New Orleans, LA (USA)

Got a call this morning that New Orleans was evacuating - and that they needed me to help out. I was kind of surprised, since Hurricane Gustave wasn't predicted to make landfall until around Tuesday, but I went in to work anyway (1030). We left around 1400 - flew over to Louis Armstrong International. When we got there, it was pure chaos. Waited around five hours to get going again - destinations for the evacuees kept changing (San Antonio, Fort Smith, Louisville, Nashville). Eventually took off with nearly 90 onboard. Got priority handling all the way and landed in Nashville just before 2200. A huge crowd of people met us and whisked the passengers away [I found out later we were the first ones to show up today - a Nashville Channel 5 TV crew took a movie of our arrival]. On the way back to Fort Worth again around 2300. Wanted to keep going tonight, but our hour limit had been reached by that point... Back home after midnight.

San Diego, CA (USA)

Had an early trip today, but we had some problems getting out of Fort Worth. After we left at 1030, the day went great. Saw White Sands from the air, as well as some good views of the Imperial Valley in CA. Stop through San Diego was quick and we left within 30 minutes. Trip over to Manhattan, Kansas, was easy. Saw some interesting features in northern New Mexico. Weather was great almost all day - just a few thunderstorms to avoid. On the way back to Fort Worth, saw the Red River and a great view of the Dallas-Fort Worth area: all the way from north of Eagle Mountain Lake down to the city. The visibility in this place can be really amazing! Home by 2000.

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 8

This morning we found out what the surprise was! We drove out of Independence and found that this is the town where Laura Ingalls lived in the book "Little House on the Prairie"!!! When we got there, we saw that it was just a little log cabin - only one room! There was a sign that said "suggested donation." We asked Daddy if we really had to pay - and he said we should, so other people could keep coming here. We got to go inside the cabin and there was furniture and a little bed in there. It was windy. We read about how the little house was just a recreation (the old one fell down). But someone did some research and figured out that the well in the backyard was the one that Pa dug. There was also a one room school house and an old post office that people brought here. Laura Ingalls' house was very fun to learn about - I wonder what it would be like living in one room... We talked to a nice girl in the gift shop who knew all about the town and the house. Then we drove for a while and saw a sign that said the next town had the "world's longest yellow brick road." We stopped [Sedan, KS] and it was true (so cool!). People paid money to have a stone with their name or business on it - and they were gold stones. A lady at the historical society told us about the town and how lots of boys around here work on the farms and ranches and then play football. They get a lot of exercise working out here! Then we left and drove down to Oklahoma. There were lots of casinos and signs about Indian Nations. We didn't stop, though, because we had to get back early tonight! We made it through Oklahoma City quickly and then had some lunch (we even had a twinkie!). In a short amount of time, we made it to Texas and then we were in Fort Worth. It was the only traffic jam on the whole trip - right near our house. We were glad to get home - yaaah!

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 7

This morning, we went to a Continental Breakfast. When we got on the road, we switched time zones and drove over to St. Louis. We liked seeing the Arch again - and wanted to stop - but Daddy said we should keep going so we could visit Laura Ingalls Wilder's house. Seven hours after we woke up, we arrived in Mansfield, Missouri. This is the house where Laura wrote all the "Little House" books. We went in a museum next to her house and it had all of her belongings in it. The museum was all about her family and her life. After Laura died, Rose donated the house to the Foundation. We had an amazing time and saw Pa's fiddle! Later, we went on a tour of Laura and Almanzo's house - it was nice. Then we went to see the Stone House that Rose bought for them to retire in. After only a little while, though, they told her they were homesick and returned to their old house. Then we went to the gift shop and got some souvenirs. We also visited their cemetery stones in town. Then we went to Tasty Freeze and had a banana split and butterscotch sundae (the best!!). When we left Mansfield, we drove for a while in the Ozarks. They are pretty mountains. Daddy said he had a surprise and wouldn't tell us what it was! He drove us into Kansas (our first time!!) and we stopped in Independence for the night. We are staying at the Lamplighter Inn. There is a bowling alley next door, but they were closed :-( We did get to walk over to Sonic for dinner, though. What do you think the surprise is?

