Friday, June 30

We spent today at the Louisville Slugger Museum.  Walter was in heaven.  It didn't hurt that the Cubs won the World Series this year and there was lots of Cubs stuff to be seen.  We actually got to tour the factory where the bats are made (no photographs allowed) and then look around the museum.  I will let the pictures talk for themselves.

We spent a lot of time at the Wall of Fame...it held the signatures of all the players who had bought Sluggers bats.

It just so happened that there was a Lego display at the Museum.  People had built replicas of several different ball parks out of Legos.

This was Walter's favorite part. He actually got to hold bats that were used in games.  One of those being Ron Santo.

Babe Ruth's bat.  He marked all of his home runs on this bat.  

Abram decided to try his hand at a little pitching.

So after several hours at the Factory and Museum.  We loaded up the van and headed towards Lexington and Katie's stop for this trip.  Kentucky Horse Park.

Thursday, June 29

On the road, again

We woke up in Jonesboro, Arkansas trying to make a plan for the day.  Do you know how hard that is when you have half a country to explore??

So after some thought and map studying we decided to head toward Kentucky.  That would give us Missouri and Kentucky to mark off on our map.  We had each picked out something we wanted to see on the way home.  Abram chose the caves (excellent choice), Walter chose the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville, KY, and Katie chose the Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

Louisville was about 6 hours from Jonesboro.  So we started driving and driving and driving, and driving.

Several things from the day's drive:
-Arkansas, Missouri, and eastern Tennessee have lots of farm land.  There were so many large green tracts of land it was mesmerizing.  We are pretty sure we spotted corn, soybean and several experimental fields of rice.  Made me want to get home and plant a garden.
-Kentucky doesn't believe in rest stops.  We didn't see a single one in the whole 6 hours we were driving.
-The Mississippi River is really big and the bridge is even bigger.  Good thing I was driving.
-Some states are very proud of their ditches...they name them and put bridges over them.  In their defense, some of those ditches looked more like rivers.  I was impressed.
-So much HAY!!!  So much HAY!!
-The part of these states that we saw makes me think that everybody here owns either a herd of cow or several horses (I know that is not true, but there were lots and lots of cows and horses everywhere you looked).

After all the driving, we ended up in Louisville, KY.  We were definitely hillbillies come to the big city.  The kids couldn't walk down the street because they kept looking up at the buildings and running into each other.  Walter and I were so nervous we were going to get lost we had the maps in our hands the whole time.  Luckily a local took pity on us and got us headed in the right direction to find a meal.  We are on the 8th floor of the Holiday Inn and have such a different view than every other night so far.  Tomorrow should be interesting, we are off to the Louisville Slugger Museum...Walter is so excited!!

Tuesday, June 27

We were supposed to be headed to the Grand Canyon today...but I am trying not to think like that.  We are making the most of what we are handed and enjoying being together...as a family!!

Tuesday, we were getting out of town...finally...as Abram says...bum, bum, bummm.  So much for making plans, they always fall apart.  The garage got the part and put it in but it didn't work, so they were going to come in early and try one more last ditch effort to get her running.  We started making other plans.  We had already contacted a towing company about getting Daisy home, to make a long story a little bit shorter, it was going to be really expensive!!  But after weighing the options and realizing how much money we were wasting staying in a hotel, renting a car, buying food, etc.  We decided in the long run getting her towed home was the best option for us.  We made the call to the tow company and they were amazing.  They had somebody in Conway, Arkansas-about 2 hours from us-who was ready to go and willing to tow Daisy home.  We called the garage and told them to stop working.  The head mechanic said, he couldn't figure out what was going on.  He couldn't get her to stop back firing but he did have her running just not about 40 mph.  So, lots started happening all of a sudden.  The tow company said somebody would be to us that night or the next morning.
We knew we were going to need a bigger vehicle to get us and our stuff home, so we went to the car rental place and tried to trade out for a van.  The only van they had out needed an oil change before we could take it, which would take about 2 hours, so while we waited we drove back to the garage to get Daisy and drive her back to where we were-that was a very interesting drive.
 The kids and I followed Daisy and Walter in the rental.  I think we got up to 35 at the fastest and then had to slow down to 20ish because she was backfiring so bad.  Let's just say it took us a while and lots of nasty looks from people on the interstate.  We got her parked and headed back to the car rental place.  Enterprise was amazing they were so easy to work with.  After waiting a little while, they handed us the keys to a van and said see ya later.  We headed back to the hotel.  We had just gotten to the hotel to start packing up all our stuff, when the tow driver called and said he was waiting for us outside.


