more hawaii pics

**Note that in order to see the panoramic images, you have to resize your browser window... simply scrolling right or left will not show you the far sides**

the place we are staying at is really damn cool. All appliances are either propane or solar powered. And most of the furniture is hand made from bamboo.





LAmLo was excited to introduce XAmLo to her childhood friends.....


And oh the hilarity still exists here in Hawaii. A wing on a unreinforced trunk of a stock dodge neon, caused it to crumple. This is NOT the first time I've seen this here! The last time was in the McDonalds drivethru, and the owner of the neon got an application for work - from the drivethru window!

Bless your heart, all you mouth breathing anti-thinkers!

Hawaii

Its nice to be back!
We were greeted at the airport by our great friends and their kids. We went straight to the Kona Inn for lunch, then to the beach. Next day was off to work, but hey - check out the view from my desk.

and here is the house...

I'm learning how to putt on the green.... and i really suck at it!


My old firm had a welcome back party for us....


We hit the beach again


Awwwww, beautiful Hawaii. It is so great to see our friends and all the familar sites. The traffic has gotten worse however, and we do not get to see much of Ja'AmLo as he's working everyday, but it is nice to be back and show the girls all the sites. LAmLo is especially excited to play with her old friends and to see the ocean! She is becoming more and more comfortable with it. She floats on her intertube in the pool all by herself now, which is actually a much bigger accomplishment than it sounds! She loves the ocean and the waves...now if we can only get her to get her head in the water, she'll be swimming in no time! I am very happy to see my dear dear friends. It is great that we can come visit..:)

more pics - updates

we lost all of our photos from kansas, west.Heres the last ones before the card tanked.


I've been holding out with hopes that they could be recovered but at the same time neglected the blog. After Zion, we went to Primm and stayed in a casino of all places. It was actually quite a bit of fun. They had a rollercoaster which went right thru the casino, and a water log ride which LAmLo loved.

We then went on to Ojai, California and stayed with family for 5 days and had a blast, even though it was over 100F every day. Lots of swimming and beach time, visiting with friends, and even built a metal shed with bro in law. Met some really cool people, and even performed my first wedding at a party (we are both registered ministers). I was waiting at the alter, having not met the couple, and enjoyed an ice cold tecate. Then they appeared, walked down the aisle, and the ceremony began. All went smoothly, no interruptions, and we sang songs as the new couple licked each other and enjoyed a feast out of their bowls. So yes, I married 2 dogs to each other in California.

After Ojai, we took a train to Long Beach and saw another bro in law and family, had some kick ass mexican food, and slept really well.

The next day we flew to Hawaii, after buying a new card for the camera.

Hey everyone! The road trip was a huge success. We really enjoyed ourselves and are all looking forward to continuing it on the last leg of this trip. The girls were amazing and LAmLo has been bitten by the travel bug, constantly asking where we are going next on our trip. :) XAmLo protests the carseat, but after a moment resigns herself to it and has learned to really enjoy the activities along the way. I'm actually very impressed with how well these gals have done..:)

I'm very bummed about the camera card. We did get a new one, and are still hoping to get the photos off the other one. There were so many beautiful scenes we'd love to share...maybe they were just meant for our own memories though....

The casino/hotel was really quite fun! We are not gamblers, but had a blast with LAmLo in the little kiddie arcade. Both J and I took her on the log ride and she was so amped I wasn't sure she'd ever stop grinning.

Ojai was a blast!! We really loved being there with my sister and her family. Their friends were all so gracious and we had a wonderful time. So much fun that we are extending our stay there on the trip back..;) JAmLo and my sis's hubby could have been brothers in another lifetime..they are so much alike it's almost scary..;) My new little nephew is beyond adorable. He's a month younger than my little X and they had a blast playing their baby games.

The train to Long Beach was an adventure as well!! First we missed it in Ventura, so J made the mad dash to Camarillo where we ran across the foot bridge - yes, literally running with two kids and our baggage - only to have to wait for 20 minutes as the train was then running late..haha But the ride was great! J had never been on the train before, so it was fun seeing him and the girls really getting into the trip. We spent most of the 3 hours in the dining car and met a really great couple there who ultimately invited us to spend time at their vacation place in Mexico. They are surfers, so J was in his element with the discussion.

My bro and his family are so gorgeous I can't stand it. Little Atti is such an adorable baby and J and V look great!! They are getting excited about their move to Austin, and so am I. It will be great being so close to them! We are staying a couple extra days with them as well when we get back.

