Saturday, December 15, 2007
Happy Holidays!
And for those of you who are faithful blog readers (you know who you are), I want to say thanks for keeping up with our journey. We are so glad we could share some of our life with you.
We hope your holidays are filled with laughter and that you have a fantastic New Year. Try doing something out of your comfort zone in 2008, it just might be the best thing you ever did.
;)
Kelly & Scott
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Where's Waldo...I mean Kelly
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Pura Vida in Costa Rica
We went to Fortuna the next day and stayed at Los Lagos hotel, which is practically at the base of an active volcano named Arenal. We drove up to the observatory created by the Smithsonian for volcano research. It was a little cloudy at first but then, as the Greene luck would have it, it cleared up and we could see the volcano perfectly. In fact, the weather in October is usually very rainy, but we had fantastic weather practically the whole trip.
Let me first start out describing the next leg of this trip by saying that I woke up in San Jose with a pinched nerve in my neck. So the next day we headed up to Monte Verde. Dad warned us that the roads were not paved and were pretty bad, but I figured, how bad could they really be? (famous last words) We started on the three hour drive and it wasn't too bad. The lushness of the foliage and the green of the valleys was breathtaking, but the pain in my neck was torture. I was a good little trooper and didn't say much, but the road got worse and worse. At one point a tractor had put new rocks on the road and we barely made it over them. I tied a dish towel around my neck, trying to create a neck brace, and it worked a little. Again not saying a word, popping Advil like candy, humming the theme song from Gilligan's Island (the three hour tour, the three hour tour...) we made it up to the top of Monte Verde. It was beautiful and so worth it. We stayed at a great hotel and Scott and my neck got a much needed massage at the spa.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
We are Family...I've Got All My Sisters and Me!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Going Cow-a-Bunga in Kiawah
Yesterday we took the kayak over to Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island. It is a really great spot to kayak because you start off kayaking in the marshy river and end up in the ocean. We saw all sorts of wildlife. We even saw dolphins and a Bald Eagle. We talked with a student from Georgia, who was doing turtle research on the island. He found a Glass Lizard and showed to to us. I'm not an reptile expert, but it looked more like a snake to me. Once we reached the ocean, the waves were pretty big. We were actually able to surf a couple of the waves. I think kayak surfing should become a new sport. It was so much fun.
I must say that when you are on a budget you will do just about anything to save a buck. Case in point, we sat and listened to a two hour time share/vacation rental sales pitch just to get some free stuff. We ended up getting two free passes on the ghost tour and $75.00 in gift certificates to any restaurant. Even though it was long and I was trying to plan my escape the whole time, it was worth it. The ghost tour was fun and we had lunch at Wasabi, a great sushi restaurant and even had enough left over for dinner at Hyman's Seafood.
We leave for St. Augustine, Fl tomorrow for a short trip to visit my dad and Scott's mom. Then we go to Tampa for my cousin Becca's wedding. I'm excited to see my family again, but it is such a strange feeling to be going back to Florida.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The BBQ Mission
We also went to a place called Chimney Rock (elevation 2,280 feet). It was a total tourist trap compared to most of the places we go hiking, but it had beautiful views. The town of Chimney Rock had a great little barbecue place where you could eat right beside the river. I must take a side bar here and mention to you our obsession with barbecue lately. There really isn't good barbecue in West Palm, unless you go to a place in Hope Sound, locals aptly call the Barbecue Nazi. (If you have ever seen the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, never mind, the joke has passed you by.) So it has been our mission to hit up every little local barbecue place we can find, and boy have we conquered that mission. I think we have found a barbecue place in every town we've visited. My Pop from Texas sure would be proud.
Next stop is Charleston, SC and I can't wait. I hear they have great barbecue...
Click here to see all our photos from Asheville, NC
Thursday, October 4, 2007
A Relaxing Time in Virginia
It was nice to sit back, read books and relax. Oh, and of course we fit in some kayaking time on the 'Rivah'. (For you Floridians, who aren't on the up and up with the lingo, this is how Virginians pronounce river. I am learning so much on this trip.)
The highlight of the week was when we got to go see some of my old friends, Dawn and Trip, that live in Richmond. They have a beautiful baby girl named Isabel. I wish I had a picture to show, but she went down for a nap before I thought to take out the camera. We sat on their sun porch, ate lunch and talked. What a great afternoon.
After an 8 hour drive, we made it to Asheville, NC. I am really excited to explore this town. Stay tuned...
Monday, September 24, 2007
America the Beautiful
Click here to see all our photos from Bar Harbor, Maine
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Canada, eh?