Another interesting situation...I thought it would be a big wrecker, Walter thought it would be a big rig with a flat bed...it was a guy and his daughter with a Dodge 3500 and a long trailer.

 He seemed to know what he was doing and was really excited when I told him, she was running enough, he could probably drive her onto the trailer instead of having to wench her up.

After a few harrowing minutes as Daisy bent his ramps getting her on the trailer and trying to figure out if she weighed too much for him to pull her and watching as he put his bent ramps on the ground to run over them again to straighten them out.  They pulled out of the parking lot headed for North Carolina and we headed in for one more night at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Van Buren, Arkansas.




 

Monday, June 26

Monday was supposed to be the day we got on the road again.  In our original plan, Monday was the last day we would be in Phoenix before heading out to the Grand Canyon.

So we woke up Monday morning, knowing that they were going to start working on the bus again.  We hoped they would figure out a plan to get her running and let us know something early in the day so that we could make a plan and get out of Arkansas.  The people in the hotel were starting to recognize us and just laugh when Walter would go down and ask for a late check out only to go back shortly later and ask for another night.  We got up, ate breakfast, got everybody moving and then headed over to the garage to see for ourselves that they were actually doing something.  We also needed to get laundry detergent because we were starting to run out of clothes.  On the way to the garage, we go the call, that what they thought it might be was not fixing the problem.  They had one more idea to try but had to get the part in, so we were here for at least another day.  Hopes were high that this was going to be fix that would get us home.  At this point our plan was to drive the bus, slowly, home and rent a car to follow her just in case anything happened.  We made it to the garage, got the detergent, and spoke briefly to the guys.  They were waiting for the part and willing to work late to get it in.

We left the garage, went back to the hotel, did a little swimming, washed some clothes, ate some dinner and then called it a day.  We were starting to settle into a routine...living in a hotel is a very different routine than any I have every experienced before...you have to be creative!

Sunday, June 25

Sunday dawned another bright sunshiny day.  We knew that nothing was going to happen with the bus today so we might as well settle in and try to find something to make this experience more enjoyable.

After some searching and exploring, we found Fort Smith National Historic Site right down the road from us.  And since it was a National Historic Site, Katie actually got to use her Park Pass!!!  So we loaded up the Corolla and headed over.

Fort Smith, Arkansas was the fort at the end of the Trail of Tears.  It was the place that all the Native Americans passed through before entering their new homes.  It had a history before that but that was the part that stood out the most to me.  It was so interesting to see the marker on the land saying this is Arkansas and this is Indian Territory.  (The actual marker was inside the museum, don't think anybody got a picture of it.)

The other piece of history from Fort Smith was that it was the location of the Hanging Judge.  The Judge was assigned this post for many years.  His job was to bring law to the Indian Nations.  Surprisingly, it wasn't the Native Americans that he hung, it was mostly white men who took advantage of the Native Americans on their land.  Fort Smith actually had a gallows that could hang up to 12 men.  It was fascinating.  The more I read about this judge, the more fascinated I was.  He didn't like hanging people, but he knew that is what had to be done to establish the law.  For a science person to actually be interested in the history part of this, took some doing, but it got my attention.  If you are bored and need something to read about, look up Fort Smith, Arkansas.

