was good, but that meant another late start. We're getting pretty bad at those.

Vancouver is a beautiful city, but unfortunately very cool and cloudy the days we were there. Not sure if we experienced the beauty of it all. After we checked out, we needed breakfast and finally found a Dennys and found parking. Unfortunately it was metered and we had no Canadian money, but we found that US money worked fine. YAY!

I had noticed though as we had driven around looking for parking and as we entered the restaurant that there were a lot of rainbow flags around. Turns out it was Pride Week in Vancouver and we were in the thick of it. That made for interesting conversation with Michael as we explained homosexuality to him.

After breakfast, we headed to Stanley Park which is beautiful. The woods there were gorgeous and so many redwood trees. We drove around the whole park and snapped a few pics of the totem poles and the harbour. It was cool!

We decided to head back to Seattle as we expected it would be a bit of a wait at the border crossing. We got going and then Michael needed to go to the bathroom. We had to get off the freeway and finally we found a bathroom. It was getting close to 12pm at this stage, but we were doing fine. We finally found our way back to the freeway and headed for the border. The sign said 8 miles to the border and at about 5 miles we hit the line that was at a complete standstill. We ummed and aahed for a bit and then decided to turn around and head the way we had come yesterday.

It was getting towards lunch time so we stopped for lunch and found our way back to the border crossing we came through yesterday. At the same time the day before, the line out of Canada was about 10 cars long, maybe less. Today it was easily a 100 cars. Fortunately it was a beautiful day so we rolled down the windows, turned off the car and read thinking it would be 45 minutes or so. Well, 2 hours later we FINALLY crossed the border. For awhile there we thought that we were going to be Canadians for life!

Well, unhappy events were not over for the Staveleys, NO they weren't. That would be too simple and easy. Unfortunately, we took the wrong freeway in Seattle and ended up going in the opposite direction that we wanted to. We finally got that sorted, but that was extremely frustrating as it was now 6:30pm and we were getting hungry. Well, the day wasn't finished with us yet. We decided to go to IHOP for dinner and set the GPS. For some reason "Daniel" got confused and we had to do three U-turns, but finally made it. Whew!! We are now resting and re-energising at our friends' house before we head to Portland tomorrow. What a day!
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It's been aboot a week!! We're in CANADA!

| Aug 2, 2008

We had a great week in Seattle. It was so nice to just stop for awile and enjoy hanging out with Brad, Amal and the boys and our friends. Our friends have a lovely home in a woodsy area so we felt like we were in the country, but weren't far from shops etc. It was pretty cool though. One day it was only 57 degrees at 11:30am. That was a big change from what we are used to.

Some of the fun things we did were:

Saw the new Batman movie which was excellent.
Went to Barnes and Noble for coffee a couple of times
Went to Pike Place Markets (big farmers market in Downtown Seattle)
Went to a very large Asian grocery store and ate yummy food.
Went geo-caching. That was interesting, but we never found the cache - more GPS issues :)
Hung out and chatted at the house while the kids played Wii or outside.
Went out for dinner to a fun Northwest cuisine restaurant.

This morning we got up and headed out the door for Vancouver, Canada. We decided we were only a couple of hours away from Vancouver so it seemed like a great idea to visit. We're only here for one night and half a day really, but we have been to Canada. It was really fun crossing the border into another country by car. That was a new experience for us all.

We had a fun drive into the city, which is very beautiful surrounded by mountains. However, our route took us through the less desirable part of the city which was a little nerve-wracking. We finally arrived at our hotel in a much nicer part of town which was great. We hung out in our room for awhile and then walked around the area close by to find a restaurant for dinner. It was interesting to see all the different eating places etc.

After we got home to our room, we watched a movie as a family and now it is bedtime. Not sure what fun things we will do tomorrow, but I know it will be great. Tomorrow we head back to Seattle for another night, then Portland, Redmond, Oregon, Grants Pass, Oregon, Yosemite, California and then on the 8th we arrive in Southern California. Hard to believe we are so far away from Orlando now! I am missing Florida already, but it will be nice to be back with family in California soon.

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From one corner to the other!

| Jul 29, 2008

I am sitting in Issaquah, Washington just outside of Seattle. It is a beautiful day and is a bit cool. Nice change from the heat of Orlando. Today marks four weeks since we left Orlando and here we are in the opposite corner of the US. Time sure flies and it is hard to believe all we have seen and done in that time.

We had a great visit in Idaho with our friends there. We had an enjoyable morning hanging out in the park and then driving around Boisie. We hadn't been there before so it was cool to see another city. It was pretty hot though so we were sweating our way around the town. In the afternoon we just chilled and the kids & Bryce swam in the hotel pool. Our hotel was brand new (well in the last year) and the service was fantastic. They had popcorn and cookies for us each day which was a nice touch. Amazing how these small things mean so much!

We drove through southern Idaho to Boisie, from Yellowstone and were very surprized to see how arid and brown it was. I thought Idaho was all green and hilly, but it turns out that is northern Idaho. It was a nice relief to get to the moutains and green of Washington and Oregon. It was a pretty long drive across the countryside, but went pretty quickly.

I was pretty excited to see my brother, Brad and his family (Amal, Josh & Timmy) in Washington. We are having a couple of days together before they keep driving back to Orlando and we continue on to California. We'd not seen each other in two months so it has been nice to catch up. Brad and I had coffee together this morning which was really neat.

Tomorrow we are going to see Seattle and just be tourists!! edit

Wide Open Spaces and Yellowstone Glory

| Jul 25, 2008

Yesterday we headed out from Spearfish, South Dakota and journeyed across the prairies of Montana. No wonder it is called Big Sky Country - the blue sky was huge, the vast grasslands even more enormous. It was lonely driving as we were once again on highway not interstate, but so pleasant as there was no traffic. The only delays we experienced were some construction delays.

We made our way through two Native American reservations - The Northern Cheyenne and The Crow. That was interesting. The drive also took us to Little Bighorn where General Custer had his last stand against the Native Americans. At the last minute we decided to visit the memorial and the battlefield. It was a quick visit, but really interesting.

