We Made It

We got back to Vancouver last night and are both tired as hell. The drive from Reno to Vancouver took longer than we had anticipated, thanks to a long construction delay on Hwy. 89 in California and a big, rude church group (from Hillsboro, Oregon) in line ahead of us at the Subway in Weed, California (it took us over 30 minutes just to order since about 10 people in the church group cut in front of us in line--I guess they skipped over the "do onto others..." part of the Bible).

Before leaving Reno yesterday morning we decided to play the slots one last time (and only for the second time). We each put a dollar in a nickel slot (yes, i know, we're real big spenders). I ended up coming out $5.25 ahead--not bad on a nickel slot--while Cara lost it all.

Cara and I picked up Zooey from the doggie bed & breakfast today and it seems that she's happy to be home as well. As I'm writing this, she's laying down ripping the stuffing out of one of her toys. Everything's back to normal with her.

I've still got quite a bit to add to this site from the trip, especially pictures. There were a couple days that we weren't able to post to the site, but I hope to get those added within the next day or two. Thanks to everyone who visited this site. The site was fun to do and will be a great way for Cara and I to reflect on and remember the trip.

One Last Drive

This is it. The last day. The last 600 miles.

Cara and I are driving home to Vancouver today from Reno. It should be an interesting drive--we'll be heading through some "scenic routes" in Northern California on our way to I-5.

We may play another dollar or two on the slots in Circus Circus after we checkout--neither one of us is really a gambler though, so it's not a big thrill for us to sit at a slot machine or blackjack table (we've been here 12 hours and lost a grand total of $2 gambling). Reno is a fun place to visit though, even for just a day. The pace here is so much different than all of the other stops on this trip--everyone is in such a hurry to do things, even to lose money. The quicker pace is kind of nice, but is also a bit of a shock to our road-weary brains.

The Biggest Little City

We made it to Reno today. We played the nickle slots after eating dinner at the Harrah's buffet. It was my first time in a casino and I did so well that I stopped playing when I had 55 cents left of the dollar that I put in. Joe was up $1.50, but then he got greedy and lost it all. I guess neither of us should make a habit out of gambling. We then went to the midway at Circus Circus where Joe won a coffee cup for me by knocking down three milk bottles with a bean bag.

Reno is a pretty neat place--it reminds me of a big zoo with a lot of action and colorful people running all over the place. I wouldn't mind coming back again when we can spend more time looking around.

Ewwtah; Roadtrip Winding Down

We made it to Utah--Midvale, Utah to be exact. The drive was great while we were in Colorado and on I-70, but boring (and dangerous thanks to a few moronic drivers) once we hit Utah. We'll have to drive through Salt Lake City on the way to Reno tomorrow. I hope it's nicer than the parts of Utah we've already seen.

Cara and I both wish that we could have spent more time with her family. They took us out for breakfast this morning. We left from the restaurant after saying our goodbyes. I want to thank Deborah, Mike and Brandon for welcoming me and making me feel at home.

It has been a great trip so far and we are both looking forward to the trip's finale tomorrow in Reno. On one hand Cara and I are sorry that our trip is winding down, but on the other hand we are looking forward to getting back home.

Goodbyes

My parents took us out to breakfast before we left for Salt Lake City today. They took us out to eat so often that we probably won't have to eat for a few more days. Joe and I were both sad to leave and my parents were sad to see us go. Brandon even let me give him a big, wet kiss without "eww-ing" too much.

Even though my parents did not expect Joe to impress them, he did. Dad teased him the whole visit, which he only does to people he likes. Dad also liked having someone to drink beer with, especially since we brought him some beer from Portland. Mom gave Joe a hug before we left. She was very impressed by the fact that Joe got a picture of Brandon smiling--who wouldn't be smiling while trying to push their sister into a sprinkler? Brandon told both my Dad and I that he really liked Joe.

