Day Twenty-Seven, May 19, 2015

Final Day, May 19, 2015

Bill, Melanie, Tom, John

Tom & Meg

We have done it.  The car was returned with 7,140 miles on it.  Our final day was spent visiting with friends, Melanie and Bill Bickley, who hosted us in CA.  What great hosts feeding us, entertaining us, and being good friends along with Meg Wilson.

Melanie and Bill also provided us with technical and creative consultation on our final music video (see below).

Our final event was meeting Steve Ruppe, Stan Livingston,Valorie Hubbard, Lisa Bove & Renna Killen and daughter Caitlan.  We met in one of the many downtown Olvera Street restaurants.

Steve Ruppe was a friend from F.T. Nicholls High School in New Orleans who now lives in Orange County, CA.  Lisa Bove was another one of Tom's former students from Wichita Southeast High School, and Stan Livingston a friend of Tom's.

John, Tom, Valorie, Stan

Caitlin, Renna, Lisa,Tom

Steve, Tom, John

Tom, John, Valorie, Steve

 Despite some of our followers warnings Tom and John remain best of friends through a journey of 7,140 miles thru 28 states, two oceans and a Gulf, several national parks, historical sites, old theaters, former homes, former schools, various forts, super clean restrooms and super filthy ones, unbelievably generous relatives and friends, casinos, fire pits, canyons, cemeteries, mountain tops, freeways, bridges, toll roads, back roads, courtrooms, pool rooms, truck stops, diners, resorts, beaches. We encountered rain, fog, snow, thunder, lightning clear skies in starlit canyons and cloudy skies oceanside. We docked our rented Hyundai Santa Fe with a cracked windshield, boarded planes at LAX and made it home to ICT & BOS on the day we intended.

  We consumed too much Mexican food (Annette's was best), too much Turkey Raspberry Ice Tea (Tom, not me), pork skins (Tom not me), baked potatoes and pulled pork, French Burnt peanuts (Tom not me), plenty of Hershey's with almonds, popcorn (thanks Ro), packed lunches (thanks Annette), bottled water, diet soda (Me not Tom), hot dogs, hamburgers, seafood, beans, rice, coffee, crackers cheese, wine (ME not Tom), scrambled eggs from Garry's free range chickens, cheetos, bananas, apples, pizza, and involuntarily inhaled cigarette and cigar smoke (thanks every Vegas casino).  We saw a play at the oldest theatre in America (Philadelphia) and a showstopping Las Vegas musical review at the Wynne. We saw eagles, turkey vultures, deer, mountain goats, dogs, cats and dolphins. We were in hospitals, museums, libraries, theatres, bars, hotels, casinos, recreation centers, tourist traps, etc.  It was SPECTACULAR!

We leave you with this last music video professionally produced for us by Bill & Melanie....

https://youtu.be/b9434BoGkNQ

Day Twenty-Six, May 17 & 18, 2015

Arrived in Hollywood...Los Angeles

6,930 Miles in 26 days from Boston
May 18, 2015

It was with great fan fare we crossed into our 28th and final state, California, on May 17.  Admittedly most of the fanfare we generated ourselves.  Nevertheless, it was an accomplishment.  But, the trip does not end with our arrival.  We have southern CA sights to see, people to dine with, friends to make!!

 What must one do when in LA for a day.  We did the Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Sunset Blvd. to Malibu tour.  See above.

MORE Southern California posts coming DON'T GO AWAY.

Day Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, May 15 & 16, 2015

LAS VEGAS

What can be said about Vegas that has not already been said.  My first visit to Las Vegas was in the summer of 1959 on a family vacation.  Since then I have visited twice and the last time was 22 years ago.  It has changed since then.  

The best thing about our visit this time is being hosted here by Ro and JD Keller, lifetime family friends of Tom and his entire family.  

JD preparing our 1st home cooked
meal in 2 weeks

Ro, John, Tom

How can you visit Vegas without seeing and Elvis impersonator.  We certainly did at the Four Queens casino on Fremont St.

http://vegasexperience.com/slotzilla-zip-line/

 Check out the above link to see what our Las Vegas adventure included.

Zip lining over Fremont Street, Las Vegas

Las Vegas is another place that cannot, and need not be described, since as the saying goes ".............stays in Vegas".

Our New Orleans high school buddy and Las Vegas
 resident Mary Scholtz Specht.

Tom's acting buddy and Las Vegas resident, Bill Johson

Tom was drafted to play 2nd base in Sun City Anthem

"Oh Tom.I think I can see Russia from here"

The vineyards of Green Valley Resort in Henderson, NV

Photo Bomb

JD gets us fed.

Regular blog followers know that we have just about reached our final LA destination.

The next posting will be the high point of the trip.

Time to review all previous posts to be prepared for the finale post coming in the next few days.

Day Twenty-Three, May 14, 2015

Sedona to Zion National Park(Springdale, UT)

Just when you think you have seen the most spectacular scenery America has to offer you get thrust into a landscape that is beyond your expectations.  The route from Sedona, AZ to Zion National Park takes you over Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River gorge as it flows into the Grand Canyon.

Navajo Bridge

Zion National Park in Springdale, UT is a totally different experience from Grand Canyon(GC), AZ.  At the GC the view is from the rim and you are looking down on amazing views.  At Zion you are actually driving through about 12 miles of the canyon looking up at cliffs, precipices, slot canyons that are astounding.  Tom drove through this stretch so we were literally crawling along allowing me to ooo and ahhhh at the scenery.

Terrified driving

 The guy seated in the picture at left struck up a conversation with Tom.  When he learned Tom was from Wichita he let him know he had graduated from Wichita North High School in 1954.

Our hotel in Zion had a fire pit which we took full advantage of.

Las Vegas Here We Come ......