Knottsberry Farm that is. I haven’t been here in 30 years and it has definitely changed. We had the pleasure of my soul-sister cousin Sarah to guide us throughout the park. She took us to all the best rides and made sure we ate where the best burgers are. 

  
Sarah and I both love animals and reading!  I used to always carry a book with me everywhere I went. I still have some of my favorite books from my childhood stashed in my house (they are my precious ). Now I carry a kindle so I never run out of books to read. 

 The boys went on Knott’s version of the tea cups and Sarah graciously went with them. I usually go on but my head was pounding (realized later I was dehydrated).  We also took a genuine stage coach ride which I have never done before!  

  Afterwards we all met back at my cousins and had grilled burgers and some delicious pies. 

Take care y’all 

We moved an hour down the road to Anaheim. Unfortunately it took way more than an hour to get there. Fortunately it was for a good cause. 

  
Sean loves Strawberries! This is the look he gives you when you ask him if he is going to share the strawberries you just spent 40 minutes helping him pick. We stopped at Carlsbad Strawberry Company where I used to go and buy strawberries each time I visited my grandparents. Sean talked about how awesome it was the entire time and talked about how awesome it was to pick your own and then eat them. 

 Just before we got to the strawberry place, I noticed I was dragging something behind my rv. We hadn’t hooked up the jeep as we weren’t sure we could get into the parking area to pick Strawberries.( which it turns out we couldn’t ).  Turns out I was dragging my tow bar. More on this later. 

The best part of today (July 2) is that we met Pat in Anaheim. He flew out to spend 6 days with us. Brian is especially thrilled as Pat will help take him to all the airsoft stores in the area. He has Christmas and Birthday money burning a hole in his pocket. 

The second best part was visiting my other cousin, Carol, and her family. I love my cousins and all their kids. I am so glad we got together often. My sons and husband never once dragged their feet to go (which says a lot).  

  We spent most of the 3rd running around Anaheim. We had to find a rv or towing supply store to get a new tow bar. They didn’t have one in stock but sent a driver to get one from a distributor. While we waited we went to fry’s.  Picture Best Buy and MicroCenter combined in a Costco sized warehouse and you know what it’s like. It’s Nerdvana!

  
We also had lunch at a CA institution. I think so many people hyped it up to us that when we were disappointed we weren’t surprised. 

  After picking up my new tow bar, we headed to Airsoft GI then Evike looking at tons and tons of items until Brian spent all his money. Then we finally dragged him away and we spent the rest of the night relaxing while Brian organized his stash. 

 Saturday (4th) we slept in late then went out to Golf-n-Stuff. We played putt putt, drove s-l-o-w bumper cars, fast go carts (steering wasn’t very good) and raced around in bumper boats. Afterwards the kids cooled off with slushies and played a few games in their arcade. I believe this is the night our cousins visited us in our rv. 

Did I mention my cousins rock? Just saying they totally rock!

Take care y’all 

I have a cousin, Cheryl, who lives in San Diego with her husband and she generously offered to host dinner for us. It was a lovely treat after driving almost 12 hours. 

  
Brian’s favorite part of visiting my cousin is that she we watching a super sweet set of dogs that he fell in love with. He has been begging for a lap size dog ever since. 

  We had issues with scheduling campgrounds due to the 4th of July and unfortunately only had two nights at Del Mar Beach on Camp Pendleton. We loved watching the soldiers roll through the campground. They often run through the campground or next to the campground on the beach at 5:30 AM!  Luckily we all found it easy to fall back asleep. 

My Aunt Margie thoughtfully volunteered to take my mom down to Fort Rose Crans where my grandparents remains are interred. They also stopped by my mom’s favorite hotel in Coronado. Every time she visited her parents in San Diego she would visit. She had a day remembering fond memories. 

  While my mom was out, the boys and I took a walk on the beach. After getting a bit wetter than they planned, we headed to the playground. It was over an hour of playing outside which is rare for Sean.  

  After playing (the boys) and cleaning (me) we headed back to my cousins where she served smores she made in an oven. Her husband found the recipe and it was great. I managed to only have this small portion which was just enough. 

Thanks again Cousin not only for the great food and good times but also allowing Babe to come over and have a larger space to hang out in.

Take care y’all 

  Whew. You want to talk about heat! We drove through Death Valley today. Originally it was a 6 hour trip. However, driving a 40ft rv while towing our grand cherokee turned it into an 11.5 hour trip. I am so glad that we left early. I didn’t realize the amount of mountains we would drive up. 

  I also didn’t realize how hot brakes would get going downhill. We actually had to pull over while they cooled down.  I miscalculated the amount of steep grades and will try to post some pictures later that may give you an idea of how steep it is. 

  We ended our dad at Del Mar Beach on Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, VA.  We will stay here for a short time and will get to visit my cousin. 

Take care y’all 

  Wine Ridge rv park &  winery in Pharump, Nevada was the next stop on our journey. This is another clean resort approximately one hour from Las Vegas. After hooking up we headed to visit Hoover Dam and find a place to eat in Vegas. 

  We enjoyed seeing the Dam although we were a bit disappointed that we missed the chance to get on the last tour for the day. It was 107.9 when we left Pharump and it was 118 on the dam. It was horribly hot. I had two water bottles win my bag which we drank down and I brought 6 extras in my car for emergencies. 

  
After the heat at the dam, we were very happy to eat in air conditioning. Since we have been to a hard rock cafe London and Alaska, we decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and grab new shirts for the boys. 

Since Nana and I aren’t into gambling, we left after dinner and headed back to the rv to get some laundry done. The one negative with this campground is that it is gravel. Babe, our dog, is not happy walking on gravel. On the plus side she gets her business done faster. 

Take care y’all 

After spending several days in Eastern Colorado, we headed over to Cortez, CO for an overnight stay before we drove to Zion River Resort in Virgin, UT.  

Zion is our favorite campground from out 2013 summer trip. It’s a short drive outside Zion National Park  and is one of the cleanest campgrounds we have ever stayed at. Originally we had planned on staying here for two days but we had some July 4th scheduling issues and found we could only be at the campground overnight. 

While the boys relaxed I took Nana on an hour drive through the park. We drove 30 minutes in then turned around and went back the way we came. My mom was happy that I drove so she could focus on the scenery.  

 
Next up Nevada.

Take care y’all