A new means of travel

Wayne has been training to get his private pilots' liscense. He passed the test a couple weeks ago, so today we flew to Iowa for Thanksgiving at Wayne's parents' house.
I have been converted to being a big fan of small planes and regional flying since riding a few times with Wayne. Our flight was so convenient, fun, and exciting.
Flying privately makes you feel rich and famous. Even though you are actually very poor after paying to fly the plane using $5 per gallon fuel. But that all fades when you arrive at the airport and flash your badge to go through a super secret security gate. (not really super secret, but it sounded good) Drive up the the hanger where the plane is, and Wayne gets the plane ready. I park the car in the hanger (no, I don't have to pay a parking fee!) Then we jump in the plane and taxi out to the runway. Takeoff is pretty fun, but ascending is pretty slow, so you don't get that feeling you get in an airline of raising hundreds of feet in a few seconds. Once we get to the right altitude Wayne turns on the autopilot, and we pretty much relax for 2 and a half hours. It's fun to spot landmarks and laugh at the poor little cars trudging down the interstate. When we get to our destination, we land at another small airport. Wayne's family was waiting, basically parked on the taxi-way. Then we zoomed off to a delicous Thanksgiving meal prepared by my mother-in-law.
Another cool thing about flying is the FBO's. These are nice little lounges for private pilots and passengers. The ones in Rapid City have nice furniture, clean, nice, bathrooms, refreshments, and a bigscreen TV. So like I said, you feel like you've joined the ranks of the rich and famous. Or at least I do.

A Traveler's Job

Since this spring I have been working at a travel store in town. It is lots of fun to be surrounded by maps, guidebooks, and travel accessories. I love being able to grab a guidebook to anywhere and read a little when the store isn't busy.
Another perk is chatting with shoppers about their travels. I love giving my imput on what people should buy for a specific trip or giving advice on places to go that I have been.
I can also get great deals for myself on all things travel related. I've gotten books, supplies, and a suitcase. My next discounted purchase will be an Eno Hammock.

Rome 2009

Rome in May was gorgeous. The weather was wonderful and the grass was so green compared to late July, when I had first traveled to Rome. There were lots of flowers too, especially the bright red poppies that were growing everywhere. I loved how they grew so brightly beside the ancient crumbled ruins from centuries ago.

Joanna and I had a great trip. Besides the beautiful weather and flowers, we enjoyed our time immensely. The pictures in my Photobucket account detail what we did and saw. (Click on link in the next post) We saw everything that we wanted to see and had nice dinners at cozy sidewalk cafes. We did lots of walking, ate gelato, and squeezed in some shopping.

The trip was so much easier and not as stressful than I thought it would be. My two biggest worries (see "Planning a trip to Rome with Joanna" post) ended up not being a big deal. I was dreading the jet lag, but I got enough rest on the overnight plane from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to keep going. In Amsterdam I felt refreshed and had a short amount of time until my next flight. I called Wayne to tell him I landed, and then Joanna called me from a pay phone in Rome. She told me to meet her at platform 23 in the Termini Train Station in Rome. I got really tired on the flight to Rome, and did the embarrassing head drop - falling asleep for a few short seconds until your head falls down and you jerk awake for the next few seconds, repeat... When I got to Rome, the airport and train station at the airport were user friendly and easy to use. When I got to Termini, I easily found Joanna's tired smiling face at the end of Platform 23 at around 5 pm. A few nights I was awake from around 12-2AM, but other than that, I adjusted well to the time. I think that being to Rome before was a huge help in being comfortable and stress free in Rome. I again found the city very relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly.

It was different traveling without Wayne, and I missed him. But it was empowering to travel on my own. I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Europe - hopefully with Wayne!

Rome Pictures

I'm back from my trip to Rome with Joanna. We had a blast. Here are the pictures from the trip - I am using Photobucket to organize my photos. Eventually I'll have pictures from all out trips on the sight.
Enjoy!
PICTURES
More about the trip in the next post.

Leaving for Rome Today!

Today I leave for my trip to Rome! I am very excited, yet actually quite mello. I'm confident about going on the trip with Joanna. Joanna called me from Minneapolis, where her flight to Chicago was canceled, but it sounded like she was getting on a different flight to Chicago. So hopefully everything will go well for her. She planned to arrive in Rome about 8 hours before me, so if she is late it won't be a big deal.
I have packed everything I need:
My new 22 inch Eagle Creek Rollie has clothes, toiletries, airplane pillow, extra shoes, umbrella, snacks and phone & camera chargers.
My Overland small backpack has books, empty water bottle, camera, phone, billfold and passport.
This is the first time I have gone on a 'big' trip with just carry-on luggage.
I'm excited and looking forward to this trip. I'll try to put pictures up soon after I get back.
Arrivederci!

