Day Eleven

Day eleven was spend being with family and a little bit of shopping.  We went out to lunch with my Grandmother and my Aunt.  I haven't see either in a long time.  It was very nice catching up and seeing how my cousins have changed and grown.  

After lunch and a nap we drove over to Potomac Mills, the local shopping center.  It is a huge shopping center full of outlet stores.

Mason wasn't so much into the shopping as he was into the sporadic arrangement of rides throughout the mall.

We also stopped off at a row of pear blossoms that were in bloom at the front entrance of my Dads housing community.

I had to catch a closer look at these beautiful blossoms.  I can't begin to describe the beauty of the blossoms.  

 

Dad is home tomorrow so it should be fun.  I feel a little bad because dad is working late just to spend time with Mason and myself.  

Day Ten

Day ten was really nice.  No rushing, now driving, no nothing.  Just getting to play with Mason and taking it easy.

We ended up going for a walk in the woods and exploring.  I could tell Mason loved being able to find sticks and look at all the nature around us.  We just don't have woods like this around Orange County.  Yes there are places to hike but nothing like this.

We ended up hiking up to a little picnic area and had a little snack.  Although it was cold we really enjoyed being out of doors.

Mason found headphones in Grandpa's mud room and ended up running around the house with them.  I caught this pic of him and I though it was so cute.

We also went exploring around the house and just had fun taking it easy.

Mason has really gotten into helping me around the kitchen.  He is growing so fast right before my eyes.  I am really blessed to have such a loving son, even if he can be bull-headed sometimes.

Tomorrow Great Grandma comes to visit.  I am not sure what are plans are but I am excited to see her.  I am sure whatever we end up doing will be worth taking pictures.

Day Nine

Day nine was so nice.  The weather was warm and I didn't spend it in a car.  I really enjoyed taking it easy today and recouping a little from our long journey.  I think Mason especially liked that fact that he was able to be active again.

I was able to take some pictures of what the bags on top of my car looked like.  The black trash bags worked great until we hit the hail in Oklahoma.  They just got ripped to shreds but at least the lasted to Virginia.  I have to thank my mom for that, she did a great job at attaching the bike and bags to the top.

Auntie A came to visit for a while and Mason loved playing with her and a couple of kids he met from down the street.  We unloaded his bike and he was able to peddle around the cul-de-sac.  Mason loved it.  He biked all around and played with the neighbor kids, I think he was in heaven after playing only with me and Uncle Brandon for the last 4 days.

Mason got his chain stuck on his bike and it was Uncle Brandon to the rescue.  He fixed Mason's bike in no time and the best part was that Mason got to help.  He really enjoyed playing with the tools and watching Brandon take his bike apart.

Brandon's girlfriend Claudia came over and cooked a great pasta dinner for us.  But I think buy the end Brandon had his run for the money in keeping Claudia from falling for Mason instead.  Mason was defiantly smitten.

We ended the day with a great bath in Dad's two man tub.  Again Mason was glad to be able to take his time and I loved that he was in a tub that hadn't had thousand other people in it.

I had to add this picture.  This is Mason in Grandpa's shoes trying out is exercise machine.  Mason was so cute.

Today was really nice and tomorrow it will just be Mason and I for most of the day.  Grandpa has to work and Grammy won't be home till the afternoon.  I think we will just take it easy tomorrow and again enjoy just being out of the car.   

Day Eight

I have to say I am glad day eight is over.  After a unanimous vote, we all decided to push through and drive the whole 15 hours to Dad's house in Virginia.  It was a hard and long day full of beautiful scenery and an overtired and restless kid.

I drove the first shift and Brandon was just a little bored so he took up coloring and I have to say it came out pretty good. (Except he didn't take my advice that the building should be green!!)  Oh Well.

Here is the sky line of Nashville.  Unfortunaly we didn't stop but from what I saw the city looked very pretty.

Being "King of Road" Mason has mastered finding the candy isle in every quick stop and gas station we stopped at.  I have to give him credit for trying EVERYTHING he could to get us to buy him candy.  Even going so far as asking other people to get it for him.  Smart Kid.

Here is Mason at one of our many stops letting out a little steam.  He has quite a bit of steam and didn't always let it out at the right times or spots but I have to say for a 3 year old he did a really good job on this long journey.

I was very happy and a little sad to see this sign.  I have enjoyed out time on the road and it is always sad to see it come to an end.  On the other hand I was so tired at this time I was just ready to be there.  I know everyone was.

We arrived at Dad's just before midnight, east coast time, and by then I could have slept right there in the driveway but Brandon was a great driver and got all of us there safely.  I am so grateful for the many experiences we have had on the road,  for getting to know my step-brother a little better, and I know Mason now adores his Uncle Brandon.

We will now stay here for the next week.  I am very happy to not have to drive for a while and also Mason and I will be able to car pool to Connecticut with Jenn and Sam next week.  I hope by then Mason will be a bit better as far as sleep is concerned.  He has never been a good car sleeper and I know that has added to the strain of listening to mommy.

Day Seven

Day Seven was a bit scary.  We tried to outrun a storm that was headed strait for us.  This morning we woke up as early as we could to get out on the road before the weather got bad.  But is was already raining by the time we started the car.

At one point I had thought maybe we had bested the storm.  Outwitted it's cold front.  The clouds had parted and a bit of blue sky had peeped through all the gray.

But alas this was not the case.  We hit hail the size of marbles and were forced to brave it out under a bridge.  Luckily we were not alone as about half a dozen others cars had stopped to share our shelter.  

Side Note: When I took this picture I didn't even notice that the street was named Dwight Mission Rd.  For anyone who knows what a fan of The Office I am, would know I was very excited to get a accidental shot of this street sign.

