Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, California

On Thursday, December 22, 2005, we took Taylor and Jayden to the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno, California. The first animal we visited was the elephants and as soon as Jayden saw them he started mooing, thinking they were cows. He was fun to watch discover the different animals. Taylor made sure to tell Jayden what the animals were as we visited all the different animals in the zoo. Taylor decided she was a flamingo and tried to stand like them. We had a fun and exciting day with the grandkids. Boy were we tired when we got back home. There is a reason God gave us kids at a young age! Grandkids are great, we can take them out for a day of fun, feed them sweets and then take them home.

Granddad and Jayden playing ball

Here is Granddad and Jayden playing ball. Jayden was just laughing and having a great time with Granddad. This was a Candi and Dustin's the week before Christmas. He sure is getting big!

Merry Christmas

On December 17, 2005 we went to Mom and Dad Smith's for a Christmas celebration. We had a great time with a terrific turkey dinner. We were blessed with Grandpa and Grandma Burnham with us for the day. We made candy canes all together and they sure are good. We have five generations here and all smiling and having a great day together. I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and is blessed with family together for the holidays.

Traveling with Taylor

I flew from Las Vegas to Bakersfield to attend all of Taylor's performances of Peter Pan, in which she was a wolf. Then after watching the star of the play we drove back to Las Vegas and Granddad "Bry" picked us up from the car rental company. Then we went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and Taylor enjoyed seeing all of the sharks. Maybe when she gets old enough she will be adventurous like her Granddad and go scuba diving with the sharks. Then we went to Excalibur, or as Taylor says "The Castle" and she and her Granddad won her about twenty stuffed animals in the arcade. We enjoyed the dinner show and Taylor thought it was fun to eat without silverware. She really enjoyed the horses in the show. After a fun afternoon and evening in Las Vegas we drove back to the rv in Laughlin and spent the night there. The next day we went to Calico Ghost Town in Barstow, California and stayed at the rv park there. Taylor enjoyed petting all of the horses there and is looking forward to riding them when she is 7 years old. She and I had a lot of fun exploring the caves in the area and seeing the sights of the old ghost town. We had a great deal of fun traveling with Taylor and we think she had fun also.

The Grand Canyon

On Thanksgiving day we went up to the Grand Canyon. We rode up in a luxury parlour car with a private rear viewing area on the Grand Canyon Railway. We went to a nice restaraunt with a great view of the canyon and enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner. It wasn't as good as a home turkey dinner with a kids table and black olives on a child's fingers. But it was very elegant and we ate a lot of very appetizing food. Then we walked around enjoying the view of the southern rim of the Grand Canyon and I took about a hundred pictures. I have never seen the Grand Canyon before and it is an amazing sight. Then we rode back in the luxury car again on the railway. It was a wonderful day. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving as well. 

Here I am at the Grand Canyon

Here is a picture that Bryant took of me at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. 

New Mexico Landscape

I just thought I would share a picture of the natural landscape of New Mexico. On our way back from the caverns we stopped for me to take a few pictures of the area. This is the plant life we have seen while driving through New Mexico and at times we have been able to enjoy the mountains as well. 

Carlsbad Caverns

We enjoyed a self guided tour today of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. They are 750 feet below the earth's surface and they have an amazing collection of formations. It is hard to get a picture that truly captures the sight but I am sharing what I do have. The caverns are very large and there were so many formations to view. We enjoyed our tour, going without a guide and enjoying the sights at our own pace. A fun way to spend the morning. 

Curious Ostrich

Here is one of the ostrich at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. The one on Bry's side of the truck was biting his window, while this one on my side of the truck looked more curious as to why our windows were up. These guys can run very fast also and reached over the top of the truck when stretching their necks. 

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

While in San Antonio, Texas we went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. It was so much fun. They give you animal feed when entering the park, then you drive through and feed all of the animals. The ostrich would reach in the vehicles and grab the bags of feed so we had our windows up while near them. They then bite the windows trying to get us to feed them. The zebras were my favorite, and I feed them out of my hand. I took over 100 pictures, mostly of the zebras, I love them. They would put their heads into the truck while we feed them and they also let us pet them. They had many different types of animals and we enjoyed it so much that we drove through three times. This is someplace I know Taylor would really love to visit. If you are ever in San Antonio, Texas this is a must see. 