After several hours at Fort Smith, we decided it was time for some ice cream.  Then we headed back to the hotel for another night and hopes and prayers that Daisy would be fixed in the morning.

Wednesday, June 28

We are busting out of this joint!!!

Today's the day.  Daisy is on her way home and now so are we!!!

We had a lot of stuff to figure out how to load up.  Luckily, we had thought enough to pack a few empty bags for carrying stuff in that we were able to each have a bag to use as an overnight bag and everything else went in boxes and got packed into the van.  If you have never seen Walter's packing jobs, you should really ask him about it, he is amazing.  I think it is like a game of Tetris to him!

So the van is loaded and we are headed out.  As we started across Arkansas, we stopped at the Welcome Center (a family requirement) and Abram spotted a cavern that he thought looked really interesting.  Lucky for him, I took a picture of the name and information.  Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozarks National Forest would be our first stop.  We drove for about 4 hours and got there about 15 minutes before the Dripstone Tour started.  We crammed in some lunch, grabbed a sweatshirt, and rushed to the doors.

Walking into that cave was unlike anything, any of us had ever done before.  It was amazing.  We took lots of pictures but they don't do it justice.  Katie kept saying, it's like a movie.  Abram was mesmerized and just kept looking around.  Walter was speechless for a little while and then he started to make BatMan jokes.  Here are some of the pictures, again, they don't do it justice:

After we left the caves, we picked a big city about 3 hours away and started driving.  We ended up in Jonesboro, Arkansas for the night.  After driving, we began to see a trend in Arkansas.  It was not as bad as we first thought and you could see for a long way.  There were still trees and it was still green but it was really flat for a long time before a mountain jumped up.

Saturday, June 24

After a good night's sleep at the Holiday Inn Express in Van Buren, Arkansas. We all woke up ready to accept the new challenges that had been thrown at us.
We all slept in, had a good breakfast, and watched a little television.  Abram recorded his video for the day (for those of you waiting for those, we are trying to get all the technology to work...don't give up on him yet)

We then decided we needed to head back over to Daisy to see what the mechanics were saying and to get some more stuff off of her.  We got to the garage and nobody was working on her...nobody was even at the garage.  So we loaded up what we could fit into our little Corolla (Walter is an amazing packer) and headed back to the hotel.

Did I mention that we are staying in Arkansas and Daisy is in a garage in Oklahoma??  

Oklahoma border

Arkansas border

We decided we would find a company to tow Daisy back home for us and then we would rent a van to get ourselves and as much stuff home as possible.  We will keep you updated on how that all works out.

Lucky for us, the hotel as a pool and a free breakfast.  After some swimming and some more hanging out, we called it another day.

Friday, June 23

This is the face of the day!!!
We woke up in Sallisaw, Oklahoma at Walmart, ready to make a decision about which way to go...do we try to make it to Arizona or do we turn around and head home?????

We had decided to head home and try to salvage the rest of the summer instead of wasting another 3 weeks fixing Daisy.  Tried to start her up and head out but she wouldn't start at all!!!!

So began the vacations you see on movies.  We had to call another tow, just to get her to a garage, then we had to figure out how to transport everybody, then we had to figure out where to stay for the night.  Oh so many stories....let's just say some more time in Walmart, a tow truck ride for all of us, a bus ride across state lines, and an Enterprise rent a car later we were in a hotel room for a good night's sleep.  This adventure all started about 9:30 in the morning and it was about 7:00 before we started looking for dinner options close to the hotel.  The stories can't be told online, true justice can only be done in person, so next time you see one of us ask about Sallisaw, Oklahoma!!!