Planning a trip to Rome with Joanna

I will be traveling to Rome in May!
Joanna, my sister-in-law, and I have been excitedly planning our trip. When we visited Wayne's family over spring break Joanna convinced me to purchase the air tickets.
We will have have four full days in Rome, plus a few days for traveling. It will actually be most of two days to fly there, and one day to fly back. I am starting to get really excited about the trip. This will be my first trip without Wayne, so I am a bit nervous.
Here are the things that make me nervous:
1) Jet Lag - I have never felt like I adapted well to the time change in Europe. This trip I hope will be better because I arrive at 4 pm, instead of a normal early-morning arrival. I also am considering trying a travel pill.
2) Meeting Joanna - Joanna and I will not be flying together, so we will have to find each other in Rome. We have set a designated meeting place and back-up plans. This actually doesn't make me that nervous, but it will be so nice when we have both gotten to our hotel and can relax the first evening!
Things that will make our trip easy:
1) I have already been to Rome and will be familiar with most of the sights.
2) We have booked a nice 4 star hotel. This will make a huge difference - we will have a nice, safe, relaxing place to come to after a busy day of sightseeing.
3) Joanna will be a great travel buddy! I think she will be pretty easy-going, but yet make me go and see stuff when I think I want to take a nap in the hotel!
I'm really looking forward to this trip. As always, I'm using my trusted Rick Steves' guidebook and a handy Italian phrasebook. I am also going carry-on only: I recently acquired a 20 inch Eagle Creek suitcase. I will be taking that and my small backpack.
Buon Giorno!

Welcome Readers!

Thank you for visiting my travel blog. I hope you enjoy reading about my travels as well as gain inspiration for your own. My first post summarizes Wayne (my husband) and my first trip together. More posts will follow shortly, including more trips, adventures, and other topics of interest relating to travel.
Ciao!
Sheena

US Virgin Islands January 2009

During a meal with some of my family during Thanksgiving weekend, my cousin mentioned they were planning a trip to the US Virgin Islands. As a fellow traveler I inquired about their plans. Within minutes, she said "You should come with us!" When we got back home, we researched the Islands and the accomodations.
The Virgin Islands are made up of three major islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. St. John is the smallest island, about 20 square miles. The Virgin Islands National Park makes up three-fourths of the island.
We would fly into the major airport on St. Thomas, take a taxi to the ferry and ferry to St. John where my cousin, Laura, and her husband, Roy, would pick us up in their rented Jeep. Laura and Roy, along with their kids Ian (2) and Caleb(1) were staying in a cottage at the Cinnamon Bay Campground. We reserved a campsite and brought our own tent and camping supplies.
When we got to St. John, we were in paradise. The weather and water were at perfect temperatures. The campground was quiet with lots of shade and beach. The bathrooms were all right, but the showers had only cold water, so that took time to get used to.
We spent 10 days in St. John. We expored most of the beaches and drove around the island in the rented Jeep. St. Johm has a bit of history, so we enjoyed going to the visitor center and visiting ruins of old sugar plantations. There are quite a bit of hiking trails on the island. We ate out for a few meals, but mostly bought groceries and kept them in a cooler at the campsite. Wayne, Caleb and I celebrated birthdays on the island so Laura bought us some treats.

The snorkeling in St. John was fabulous. We had thought that our snorkeling in Jamaica was good, but this couldn't compare. We saw hundreds of parrotfish and angelfish. Lots of stingrays, starfish, and conch. We even saw a baracuda, which some people are afraid of, but they arn't very dangerous. The highlight was seeing sea turtles. They were amazing.
We had a blast seeing the island with Roy and Laura. Ian and Caleb were very good natured, and we loved playing with them. Ian loved to go out in the water with Wayne.
We saw a bit of wildlife - mongooses skittered across the road, brown pelicans dived for minnows, and occationally an iguana would show its face. There were also hermit crabs, wild chickens, wild donkeys and deer.
On our last night, we decided to get a hotel near the airport since our flight left early. It was good to get a warm shower and relax in a bed!
I absolutely loved this trip. The warm weather in January really felt good. And the snorkeling really was excellent. Wayne wants to get an underwater camera for the next trip.
See More pics here
Reflections
Likes: Warm ocean, beautiful beaches, very safe, not crowded
Dislikes: Food and groceries are expensive.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 4 Transfering from airport to taxi to ferry....is a bit tiring.
Would we go back? y/n Yes - any chance we get!
Would be a good trip for: Families with children, groups, romance!