After that we kept on driving for miles and miles. It was getting a little tiring, but we did ok. Finally we felt like we were getting somewhere when we saw the mountains. Quite refreshing after all that open country. We said our last goodbye to the prairie. We headed into our hotel only to find there was no internet and the TV coverage was pretty lousy. Kind of a disappointment after a 8 hour driving day.

Well, this morning we all hopped up bright and early because today we were in YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!! Yellowstone was the first National Park established in the late 19th century/early 20th century by President T Roosevelt. It is the largest in the contiguous U.S., and a must-see place if you can.

We entered the park through the Roosevelt Arch. The entrance was about half a mile from our hotel so that all happened quick. It was so fun to use our National Park pass and just drive on in. As we did we prayed we would see some cool animals today. We drove to the visitors center in Mammoth Hot Springs to get the scoop on what we should see. That was a good place to start.

We drove through beautiful meadows, forest, lakes and hot springs. The only thing to mar our day was the manslaughter of a squirrel by our car. It was a sad moment. It actually would have made it, but it panicked and stopped and then ran back the way it came and SMACK, it was all over. I grieved for that little squirrel. Michael was just thrilled to have another gruesome experience :)

We eventually got to Canyon Village and to the waterfalls that were just outside of the village. They were STUNNING!! It was the Yellowstone River pouring over a ledge and just thundering down. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying. I kept a firm hold of my little family.

After we left the falls we decided to go around the Grand Loop. That was cool as it took us through this beautiful valley which was grassland and there was a huge herd of buffalo. It was so amazing. They were fighting, dusting off, snoozing, eating and there were lots of babies. It was cool. We had seen one earlier by the road, but these was even more amazing. We stopped to take some pictures and upon hopping back into the car we found we were at a standstill. Well, there was a buffalo having a standoff with a car. It was so incredible. After moving on, it walked up the road right beside us. How cool is that!!!

We continued our drive past Yellowstone Lake (it is the highest lake in the US and is frozen for half the year) and finally arrived at Old Faithful. Old Faithful is a geyser that erupts approximately every hour and has done for years and years. It is one of the major attractions of Yellowstone. We hadn't eaten so we grabbed a quick bite and then off we went to see the geyser. We weren't sure how long we were going to have to wait, but 10 minutes later or so, it went off. Perfect timing!

After the show, we walked around the immediate geothermal area which was other small geysers and boiling water. We enjoyed it a lot. It was getting hot so we headed back to the car and headed out. We decided we wanted to try and see a few more animals so drove back through some country we had seen, but then headed for our hotel in West Yellowstone.

Across the street is the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Sanctuary, so we ended up spending a couple hours there watching the grizzlies and the wolves. Very cool. Will write more tomorrow about them.

Tomorrow we head to Boise, Idaho to see friends there. Another state on our journey. Till then. edit

Lifelong dream fulfilled TODAY!

| Jul 23, 2008

When I was 6 years old, I was given the Little House on the Prairie books. From that moment on I was hooked. The stories of Laura and Mary Ingalls captured my imagination and my heart. So much so that I hoped to one day have my own little Laura (which I do).

I never imagined that I would ever, ever, ever get to visit the places that Laura lived in. In fact, I really didn't know that you could. I don't know what I thought. Once I discovered that these places were real and that there was stuff to see, I have always wanted to visit, but when you live in Fiji and New Zealand, it is hard to imagine it ever coming true. Well, today it did!!

I stood in the very places where Laura went to school, where she weathered their first winter in De Smet, I saw the trees Pa planted around their claim shanty, I saw the view that greeted Laura everytime she walked into town to work or school, I saw Loftus' store, the church and the cemetary where Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie & Grace are buried. It was surreal and marvellous. A dream came true today!!!

After we spent four hours looking around, we headed on our mammoth five and half our drive across South Dakota. For the most part we were on highways which took us through the heart of wheat country. There were fields of wheat for miles and miles. It was GORGEOUS!! We saw combine harvesters harvesting the wheat which was so mesmerizing. We enjoyed that.

It was a long day made longer by a fun stop in Wall, South Dakota which is home to Wall Drug, an unusual store/drugstore that takes up a whole city block. Historical and interesting. We had fun, but finally reached our destination in the Black Hills of South Dakota (Spearfish) and now we are ready to crash!!

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Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, OH MY!!!

| Jul 22, 2008

5:30am this morning I was awakened by an almighty crash of thunder!! It was so loud and then all I could see was lightening flashing. It was a little scary. We were in the middle of a SEVERE thunderstorm and I was a little nervous because the area we were in had recently been flooded. Scary stuff!!

I fell back to sleep and eventually got up at 8am. We are adjusting to our new time zone. We had a quick breakfast and then it was HIT the road time....well, not quite. We were out the door and we were at the car, but then Bryce discovered that the change he had made to his computer bags messed up the packing so he had to redo all that. Finally we were on our way. We needed to go to a pharmacy so found a Walgreens down the road. We got there and it was closed!! Sure wish GPS could tell you that or not. We went to Walmart instead and got all that we needed, but we were REALLY late leaving Iowa City.

We finally were on the interstate and heading west to Des Moines and then north to Minnesota. It was a beautiful day after all the rain and we had a great drive. We passed through Ames, Iowa where my parents had lived in their twenties. All my life I have heard about Ames, Iowa and there I was. Cool indeed. We continued north and then we made it across the border into Minnesota.

We still had ages to go before we got to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. You may be asking yourself "What is in Walnut Grove?". Well, for all you Little House on the Prairie officianados, Walnut Grove is the little town where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived when she was 7 years old until around 11 or so. The book that correlates to this area is "On the Banks of Plum Creek". Never in my life had I imagined that I would actually be on the banks of Plum Creek and be at the site of her dugout house on the bank. So, so, so, COOL!!!!!!!! We had a lot of fun exploring around the area and the kids waded in the creek a bit. Laura always described flowers in her books and the owners of the land where the dugout is have purposefully allowed the wildflowers to grow back. It was so fun to see those.

