Day 1. 10/6/12
Left North Augusta at 5:15am & met family at GMC dealership in Birmingham at 10am. Loaded up RV then stopped for Subway. Arrived at Shiloh battlefield 4pm with chilly cloudy weather. Kane & I rode bikes through battlefield. Ezra loved exploring the woods & Alex wore her new rain boots, puppy fleece, & coon hat. General thought the battlefield was very pristine. Mom & Alex were having fun in the Shiloh Church singing songs. Allie was on the ball & found a Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The kids stayed up until 9pm & slept in a cabin Nana got us. It was raining so we didn't tent camp at Cherokee Landing. The cabins looked EXACTLY like the ones at Indian Lakes we used to stay at when I was a little girl. Alex woke up 5 times asking, "can I sleep in RV with Nana?" Ezra, right before we went to sleep, pulled down the heavy trundle bed on top of him. He busted his lip & had a bloody nose. Poor guy! Allie (& her casted leg) & Alex shared a floppy bed & Kane & I had a queen. We were a little spooked being the only ones in the huge, dark campground. Kane & I watched the movie "Role Models" then crashed.
Day 2. 10/07/12
Woke up at 6:45am to little Alex whining she wants to be in RV with Nana. Drove through rain in Arkansas and stopped at Fort Smith, Trail of Tears, Whiskey Wars, Civil War. Stayed in RV at Comfort Inn in Oklahoma City, OK.
Day 3 10/07/12
Yukon, OK saw Garth Books Road & Chisilm Trail Crossing. Cherokee Trading Post bought Alex a spirit pouch necklace and saw Indian mural & buffalos. Stopped at Route 66 museum in Clinton, OK & bought postcards for Klint & Uncle Curtis. In Groom, TX we saw the big cross. For a late lunch we stopped in Amarillo, TX at Big Texan Steakhouse. I had the best pork ribs ever! Family loved the shooting gallery animal heads. We stayed at Best Western & Alex swam with General.
Day 4 10/09/12
Left Moriarity, NM & stopped west of Albuquerque at the Petroglyph National Monument & hiked the Boca Nogra trail. General bought the kids Junior Ranger hats & I bought an authentic necklace. We even saw 2 coyotes. We had salads from Denny's to go then the RV had problems & needed some minor repairs. We barely made it to the Petrified Forest...had to race to a trail, jump out, & snag a picture of the old logs. The park was closing so we headed to Holbrook, AZ for a hotel.
Day 5 10/10/12
Day 6 10/11/12
Woke up in tv nice & toasty very early. Body still waking up for body pump! Got everybody free breakfast at hotel then took kt back to her rental home. Headed for Grand Canyon at 830am. Started raining on the way. Saw elk at entrance & took picture next to sign. Saw movie at visitor center then took bikes out because there was a break in the weather. Ended up taking shuttle to ...Point and stopping along way.. It was chilly out & rainy. The canyon had shadows but was still breathe taking.Ezra flirted with old ladies. We missed sunset because kids were hungry & it was drizzling. Checked in at Yavapai Lodge & ate dinner at the cafeteria.
Day 7 10/12/12
Woke up at 5 & super excited to see sunrise. Kane stayed back with kids. Went back to lodge & packed up at 8am & headed for desert drive road. It started to snow! Climbed tower. Ate at route 66 diner in Williams. Ezra had cherry shake. Visited Sunset crator & Wapukati NM. Saw snow on Flagstaff mountains. Arrived in Sedona after dusk & checked inn Days Inn Friday night in our 2 room suite. A family of Halacabra? were spotted outside room.
Day 8 10/13/12
In the morning I got coffee & got first glimpse of rocks. Sedona is magical. Tons of hiking & cute shops. Dropped Kane at Courthouse Butte to mountain bike for the day. The kids & I went to Chapel on the Rocks. It was pretty. Bought a Christmas ornament. We then ate our picnic snack at Bell Rock Trail. Alex wanted a "treat" so we went into town & shopped. Alex picked out a puppy dog named Sedona with a pink dress. Met Kane & brought lunch but he lost bike when he hiked. The kids slept while he retraced trail. After relaxing at hotel we planned to hike to Devils Bridge. It took us 40 minutes longer to hike & got back at dark. Kane took a wrong turn! But, luckily Devils Bridge was awesome. I was shaking as I crossed.
Day 9
10/14/12
Shopped on Scottsdale at Gap outlet & Columbia. Dropped Kane at Phoenix Airport. Went to Sheraton Hotel with family. Ate lunch at a Mexican grill & had yummy shrimp mango cilantro quesadillas. Swam in rooftop pool. Shopped in gift shop. Hiked with Ezra to downtown Safeway to buy groceries. Watched Sherlock Holmes with Allie & ordered room service!
Day 10
Woke up & swam with Ezra & Alex then left for Prescott to visit Katie. Shopped at Columbia outlet again where Ezra wiped out & got a bloody lip. Made Katie dinner then hung out at her rental place while Ezra played. Bought her alcohol as a thank you gift.
Day 11
Ezra slept horribly in rv. Went on hike with Katie in The Dells at 7am. Prescott was beautiful, surrounded by mountains. Went to mall & shopped at jcpenny. Looked around World Market store. Katie fave us a quick tour of Embry Riddle & we met family at student union to eat lunch. We hung out at Katies rental house & chatted in the afternoon after het class.
Day 12