The next day we were on the road again, heading for Maine. We decided to try and save a little money and stop at a rest stop along the way instead of paying for a campsite. It worked out okay, but those rest stops fill up quick with all the truckers and we ended up at a less than desirable rest stop that was close to the road. The traffic noise was so loud with all the semi-trucks whizzing by at 70 miles per hour. So when we woke up at 6:30am, we weren't surprised that we were groggy. Scott got up and walked the dog and I looked out the window wondering why it was still so dark out. When Scott go back we were getting ready to get in the shower when he noticed that the microwave clock was different. It said 2:30am. Did I make that clear enough, 2:30 IN THE MORNING! Ahhhh! No wonder it was still dark out. (Note to self, make sure the clock is correct before going to bed.) After going back to sleep for a couple of hours, we were on the road and arrived in Maine by afternoon. I can't wait to explore Maine this week!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
No Wet, No Fun
We went to Niagara Falls on Friday and it was breathtaking. I can't even express how awe inspiring the falls are. Just the force of the water rushing down is amazing. The weather couldn't have been more perfect the day we went to the falls; sunny, clear, and just slightly cool.
First we went to the area called Cave of the Winds, where they give you ponchos and water shoes to wear, then take you in an elevator down to the base of the falls. All I can say is wow, did we get wet. They have a Hurricane Deck (or Hurricn' for those of you Southern folk) where you are practically standing underneath the falls. We also rode the Maid of the Mist boat right up to the base of the falls. You definitely need to click on the link below and look at more pictures.
Click here to see all our photos from Niagara Falls
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The Greene's Are The New Rainmakers
Click here to see all our photos from Virginia
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Another Greene Adventure
And now, on to the adventurous morning we had...
On our way to Natural Bridge, Virginia, we had a couple of hurdles. Unfortunately, I sent us on the highway heading east instead of west. So we decided to get off at the next exit. What we did not realize was that the next exit was the entrance to the Foothills Parkway, which does not allow commercial vehicles. We figured the only choice was to make a u-turn. We started to make the turn and realized that we are so long that we filled up the entire two lanes and if we kept turning we would have ended up rolling into the ditch. We had to make the split decision to unhook the tow vehicle and get out of the road. Thank goodness it was a Saturday and there wasn't much traffic. Scott and I rushed into action and started unhooking the tow vehicle as fast as possible, as cars started to line up. We got it done and got the car out of the road. We gave each other a high five and started to rehook the car, only to realize that one of the pieces of the hook up equipment was missing. We started looking for it on the side of the road. As we were looking for the piece I said to Scott, "We probably ran over it with the car and it is under the tire, but what are the chances of that?" Well let me tell what the chances of that are, 100%. It was under the tire. After a good laugh, we got everything hooked up and headed back towards the highway.
We decided to pull over at a rest stop to make sure that, in our haste, everything got hooked up correctly. It had, so we pulled back onto the highway. I was talking with my my mom on the cell phone,recapping the eventful morning when Scott yelled that one of our hatches opened and a bunch of our stuff flew out onto the highway. We pulled over and got out to assess the damage. I started walking down the highway towards our stuff which was being pounded by all the oncoming semi-trucks and cars. (Kids please do not try this at home.) About four of our bins had fallen out of the RV into the road. One of the bins had our camping equipment. Forks, knives and shards of the plastic bins were flying all over the place, very dangerous. We salvaged what we could and were so thankful that our stuff did not cause an accident. That second episode really shook us up. You start to feel sort of beat down when two major events happen in the span of two hours. But at the end of the day it is just stuff.
I want to share a little story with you that I heard early in our trip.
"I saw an older man walking near the beach with his wife in Hawaii. He had a cane and appeared to be having some trouble walking. He held on to my arm as I walked by and said to me, "Son, how old are you?", I responded "23 years old". He said "Let me tell you something. I saved up my whole life for this trip to Hawaii and I can't even walk in the darn sand. Live life now, while you can enjoy it."
This story was told to us by a professor we met in Jacksonville. Whether it is a true story or not, the message is still so clear. So even though we have had a few bumps along the way, we are making the most of this wonderful journey and loving all the ups and downs.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Strenuous Trail Ahead
Yesterday we drove through the Smokey Mountains and up to the lookout point (elevation 6,500 ft). All I can say is wow. We took a million pictures, but they can't come close to capturing the beauty of the Smokey Mountains. It was breathtaking.
Today we decided to hike the Smokies. We got a recommendation at the visitors center for a hike with a waterfall at the end. We figured since we completed a 6.5 mile moderate hike, that a 8 mile strenuous hike would be a piece of cake. Let me tell you, when the park service volunteer tells you the hike is strenuous, you should believe him. I make the mistake about a mile and a half into the hike of saying that guy was all wrong and that this hike wasn't that strenuous. Famous last words....Hiking uphill on rocks and roots (sometimes climbing over trees) was very...whats the word..oh yeah, strenuous! I am so sore right now, even my fingertips hurt typing. But let me tell you it was worth it. We saw three of the oldest trees in the park. They were huge. There was also this beautiful waterfall. If you ever get a chance to see the Great Smokey Mountains, do it. It is so worth it. I wish we could stay longer, but it is off to Virginia tomorrow.
Click here to see all our photos from Tennessee
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Rockin' & Rollin' Down the Caddo
It was really beautiful and we saw a lot of wildlife along the way. We saw Trout, a really big Heron, spotted Gar and a ton of turtles. One neat thing was there was this butterfly that rode the whole way down the river with us, either on my shoulder or my hat (see picture below).
