Candi's Corner: Wanderlust and Passions

The last entry I've written on my blog was about three weeks ago; I was sitting on my breakfast bar,watching palm trees swinging ,and listening to waves crashing on the Pacific Ocean. Today, I am laying on my dad's recliner,looking out of the window, I see a big magnolia tree standing,oh so still, as if daring the humid heat of the south. The weather forecast predicted rain, but I don't see it, not yet. From Hawaii to South Carolina, and everything in between, we made our way from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic Southeast, the car odometer read 4200 road miles, and we've loved every mile and minute of it.

To be sure, we have not reached our final destination yet, and our trip is not yet over. But we are very close, a four or five hour drive to Jacksonville Florida is nothing compared to the trip we just finished.

We had a straight flight from Maui to Portland,Oregon on Alaskan Air. We retrieved our car,that has been stored in Portland for the last six months, and we spent five nights in Portland, visiting with our friends, and soaking up the city life that we missed so much living on Maui . Portland is a beautiful American city, green, clean and friendly. We visited some main attractions,biked a little, hiked a little, and ate A LOT. We really enjoyed everything we've done and seen in the city, but the food won the highlights hands down.

From Portland we headed south and east with Southern Utah as a final destination, stopping in Boise, Idaho, where loads of nostalgia came rushing through us; we lived in Boise for three months in 2007 and loved it. We also spent a night in Salt Lake City, before reaching the magnificent Zion. We spent five nights touring Zion National Park, now there is a part of America to be proud of.

Leaving Zion, we stopped at Bryce Canyon, another spot that is out of this world. And then of course the Grand Canyon that no words can describe. From the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, we had a long drive to Arches National Park, another American treasure. In Arches, we seemed to have offended the weather gods, as we drove into Moab to a top notch southwestern thunderstorm, with lightening and all. We canceled our camping plans and got a room at a local motel. We went to bed praying for a nice morning to explore the park.

Well, it was an overcast and drizzly morning, but looking at the bright side, it wasn't hot(yay). We spent half the day in the park and then headed towards Colorado, to Edwards,where my in-laws were staying in their summer home, high in the mountains escaping the Texan heat.We spent three days, watching the aspens turn golden, eating good food and enjoying stunning scenery. Of course, the great company, and winning the shuffle board championship with MIL(against Bill and FIL) made the stay even more sweet.

Leaving Edwards, we spent a night in Topeka, Kansas, and another in Nashville, Tennessee, before reaching my parents' place in Lake City, South Carolina. We've been here for couple days, eating a lot again, and enjoying spending time with the family. This morning, me and Bill went to ride horses with a couple of my dad's customers and friends.After the trail ride, we all went to my dad's gas station/diner,where he treated us with delicious(even if not healthy) southern cooking of fried chicken, fried pork chops, sweet peas, mashed potatoes, and apple cobbler. I love seeing how happy my parents are living here after moving from Michigan about four years ago. They blend in well in the country life.

I will blog in more details about our trip, but for the next couple days, I will be spending more time with my family, getting my photos organized and then doing some chores(yes, after all these years, chore rules remain enforced).