Joe and I have invited my parents out to Vancouver for Christmas. We hope they will be able to come and meet Joe's family.

Trip to Ft. Collins; Heading to Salt Lake City

I got to meet some of Cara's extended family in Ft. Collins yesterday. We pulled into Cara's cousin Chase's house and met Cara's Aunt Sandra, Uncle Ernie, and Aywn. Cara's parents, Brandon, Cara, Sandra, Awyn, and I then went to eat at "Austin's American Grill" and had some good food and conversation.

We toured the city a bit after dinner. We went to the "Swetsville Zoo," which is a collection of animal statues created from junkyard parts. A very interesting place. We then went and walked around the Colorado State University campus. It's a nice campus--the best part though was when Cara and Brandon skipped down the sidewalk.

After the tour, we met Cara's Uncle Joel and Aunt Andi at an ice cream shop. Sandra, Ernie, and Aywn joined us and we all had some ice cream at the "Cold Stone Creamery." The ice cream shop was an interesting place. The place was packed with people--the line almost went out the door--and very loud, probably because the employees would belt out a tune at the top of their lungs every now and then. Cara and I had the Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Chill... Highly recommended.

Today we are driving to Salt Lake City where we will sleep and probably not do much else. It's about 500 miles from Evergreen, so it will likely take us about 8 or 9 hours.

I've been a little behind in my posting of pictures and updates, but will try to catch up soon. Some new entries may appear from past dates, so be sure to scroll through the page to see if anything has been updated.

Where are the Photo Albums?

We sat at the dining room table today from about 9:30am to 4:30pm talking with my family, looking at pictures and watching home videos before we got ready to go to our second Rockies' game. One of the videos we watched featured some interesting dancing (belly dancing, to be specific) by my Dad and some armpit hair (don't ask). I guess Joe has truly been accepted as part of my family since he has now seen "Dad's Video."

Brandon and the Baseball Game

Brandon, Joe and I went to the Colorado Rockies' game tonight. My goal was to embarrass Brandon as much as possible, seeing that I am am his big sister. Purple and white Santa hats were given away at the game and I wore mine most of the game. Joe and I tried hard to get Brandon to pose for a picture with his hat on, but he wouldn't do it. By the end of the game Brandon had warmed up to Joe. Brandon even gave us a complimentary tour of downtown Denver when he got lost driving home.

Frozen Cokes and Frozen Ropes

Today, Cara, Brandon, her parents and I went to see Terminator 3 at a theater in Lakewood, CO and then ate at the Mexican restaurant "On the Border." The movie was good--probably not as good as the first two, but still very entertaining. It had some great action scenes and special effects and Arnold had several funny lines throughout the movie. There were only about 7 other people besides us in the 200+ seat movie theater. The meal after the movie was very good. It was fun to hear some more of the family stories while we were eating.

After eating, Cara, Brandon and I headed to Coors Field to see the Colorado Rockies play the San Francisco Giants. Coors Field is a nice ballpark and reminds me of Safeco Field in many ways, especially the "open" feel of the park--how you can see the game from the concourse. We sat in left field for part of the game and then moved to the upperdeck "mile high" seats (the purple row) for the rest of the game. The highlight of the game for me was to see Barry Bonds hit a line-drive 3-run home run to right field late in the game. His power is amazing--he had the crowd oohing and aahing at some of his shots during batting practice. It was was an exciting game with the Rockies winning 11-7. We had a good time, especially once we moved to the upperdeck where we were the only ones in the entire section. Cara and I will be going back tomorrow night and will sit with Ted, Sherri and the kids.

Little Bear

The Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen, CO is an interesting place. It is much smaller than I thought, but with a great atmosphere for live music--hanging bras from the rafters is always a nice touch. We all saw Hamilton Loomis perform there tonight after we ate. The band put on an entertaining performance and it was fun to be there, though Loomis' style of blues isn't my favorite.