After Walnut Grove we had another hour drive to Brookings, South Dakota where we were to spend the night before going to another dream come true place tomorrow - De Smet, South Dakota, where Laura lived in her teens and got married etc. Soooooo excited!!!

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Why did the deer cross the road!!!!

| Jul 21, 2008

To get hit by a blue pickup right in front of us in the middle of the day!!!!!!

So, we had just crossed over the border from Indiana to Illinois when Bryce said to me "There's a deer over there". That was a bit of a surprize to see in the daytime, but we are always excited to see wildlife. Anyway, I yelled to the kids (they were watching a movie with headphones) "Look at the deer, look at the deer". Right at that moment the deer decided to run across the freeway right in front of the blue pickup that was right in front of us. The pickup had no choice but to hit the deer and then the deer went flying! I yelled "Don't look at the deer, don't look at the deer" and covered my eyes.

Anyway, Bryce and the kids saw the whole thing and said the poor deer was doing 360s across the street and the front of the truck was completely smashed in. It was a totally traumatic experience. Bryce was so excited about what he had witnessed, he was like "I have to call someone, I have to tell someone" so he phoned Scotty!! Thanks, Scotty for being there for Bryce.

So that was our drama for the day!! edit

It's been awhile and we've been all over!

| Jul 21, 2008

I haven't blogged in awhile as we have been SOOOO busy and haven't had the right opportunity.

We had a great time relaxing in Indianapolis with my aunt and family. We just chilled out, the kids played Wii a lot and I read and napped. We got to see Scott & Amy from our Stint and that was so fun too. They have a great house and Gabe & Bryce had a lot of fun playing together.

We headed out on Friday to Cincinnati, Ohio to our Kiwi staff friends' house. They are visiting for 6 weeks or so and since we were pretty close we HAD to say hi. They are really close friends and colleagues so it was fantastic to see them as it has been 18 months since our last face to face conversations. Con is one of my closest friends so it was so nice to reconnect. We just hung out and chatted most of the evening which was fun.

The next morning, Bryce and Aaron took little Elijah and went to the Dayton Airshow. It is reportedly the biggest in the country (Dayton is where the Wright Brothers lived). Anyway, while they were away playing with airplanes, Michael, Laura, Con, Olivia and I hung out at home around the pool. The kids had a blast just chilling and relaxing. It was fun! Once Bryce & Aaron got home, we headed to the Gap Outlet store which was fun. We managed to get Bryce some good deals on clothing and Aaron seems to enjoy helping Bryce keep in fashion. It was hilarious listening to the two of them. Laura and I were just cracking up with laughter.

After we got back we decided to watch a movie "Lars & the Real Girl".....hmmmmmm.....some people love it, I guess. We were a little ambivalent. It wasn't horrible, but not great either. We ended up talking till really late with Aaron so a bit tired today.

We got up early and got on the road this morning as we had to head to Iowa which meant crossing through Indiana and Illinois. We were anticipating a long day, which it was, but it went quick. We did have some drama though. I will blog about that separate.

Anyway, we met up with Aaron and Sadee from Stint in Davenport, Iowa and had dinner with them. So fun to see them and sad too as we had to say goodbye! Love you guys! Anyway, we finally got into our hotel room at 10pm (we've changed time zones today too). Unfortunately, we've ended up in a smoking room with AC that is a little dodgy and then Bryce's computer (which was accidently dropped) decided to give up its life. A little frustrating for him. It has been a long day, so I am signing off! edit

Indiana HOT!!

| Jul 18, 2008

It has been fun hanging out with my aunt Marie and her family here in Westfield, IN. We have enjoyed some good homecooking and just chilling. Nice after days of sightseeing.

Yesterday we did go for a walk along the canal in Downtown Indy. That was a lot of fun, but HOT!!!!!! We thought about taking a pedal boat ride until we saw the men sweating profusely and realized that we didn't want to get that wet!! It was nice to get outside and see the downtown area. It is really pretty and has some neat memorials.

Last night we just chilled at home and watched "So you think you can Dance" - love the talent on that show!!!!

Today we are going to see some friends from Stint in Florida. I am excited about that. edit

Indiana and Family!

| Jul 16, 2008

One of the things I like to collect are Longaberger Baskets. They are heirloom baskets that are made in Central Ohio. In May my mom, aunt and I went to Longaberger country to see the where the baskets are made and the cool basket building which is the HQ for Longaberger. It was a fun trip.

Sunday night we spent in Zanesville, Ohio which is about 20 minutes or so from Longaberger country so we decided to take a detour and visit the basket building. It was a fun trip to see it and then Bryce kindly let me buy a special basket that is only sold there - the Dresden Basket. I was pretty excited about that.

We continued our drive on a BEAUTIFUL day through Ohio and into Indiana. I had a good chance to chat with some Stint friends and catch up on some reading. My family lives in Westfield, Indiana just north of Indianapolis and in a gorgeous part of town. It was so fun to drive into their driveway in OUR car as normally we fly in.

I knocked on the door, but they weren't home. My cousin, Lauren was taking off on a mission trip to Ukraine yesterday and they were dropping her off at the airport. My aunt's email hadn't got to me before I shut my computer down in the morning. Anyway, Marie told us how to get into the house and we settled in. It was actually nice and relaxing after driving four hours.

We had a great time hanging out with the family here and just enjoying each other's company. Another couple of days and then we head to Cincinnati to see some Kiwi staff. That will be so cool too! edit

Driving in the Rain and Yummy Chocolate

| Jul 14, 2008

It was hard to get up and around today. Just feeling the fatigue a bit after driving and sightseeing for two weeks. Oh well!

We headed to Hershey, Pennsylvania today where the Hershey chocolate factory is as well as other cool attractions. It was so fun to drive along the streets where chocolate kiss streetlights mark the way. So cute!