Websites
Cinnamon Bay Campground www.cinnamonbay.com
Virgin Islands National park www.nps.gov/viis

Europe Road Trip August 2008

Cochem, Germany

Europe 2008 - The Short Version

We flew to Frankfurt, Germany on August 25. We rented a car and drove around Europe for 3 weeks. We met my mom in Paris, and she traveled with us for the third week. We loved the freedom of having our own car! I was a lot more comfortable traveling since this was my second trip to Europe. This is a brief summary of what we did.

Germany - Drove from Frankfurt south to tour the town of Rothenburg. Very cute town, surrounded by walls. Then we drove to Fussen, and visited the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Austria - Drove the Grossglockner Hockalpenstrasse, a scenic mountain pass in the alps.

Slovenia - Visited beautiful Lake Bled and Triglav National Park.

Croatia - Drove south along the Dalmation Coast to Dubrovnik. Toured Dubrovnik and swam in the Adriatic Sea. Visited Plitvice Lakes, a national park sporting a series of lakes and waterfalls. Beautiful blue water and lots of friendly fish.

Kotor, Montenegro - Southernmost fjord in Europe. Rugged cliffs surround beautiful Kotor Bay.

Bosnia Herzegovina - Nice, homey country. We drove north to Mostar, an eastern-feeling city with a beautiful bridge. You could still see lots of damage from the conflict here in the 90's.

Venice - Nice, but crowded. Felt more like a tourist trap. Beautiful buildings and atmosphere.

Switzerland - Visited Lauterbrunnen area. Took a gondola to Gimmelwald and walked to Murren and back to Lauterbrunnen. Our knees hurt BAD by the time we got back! Ate the most delicious Alpkäse Fondue. Drove to Paris

Paris - Picked up Mom at the airport. Found a parking garage to leave the car in. Toured Paris with mom. Since we'd been to Paris before, we did a few new things: Went up inside the Eiffel Tower, saw Sainte Chapelle, took a boat cruise on the Seine, and found a nice restaurant to eat at. We visited some friends that served us a nice meal, complete with a cheese course.

Brugge - We drove to Belgium. Stopped for a bit at a beach. Brugge was one of our favorite stops. Lots of shopping and quaint buildings. Delicious Belgian Chocolates.

Netherlands - Stopped one night and visited an American WW2 cemetery.

Germany - Drove through Luxemburg to the Mosel Valley. Lots of vineyards and castles. Visited Berg Eltz Castle. Drove to Frankfurt where we flew home.

More Pics Here

Brugge, Belgium (My mom had to take pictures of EVERYTHING!!!

Brugge, Belgium

Visiting US WW2 cemetery in the Netherlands. We visited this grave because this is one of our friends grandfather.

Brugge, Belgium

Near Murren, Switzerland

Plitice Lakes, Croatia

Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Slovenia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Jamaica January 2008

Ahhh...Our first tropical vacation. Wayne booked a villa at the Silver Sands in October to surprise me. He did a good job of keeping the big secret until November. This link will show you pictures and a description of our villa http://www.mysilversands.com/viewvilla.aspx?bklk=MTc= . This trip was pretty much all-inclusive: We were picked up at the airport in a large van and drove to the Silver Sands Resort. Our villa came with a cook/housekeeper who cooked, cleaned, and even did our laundry! We had to pay for any excursions and groceries.
We spent out lazy days swimming, snorkeling, and basking. We had never done much snorkeling, but caught on quickly. Good snorkel equipment is well worth investing in. We loved snorkeling and saw a few sting ray and lots of little fish. We also saw a very large starfish. Our cook made us the traditional dishes of Jamaica: jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, fish escovich, peas and rice, and johny cakes.
We spent only five days in Jamaica, but it was enough to enjoy ourselves. We didn't explore any of the island, so we didn't get a 'real' Jamaican experience, but we had a great time.