Bryant's Underwater Friends

Just a picture to show what Bryant was swimming with on his scuba diving trip. This shark was bigger than Bryant. There is another one below it that appears as a shadow in the background. Bryant tells me there were more than a dozen sharks around him on this dive. I am glad I wasn't there, I'm scared enough of them when I don't see them. He is just like his Dad, he laughs at danger. Although he has all of his fingers so no stories to grandkids about sharks biting one off. 

Bryant Scuba Diving

Bryant enjoyed his scuba diving trip. Here he finds a bottle on the ocean floor (no note inside), he fills it with air, and sends it to the surface. He had a good time playing underwater. Always a little boy inside the man. 

Mississippi River Bridge

We have enjoyed seeing Vicksburg, Mississippi. We have visited the Vicksburg Battlefield. I was amazed at the memorials and pictures just can't do the sight justice. The magnitude of the lives lost during the battle are amazing. I really enjoyed seeing everything there and it makes you really feel for the men and families of the civil war. We then took a walk by the Mississippi River and I love the water, lakes, oceans, rivers, and waterfalls. This bridge connects Mississippi to Louisiana. We are leaving Mississippi in the morning and going to Louisiana, as you can see we are close already. We are traveling on the 20 so we are far enough north not to be affected by the hurricane devastion further south. I am enjoying the accents of the local people, I could just listen to them talk for hours. I have even tried a few of the local foods. Grits are served with every breakfast we have ordered while out. There are still a lot of foods I am not going to try, some things never will change, I will always be a picky eater. We are having a good time again. I am missing ready comments from our family and friends on the blog. Please leave me something to read and have fun. Kathy 

Eufaula, Alabama

After a stressful week waiting for Bryant, and praying he made it back before the hurricane we enjoyed a quiet and peaceful visit to Lake Point State Park in Eufaula, Alabama. We had a view of the lake, which I posted the picture of our view above. We rode our bikes each day through the beautiful forest and a campfire each night in our campsite. Thank you everyone for your prayers and phone calls. I have never been more scared in my life. Bryant made it back safely and we drove out of Florida as soon as he returned on Friday. They evacuated the rv park on Saturday but I wanted out quickly. It was a long drive and we slept a few hours at the welcome center in Georgia Friday night. Than continued over on back roads to Alabama. 

Hurricane Wilma

For all of you that are wondering about us during the upcoming hurricane, here is what is happening. Bryant, his Dad, and Uncle Steve are out on their dive trip. I have talked to the dive company this morning and they are all fine. They are scheduled to come in Friday morning and the plans haven't changed because of the hurricane. We are staying in Port St. Lucie which is on track for the hurricane to pass through on the east side of Florida. They are estimating that they will ask for a evacuation on Friday. Currently they are estimating the hurricane to reach Florida on Sunday. Mom Smith is flying in right now and she and I will be staying at a hotel in Hollywood Florida, which is close to Miami, where the boys come back to us. Then on Friday she will fly home with Dad and Uncle Steve. Bry and I will be going to pick up the fifth wheel and driving out of Florida. We are fine and will be out of here before the hurricane hits Florida. I am blessed to have support and prayers of family so I won't be alone awaiting Bry's return. We will continue to have the prayers of family and friends until we are safely out of Florida. In the meantime, Mom and I will be together and make the best of it. I probably won't update until we are out of Florida but if anyone needs to reach us we have our cell phone. Thank you for your prayers. We love you.

Smith Boys Begin Their Journey

The Smith boys begin their journey today, ready for fun and adventure. I was able to share dinner last night and breakfast this morning with the three of them. They are so excited about their trip that is all they are talking about. It is like three little boys, all excited for the trip. They are very cute, but don't tell them I said that. They think they are too masculine and mature to be cute. :) They are standing here on the sail boat, but under the tarp. It was raining and of course our scuba divers can't get wet by the rain. Ha Ha I was able to go on board with them this morning and see where they will be playing from this week. Bryant has an underwater camera so I am hoping to be able to post a picture of them scuba diving next week. They get back on Friday. I haven't been without Bry for more than two hours since May, this is going to be another change. I have really gotten used to being together all of the time and I already miss him. I know that he is having an adventure of a life time and am happy that he is able to share this with his Dad and Uncle Steve. 

We went to Gator Park in Miami today. After a air boat ride through the swamp land we enjoyed a gator show. Then we were able to hold this alligator. The ranger thought that it was funny that I was scared of the gator so while I was holding the gator he took off the mouth gaurd. Ha Ha The texture of the gator was a lot different than I was expecting. This alligator that I am holding is three years old. They have 80 teeth and whenever they loose one a new tooth will grow in it's place in 2 to 3 weeks. 