Chocolate World was where we were headed which was right next to HersheyPark the amusement park that Hershey has. That looked fun, but we only had a couple of hours so we didn't do that. Instead we went on a small tour of how they make Hershey chocolate and then looked around at all the Hershey products, both edible and non-edible. I bought some cute Xmas ornaments in the shape of chocolate kisses.

We had two hours of free parking so we did everything pretty quickly. We had a yummy lunch and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Next time we might do the amusement park. So fun.

After Chocolate World we were faced with a LOOOONG (well, for the Staveleys, a long drive) across Pennsylvania into Ohio. It started raining not long into the trip and rained most of our drive through Pennsylvania which made things a little difficult especially with big trucks barrelling up beside you. The countryside was really pretty and we enjoyed going through the mountains. We think they were the Appalachians, but not sure.

We drove through a little bit of West Virginia too which was fun. That makes 10 states in 14 days. WHEW!! No wonder we are a bit tired. We stopped in Zanesville for the night before driving on to Indianapolis tomorrow. We might stop by the Longaberger Basket office building tomorrow as it is really unique. Anyway, more later. edit

Amish Country

| Jul 13, 2008

Travelling vacations are not that restful so today we enjoyed a sleep in which meant we left our hotel in Philly pretty late in the day. We had unpacked our whole car so that we could travel around with the Abbotts, so it took us awhile to get it all back in. By "us", I really mean Bryce. He is such a hard worker and a master at the puzzle our car presents in trying to get all our luggage and paraphenalia in it. He succeeded and we left!!

We drove about and hour to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania which is Amish country. My family roots on the Brenneman side are traced back to this area. I was pretty excited about visiting the area and seeing where my ancestors moved to from Europe. The scenery is so pretty - it's rural and hilly and just so pretty. Really different than the wooded areas of Pennsylvania and Virginia, but still pretty.

We had lunch at an Amish restaurant which was fun. I enjoyed trying to explain to Michael and Laura where the Amish/Mennonites came from so it was a trip down church history lane a bit. As it was a Saturday there were lots of Amish functions happening around the place which was fun to see. One house was having a big party it looked like. It is kind of funny though as people are looking at these people and taking pictures etc and yet they are just ordinary people living their lives. Kind of weird and so intriguing.

After driving around for a few hours we got to our hotel in New Holland, PA and crashed for a bit before going out to the grocery store across the street and then to Rita's Water Ice, our new found favorite treat. I had Tropical Punch today which was so yummy. Now we are eating our microwave dinners in the room and then its bed for the troops. Tomorrow we go to Hershey and then we drive to Zanesville, Ohio on our way to Indianapolis. Lots of driving tomorrow. edit

Fun Philly Day

| Jul 13, 2008

We had a great day yesterday in Philadelphia. It was so awesome to see Shelby & Rachael and then to see the historic sights of Philly was great too.

The Abbotts arrived at our hotel right at 9am and we were ready to go so it was a fun reunion with them. We hopped in our car and drove into the city of Philadelphia. We are staying about 20 minutes outside the city. We had lots of fun catching up on the ride in.
What I continue to find so amazing in places is how there are all these modern high rises or other buildings and then BOOM a very old building built 200 or more years ago. Crazy! It was like that yesterday. In amongst the business buildings of Philly is the most historic spot in America - the birthplace of the USA. So cool!

We got our tickets for the Independence Hall tour and then went to see the Liberty Bell. It was neat to see that old bell that is always on stamps etc, but I had never seen it in person. Very cool and interesting. The building that houses it is quite modern which I found to be a bit weird, but the bell has a HUGE window behind it which looks right at its old home in Independence Hall.

We were early for our tour, but decided to go through security and then hang out in the beautiful historic square behind the Hall. It was really relaxing and so pretty. Finally it was our turn to go in. We were so fortunate and had an AWESOME tour guide who really helped all of us really understand and picture the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence. He was so good. We then moved into the historic chambers of the Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written and signed. Historic events in both US and world history.

The kids were excited to be seeing the places where the movie National Treasure was filmed. That movie has been a great catalyst to our kids wanting to see historic places in the US. Michael has the attenton span of a gnat, but that's ok. He is getting better :)

After the Hall, we walked to Jim's Steaks - a famous Philly Cheesesteak restaurant. It was pretty cool to be eating the yummy cheesesteaks in Philly in a very traditional restaurant. Billy Joel, Jim Belushi, Bruce Willis have all eaten there...so that was cool too!

Another must see stop on our tour of Philly was the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art where the Rocky movie was filmed. Sylvester Stallone's character, Rocky, ran up the steps and jumped in victory at the top. In the third movie a statue of Rocky is unveiled. That statue now stands at the base of the steps. We had to get a pic and we had to run up the steps too!

We headed back to the car and decided to find another mid-Atlantic treat place - Rita's Water Ice. Sir Daniel, our GPS (we've changed to a guy) took us through some beautiful countryside. The homes were gorgeous. The only problem was that Rachael wasn't sure where we were in relation to the area we were staying in. It was fun exploring though and the water ice was delicious!! One opened up on Waterford Lakes Parkway opposite Firkin if you are interested and live in Orlando!

After that yummy treat, we headed out to see the Abbotts new home in Downingtown. It was so nice to see where they will be living and have a context for them for the future. I was excited about that. They have a great house in a gorgeous semi-rural area and we are looking foward to visiting them in the future.

We headed home to rest for a bit and then we went to have dinner with Shelby & Rachael at Rachael's parents house. It was wonderful to have a homecooked meal after almost 2 weeks of eating out. The company was awesome too! It was fun just chilling out and chatting with them and really sad to say goodbye for awhile until we see them again sometime it the future.

It was a great day!

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Quiet Day for the Staveleys

| Jul 11, 2008

Well, we intended on going to Mt Vernon today, but ended up leaving too late, so decided to continue on and drive to Philadelphia. We are spending a couple of days here seeing the historical areas and visiting with Shelby & Rachael.

We got here pretty early so we decided to go to a movie at the nearby HUGE mall in King of Prussia. So fun! We saw Get Smart which was so funny. I laughed a lot. Now we are just chilling out in our room before we start our sightseeing again tomorrow.