Reflections
Likes: Warm ocean, white sand...Need I say more?
Dislikes:Other than our secluded resort, it wouldn't feel that easy or safe to explore. It would be doable, just not relaxing.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 2
Would we go back? y/n Yes - but not unless we were going with a group our had our own family
Would be a good trip for: Families with children, groups, romance!

My first trip to Europe July 2006

Wayne had always wanted to take me to Europe, a continent he had already traveled to 4 times. In early 2006 we purchased our tickets for travel from Denver to London. We decided to use Eurail to see Paris, Barcelona, and Rome in addition to London. We made all of our hotel reservations using Hotels.com.
We left in the middle of July. We first explored London. We saw the Tower Bridge, the British Museum, Harrod's department store, the Clock Tower, and Buckingham Palace. We spent a lot of time in Hyde Park, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. Our hotel could have been better; it was very small and somehow we got a room with bunk beds and no a/c. It was very hot and I had a hard time adjusting to the time. We had a good meal at a pub, but otherwise ate at Pizza Hut and grocery stores. We used the London Underground a lot, and also walked. We spent about three days in London, then too a train to Paris where we connected to another train to Barcelona. We slept on the overnight train and arrived in Barcelona early the next day.

Barcelona
We had done a little bit of research on Barcelona, but we really had no idea of what to expect. We were extremely impressed with the city. We got off the train and walked around Barcelona: The city was clean, palm trees and cute green parrots were everywhere. We found a pastry shop for breakfast, and then walked to the Sagrada Familia, a church that has been in construction for the last 99 years, and is still not finished. Then we walked down la Rambla, a pedestrian street filled with mimes, street performers, a market, and lots of people. Then we found our hotel and checked in. The hotel was very nice. In the evening we wandered from our hotel and happened to go to the beautiful lighted fountains in front of the national palace. The next day, we walked up Mont Juic, a high hill overlooking the city. we went through the castle on top, and then made our way to the beach. The beach was crowded, but we found enough room to sit down and enjoy the sea. Our train to Italy left that evening, so we walked to the train station and boarded our overnight train.

Italy
We arrived in Milan in the morning, and took a train to Pisa. We stopped for a few hours to see the pretty town of Pisa, and see the leaning tower. Then we took the train to Florence, and on to Rome. In the evening, we found our very nice hotel, and relaxed for the night.
In Rome we walked around the city, saw the sights, and eat plenty of gelato. We saw the Coloseum, the Palentine Hill, the Roman Forum, Trajans Tower, Circus Maximus, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo Fiori, the Baths of Diocletian, and St. Peters Square. We loved Rome. The weather was hot, but we really enjoyed the city. By the time we left, it was beginning to feel like home. We really liked the Rick Steves travel book we used for Rome. After about three days in Rome, we got on our last overnight train: to Paris.

Paris
In Paris we walked around the city, saw the sights, and eat plenty of baguettes and croissants. One highlight in Paris was meeting Christina Roudy for crepes in the Latin Quarter. Christina had met Wayne years ago when he was in Paris. Another highlight was when I found 40 euros in the chair of the hotel room!
When we left Paris, we traveled back to London for one night before our flight back home. On our last evening in London. We found a Chinese restaurant to celebrate our last night in Europe. The food was fantastic. We did pay 15 pounds for water, but it was the best Chinese food we had ever had.

Reflections
Likes: Nice cities full of history.
Dislikes: We didn't like the trains...We thought they were expensive - not only did we have to pay for the tickets, but also had to pay for a 'reservation.' On the other hand it was nice to travel while we slept saving us time and money.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 7
Would we go back? y/n Yes - All of the cities we visited are worth a second trip. Especially Barcelona, since we were there only one night.
We learned: Nice hotels are great when you can afford them.