Here is a postcard email we sent from Epcot in Disney World. We spent three days in the theme parks in Disney and rode everything. I loved it. Bryant even went on every roller coaster with me. 

This was one of the many trees in the RV Park in Bushnell Florida. There were trees everywhere and they were beautiful. We had swamp land all around the park. 

Well, we have made it to Florida. We arrived in Florida on September 28, 2005. We stayed for a weekend in Bushnell, Florida at an Escapees park. Then we went to Disney World and stayed at Fort Wilderness RV Park in Disney World.  

Tennessee

We are in Tennessee enjoying the beautiful trees and smokey mountains. We have been to Dixie Stampede, which is a dinner show owned by Dolly Parton. It is similar to Excalibur with the north and south instead of knights. It was a lot of fun and we were on the south side routing for the south. The next day we went to Dollywood Amusement Park. It is hard being from California not to compare it to California amusement parks and it was nothing like them. All but two rides got us wet. There were many bluegrass, country and southern gospel shows. We had lunch in the park at a restaraunt called "Aunt Granny's". (Only in Tennessee.) We have had a lot of fun enjoying the area. I loved listening to people talk and hearing their accents. We are leaving here tomorrow for Georgia. We will have a short visit to Georgia and then we are heading to Florida.

Michigan

We are now in Michigan and have been here for awhile. We have stayed in Holland, Michigan, and at my Mom's house in Hale, Michigan and are currently at my brother Steve's in Traverse City, Michigan. We have enjoyed seeing family including my Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim. Tomorrow we will be going to spend the day at their house and also visiting my cousin Jeff and his wife Sue and their two sons, James and John. We will be heading back to my Mom's later this week and then down to Lansing to visit Bry's cousin Jim. We will be heading south after leaving Michigan next week. Although we will be going south east due to Hurrican Katrina. We will be slowly heading towards Florida enjoying other states along the way. Sorry it has been so long since we have updated the blog. We haven't had internet available, hopefully we will be able to update more frequently as we head south. We love our contact with all of you through our blog. It is like we are able to share our wonderful journey with all of you. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do. Take care, Love, Bry and Kathy

Grand Traverse Lighthouse built in 1851 was a beautiful lighthouse with a large two family home. It is no longer active and is part of a state park. We were able to tour the lighthouse and my brother Steve, Bry and I climbed the tower and enjoyed a wonderful view. It is well maintained and houses a very interesting museum in the home. Mom enjoyed the lighthouse and grounds but wasn't able to climb the tower with us. Another beautiful lighthouse and another day enjoying family. September 10,2005

White Shoal Light is about 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge and was built in 1910. What a beautiful lighthouse. It is still active today and was one of my favorites of this trip. 

Cheboygan Crib Light guilds ships into the Cheboygan River from Lake Huron. It is no longer active as now a electic harbor light has replaced it's use but it a beautiful landmark of the area. 

Poe Reef Light We enjoyed so many lighthouses. This one was build in 1929 and in about two miles off shore. It is an active light and still depended upon by ships today. 

Round Island Lighthouse We went out on a lighthouse cruise from Mackinaw City and viewed lighthouse by boat on Thursday September 8th and 9th. On Thursday we enjoyed the company of Mom, Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim. On Friday we went out with Mom. What a wonderful trip. We were able to see lighthouses that are only visible by boat and I took over 200 pictures. We really enjoyed the lighthouse trip. Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state in the United States with 116 lighthouses. It will take many trips to Michigan for me to see all of them but I am off to a great start with so many in a few days. I am enjoying seeing the lighthouses and sharing this with family. 

Tawas Point Lighthouse While staying at my Mom's house in Hale, Michigan we have gone to Tawas a few different times. We have checked out homes with a realtor and enjoyed seeing Lake Huron. We toured Tawas Point Lighthouse which was built in 1852 and the tower is 70 feet tall. It is part of the state park and is open to the public. We were able to spend a nice afternoon in the park and enjoy another lighthouse, another state park and another great lake. We are really enjoying this area of the country. It is beautiful here. Lakes, both great and small, green everywhere, trees and wonderful wildlife. 

Holland Harbor Lighthouse We stayed in Holland Michigan on Lake Michigan for a few days. We swam in Lake Michigan, toured Dutch Village and saw Holland Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse is also know as "Big Red" although it isn't a large lighthouse. We enjoyed our time in Holland, Michigan.