Till then! edit

Washington D.C. - Day 3

| Jul 10, 2008

Well, like all of our travel days, it appears it wouldn't be a Staveley road trip day without DRAMA!!

Today's edition of DRAMA was a power (electricity) cut in our hotel. What made it DRAMA for me was that the kids had just gone down in the elevator when the power went off. My heart started pounding in fear for them trapped in that little and hot box for hours! Fortunately, my husband (who jumped out of the shower when the lights went out) is of a more sound mind than I and told me to call Laura on her cellphone...She answered and they were safe in the breakfast room.

Meanwhile, Bryce had to shave in the dark and finish getting ready for the day. I was annoyed because the Internet was down :). Anyway, we finally made it downstairs in the dark through the dark and smelly stairway and into the bright light of day. The hotel was handing out little tiny flashlights so we grabbed some.

We headed out to the subway as per usual and enjoyed a relatively quick trip into D.C. We had decided to go to the U.S. National Holocaust Museum and needed to get our passes. We had a sobering visit there. It is a must see at least once in your life if you can. It is heartbreaking, tear-inducing experience, but soooooo important to remember. Not that I really want to think about it too much as it is also a bit scary. The kids found it to be really sad and Laura especially struggled with the emotion of it.

After that we had lunch (our trusty GPS found a hidden McDonalds in the depths of an underground mall). We then walked to the Native American museum which was excellent. I was a bit reluctant as I thought it was going to be all about artifacts and pottery, but actually it was really about the people and their stories and explanations of who they are. So interesting! After a couple of hours there and with feet that were falling off after three days of walking, we decided to head for home.

We've had a quiet evening in our room just relaxing which has been really nice. Tomorrow we leave DC and head to Philly!! So excited to see Pennsylvania and the Abbotts. edit

Washington D.C - Day 2

| Jul 9, 2008

Well, today was a much tamer day for us. We knew where we were going and were able to just get on with our day. Much better start.

We decided to head out as early as we could so we could get in line at the National Archives building. The kids really wanted to be there to see the Declaration of Independence after watching the movie "National Treasure". Michael was so cute and asked me if there really was a map on the back of the Declaration.

Anyway, we spent an enjoyable two hours in the Archives looking at the documents - so amazing - and also in the Public Vault which is essentially an interactive museum with information found in the Archives. Very cool!

It was lunch time so our trusty GPS found us a McDonalds to eat at and we were able to get refreshed. It was very hot in D.C. today!!

After lunch we walked down to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. We had a great time in there for the next couple of hours looking at animals, bones, gems and jewels, and Michael's favorite, the Insect Zoo. He very proudly held a GIANT grasshopper and a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. I just took the pictures!! Laura even held the grasshopper which was amazing to me.

We then walked through the National Mall to the National Museum of Air and Space. We had to have an ice cream break as it was so hot and we were melting. Fortunately all these museums are FREE and COOL!!! We enjoyed looking around at the cool exhibits for a couple of hours and then decided we'd call it a day.

It was a great day and we enjoyed ourselves a lot. Tomorrow we are thinking of visiting the Arlington Cemetary, the Holocaust Museum and the Native American Museum. Thursday morning we'll head to Mt Vernon which will be so cool to be at George Washington's home.
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Washington D.C. - Day 1

| Jul 8, 2008

The morning started well. I got up early so that we could all be up and around to leave the hotel to take the Metro into the District (D.C.). It was actually quite cool which was really nice.

We got to the Metro and it took us a few minutes to orient ourselves to the system. It was a little confusing, but we managed to get our tickets and be on our way. Michael's eyes were really big at riding on a train that went underground. So fun to watch!

Bryce and I had decided that we were going to do a Hop On/Off tour of the area to get our bearings and also just see as much as we can. Unfortunately the website for the company we decided to use didn't have an exact address for their office so we were winging it. A big mistake!! We also decided mid-stream to change trains and take a different line. Well, that was our second mistake!

Anyway, we got off the train and found ourselves in downtown Washington DC. Fortunately it is a really nice place so we didn't feel weird or unsafe or anything. I decided to wander down towards the National Mall as I thought we might find the tour office closer down there. We started wandering and there began our 1 1/2 hour trek around the streets of DC trying to find the Old Town Trolley Tours. It also decided to get sunny and HOT. Sweat was pouring off of us as we went from one person to the next trying to find the right place. Finally, someone seemed to know something so told us to go past The White House and find it over there. So off we went.

Meanwhile, Michael has started to complain about walking, about being hot and how he hadn't decided to do this thing at all and why were we doing it. It went on for awhile. Finally we reached The White House and we got to admire it and take some pictures. I hadn't seen The White House on my previous visit to D.C. in 1985 so it was neat to see.

After doing that, we kept walking and once we reached the spot where the office was SUPPOSED to be...guess what? It wasn't!!! Michael about collapsed and died on the spot :) Anyway, we realized that there was a Metro station close by that would take us to Union Station where we knew there was a Trolley office. (Why I didn't do that earlier...who knows!). Anyway, we had lunch at Subway which was delicious. After we had cooled off a bit, we managed to find the station and ride the subway to the right place. What a relief to finally get our tickets and get on the Trolley.

We were very lucky to get a very knowledgable driver and he really helped us understand the layout of the city, what various things meant and did an excellent job at taking us around. I was awestruck by the gorgeous buildings and also just being somewhere that we see so much on TV and in movies. We decided to get off at the Lincoln Memorial which was awesome!! It is so awe-inspiring and gorgeous. I had never visited the Vietnam Memorial so really wanted to see that as well. It was so hot as we were walking along there which made it a good object lesson for the kids about the heat of Vietnam.

After visiting the Korean War Memorial, we decided it was time to get back on the Trolley and finish our tour. It was very interesting. We went through Georgetown and up into the hills of D.C. where it is so leafy and green and much cooler. We also went through Embassy Row which was amazing. I loved seeing all the flags and buildings of the different countries. Our driver was amazing in that he remembered all of them.