Alaska July 2005

Our adventure-some travel companions, Rorke & Leatha (R&L), had been constructing a road trip in Alaska. The plan was for R&L to fly to Anchorage and Wayne and I would drive the trusted Camry along the Alaskan Highway and meet them in Anchorage. However, Mileage Plus (my employer) frowned upon my taking 3 weeks off to expand my travel knowledge and being confined to 2 weeks of vacation a year did not sit well with me. I chose to give my two-weeks notice and not look back. I told my sweet supervisor that I "really wanted to go back to school and finish my degree" which I did, but I'll always wonder if she questioned why I needed to quit in July to start school in September. I might add that I was not the only one who quit their job for this trip...R&L had also both quit their jobs before this trip!
This was going to be our cheapest trip ever. We figured our total expenditures would not exceed $800. (World Gallivanter 101: The cost of one's journey does not correlate with the quality of memories made .)
Wayne and I made the long drive to Alaska. One day we drove over 1100 miles. The scenery was nice throughout Canada. We made a quick stop at Watson Lake, where there is the Sign Post Forest - a park littered with sign bearing posts. People add roadsigns, license plates, and other signs that they have been in Watson Lake.
After picking up R&L in anchorage, we made our way north to Denali National Park. We never saw Mt. McKinley, it was always covered in clouds. We took a bus into the park and saw lots of caribou, moose, ptarmigan, and mountain goats. The highlight was seeing a large grizzly bear up close.
It was then off to the North - Fairbanks, the Arctic Circle, and Prudhoe Bay. Wayne and R&L actually donned swimwear and swam in the arctic ocean. The water was a brisk 39 degrees Fahrenheit. We did check out some warmer water in Chena Hot Springs, east of Fairbanks. We then drove south. We went to McCarthy, where Wayne and Rorke did a short overnight backpacking trip to a glacier. We then went to Valdez and did some exploring. We looked for wild berries and saw some salmon spawning.
Next on the trip was the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage.We decided to take a dinner cruise from Seward. The trip was very enjoyable, a nice dinner, and some wildlife spotting: Stellar Sea Lions, Jellyfish (everywhere!), otters, puffins, and Mountain Goats. We got t0 see some of Wayne's relatives on this trip: Tyler, Lisa, Breanna, Owen and Lindsey Vaughan. We stayed with Tyler and Lisa and were had lunch with Lindsey in Anchorage (I believe it was at the Moose Tooth)
Wayne and I dropped R&L off in Seward to catch their cruise ship to Vancouver. The scenery in Alaska had been wonderful. Glaciers and waterfalls could be seen from every vista. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing this wonderful trip with R&L and took hundreds of great pictures.
On our drive back to the lower 48, Wayne and I drove through Banff & Jasper National Park. This was again a beautiful drive, but we were glad to get home and I started school the day after we returned.
Reflections
Likes: Freedom of having our own car, being able to take 3 weeks for the trip. Also, having great travel partners!
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 2
Would we go back? y/n Yes - driving to Alaska was great, but next time we will fly!
Would be a good trip for: Those who love nature, animals, and the great outdoors.

More Pictures Webshots

Washington DC May 2005

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tzu

I was employed by Mileage Plus, a company within United Airlines, for part of 2005. This job was great opportunity for a travel lover like myself to learn about the airline industry. It also had travel benefits to die for: Free stand-by travel.

One of our first trips was planned, and we decided to go to Paris. We booked a hotel and planned on five days. Once we finally arrived at Washington Dulles (Washington DC airport) we realized that free stand-by travel was not all that it was cracked up to be. Flights were generally pretty well booked, and if there were seats available, you had to wait in line behind all the other hopeful stand-by passengers. Back to Dulles: It was midnight and the plane we wanted to take to Paris was probably somewhere over Greenland. We frantically racked our brain of options: Fly somewhere else for vacation, fly to London and take a train to Paris, stay in Washington DC....We got listed as standby for a flight to London, and waited and waited as the flight was delayed and finally canceled. At this point we made a decision - We would not waste any more of our precious vacation time stranded in an airport. We found a car rental counter, rented a car and found a charming Ikea parking lot to sleep the remaining few hours of the night.

We were happy and excited to explore a new place. However, there were still a few minor gliches: 1) We had no idea where our luggage was. In my mind it was the last lonely suitcase going around and around on a deserted baggage carosel in the Paris airport. (World Gallivanter 101: make good use of your carry-on luggage: a few wise choices will get you a long way) 2)We had no plan and had done no research on touring the Washington DC area. But alas, we were young and getting more experienced in traveling, and soon had an itinerary drafted in our minds of what we wanted to do. This is what we did:

Day 1 Walked the sites aound the National Mall: The Capitol, Smithsonian museums, Washington and Lincoln memorials, ww2 memorials, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and the White House. We then decided to get out of town, so we drove to Gettysburg, PA.

Day 2 Toured Gettysburg battlefield, museum, and cemetery. Went shopping for a few outfits at a local outlet. Drove to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and saw the sights there. Continued driving south and west to Virginia Beach.

Day 3 Relaxed on the beach, then drove south along Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Nice beaches, lots of birds and Seashells. Returned to Virginia Beach.