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 6

Today we woke up and had pop tarts. We got in the car and drove a short way to the United 93 Memorial. It was cold and windy there. It was a very interesting place - people left things to remember their friends and family, who sacrificed their lives. There isn't a visitors center yet, but there was a nice man who told us what it was like on September 11th. He worked for the volunteer fire department and was there that day. He also knew the farmers up the hill from the crash site - he said they didn't even know what happened until the police and fire people arrived! Later, we got on US-40, which we learned is also called the National Road. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut. We played songs on the juke box while we had pizza and cheesy bread. After that, we went to Fort Necessity, where George Washington had his first battle (which he lost). We saw a demonstration of guns shooting and took a tour of an old tavern. The museum told us about how people used to take the National Road from the East Coast all the way to Illinois. After a few hours there, we got back on the National Road and kept driving until we were in West Virginia [I-70]. It took weeks to drive this way for the pioneers and we did it in a few hours! Along the way, we went through Columbus and Indianapolis. We crossed the Ohio River and saw lots of pretty buildings. We stopped for the night in Terre Haute, Indiana, and went to bed.

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 5

We woke up late and had some oatmeal. We used up a LOT of time taking down the tent (it was muddy!) and everything else and packing the car. Then we said goodbye to our KOA camp site and left. We drove through Amish country again and saw horses and kids plowing the fields. Daddy drove us on the "scenic way" and we explored the Susquehannah Valley on PA-372. Soon after that, we fell into a deep sleep and when we woke up, we were driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike! A little while later, we stopped at Roy Rogers and had cheeseburgers, french fries, cherry coke and mashed potatoes (yummy). We went through a lot of big tunnels. Then we got to the Lincoln Highway [US-30]. In a short amount of time, we found a motel. They let us borrow their basketball and tennis rackets and we had the best time. Then we got some delicious ice cream. We liked stopping early for the night - we got to watch TV and read our books! See ya tomorrow!

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 4

Today we started off the morning with very tasty french toast at the KOA Kitchen. We had to get up really early to go to the wonderful city of Philadelphia because Daddy wanted to beat the crowds. So we were on our way!! We arrived in Philadelphia (it took an hour) and got tickets to visit Independence Hall. A nice tour guide named Larry showed us around inside the building where the delegates signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We worked on our Junior Ranger, too. There were people on the tour from Australia and Switzerland! Afterwards, we decided to take a carriage ride through the city with Kim and her horse, Omar. She showed us around town and we got to feed Omar a carrot! It started to rain a bunch, but we brought our rain ponchos (the ones from Sea World and Disney's Animal Kingdom). We walked over to Benjamin Franklin's house and he was there! We got to talk to him and he told us a story about when he was a little boy. He told us to look around in his museum and print shop, so we did. His house isn't there any more (there is a frame that shows what it looks like). It was really pouring, so we decided to have Philly Cheese Steaks for lunch at a place called "Sonny's." It was really good. Then, we walked over to the Betsy Ross House. There were some funny people in front who took us back to the time of the Revolution by waving their hands and making a funny noise. We took an audio tour of her house. She was inside! She showed us how to make a five pointed star for the flag she was working on and she called us "thee" when she talked. We bought some good souvenirs, too. Later, we went back to Ben Franklin's print shop and learned how to print things. We finished our Junior Ranger and, here is the very exciting part, went to the Independence Visitor Center and got our pins! We were walking on the street when we saw some people filming a show called "Cold Case." We think we might end up being in Episode 2 this season (how cool is that?). A lady from the show talked to us! We walked along the Delaware for a little bit and we found an Irish Memorial. We walked back into town for gelato (Brenna got pistacio, Erin got tiaramissu and Daddy got strawberry) and bought a few more souvenirs before leaving. It was really rainy all day and there was a lot of construction on the interstate. The detour ended up taking us by the ball field where the Phillies play - and there were people at the game (they must have been really wet!!!). On the way back to camp, we stopped at Valley Forge and drove around. Valley Forge is where George Washington and his soldiers stayed during a cold winter. There were tons of deer there (more than 20!) and we got to call on Daddy's phone to listen to an audio tour. Daddy found a place where he went to camp back when he was in high school [Freedoms Foundation (see APR 1985)] and we stopped to eat at Bob Evans for dinner (yum yum!). When we arrived at the campground, we learned that there had been a big hail storm and lots of flooding while we were gone. Our tent was OK, though, and we told spooky stories and went to bed.