We finally got back to Union Station after a really interesting day. We decided to eat at the Station and then make our way back to our hotel. It was wonderful to finally collapse in a heap on the bed and relax, but tomorrow we get to do it all over again!! It's the Smithsonian tomorrow.

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Crazy day

| Jul 7, 2008

This morning we packed up all our stuff into the car again and headed out of Williamsburg. It is a beautiful area of Virginia. We drove along the Colonial Parkway to the Historic town of Yorktown.

Yorktown was besieged by George Washington in 1781 and he had a decisive victory. Essentially it was the last battle of the Revolutionary war even though it took a couple more years before the treaty was signed. Anyway, we enjoyed looking around the visitors center and a bit of the battlefield. Mom and Dad joined us there so that was fun. We decided we needed to get going so we said goodbye. It was a hard goodbye for me..... I was very sad to say goodbye to life as we have known it and whilst I am going to see them in September for a week or so, life has just changed for us - BIG TIME!!! Laura was pretty sad too, but we all did pretty good. Not too many tears were shed.

We decided to go to McDonalds for lunch (because we found one on our GPS) and so began the crazy day!! We headed out in the direction the GPS told us to. Things were trucking along just fine when "She" told us to go right, so we did. It seemed a little strange as it was a neigborhood, but we obeyed. We continued to go right and then right again until we realized we were right back where we had started and she now told us to go left. We had gone in a BIG circle to get to McDonalds when we could have just gone straight ahead. That gave us all a good laugh which we needed.

After lunch we headed out up Highway 17. Typically the highways are quiet and small towns, but this highway was busy and full of traffic signals. It was slow going. Finally we got moving a bit and it got prettier. We decided to stop for gas. Crazy day #2. Bryce put the wrong gas in our car for awhile (the more expensive one), so he had to start over and I tried to go in to the station, but it was all locked up. Kind of weird to be able to get gas at a gas station that is closed.

We continued on our way when all of a sudden we hit MAJOR traffic. We had forgotten it was 4th of July weekend and all kinds of people were heading to Maryland. We drove for awhile, but decided to turn around and find another way. We managed to do that and finally go onto I-95. That was much better. Bryce said later that it took us 5 hours to drive 100 miles. CRAZY!!

Eventually we made it to our hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. We are going to commute into the DC area from here on the metro. Anyway, I checked in and everything was going smoothly. The kids and I went up to our room on the 8th floor and walked in and it was a MESS!!! It wasn't clean and the previous people were really messy. YUCK! So, back down I went to get a new room. Mind you, we have 2 big suitcases, 2 computers, 2 backpacks plus four or five other bags including our dirty laundry. All of that is piled high on a cart and threatening to tip over any second. Anyway, we hike up to the 9th floor and walk into room 911....that was kind of creepy! Laura kindly pointed out that we were in that room number and also our current location. We had barely got into the room and started unloading when the front desk called to say the room was someone else's so could we vacate. By this stage, Bryce and I were a little frustrated and tired.

The front desk lady finally came up after we were camped in the hall for about five minutes, only to find out that it was booked under the name of our corporate deal and the person that takes care of that in Orlando. IT was our room so for the second time we unloaded and got settled.

They were advertising a BBQ dinner in the hotel restaurant for the 4th of July, so we decided to take advantage of that. We paid our $30 for all four of us, only to find cold hot dogs and hamburger patties that had been sitting there for a couple of hours. I enjoyed the food fine, but Bryce and the kids weren't too keen on the salads. Anyway, we were laughing about our crazy day and having fun when all of a sudden Laura spit Diet Coke all over us...Crazy day part 100....., but then she started to choke and had to rush to a trash can and threw up slightly!! Bryce and I just cracked up at the funny, frustrating and annoying things that happened on this crazy day!!!

Tomorrow is another day!! D.C. watch out...the Staveleys are in town!! edit

Another day in 1776

| Jul 7, 2008

We got to spend another interesting day in Colonial Williamsburg on the 5th of July. It was definitely less crowded than the 4th.

The day started with a glimpse into how the wealthiest of the wealthy lived in the Governor's Palace. It seems so strange to have a "palace" in a small town like Williamsburg, but there it was. I have to say it was a beautiful building. The original burned down, but the reconstruction is almost identical and is nearly a 100 years old in and of itself. So interesting! We took lots of pictures and wandered the English garden. Reminded us a lot of Hampton Court in England.

After the Palace we headed to the town square where the re-enactments were happening. It was very interesting to see and hear how things were in 1775 and 76 just before the Revolution. Michael was finding it all a bit tedious though and was ready for lunch. We had lunch in another old tavern, but to pay $9.50 for a turkey sandwich was a bit much!!

Lunch was the last stop for Bryce and Michael as they decided they wanted to return to 2008 and go back to our hotel. Mom, Dad, Laura and I stayed and continued to enjoy the history and and surrounds of Williamsburg.

We visited the brickyard (watched them make real bricks), the cabinet makers (the building crosses a ravine with a stream - so pretty), the Peyton Randolph house (he was the Speaker of the House of Burgesses and should have signed the Declaration, but fell ill), Wyeth House and sundry other old buildings.

The Randolphy house was particuarly interesting as it was an actual tour and each person in the group was representing a member of the household. The majority were slaves. We had an African American man as our guide and he shared a lot about slavery and how things worked in Revolutionary times. Did you know that Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery? Ironic.

Anyway, it was a great day. Bryce picked us up just as the rain began to fall and we had a fun dinner at Chilis. It was our last meal with Mom and Dad before we all headed out the next day. The kids went to bed and Mom and I stayed up and chatted. It will be awhile before we get to do that again. edit

4th of July in Colonial Williamsburg

| Jul 5, 2008

We woke up to a beautiful Virginia day in Williamsburg. It's the 4th of July!! We all got dressed in our best red, white & blue gear which was so fun. The kids had cool flag T-shirts and I just had flag earrings. Bryce and I packed our 4th of July t-shirts from last year in other suitcases forgetting we would need them. I was a bit sad about that as I don't normally get to wear a T-shirt for the 4th in NZ (middle of winter and all).