Day 4 Drove back to Washington DC. Began the task of finding stand-by seats to fly back home.

Reflections
Likes: Looking back, we were able to do a lot in a short time. Loved all the history tied to this area, all the monuments and parks were very nice.
Dislikes: Lots of Traffic around DC and Virginia Beach.
Regrets: Missed seeing Arlington National Cemetery and Jefferson Memorial.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 2
Would we go back? y/n Yes -We want to see more of the coast along Virginia and North Carolina. We would also explore the Appalachians - Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Would be a good trip for: History Buffs, Families

Websites:
Washington DC Tourism http://www.washington.org/
Cape Hatteras National Seashore http://www.nps.gov/caha
More Pictures Webshots

Paris March 2005

Paris in March. Not the idyllic image often thought of by the romantic traveler. Nevertheless, the cold March weather brought an unusual dazzling snow that blanketed the City of Lights. I was actually not a part of this trip. Wayne traveled to Paris with Joanna and Philip, his sister and brother, over his spring break. Tickets were seized at a bargain $330 and the trip was planned with the help and input of Joanna and Philip.
The troupe planned a weeks' vacation. They wanted to do the trip extremely cheap - and succeeded. They found a campground in the Bois de Bologne park and rented a small trailer (read: ugly shack) that worked well for sleeping and a little cooking.
Joanna and Philip seemed to love the trip. Joanna learned many French phrases, while Philip got by using "Voudrais....[pointing]...that" (I want... That!) They did most of the normal sightseeing, including going to Versailles and attending an opera.
Sadly I was not in attendance on this trip (Jobs are so overrated...). But the trip was very successful and I enjoyed looking at pictures of my husband, without me, in the worlds most romantic city.

New York/Quebec December 2004

This trip can be summed up in one sentence: The most unexpected, unplanned, insane trip we have ever taken.

Wayne has a cousin, Cody Vaughan, who had a 1966 bronco that had died here in South Dakota. Well, one day Cody came to retrieve his bronco. His love for the bronco prompted him to plan to tow it from South Dakota to New York. His towing vehicle, however, was a 1976 Station Wagon.

For some reason (which no one can recall) Wayne and I decided that this was our ticket to an impromptu trip. We would drive our pickup out to New York, and pull both vehicles on my dad's 40 foot trailer. It would be fun - quality time with cousin Cody, and see a little of the country.

We would take I 90 all the way to New York, stopping periodically to eat and sleep. About 10 miles into our trip, someone flagged us down and told us the brakes on the trailer were smoking. After considering our options for a mere 30 seconds, the brakes were snipped and off we went. Having no trailer brakes is dangerous, not to mention illegal, and there was no guarantee of clear roads in the middle of December.
We left Sioux Falls at about 6 pm on a Sunday. We stopped for gas somewhere in Minnesota, where we realized that the station wagon was literally hanging 6 inches from the pavement. More chains were bought and the wagon was again tied down.
Since we were 'tough' and had little money, hotels were out of the question. Our first stop at a rest area to sleep did not go well. After a couple of hours of trying to sleep in the sub-zero temperatures, we gave up and hit the road again. The next 26 hours were a cycle of getting gas, food, and Pepsi's, driving, and stopping for bathroom breaks. Wayne picks on me now because I slept about 20 of those hours. I can't deny it, I was in the back seat of the pickup, curled up on the floor dreaming.
We arrived at the Vaughan's in New York at 4 AM Tuesday. We spent some time at the Vaughan's and then drove around the area. Wayne showed me the houses he lived in as a kid.

We drove north to Quebec and spent a few days with the Pibuses, friends of Wayne's family. After that we drove south to Newport, Vermont. That is where we met Gilbert.
Gilbert was a police officer that pulled us over in Newport. I had been taking pictures, as we were driving through the town. Gilbert inched up to the window with one hand at his holster and started stuttering, "Uh, h-hi there. I need to see some, s-some, ahh, ahh, documentation."
Wayne - "Drivers license, registration, insurance?"
Gilbert - "Yes"
Wayne - Gives Gilbert papers
Gilbert - "Is that a police scanner?" {points to our little CB radio}
Wayne - "{raises eyes} No, it's a CB radio"
Gilbert - "What were you taking pictures of?"
Wayne - "Ah, the pretty churches and stuff in your town, Why?" {Wayne is starting to get very cranky}
Gilbert - "That's a suspicious activity." {Goes to his car}
Gilbert - {comes back with ticket} "Here's your ticket, your license plates have expired."
Wayne - {losing all pretense of politeness} "Why did you pull me over?"
Gilbert - "Ahh, Ahh, you were going 2 to 3 miles per hour over the limit and you failed to use your flash indicator."
Wayne - {Did he just say FLASH INDICATOR?} "Then WHY didn't you give me a ticket for that?"
Gilbert - "Ahh, you were taking pictures and that is a suspicious activity."
After a bit more futile communication, Wayne does a burn-out and off we go.
Wayne and I drove home without any further excitement. We were glad to be home safe after one crazy trip.