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 3

When we woke up this morning, Daddy had made oatmeal on our little stove. We had poptarts too. Then, we rented a canoe from the KOA and went canoeing on the Brandywine River with Mariam, Adam and their dad (they brought their own kayaks!). At 1000, we got back to camp and went to a craft event - we got to make spider cupcakes with Twizzlers, frosting and sprinkles and little oreo inch-worms with mini oreos and gummy life savers. When we got back to camp, they suddenly disappeared (we ate them!). Then we were ready to visit Amish Country. The KOA let us borrow an old tape player that had a tour for us to follow. It was fun to listen to the tape as it gave us directions and told us to "turn me off." It took us to a one room schoolhouse, a flower mill and some markets. One memorable thing we saw was a girl dressed in plain clothes who was roller blading on the road with a watermelon under her arm. We saw lots of Amish people in their carriages and working in the fields. It was quiet and nice to drive through their farms. The tape told us all about their way of life and the difference between Amish and Mennonites. Daddy spotted a pretzel factory and we went in to make some ourselves! We bought a ton of things today: postcards, hickory smoked BBQ sauce, homemade rootbeer, pretzels (we sampled every kind!), mint slices and corn chips. The pretzels were awesome - there were regular (with cheese dip!), brown butter, herb and also sugar and spice. After we finished our tour, we were heading back to camp when we saw a place called the Christmas Museum. We stopped and took a tour - it had the history of Christmas! We learned what people in other countries call Santa Claus. For example, in England, they call him Father Christmas. There were trains and presents and trees and a life size manger scene inside the museum. We liked it a lot. After that, we headed back to camp and Daddy made mac and cheese on the stove (mmmm.). We really like the corn chips we bought today, too! Then, we went to a magic show at the KOA and Brenna got picked to help the magician! We went with Mariam and Daddy did some laundry. When we got back, Daddy started up a camp fire and we roasted marshmellows. Daddy told us more spooky stories and then we went to bed. See ya tomorrow!

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 2

This morning, we woke up and headed towards the Beebe Ranch. We learned about it in the book called "Misty of Chincoteague" (and other books in the series). The horses in the story were called "The Phantom", "Misty", "Stormy" and "Sea Star". We really liked reading about their lives on Chincoteague and wanted to see where they lived. We met Mr. Billy Beebe (Paul and Maureen's first cousin!!) and his wife. They knew Grandpa and Grandma Beebe - it was Billy's Grandpa too! They showed us a movie about the true story of Misty and we got to visit her stable. In the pasture, there was a horse named "Angel", who was the fifth generation of the Misty family. The order is Phantom had Misty, Misty had Stormy, Stormy had Windy, Windy had Night Mist and Night Mist had Angel. Guess what - we got to feed Angel!!! It was fun to learn about the wild ponies and learn that it was a true story. The Beebes even had Misty and Stormy inside their house (they were stuffed)! Later, we stopped at the Wallops Island NASA Visitors Center to learn about rockets. We had Hardees for lunch and then we drove towards Philadelphia. We went through Maryland and Delaware and finally got to Pennsylvania. Daddy found the KOA campground near Coatesville. We had to set up the tent (we got a new one!) and get organized. Our camp site is next to the Brandywine River and there are lots of campers here, some with big tents and some with RVs. We met some very nice people at the next camp site - they have kids named Mariam and Adam. We got to go with them to the Game Room (Daddy gave us money) and we played pool with them and other games. We got some ice cream from the little restaurant next door. When it got really dark, the KOA had a flashlight lollipop hunt! It was really fun. Then we got ready for bed and Daddy told us spooky stories. :-o!!

