I was dying to get this video below before we even started the road trip. I was afraid the corn wasn't going to be high enough at the field because we saw several corn fields along the way that were still small. Lucky enough for us, it worked out.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Long Journey Home
Day 1
We left Saturday morning, July 11, for the exodus back to Utah. We planned on 5 long days of driving. Luckily, we thought ahead and had Keith bring us the 6th Harry Potter on CD so we had 20 hours of listening time right there.
On Saturday, we had the missionaries come up and help us move out the rest of our things. They lived in our building so it was pretty convenient. We gave them all of our extra food, a nice goody bag consisting of 2 large ketchup bottles (why on Earth did we think we would go through so much ketchup and mustard in 6 months), a half eaten box of Fruit Loops, and about 10 packets of Carnation Instant Breakfast, just to name of few of the items.
That first day we traveled all of the way to Dalton, GA. We stayed at the Jameson Inn where we got the Jameson discount (my middle name). That didn't really get us the discount but when I called to make a reservation, I didn't really like the price until she dropped it $30 to come out to $45/night. Here are two pictures from the first day.
We actually turned around to get a picture of this sign, because we past it the first time
Day 2
We drove from Dalton, GA to Charleston, IL. This was one of our easier days of driving. Not much to report here. We did have another fun time in Charleston though, hanging out with Erin, Jake, and Lesa.
Day 3
We drove from Charleston to Nauvoo and then on to Dyersville, IA. Our first stop was actually Carthage jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. Very reverent place.
After Carthage, we moved onto to Nauvoo. We had both been there before, although I was a lot younger when I last went. We grabbed a bite to eat, took a few pictures, and made sure to get our souvenior brick.
We left Nauvoo at 7:00 and drove a few more hours to Dyersville, IA, the location where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed.
We left Saturday morning, July 11, for the exodus back to Utah. We planned on 5 long days of driving. Luckily, we thought ahead and had Keith bring us the 6th Harry Potter on CD so we had 20 hours of listening time right there.
On Saturday, we had the missionaries come up and help us move out the rest of our things. They lived in our building so it was pretty convenient. We gave them all of our extra food, a nice goody bag consisting of 2 large ketchup bottles (why on Earth did we think we would go through so much ketchup and mustard in 6 months), a half eaten box of Fruit Loops, and about 10 packets of Carnation Instant Breakfast, just to name of few of the items.
That first day we traveled all of the way to Dalton, GA. We stayed at the Jameson Inn where we got the Jameson discount (my middle name). That didn't really get us the discount but when I called to make a reservation, I didn't really like the price until she dropped it $30 to come out to $45/night. Here are two pictures from the first day.
We actually turned around to get a picture of this sign, because we past it the first timeDay 2
We drove from Dalton, GA to Charleston, IL. This was one of our easier days of driving. Not much to report here. We did have another fun time in Charleston though, hanging out with Erin, Jake, and Lesa.
Day 3
We drove from Charleston to Nauvoo and then on to Dyersville, IA. Our first stop was actually Carthage jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. Very reverent place.
After Carthage, we moved onto to Nauvoo. We had both been there before, although I was a lot younger when I last went. We grabbed a bite to eat, took a few pictures, and made sure to get our souvenior brick.
We left Nauvoo at 7:00 and drove a few more hours to Dyersville, IA, the location where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed.Day 4
From Dyersville, IA to Rapid City, SD. We woke up pretty early so we could get out to the Field. They have done a great job of preserving it and it was worth the little detour.
"Don't wink kid"
On our first trip we got out to take a picture with every sign. Well, we were over it this time. We didn't want to get out of the car and we only took a picture of a few of the signs. New states this trip included Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
We showed up to Mount Rushmore at about 9:15 that night. As we pulled in and parked, the night lighting ceremony was just finishing so about 5,000 people were leaving the park. That meant we had to stay a little while if we didn't want to fight getting out of that parking lot. John Garlock told me they had the best gift shop in the world so that is where we spent our time waiting out the crowd. We also tried getting a few night pictures.