Reflections
Likes: Visiting friends and family, eating Poutine in Quebec. (Poutine is french fries smothered in cheese curds & gravy, delicious!)
Dislikes: No trailer brakes, the $300 traffic ticket, and a very long drive.
Regrets: Not using our brains.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 2
Would we go back? y/n Yes - Wayne wants to take me to visit the Adirondacks in Northern New York and see the state in the summer.

More Pictures of the New York/Quebec trip: Webshots

Adventures in New Mexico Summer 2004

In May of 2004 we went from the prospect of a sleepy summer working in Rapid City to a job internship for Wayne in Los Alamos, New Mexico. After quickly moving our belongings into a storage unit and borrowing my parents 27 foot camper, we drove to New Mexico where we would live for the next 4 months. This post reviews some of the things we enjoyed during that summer.

1) Bandelier National Monument
We parked the camper at the campground at Bandelier for the first three and a half weeks. Bandelier National Monument is a fairly large park that consists of a nice visitor center, several abandoned dwellings of the Pueblo people, and a network of hiking trails. The history here is fascinating, and the area very well kept. The area around Los Alamos is interesting because not only are there remnants of the Pueblo people in the park, but everywhere you look. Driving down the highway you can see more cliff dwellings on the sides of the canyons and while hiking it is common to find bits of broken pottery or arrowheads. I came across 3 arrowheads while hiking during our summer.

2) New Mexican Food
New Mexican's know how to cook. They pride themselves on a special ingredient - green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. We had several favorite restaurants in the area, including De Colores in Los Alamos. We also enjoyed eating green chile at Pizza Hut - green chile and sausage pizza, and McDonalds - green chile double cheeseburgers. New Mexican's love putting green chile's on whatever they are eating. I once had a salad with a delicious green chile vinegarette. And for dessert there are always plentious sopapillas...mmmmm.

3) Pecos Baldy Hike
Our hike to Pecos Baldy Lake with our friends Rorke and Leatha was very enjoyable. That is, the memories from the trip got better as the soreness in our legs diminished. I should say that I speak only for myself, as I think I was the weakest and slowest of the bunch, as well as carrying the least weight in my pack. This hike was our first experience 'backpacking'. The hike was planned to be a 2 night excursion: We would hike in a few miles, camp, hike up to the lake, camp, and hike back to the car the third day. Unfortunately (or forunately, I'm not sure) when we arrived at Pecos Baldy Lake the second day, Leatha started talking about Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. It didn't take very long for us to get enough ambition to ditch the 3rd day plan and head for the car. The hike itself was gorgeous. We even saw some mountain sheep. But in the end, ice cream had never tasted so good.

4) Gold Hill Hike
Another great hike. We started out from the parking lot of the famous Taos Ski Area near Taos, NM. The views were spectacular. The hike was exausting - we went in May, and part of the trail was covered in about 2 and a half feet of snow that was extremely hard to walk through.

5) Juarez, Mexico
I only have a few comments on this weekend trip.
1)It is scary to tour a place in another country with a guide that is both clueless and paranoid.
2)It is even scarier to attempt to go through a border crossing that is closed. (disclosure: this was not my idea)
Perhaps I will elaborate on this trip in a later post.