Mom and Dad joined us for breakfast in the hotel cafe and then we set out for Colonial Williamsburg. We reached the Visitors Center and decided to go watch a movie on Williamsburg. Unbeknownst to us, it really was a move and about 5 minutes in, Mom and I were like "Let's go". Bryce and Dad were not thrilled as it meant we had to creep out in the dark. We ended up going out an exit door which was so random as it led out to no where and we had to creep through bushes to get back to the buses. So embarrassing!

Anyway, we finally made it to Williamsburg which was so cool! We decided to take the orientation tour which was a good idea for us as we had no idea where we were going. We were hoping to meet up with the Crissans who were on Stint with us as they were here as well, but we weren't sure if we were going to. Just as we were walking up the street on our little tour, there they were! SO AMAZING and such a God thing as we weren't sure how to arrange it. The kids were really thrilled especially Michael as he and Colleen Crissan are good friends.

We had a wonderful day hanging out with them in Williamsburg. They have been there before so it was nice to have some tour guides. Since it was the 4th of July there were special events happening. The first thing we saw was the Fife & Drum Corp do a 13 gun salute to the 13 colonies. It was really cool!

After that we wandered to the part of the city where they are renactments happening from various "4th of July" related events. We got to hear Patrick Henry give his speech, Benedict Arnold explain how he really wasn't a traitor and also heard the Declaration of Independence get read out. It was really neat to be a part of.

We had a fun lunch in an historic Tavern with the Crissans. It was a noisy group and our server was a little overwhelmed, but we got there in the end. After lunch we toured the Capitol building, the Public Gaol and the Gunsmith. It was interesting. While we were in the Capitol, it started to POUR with rain so we decided to head back to our hotel for a rest before the fireworks in the evening. I had developed a bad headache so it was a bit of a relief to get back and have a nap.

Since we'd had a nicer lunch, it was Wendys again for us. It was still raining so we were a little apprehensive as to whether the fireworks were going to go ahead or not. We weren't sure if we would make it to the shuttle either or get parking, so it was a little stressful. The Lord was gracious and we managed all three. Just the weather persisted in persisting so that was a bit of a bummer for us. We found the Crissans on the Market Square and then hung out with them in the rain for an hour or so waiting for the fireworks. Finally they started and they were beautiful! It was special being somewhere like Williamsburg, celebrating such a momentous day.

After walking back to the Visitors Center, we finally made it to our car and are now sitting in our room. Sure feels good to sit down after a busy day walking and standing. Tomorrow we visit all the places we missed today. So fun for us all!

Happy 4th, everyone!! edit

Colonial Williamsburg

| Jul 4, 2008

It was a lovely drive through North Carolina as we wound our way to Williamsburg in Virginia. It wasn't a long drive which was nice. I was tired though. Too much blogging at night! HA!

We are staying in a nice little place in Williamsburg. Mom and Dad arrived about an hour after us and right away Mom, Laura and I went to the Yankee Candle store which is the second largest in the country. So cool! I managed to not buy too many candles to Bryce's relief. Our house in NZ will smell really good.

We're off to dinner soon and then maybe a drive around the city to get our bearings before we head out to the Historic area tomorrow. Should be fun and really neat. edit

Charleston & The USS Yorktown

| Jul 4, 2008

This is my third attempt at blogging tonight. Must be one of the ghosties from Savannah!

Anyway, we had a fun time in Charleston today. We ended up not going to Fort Sumter, but instead explored the USS Yorktown that is docked at Patriots Point right near our hotel. It was a great experience, especially when I found out that my great-uncle Garth Brenneman was the Chief Petty Officer of the Yorktown when it was in service. It was pretty cool to realize that my uncle walked those narrow halls and those really steep stairs.

It was neat to see how the crew lived and how the ship worked, as well as the planes that were used. Bryce and Michael enjoyed looking at the engine room too, but it was a little too claustrophobic for me. They also hung out on the sub that was open and a battleship. Laura and I went to the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum that was on the ship. That was very moving and very interesting.

After we grabbed some lunch, we headed up Hwy 41 through South Carolina. It was beautiful drive and we enjoyed seeing the small towns along the way. It was certainly nice to be off the interstate and away from all the traffic. At some points we were the only car in sight. We particularly enjoyed crossing the Great Pee Dee river. Just tickled us for some reason!

Our GPS lady continues to help us find our way, unless she gets the address wrong. Our hotel was in the middle of the freeway, which really didn't seem right. We eventually found the place and settled in. It was a little stressful for us all.

We grabbed some dinner and then settled down to watch "So you think you can dance" which was fun. Now, it is dark, the computers are on and Bryce and I are waiting for our rascally kids to settle down for the night. At least we have queen beds tonight.

Tomorrow we head to Williamsburg which will be awesome!! Can't wait to celebrate the 4th of July there and just explore the area. Another dream come true. Mom and Dad are meeting us so that will be fantastic too!

Nig

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Historic Savannah

| Jul 4, 2008

Well, we survived our first night on the road. Four people, 2 large suitcases, three computers (I am transferring data from a work one to mine), sundry extra strange bags all crammed into one hotel room makes for fun times for the Staveleys.

Bedtime - this is our system...Michael goes to bed in our bed and Laura in their bed, then Bryce and I sit in the dark for three - five hours while the kids go to sleep and we finally feel the need to sleep as well. Then Bryce moves Michael into the bed he shares with Laura and we get to sleep in a nice toasty bed. Last night Bryce started reading Robinson Crusoe (the young readers edition) to Michael before bed. It is sweet to see them lying on the bed reading. Mike is enjoying it so far.