Thursday, June 22

Wednesday night our exciting adventure began to take a turn.  We had reservations for a State Park about half way across Arkansas because we felt like that was a comfortable distance.  We would have time to get to the campground, get set up, make some dinner and get a good night's rest before continuing on to our destination.
Not too long after our stop at the welcome center, we stopped for gas.  When Daisy cranked back up, she sounded a little different but nothing major just a little louder.  We thought it was just the gas we had put in her and she would be fine once we ran it through.  We continued on our journey because it was just noise and she seemed to be running fine.
As we got closer to our destination, we got a little bit more nervous.  We decided we would park and find a mechanic to check her out the next morning.  We put in the address we had for the campground and pulled in...only to finally figure out it was the wrong side of the lake for our reserved site, at about 9:30pm.
We figured out the address for the other side of the lake and took off.  Daisy was really not happy about all the starting and stopping that she was having to do.  As we pulled up the road, we thought we were supposed to take, there was a gate closed and locked.  Enter the first angel of our trip...a state ranger just happened to be locking the gate and asked us what we were doing there. We told her we were lost and just trying to find our campsite.  She graciously said, she would get us where we needed to be to follow her.  20 minutes later, we pulled into the campground on the right side of the lake. We found our campsite but someone was already parked there, so we backed into the closest site we could find and Daisy shut down.

We woke up Thursday morning knowing we were going to have to find a mechanic.  So we enjoyed the campground for a few minutes (aka-took a shower) and then started looking for a mechanic.

Enter Angel #2-this time her name was Kim and she was the campground host.  She was walking around checking campsites, so we stopped her and told her we got in late and someone was in our campsite so we pulled in.  After a series of questions and conversations, we realized we were in the wrong campground!!!!  The Welcome Center had called and made the reservations for us and I thought she made them for Lake Dardanelle but she had made them for Petite Jean State Park.

My big rock for the day...get out of the campsite and back on the road.

 Kim was not stressed, she said not to worry about it just take care of it on your way out.  No problem!!  We also told her we were having engine problems and she gave us the name of a mechanic who would come to us.  A quick phone call and 15 minutes later...enter Angel #3.  His name was Koty.  He quickly realized we needed a new distrubtor cap and off he went to find one.  He called back about 20 minutes later to tell us that there was one piece that would fit in the country and it just happened to be in Little Rock about an hour away.  It would be to us by about 6:30.  Problem #1-we had to be out of the campsite by 3:00, it was reserved for someone else and the campground was full for the night.  Luckily we had AAA, so another phone call and some explaining later, a tow truck was on the way to tow us to Walmart.  Problem #2-only one person could ride in the tow truck.  Reenter Angel #2-Kim, she just happened to be headed into town and was willing to give us a ride to Walmart.  So the kids and I loaded up and headed to Walmart.  Walter waited with the bus.
We spent some time wandering around Walmart and then Koyt showed up with the part.  He got it replaced and did some more tweaking and we were back on the road.  We still aren't 100% sure if she is going to make it but we are going to try just a few hours and see what happens.

Wednesday, June 21

We made it to Nashville, Tennessee last night.  We got to visit with Walter's nephew, Wayne, who is in school at Blackbird Academy.  He helped us get set up in our first Walmart parking lot.  It was actually really quiet.  We all had a good night's sleep and woke up ready to go.  We also learned a few things about camping at Walmart...one being, look around to notice the traffic pattern before you park...aka-don't park next to the parking lot exit, another being look at the lamp posts-park close enough for light but not so close that the light shines right into the window.  After a quick breakfast of cereal, we hit the road again.  A couple hours into our day, we made a stop at Natchez Trail State Park.  We thought it was a different park with cool trails...but we were confused.  It did have a nice picnic area and a neat visitors center.

We made it through the rest of Tennessee and into Arkansas.

By into Arkansas, I mean crossing the Mighty Mississippi.  For those of you who know Walter, know that I was driving.  He did a great job!!  We stopped at the Arkansas rest area.  The nice lady at the desk helped us get reservations for a State Park about half way through Arkansas...our first real camping experience on Daisy (the name of our bus...I'll give you a guided tour at some point).  No real excitement up until this point.  Everything was rolling right along!!