Daddy-Daughter Trip - Day 1

We left Virginia Beach today for the last time. Before we went, we said goodbye to some of our friends. Then we drove on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. We got to stop and have free drinks on the bridge, where we saw a submarine and Sam the Seagull. We drove over to the Eastern Shore and when we got hungry, we had lunch at a restaurant called Little Italy. We had good ravioli and our dad had alfredo with shrimp. It was really yummy! A little while later we got to Wallops Island, where our hotel [SCSC Wallops Island] was. We got changed into our bathing suit and headed over towards Assateague Island so we could go to the beach. On the way, we looked for the farm where "Misty of Chincotegue" used to live. We couldn't find it right away, until we found the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce. A nice lady told Erin where to find the Beebe Ranch - they won't be open until tomorrow. We got to the beach and it was crowded, but fun. We worked on a sandcastle that someone had left behind. It was right in front of the waves. Brenna and Daddy went boogie boarding and swimming (Erin thought it was too cold). Next, we got cleaned up and went mini-golfing on Chincoteague Island. We had a lot of fun. Brenna and Erin each got a hole in one. The funny thing is, our dad didn't! After we played mini-golf, we drove around a little more and found a place called the Chincotegue Pony Center, where we bought souvenirs! We were going to go back to the hotel but Daddy remembered that he forgot a shirt at the beach. We went back and there were hardly any people. It was windy but nice (Daddy didn't find his shirt...). At the hotel, Daddy taught us to play pool and foosball - it was fun! After that, we went to bed.

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 9

[staying at Dam Neck Annex CDSA - worked at NAS Oceana all day - dinner at O-Club - surprisingly, I got one last night at the beach - will pick up girls tomorrow morning - after that, it's "homeward bound" to Texas!]

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 8

[Staying at Dam Neck Annex CDSA]  I got a mission - this is definitely a good reason to still be hanging around in Virginia Beach!  For the first time in quite a while, the flight took me through NAS Meridian. Weather was great in Mississippi and Alabama. Ken and I flew my annual flight check-ride in some clear weather and stopped into Dannelly Field for lunch. We then returned to Meridian before flying home (arrived at 1630).  It was a nice day!  Back to Dam Neck for one more nice evening on the beach before the forecasted rotten weather arrives...

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 7

[staying at Dam Neck Annex CDSA - worked at NAS Oceana all day - back to Dam Neck Annex CDSA in the evening]

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 6

[Staying at Dam Neck Annex CDSA] With my regular day off from work, I decided to check out Colonial Williamsburg and the William & Mary Campus one more time. After departing Virginia Beach (1200), it took over two hours to get there, though, because of big wreck near Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and then bottleneck in Hampton. Finally at W&M campus - unfortunately, they were closed ("interterm break"). Drove around Colonial Williamsburg for a little bit. It was already getting later than I had wanted, so I headed over to the Bass Pro Shop for some camping supplies. Had some trouble finding what I wanted - it was also mobbed. Found a tent at another store nearby. It was easier to get back across the HRBT - thank goodness I went back to Dam Neck early (1700)... Spent a little time on the beach before the sun went down.

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 5

[staying at Dam Neck Annex CDSA - picked up girls in the morning - drove around our old neighborhood, saying goodbye to everyone - showed them my hotel on the beach (they didn't want to go swimming...) - took them so stay at another friend's house for more sleepovers - back to beach]

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 4

[this morning, I left our house in Virginia Beach (Kingston) for the last time - felt sad because we will all have good memories of the place - went to work all day - afterwards, moved to new quarters at the Dam Neck Annex CDSA) - I always love visiting this place on the beach]