The great adventure continues.....

states we've been to so far

create your own personalized map of the USA

Oklahoma

I was really impressed with Southern Oklahoma's hill country. It was reminiscent of Southern Oregon. We found a lake to go swimming in and had a picnic lunch under some trees. The locals were pretty weird, and warned me that LAmLo should not go near the water, because a kid drowned in that lake once because her dad was taking a picture. I thought it was sad that a kid died there, but this lady was running around jabbering and yelling at her kids not to touch the "BUOY OF DEATH!" We then headed on to our campsite on a lake a few hours inland from Tulsa, in Wagoner - we saw this sign and couldn't figure out exactly what they sell in the shop - my bet was its a soup kitchen. . The high school was pretty slick too - . There we lots of geese, and our site was nice and isolated from other campers (AmLos don't mix well with the public). One of the highlights of the camping was a family who came down to the lake in their truck, promptly opened the doors, and cranked Cher's "Do you believe in life after love" while attempting to swing dance (i think). We really enjoyed the performance which lasted for the full track - they then jumped back in the truck and left - we were dumbfounded and impressed at the same time!
An example of Wagoner Architecture (obvious add on!)

Sights in the area included -

That night was our first time using all of our equipment. Everything went well except for the mattress - i'm writing this on the 14th - we camped on the 6th. My neck and back are still sore from that night - and we learned a great lesson - lay across the air tubes in the mattress - not parallel to them!

Oh and thanks to the dude with the warning sign in his front yard! We would have gotten a ticket for sure.....

Utah

We have made it to Zion National Park and are camping here for 2 nights. Found a cafe with internet access, but am going to have to wait till we get to California to upload all the pics. Camping in the Rockies was rough, very cold and rainy, Moab was wonderful, and Zion just keeps getting better.

Will update all this on the 14th with pics and diaries.

Aloha!

Cat Here!

Our drive from Kansas to Boulder was uneventful, but once we got into Boulder it got more interesting. It was cold, so we stopped and bought sweatshirts and long pants for the girls and a better air mattress for all of us. Then we attempted to find our campsite. We didn't realize that it was deep in the Rockies!! And it was cold and raining! The drive was gorgeous, I love the Rockies! But we were tired after a long day of driving and then to find it wet and cold..yikes! This was the only place where Mom and Dad got a bit snappy with each other..;) It is no fun trying to keep little girls dry and set up a tent in the pouring rain. Our campsite was completely flooded, but we managed to get into the tent and everything stayed fairly dry inside. The girls were well bundled, but J was cold..:( He was glad to leave the next morning. The drive to Utah was so pretty though. Once we got some good food in us - a feta and tomato omelette for me and rellenos for J, eggs for the girls (this was in a little mountain town, and while we waiting a bit for a table, it was worth it as the food was good) - we thoroughly enjoyed the drive to Utah.

Moab was so gorgeous. We saw a big storm coming in so when we got to our campground we found that they also offered little, one room cabins for only a bit more than our site cost. So we got one of those just in case. After the wet night in the Rockies, we weren't taking any chances!

We were a bit nervous that the brewery wouldn't be open, considering it was Sunday in Utah...but it was! We had some decent beer and some good eats for fairly inexpensive.

The next morning we drove through Arches National Park and were literally awed by the beauty of the canyon! The rock formations were amazing, some seeming to defy gravity altogether. LAmLo has a great memory and so was excited to see some of the same formations she'd seen in pictures and on the post cards in the little store at our campground. Her and J did alot of site seeing at the different stop points. X was wanting some alone time with Mama, so we hung around the car but still saw alot!

After our site seeing, we started the drive into Zion. I thought Arches was amazing, I was not prepared for the intense beauty of Zion National Park. The colors, the smells, the formations were beyond words. The girls weren't too sure about the very long tunnel we went through as it was very dark, but J and I were enjoying it. We drove way down into the canyon to our campsite where we stayed for 2 nights. We hiked and swam in the river...we found a wonderful organic fruit farm and had the best grapes we've ever eaten. XAmLo found a love for plums there...:) Zion is definitely a place I want to return to....

Next stop, Nevada!

Midwest

Wow, I've finally found some internet access. There isn't much of it in rural Oklahoma and Kansas - we can't even get cell phone signals. Its day 4, and we are in North East Kansas, in the town of Sabetha. Everything is going great, and I will post pics of the first leg soon. We got to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's price Tower... here are a few of the pics we took.






Visitng with family today and tonight, then off to the Rockies tomorrow.

The great Plan

We are planning on a great trip, driving north from texas to kansas, then west to california. Then flying to Hawaii for a work + vacation.

Check back here regularly for Google Earth links, Pictures, and Diaries. If you know of something cool we will be passing, post it here!

First stop was the senior Lo's house in Georgetown, Texas!

MLo sending us off in style!

DLo looking a bit shady...wonder what he's up to!

FamAmLo - We are ready for this adventure!!

Ja'AmLo looking even shadier than his father! Watch out America!

CAmLo is ready for the great American vacation.

LAmLo is more than excited about her "trip".

XAmLo is cool as a cucumber.

Look for these little icons to appear throughout the blog - then you know who is blogging..;)

Are we ready? Maybe I should ask, is America ready? Here we come!!!