Tomorrow night, Cara, Brandon (her brother), and I will be going to the Colorado Rockies game against the San Francisco Giants. It sounds like we may be going to a movie in Denver before the game.

Adios Omaha

Today we're driving from Omaha, NE to Evergreen, CO. It's about 550 miles worth of driving.

We'll be stopping in Sterling, CO to visit and put flowers on the graves of Cara's grandparents.

Once we get into Evergreen, I think we'll head to the Little Bear Saloon, where a blues musician is playing tonight. It's also $6.95 steak night.

Des Moines to Omaha

Today was a pretty easy drive from Des Moines to Omaha. Along the way we stopped at the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa, the Hogback covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa and John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa.

Joe and I posed for a picture outside of John Wayne's birthplace since he is my Dad's idol. To get to his Wayne's birthplace, we had to drive down "John Wayne Boulevard." Joe wanted to take a picture of a street sign, but each time he tried there was either a car behind us that stopped me from slowing down or a stop sign blocking the street sign. As we were leaving Winterset, we came to a 4-way stop and Joe was excited to finally get the picture he had been unable to take for the past several blocks. As we pulled up to the stop though, we noticed that the street sign--the last one we would see--was broken in half. The only thing left of the sign was a picture of John Wayne's head on the left and the word "John." Joe took the picture anyway.

Ouch and Ouch

I have learned that there are two essential items that anyone visiting Iowa in the summer must have: bug spray and sunscreen. I should have listened to Joe when he said I should put bug spray on. Unfortunately, it's now 10 bites too late for that. As if the bug bites aren't bad enough, I now look like a lobster after getting a sunburn sitting 3 1/2 hours in the sun at the Iowa Cubs game today. My arms, legs and face are bright red. Ouch! Joe's face was pretty red after the game as well, but not nearly as bad as mine.

Cassabaum Reunion

We had the Cassabaum Family Reunion today in Keosauqua--43 people showed up from around the country.

We all had a good time at the reunion. It was nice to see everyone again. After eating, we mingled and talked and then began the silent auction. There were some interesting items at the auction. My favorites were the original marriage certificate of my grandparents, a nice photograph of my grandparents when they were in their 20s and a framed and matted photograph of Fairfield, Iowa, the town where my Mom grew up.

When the reunion was winding down, Cara and I went to the park in Keosauqua and tossed a frisbee around. Cara claimed to have thrown a frisbee before, but, based on her performance, I'm not totally convinced. It was fun, even though I got pretty sweaty chasing down all of Cara's errant throws.

We then hit the local laundrymat since I was getting low on clean clothes. Ted, Sherri, and the kids had to do some laundry as well so we all went together. Kristina, Sherri, Cara, and I played UNO while Ted pushed T.J. around the laundrymat in a laundry basket on wheels.

After the laundrymat, we had all decided to go to eat at a restaurant in Keosauqua. As we were getting ready to leave the cabin a strong thunderstorm hit--lightning lit up the sky, thunder crashed and rain poured down. We ran out to our cars and drove to the restaurant. We then ran the block to the restaurant from our parking spaces--by that time we were all completely soaked. Standing outside under the restaurant's awning, with all of the restaurant's patrons staring at us, we decided to not go in and eat while we were all wet. We then ran back to our cars and drove back to the cabin. I could not stop laughing once we got back to the cabin--I immediately got out the digital camera and took a picture. Everyone changed clothes and ate leftovers from the reunion.

It was a fun day. I think everyone had a pretty memorable time.

The Reunion

I have spent the last two days meeting Joe's extended family. I did pretty well remembering people's names (except when they changed clothes). Everyone was very nice and I enjoyed meeting them.

Spending these two and a half days with Joe's family has really helped me feel more like a part of his family.

Independence Day in Iowa

Cara and I started out our 4th of July by jogging around Keosauqua. We only ran for about 20 minutes, but the heat and humidity, even at 8am, made it feel like we were out there for an hour. It was fun though, as we got to see a lot of the town and chat with some of the locals.