We did end up making a safe passage to Arkansas and from there on out the weather was considerably better.  But because of the foul storm we spent most of the time in the car.  Which played a toll on all who were present.

We did stop off for lunch at Cracker Barrel which was nice and Brandon found his much anticipated Mallo Cups.  He has talked about these Mallo Cups for about the last four states.  We all had a really nice lunch and was treated to a yummy dessert of, you guessed it, Mallo Cups.  Mmmm Yum Yum.

Since we left so early this morning we made great time into Memphis.  We had plenty of time to go slow and look around a little.

We passed over the Mississippi River on this old green bridge as we looked at a beautiful sky line of Memphis.  It reminded me of driving on the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.  But on a much smaller scale.

We had a nice dinner at a local Mexican restaurant but more important was that we got to have time to just be.  Just be outside the car, just be able to stretch , just be "Walking in Memphis".

We have learned that the storm has followed us and will break here tonight.  Luckily at the moment we are safe and warm in our hotel room and I am sure that we will be able to brave any weather that will come our way in the next 48 hours.  And before we know it we will be in Virgina where my sister and her family will be traveling down next weekend for Easter.  Then we will all travel to Connecticut together.  Making the last leg of out journey complete.  

Day Six

Day six was full of flat lands and wavy flat lands.  I never realized how flat Texas was but also how it has its own sense of beauty.  My step-brother Brandon has joined us after landing a little past midnight the night before.  He has been a welcome addition to our adventure.

We pasted into Texas with very little trouble and I noticed that in New Mexico the land is rocky with cliffs and ledges and piles of rocks and small bushy trees while Texas was nothing but yellow and flat with small bushy shrubs.  You could see for miles and the sky was the biggest I have ever seen.  I never realized the sky could stretch that far.

This was a county we crossed over in Texas.  I missed the sign three times as we drove.  Upon the last time I missed the picture Brandon ended up stopping and backing up so I could get a clear shot of this sign.  I was a little freaked out but also grateful.

As we worked our way to Oklahoma the scenery again changed.  Although everything was still flat it had a bit more depth to it.  The ground would gently rise and fall under our tires.  It was a pleasant change from the nothingness of the flat lands.

We are now in Oklahoma City.  We are going to try and get an early start because there is a winter storm watch for this area tomorrow.  Snow and rain are expected but not until Friday night and hopefully by then we will be safe in Memphis Tennessee.  So far all has gone well and I don't think my higher power would bring us this far just to have us get stuck in really bad weather but just in case we are being really careful.

Because no hotel was booked for tonight we are staying in a Best Western.  A little more pricey but it did come with an indoor pool which Mason loved.  He really enjoyed being out of the car. 

Everyday he gets a little more impatient.  We are doing our best to get to the next spot and I am trying to be patient with him.  He is excited to see Grandpa and I know everyday brings us one day closer to getting to our final destination.

Day Five

Day Five has arrived.  In the morning we were greeted by balloonist sailing by the house.  Three in total.  I can't even imagine how beautiful it would be to sail above those tall red mountains.  So after a warm goodbye from everyone we hit the road a little before schedule which was great.

We happened upon a huge meteor crater out in the middle of the desert.  This was the same crater in the movie "Starman" with Jeff Bridges.  Anyway it was gorgeous and Mason enjoyed it.  We went through the museum and talked about meteors and how they fall to the earth.  Everything was very hands on which I know Mason loved.

Next we stopped off at a dinosaur park but unfortunately is was closed so we had to make do with this dinosaur outside the rest stop.  Mason was afraid to touch it at first but he warmed up.  But that was the only thing that warmed up, the weather stayed cold for the whole journey today.  Brrr.

So now we are in Albuquerque, New Mexico and after a good meal at IHOP we are just awaiting the arrival of Brandon, who I have just been told is delayed in Denver for another hour.

Tomorrow the road is not so planned out.  My original plan was to make it to Oklahoma City for another night in a hotel but who know if we can make better time with an extra driver in the car.  One thing I am sure of is that the adventure is far from over.

Day Four

Day Four was full of window shopping and adventure.  The morning was just Mason and me so we traveled to Uptown and window shopped.  Here is a pic of Mason beside a decorated Javalina (a animal that is common in Sedona, just ask GG) the city has different decorated Javalina's (pronounced Ha-va-lina) all over. 

Here is a statue that Mason really liked and he stuck his head in to give her a hug.  She is taking a picture of a man known in Sedona for painting great landscapes.

Later that day after Mason's nap we took Bosco and Aunt Kathy down to the creek.  A great place to get dirty and that is exactly what Mason did.

Bosco loves to chase sticks into the water and Mason had a great time throwing them.  He also loved the abundance of rocks found at the waters edge.  He found they made great objects to throw into the water to make a huge splash.

This was our last full day in Sedona and we have had such a pleasant time.  We have enjoyed the company and the laughs of our close family members and hope to travel by this way again soon.  Tomorrow we hit the road for Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet up with my step brother Brandon.  Then from there the road will be our home for the next four days.  I go in hopes of a safe journey with plenty of good weather and cheap gas.

Day Three

Day Three was a great day.  We had a relaxed morning and played on the trampoline and went for an adventure walk were we found lots of rocks and rabbits.

Next we met up with GG (Great Grandma) and went site seeing.  She had seen this bridge but had never stopped so we got out and explored for a bit.  The creek had made these great impressions on the side of these red rock mountains.  Very Beautiful. 

Next we made a stop at Dairy Queen and we all had a ice-cream and on the way out Mason be-friended a couple of carved out bears.  They had a bunch of these bears around.  One was sleeping in the grass while others were climbing up the telephone poll.

Our last stop was high up on a mountain next to the Sedona Airport.  You could see for miles and the scenery was gorgeous.  Mason had a great time exploring and I think GG had a great time too.