2009 Travels

2009 travels will be more of spriritual/personal nature. I will be trying to find ways to make 2009 a year to remember in good and great ways. While the world around becomes more and more fear driven, the sky is falling along with the stock market, I want to become financially stronger. I don't need the government, media or anyone to tell me what should happen in my life. I am so grateful for a guidance from our church leaders to help us see a path of hope. As an individual I can be responsible for my own house. "As for me and my house we choose to serve the Lord." This year is going to be ....... I get to fill in the blanks as I go.

San Diego, December 2008
The day after Christmas we loaded up at 4:00 am to drive to San Diego with our oldest granddaughter. It was the worst road conditions I have ever driven in. We had snow/icepack clear to St. George. In the 40 years of driving that route I have never seen it that bad. We lucked out part of the way by following 5 snow plows. It was snowing and blowing.

But after 14 hours we finally made it to our sunny destination. We stayed in what they call Little Italy at the Porta Vista Hotel. Great place and view of the harbor. Sea World was a blast and Balboa Park wonderful. The sun shone every day we were there. I have to say I have the best grandkids in the world. At 14 some kids are pretty scary but not our girl. I enjoyed getting to know her better and talking to her. She found out some stuff about us to. Grandma has a potty mouth I am trying hard to fix. Sorry girlfriend. I'm working on it.

SunValley, Idaho...Last week Bruce and I went up to Sun Valley for work. It was a long (5 hour) drive but I discovered I really like Idaho. We have been there a lot over the years and I guess I had never really thought about it. The difference was that I was comparing Wyoming to Idaho. Let's just say Idaho to me is better. The Sun Valley Resort is beautiful. The condo we stayed at had very comfortable beds and very nice furnishings. The huge bathroom with oversized tub wasn't bad either. For fun there is Ice Skating, bowling, swimming, skiing, etc.... It is a great place to stay.

Florida was awesome. This was our first time to visit. We stayed in Naples at a wonderful condo. There were miles and miles of beaches. Then we stayed 3 days at Disneyworld Wilderness Campground and Resort. We had so much fun. The resort was incredible and so convenient to the resorts. We had a 1 bed cabin with kitchen and huge bathroom.

We even saw an aligator in the wild in a canal next to the highway going to Everglade City! The weather was perfect.

Oh the places I did go

2008 has been a wild ride. We have been to Las Vegas, St. George, Island Park, ID, St. Louis, MO, The Indy 500 and we just got back from Naples, Florida and Disney World. I feel a bit like Dorthy though. I really think there is no place like home. I love to travel. To see the many different landscapes of our great country, the diversity of the geography, the nice people we have met on the way. But the best part of leaving home is coming home. Family. friends, my own bed. :)

St. Luis YTB Convention

On Sunday we got back from our YTB business convention held in St. Luis. It was an incredible experience. We have found an awesome company. This company has been based on God, Family and Country. We met so many nice people and made new friends that love to travel as much as we do.

This replica of the Statue of Liberty is only 5 feet shorter than the real one at Ellis Island. I am so glad I was born in America and enjoy the freedoms that men gave their lives for. Freedom isn't free, it was paid for at an infinite price.

I wish I could capture the excitement and energy that I felt at convention and put in words on this page. You will just have to imagine what is in my heart. Over half of the speakers thanked God for His blessings. The convention ended with a song "If Jesus is 4 days late, he's still on time" that had nearly 20,000 people on their feet and lots of us in tears. Just remember with God all things are possible.

I Love Summer

I love summer. I really need to find something about winter to love. It is 5 months of the year here. Working in the yard, playing at the park, golfing, just sitting outside soaking up the rays are all things I enjoy. I don't ski, snowshoe, or sleigh ride so what could I come up with to do in the winter that I would enjoy?? Got any ideas?? Quilting, maybe but that doesn't count. It is indoors. Shoveling the walks after a snow storm, trying to build a bigger snowman every big storm we have, going for a walk in boots. Ok, maybe I'll make it a point to learn how to love winter too.