We then drove around and toured SE Iowa. I showed Cara some of the places I remembered visiting when I was a kid--my Grandma's old houses in Milton and Douds, the "Dutchman's Store" (run by Mennonites) in Cantril, the "American Gothic" house (which Grant Wood used to paint his famous picture) in Eldon, and the park in the middle of Fairfield's square where we used to to see the band concerts.

We went to the American Gothic house hoping to get some decent pictures of the house and possibly one of us posing in front of it. Before we pulled up to it I commented to Cara that we should have brought a pitchfork to use in the picture. As I was setting up my tripod across the street from the house, a man, the caretaker, came out of the backyard with a pitchfork and asked me if I'd like to use it. I was amazed and very appreciative. The man was very friendly and we talked for about 15 minutes. He mentioned that they were hoping to build a visitor's center near the house, which is owned by the state and currently is home to the town's postmaster. With the assistance of my tripod and the camera's self-timer (thanks Harrison!) I was able to get a few good shots of Cara and I in front of the house. Unfortunately I could not remember the exact pose from the Grant Wood painting, so the photos may not be entirely accurate. The one thing we did get right is the scowls on our faces--we look pretty mean, perhaps too mean.

The town of Keosauqua was busy celebrating the 4th throughout the day. They had a stage set up near the Des Moines river with a steady stream of local entertainment--mostly bands playing country covers. They also had vendors selling various food items and games going on in the park. At about 9pm (or dark:30 as the locals told us), the fireworks show on the river began. Cara and I, along with about 1,000 of our closest friends, sat along the river to watch the show. The fireworks were very impressive, especially for such a small town.

Settling into Iowa

Cara and I made it into Fairfield, Iowa at about 3pm today. When we arrived we met Ted, Sherri, their kids and my parents for lunch at the Hy-Vee. We then drove by the house where my Mom grew up and visited the cemetary to place flowers on the graves of my grandparents and uncle.

After visiting the cemetary, Cara and I drove to Keosauqua and went to the Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. I wanted to find the Indian mounds that are supposed to be in the park, but we drove around for about 20 minutes without finding them. The park is nice though, even without Indian mounds.

We then unloaded our luggage into the cabin that we're staying at for next few nights. The cabin is about a 100 yards from the Des Moines River. Keosauqua is having a (relatively) big 4th of July celebration during the day with a fireworks show over the river at night.

For dinner we went to a place called AJ's Bar & Grill in Mt. Sterling, Iowa (population 46). Most of us had pork tenderloins that extended beyond the bun by several inches. We ate outside and listened to the crickets chirping and watched the lightning bugs fly around. You cannot get anymore "Iowa" than that... Crickets, lightning bugs, and tenderloins. It was a fun evening.

I'm not exactly looking forward to the 4th of July weather if it's anything like the weathermen have been predicting. The predictions call for mid-90s temperatures and thunderstorms--not a good combination!

Iowa

Iowa is a beautiful place. The corn is planted everywhere--if there are trees in the middle of the field, the corn is just planted right around it.

I saw my first Amish people today. Two young men were sitting in a black buggy selling baskets on the side of the road in Mt. Ayr, Iowa. They were both wore dark blue button-down shirts and straw hats. I cannot imagine how hot they must have been in those clothes during this hot and humid day.

Made it to Lincoln

Cara and I have finally made it to Lincoln. It definitely was not an interesting drive, especially once we got on I-80 in Nebraska. I took some pictures of the scenery and, after reviewing them, they all seem to look the same.

We stopped for lunch in Sterling, Colorado. When Cara and I were getting back into the car from the restaurant, we both remarked how hot it was. As we were leaving town we noticed a bank sign reporting that it was 105F--a little too warm for me!