6) Four Months in a Camper

After we camped at Bandelier, we moved the trailer to a campground on the Pajarito Ski Area. The primitive campground is situated above the ski area's parking lot/ski lodge. We were told where we were is part of a ski run in the winter. It's elevation is about 9000 feet, which is pretty impressive for us low-landers. We had no electricity, water, or bathrooms. There was a porta-potty about 1/4 mile away. We liked staying in the camper. Overall it went really well. We got used to not having a refridgerator and shower. Our biggest challenge came near the end of the summer when mice got into the camper. After being away for the weekend, we came back at night and snuggled into bed. Before we could fall asleep, we heard the unmistakable sounds of mice scampering across the floor. I do not like mice, and immediately told Wayne I was going to sleep in the car. Wayne was going to stay in the camper, he said he could deal with a mouse or two. So I went to the car and tryed to sleep. About fifteen minutes later, Wayne came to the car and told me he drew the line when he could feel a mouse crawling on top of his sleeping bag. So we spent the night in the car. The next day, we purchased mouse traps and set them up in the camper. We relaxed outside for a bit, then decided we would check the traps before retiring to the car for another night's sleep. To our suprise, all three of the traps had mice in them. Wayne reset the traps and we went to bed. Over the next day or two, we trapped 18 mice! No wonder we couldn't sleep.

Websites:
Bandelier National Monument

Florida Honeymoon December 2003

Wayne and I took our first real trip together on our honeymoon! Destination: Florida. I'm not really sure how we decided that Florida was the place to go. In retrospect, there may have been a lot of other more romantic places to go (Paris, Bahamas, etc). But I think our choice was based on these factors:
1) We were both too young to rent cars. Wayne was 20, I was only 18. Florida was about as far as we could get away by driving my trusty 2000 Toyota Camry.
2) Florida is significantly warmer than South Dakota.
3) Florida seemed like an obvious honeymoon spot. (While there, a local told us that Florida was for Newly-weds and Nearly-deads.)

We drove from Edgemont, South Dakota to Orlando in about 4 days. We didn't stop at anywhere interesting, with the exception of Memphis. We were there only an evening, but the Memphis Pyramid Arena was stunning. The day we arrived in Orlando, we toured Sea World. Sea World was a pretty typical amusement park, but nice. We enjoyed a few rides and lots of interesting animals.

The second day we met up with Wayne's aunt and family, Jerry & Dianne Gallant, and their daughter, Melissa, for a day at Universal Studios.
Our third day was spent at Epcot Center. Epcot Center consists of the Future World, and the World Showcase. Future world showcases technology and advancements, and the World Showcase has exhibits from eleven different countries around the world. We also came back to the Epcot Center one evening for their fireworks display.

The next day brought us to Animal Kingdom, one of the Walt Disney World theme parks. We enjoyed Animal Kingdom, especally the 'safari' we went on in search of African animals. We found their were less people at Animal Kingdom, so it was easier to see everything and not get stuck in one of the infinate lines that seem to plague the top attractions.

Our next stop was to Discovery Cove. We received some advertisment in the mail for this attraction, and after looking into it, booked a day there. Discovery Cove makes you feel like a VIP, at least for a day. We arrived around 8, and, viola, someone parks our car for us! Valet parking was something this ranch girl had never experienced before! We checked in and were given coffee and donuts, name tags, information, wet suits and snorkel gear. We even got a complimentary 5x7 picture taken of us. Then we were turned loose to explore a man-made reef with plentious tropical fish, a free-flight aviary, beaches and what I would call an enormous lazy river. You also have the option of actually 'swimming' with a dolphin! We chose not to do the 'dolphin swim' experience, and were happy with that choice when we arrived and saw that the 'dolphin swim' lasted only about 5-10 minutes. We spent the entire day at Discovery Cove, and enjoyed it immensly. This was our last day in Orlando.

It was finally time to hit the beach - Cocoa Beach, about an hour east of Orlando. I had been their before as a kid. The beach was nice, and we had a couple relaxing days at the Holiday Inn we stayed at. It was a cool, but we got some boogie-boarding and sunning in. After the beach, it was time to drive back to the north country. On our way was a stop in St. Louis, where we toured the Arch. The arch is was a great stop, and highly recommended for anyone going through St. Louis. We stopped near Kansas City and visited some of my Cloyd relatives, and then drove back to the Dakotas.

Reflections
Likes: Freedom of having our own car.
Dislikes: Using a travel agent worked, but will probably never do it again.
Regrets: We should have visited the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 2
Would we go back? y/n Yes - Although this trip seems a little boring compared to some of our larger trips, going back to Sea World, Discovery Cove, and Cocoa Beach would be a blast. We could also explore Cape Canaveral and the Everglades.
Would be a good trip for: Anyone young at heart.

Websites:
Walt Disney World: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com
Sea World: www.seaworld.com
Discovery Cove: www.discoverycove.com
Cocoa Beach: www.cocoabeach.com