Pretty much every hotel and motel that was close to Mount Rushmore was booked that night, except for the more expensive suite rooms. We had to drive all the way back into Rapid City and even then it was hard to find a place. We thought about just driving some more but we wanted to see Rushmore in the daytime so we decided to stay.
From Dyersville, IA to Rapid City, SD. We woke up pretty early so we could get out to the Field. They have done a great job of preserving it and it was worth the little detour.
"Don't wink kid"
On our first trip we got out to take a picture with every sign. Well, we were over it this time. We didn't want to get out of the car and we only took a picture of a few of the signs. New states this trip included Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
We showed up to Mount Rushmore at about 9:15 that night. As we pulled in and parked, the night lighting ceremony was just finishing so about 5,000 people were leaving the park. That meant we had to stay a little while if we didn't want to fight getting out of that parking lot. John Garlock told me they had the best gift shop in the world so that is where we spent our time waiting out the crowd. We also tried getting a few night pictures.
Pretty much every hotel and motel that was close to Mount Rushmore was booked that night, except for the more expensive suite rooms. We had to drive all the way back into Rapid City and even then it was hard to find a place. We thought about just driving some more but we wanted to see Rushmore in the daytime so we decided to stay.Day 5
Last day. Rapid city to Park City, UT. We got up in the morning and drove back to Mount Rushmore and snapped these pictures.
Who knows, maybe one day...
Independence Rock, gotta love the stuff I learned from the game, The Oregon Trail
We were just driving along and we saw a sign that said Martin's Cove in 1/2 mile. We weren't planning on it but we decided to stop. We talked with one of the Sister Missionaires there and she told us a few stories about the place. My Great-Great Grandma was in the Willie Handcart company so she passed through here on her way to Utah.
There's Devil's Gate.
Last day. Rapid city to Park City, UT. We got up in the morning and drove back to Mount Rushmore and snapped these pictures.
Who knows, maybe one day...
Independence Rock, gotta love the stuff I learned from the game, The Oregon Trail
We were just driving along and we saw a sign that said Martin's Cove in 1/2 mile. We weren't planning on it but we decided to stop. We talked with one of the Sister Missionaires there and she told us a few stories about the place. My Great-Great Grandma was in the Willie Handcart company so she passed through here on her way to Utah.
There's Devil's Gate.Arrival
We made it to Park City that night, a little later than originally expected because we spent about an hour at Martin's Cove. It felt so good to be home and so good to sleep on a nice bed with our own pillows. I'll finish off the post with a few pictures that tell it all
We made it to Park City that night, a little later than originally expected because we spent about an hour at Martin's Cove. It felt so good to be home and so good to sleep on a nice bed with our own pillows. I'll finish off the post with a few pictures that tell it all
Goodbye Citi, Goodbye Miami
It has actually already been a few weeks now but Jackie and I have left Miami. My 6 months with Citi went very fast but it was definitely a worthwhile experience. We both had a great time in Miami and we already miss parts of it. Here are a few pictures on my last day.
One last lunch with the gang. Humberto, to my right, made the joke to the server that you could tell I was a gringo because I was the only one to order a sandwich at the table. 
The Finance/Accounting team on our floor.
One last photo of the view from our buildingFriday, July 3, 2009
Miami Metrozoo
We went to the zoo this past weekend and had a great time. Our friends told us about the zoo and it sounded fun. Then they told us how you could feed the giraffes out of your hand and then we were sold. We have a video of that at the bottom. Here are some of the cool animals we saw.
My favorite, the hungry, hungry hippo. We made sure to be there during feeding time and got to ask the zookeeper questions.
Yikes!
Second favorite, the Black Rhino
My favorite, the hungry, hungry hippo. We made sure to be there during feeding time and got to ask the zookeeper questions.
Yikes!
Second favorite, the Black Rhino
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