After a rather achy night in our slightly musty room in Savannah, we all jumped out of bed (well, Bryce and I jumped sort of and the kids just moaned) and we got ready for the day. We were packed and out the door by 9am. YAY! We were off to explore Savann

ah for a few hours.Our trusty new GPS got us to the Old Town Trolley Tours a-ok and we proceeded to tour around the delightful city of Savannah. It was a real surprise actually. It appears that the "city" is really the historic district. Not sure where all the office buildings are etc. The downtown of Savannah is several hundred years old and full of squares which all have lovely gardens and a statue or memorial of some kind. We all really enjoyed the tour.

We saw some really wonderful things. One thing that did amaze me is the number of movies that were made in Savannah. One of my favorites....Forrest Gump was filmed there.

The trolley driver showed us the spot where Forrest was sitting on the bench in the movie and also the church where they filmed the feather floating. So pretty! The actual bench was in a musuem. Tons of other movies were made here too. Like Glory, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Forces of Na

ture etc.

After the tour was finished, we decided to eat at "The Pirates House" which was built in 1733. Part of the building is called "The Herb House" and it is the oldest building in Georgia. So cool!! The food was good and it was kind of cool looking around the house. Supposedly it is full of ghosts as most of Savannah is as well. Kind of creepy! There was a guy dressed as Jack Sparrow from Pirates wandering around. He put Mike's pirate

hat on Michael's head, then Mike took it off, then Jack put it on and it was all rather funny. I thought he smelled like a real pirate to be honest!!!

After lunch we headed off to Charleston, South Carolina. We decided to take a highway there instead of the interstate which definitely threw off our GPS lady (she was recalculating a lot and telling us to do U-turns), but we managed to subdue her and enjoy our journey. It took a bit longer, but was very beautiful. Along the way Bryce and I discussed how we are going to manage our kids over the summer with the close quarters we are all in. We are working on a point system. We'll keep you posted on how that is working!

It seemed to take forever to get to Charleston today. Not sure why, but finally we arrived in the city. It is really pretty. We are staying in Mount Pleasant (what a cool name!) which is on the north side and near Patriots Point.

The kids and Bryce swam in the pool during the late afternoon for an hour or so which was nice.Tonight we went to Hardees for dinner (we were the only ones there.....service was kind of iffy, but the food was good) and then using our trusty GPS we headed to a local Towne Centre to Old Navy. I am trying to score a Fourth of July T-shirt and no luck so far. Then we read for an hour or so in Barnes & Noble and then home by the scenic route that our GPS planned for us. It was really beautiful and lots of historical markers along the way. That GPS has made our life so much easier. At least we can find food in these towns unlike our pre-GPS days.

Anyway, now I am waiting for my laundry to dry. Can you believe it? Day 1 and already laundry!!Tomorrow we may explore some of Charleston or may just sleep in! Not sure which is more appealing at the moment. We will then drive to Wilson, North Carolina (nothing special there) for the night and then on Thursday we get to Williamsburg. So exciting!!!!

That's it for now...the kids are finally asleep, it is blissfully dark and I am stoked my photos are on the computer and edited! YAY! edit

Leaving Orlando

| Jul 4, 2008

I thought it would be fun to chronicle the Staveley Family (Bryce, Christy, Laura and Michael) as we drive across country over the next five weeks or so as we head back to the West Coast of the USA after our 10 months in Florida.

Here's how it all began.......It was an early morning for us after a really late night, but we got up and got moving. I was excited to watch one last show on the DVR before we had to return it. We started rushing around to finish packing the suitcases, the boxes and denuding our

apartment of all life. It was a weird feeling.

We hoped to be heading out the door at 9am and we got pretty close. The Van Rulers, the Friedreichsens and Randy H popped over to help out and say goodbye. It was a strange time as we were rushing around and yet I really wanted to just sit and chat. Kind of sad really. Finally we got all the stuff down to the car and the apartment was minus our belongings. The kids and I went from room to room saying goodbye. Laura and I were crying. We had a good year in that apartment and were leaving behind lots of things we had grown to enjoy. Bryce was just sweating in the Florida heat.

We said our final goodbyes to the apartment, took some pictures and then walked to the car. Bryce was busy getting the DVD players organized for the kids and stressing out about missing cords. He was DRENCHED in sweat, but got everything into the car. We did one last mail check and then drove through the parking lot and out the side gate. I was pretty teary as we left.

We hadn't had breakfast and it was now 10am so we stopped at McD's on Lake Underhill and grabbed a bite on the run. As we entered the 408 freeway we started saying goodbye to lots of places - Waterford Town Center, Legacy Middle School, Camelot Elementary, a host of restaurants, Target, Blockbuster, Disney, Brad and Amal's house and the list went on. It was a sweet and sad time!

Once we got on the road we headed up I-4 towards Daytona. It was beautiful and sunny and the driving was good. We finally stopped for lunch just south of the border between Georgia and Florida. A big rain storm was coming in so Wendys was a perfect shelter for us. We had a fun lunch together and then set out in the rain. We thought it would be over soon, but it just kept on raining. Nice and steady, kind of like NZ. The trucks made it kind of miserable though. Finally we crossed out of Florida into Georgia. I shed more tears as I said goodbye to Lake Hart Stint, Florida, my parents, my brother & his family, and just the life we had there. It was a sad moment.

Once I got over that, I started getting sleepy so dozed off for a little while, but soon it was time to help Bryce navigate his way through the rain. One of the things we invested in, was a GPS. Well, we were enjoying that GPS until it started acting up. Just as we were about a mile from our hotel, it completely died. We were fortunately right by the store that we bought it in (well, the same company anyway) so went in to see if we could get anther one. Well, we didn't get the warranty with it so we have to send it to the manufacturer so we decided to buy a new one...wouldn't you know, they were out. Across the street we went to another store and got one there. Whew!! Now we won't get lost on our cross-country adventure.

We finally got settled in Savannah, had a fun (read that as "interesting" dinner at The Waffle House), indulged in some reading time at Barnes and Noble and now Bryce and I are sitting in the dark in our hotel room while the kids sleep. Fun times!!

Tomorrow we look around historic Savannah and drive to Charleston, South Carolina. Can't believe I am really here. So cool!! edit

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