500 Miles to Lincoln

We're just about off to Lincoln, NE now. It's a little over 500 miles from Cara's parent's house in Evergreen, CO. I would like to check out Lincoln's blues mecca the Zoo Bar while we're in town--R. J. Mischo, a blues harmonica player, is performing there tonight.

It was great to finally meet Cara's family. I was a little nervous at first, but I now feel pretty comfortable around them. We'll be coming back to Evergreen on July 8 and will have more time to visit and sightsee then. I'm looking forward to checking out this area a little more--it's absolutely beautiful. We were all sitting in the living room and I noticed several elk walking through the front yard. I guess it happens everyday here. They even get the occasional bear walk up to the house--how ironic that the street is named "Grizzly."

Joe's Turn to 'Meet the Parents'

We are about 20 minutes from my parent's house and Joe is checking his appearance in the mirror while I drive. He checks to make sure there is nothing in his teeth, checks his hair, and wipes the sweat off his forehead that has accumulated after 9 1/2 hours of driving. I think that is very cute and know he will make a great impression on my parents.

Winton & Winton

We are driving down I-80 in Wyoming when all of a sudden Joe excitedly tells me to "quick, get the camera" when he spots an old Winton automobile slowly going down the interstate. First of all, he startled me a little by asking me to do this since I had been dozing a little. Secondly, he decides to take a picture of the Winton automobile, which wouldn't normally be a big deal if he hadn't been driving the car at the same time. I was just a little scared, riding down I-80 with Joe simulataneously driving and taking pictures of a "slow-moving antique car" that was in the next lane.

Ahhgden

Ahh... This is the longest drive--735 miles is a long way. Joe seems to have some kind of telepathic connection with the drivers. He tells them to get over and they do it. He tells me he is "one with the tripometer," which I find amusing.

Ogden or Bust!

Cara and I are getting ready to drive 12 hours or so to Ogden today. At 735 miles, it will be the longest one-day drive during our trip.

Let's hope we don't get any speeding tickets and that Cara is still speaking to me by the time we hit Utah.

Roadtrip Itinerary

Cara and I will be leaving on our roadtrip on Monday, June 30. The main stops on the trip will be in Evergreen, Colorado to visit Cara's parents and Keosauqua, Iowa for the Cassabaum family reunion.

Our planned itinerary is as follows:

June 30: Vancouver, WA to Ogden, UT
Sleep after driving 735 miles

July 1: Ogden, UT to Evergreen, CO
It's my turn to meet the parents. Cara says that they don't expect me to "impress" them -- I'm not sure if their low expectations are a good or bad thing.

July 2: Evergreen, CO to Lincoln, NE
Visit Zoo Bar in Lincoln (R. J. Mischo playing from 6-9pm)

July 3: Lincoln, NE to Keosauqua, IA

July 4-5: Keosauqua, IA
Cassabaum Family Reunion
Keosauqua 4th of July Celebration

July 6: Keosauqua, IA to Des Moines, IA
Breakfast at Hotel Manning in Keosauqua to wrap-up family reunion
Iowa Cubs game vs. Albuquerque Dukes in Des Moines, IA

July 7: Des Moines, IA to Omaha, NE
Visit Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, IA
Omaha Royals vs. Albuquerque Dukes game in Omaha, NE

July 8: Omaha, NE to Evergreen, CO

July 9-11: Evergreen, CO
Visit and stay with Cara's family in Evergreen, CO
Colorado Rockies games vs. San Francisco Giants in Denver, CO (July 9 & 10)
Visit Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen, CO
Visit Denver Art Museum
Tour Coors Brewery in Golden, CO
Visit casinos in Black Hawk and Central City, CO
Visit Boulder, CO
Visit Cara's extended family in Ft. Collins, CO (July 11)

July 12: Evergreen, CO to Salt Lake City, UT

July 13: Salt Lake City, UT to Reno, NV
Stay at Circus Circus

July 14: Reno, NV to Vancouver, WA