By afternoon we decided it was time to have lunch, so we stopped in a shady spot along the river. We were half way into our sandwiches when I looked over and noticed two river snakes fighting (or at least I thought they were fighting). Scott thought they were really cool, but as they started to move a little closer I thought it may be time to get on our merry way. I don't think they cared for us interrupting their afternoon romance. We had a blast and ended up completing the 6 hour trip in half the time. Who says an ocean kayak can't handle the river!
Click here to see all our photos from Kayaking on the Caddo River
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
On Cloud Nine
Yesterday, we decided to go hiking in Lake Catherine State Park. They have three trails. All are moderate level of experience needed, but they vary in length. You can only guess that Scott wanted to go on the longest one. Being that I am a trooper and am in such good shape (notice the touch of sarcasm here), I decided what the heck, lets do it. It was called the Dam Mountain Trail and damn was it long. It actually wasn't that long, but being that we went the wrong way and added a couple of extra miles on to it, it became a Dam long Mountain trail. One of the highlights of the trail is that it has a beautiful waterfall along the way. The only problem is that Arkansas hasn't had rain in probably three months so no rain equals no water equalling no waterfall. If we have ever told you the story of our trip to Aruba with the natural bridge, this was a similar experience. All kidding aside we had a blast and laughed the whole way down the trail. My favorite part was Scott leading the way with his spider stick. Who said chivalry is dead!
Click here to see all our photos from Hot Springs, Arkansas
Click here to see all our photos from Hiking at Lake Catherine State Park
Elvis is That You???
We decided that we couldn't leave Texas without having some good ol' Texas BBQ. So we went to a great little place called Doc's Hickory Creek Barbecue. We knew it would be great just by the large black and white smoker outside, shaped like a pig. We went in and ordered from the counter and took a seat. The decor was modest, but maybe a tad different for a BBQ place. The first item I noticed was the velvet painting of Elvis on the wall and then I realized the TV was playing satellite Elvis music. Not too strange, until the owner, who was sitting at the next table, starting chatting with us. I asked him if he liked Elvis and mentioned we may stop in Memphis and see Graceland. Boy did I hit a hot button. We found out that he was an Elvis impersonator (wink, wink). As he started reliving stories of the one night he kissed 30 girls I thought to myself, could it really be him? Texas isn't that far from Tennessee.
So there you have it folks, mystery solved.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Texas Talk
We are going to take this weekend off to relax and catch up on some chores and then start planning where we will head next. We have heard that Arkansas has some great hiking spots. So we are probably going to head there.
I wanted to take a moment to mention how much fun we are having writing this Blog. But most importantly, that your comments really mean so much to us. Being able to read them helps us to stay connected to everyone we care about. Also, a couple of you have asked how Maggie is doing. She is loving being with us 24-7. I included a picture to demonstrate.
Well, that's all for now. To all our friends and family back in Florida. Make sure that your Poo Scrn is safe and secure before the next Hurricn'!!!
Click here to see all our photos from Coppell Texas
Monday, August 20, 2007
Day 7: The Coach Gets a Bath
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Day 6: Watch Out Kelly's Behind The Wheel, Ahhhh!
With that appointment squared away, we figured now was as good a time as any to let me drive. That's right naysayers, I did pull my weight on the long driving day and drove over two hours, before I had to stop and go to the bathroom. Or was it because I was so scared that I had to go to the bathroom (just kidding). It is NOT like driving a car at all. I was prepared for the constant steering adjustments I would have to make, but pushing the pedal was really hard. Cruise control is a must and changing lanes is always an adventure. Not only are you trying to make room for a 40 foot long BUS, you have to take into account the 15 foot long car you are towing behind the 40 foot bus. Needless to say, no animals or small children were hurt in the driving of the vehicle.
The A/C ended up being no big deal and didn't cost us a thing. Which was a good thing because the cost of fuel is crazy. We made it to Texas and set-up our site at the Dallas Destiny RV Resort, which is great. I can't wait to stay here a week. It can be tiring packing up and moving every day. By the time our heads hit the pillow, I think we had almost a 13 hour day today.
Day 5: 911, Stitches, and More Family Fun!
Click here to see all our photos from New Orleans & Lafeyette Louisiana
Day 4: The Day the RV Got Hot
We finally headed out of Florida this morning, bound for New Orleans. We went through two states and crossed the Mississippi River to get there. The roads were really bad and all our stuff in the RV shook like crazy. (Thank goodness I got that tip to put bubble wrap between the dishes.) On our way into town we saw several shells of houses and people living in RV's and tents. This is two years after Hurricane Katrina. It is very sad.
The RV park we stayed in was interesting, to say the least. It was located in a harbour off Lake Pontchartrain in a working district. But the owners were very friendly and they offered a shuttle into the French Quarter. Once we got to the park and "hooked up" we noticed the front A/C wasn't working. Super handy Scott, called the RV tech and started looking into the problem. They figured out it was the Start Capacitor, which was still under warranty, and wasn't a big deal to replace. So we decided we could leave the problem till tomorrow and went into the French Quarter. Downtown didn't seem affected by the storm at all. There were a ton of people there. We ate some great shrimp Po Boy's and ended the evening with beignets at Cafe Du Monde.
Ooh La La.!