Stop at Biltmore Before Home

We slept in Tuesday morning and then decided to sit out on our balcony so that we could enjoy our room and view before we trekked north. We spent the entire day driving to our campsite in Asheville, North Carolina. To keep ourselves occupied, we listened to Harry Potter on audio book that Chrissy had on her Ipod. We reached our campsite around 1:30am and decided to sleep in the truck to save time from having to assemble/disassemble the tent.
On Wednesday, we got up around 8:30am and drove to the Biltmore Estate so that we could tour the chateau and the gardens. The architecture was amazing, and I thought it was cool that Frederick Law Olmstead (the man who designed Central Park in New York City) planned out the gardens for the estate. After the tour, we went to Antler Village, which is a few miles from the house but still on the estate since the estate is on 8000 acres, and did some complimentary wine tasting to finish off our visit. The Riesling and Merlot were my favorites.


After the Biltmore, Chrissy and I drove about 90 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway so that we could enjoy the scenery and see the Linville Viaduct. We also picked up a nice orange cone at the Green Knob Overlook just for kicks. Given that we had lots of energy, we decided that the best idea was to drive straight to my house from North Carolina. We stopped for Subway around 7pm, and then a Burger King/gas station around midnight. At the gas station, there happened to be some bargain Christian books for sale, so of course Chrissy and I broke down and got some. We both already have shelves of books that we need to read, but haven't been able to because school keeps us busy, but we figure one can never have too many books. We made it halfway through the 3rd Harry Potter book before we reached my house at 4:30am on Thursday. Thankfully Chrissy had her key to get into the garage, and then we just knocked on the door and my dad let us in. He knows me so well and figured that we would be arriving. My parents were really excited to see us and we shared stories until they went to work at 7am and then Chrissy and I slept until the middle of the afternoon. Went and bought a steak for dinner and then we shared presents and videos after dinner. Chrissy and I stayed up late trying to figure out what to do with our patches and pins and then my brother showed up around 12:30 am so we got to show him our videos and presents. He was very excited to hear about all of it. Went to sleep around 4am and I got up to watch the Germany v Serbia game. The referee was horrible to say the least, and I'm livid that Klose got kicked out for fouls that were not card worthy. The USA v Slovenia was a good game, but again, the referee was awful. I'm hoping that things are better with England v. Algeria.

Hollywood to New Orleans

Last I left you was in Santa Monica. On Tuesday, June 8th, Chrissy and I left the Clarity Condo around 11am to venture into Hollywood. We did the typical touristy things such as wandering the Walk of Fame, taking pictures of hand/footprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theater, and looking at the Kodak Theater that is across from the Hotel Roosevelt. We then drove around and stumbled upon Beachwood Drive and wound our way up into the Hollywood Hills so that we could get a good picture of the Hollywood sign. Ironically, we happened to be listening to Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus at the time and when she said, "When I looked to my right I could see the Hollywood sign," that was where we saw it (yes I know we are easily amused). Following that adventure, we drove through the Mojave Dessert to get to Las Vegas. I was really excited to see the Bellagio Fountains because they were in the end of Ocean's Eleven. After watching the fountains, we went to the Buffalo Bill Saloon and Casino for some gambling. Played the quarter slots followed by blackjack. Blackjack was a lot of fun and really easy to pick up on. The dealer was really nice, as were the people from Alaska playing with us. Even though I lost all of my money, I enjoyed myself in the process.

After being up the majority of the night, I drove us to Death Valley at 5am so that we wouldn't roast in the heat, and so the truck wouldn't either. We stopped at the Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in the United States at 282 feet below sea level. It's mildly creepy that there is a sign in the cliff indicating to where sea level is. Following our Death Valley adventure, Chrissy and I drove to the Leeds' RV Park to check in before our hike. The woman was very nice and helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We went to Zion National Park and, for some odd reason, I thought it would be an excellent idea to do the Angel's Landing hike. The beginning is a windy trail up to one point where you think that you are done until you realize that you have to cross a narrow ridge holding onto chains in order to reach the actual Angel's Landing, which is 1488 feet off of the ground (pretty high for someone who hates heights). My best analogy is imagine being on top of the Empire State building and having the surface be smooth sandstone with patches of sand and needing to cross a two foot wide ledge while holding onto chains. Doesn't that sound like oh so much fun? I figure that conquering some of my fears is all in the experience. Truthfully, I wouldn't have made it without the help of Chrissy and some other random folks encouraging me as I slowly inched along. Afterwards, lyrics from the Sidewalk Prophets "Words I Would Say" came to mind, which state, "Be strong in the Lord, and never give up hope. You're gonna do great things, I already know. God's got His hand on You, so don't live life in fear." If I lived my life in fear, I would have never made it to the pinnacle of Angel's Landing, though the last half mile did take about an hour.

June 10th brought us to the Kanarra Creek slot canyon in Kanarraville, UT. This hike was positively amazing! The trail zig-zagged along the Kanarra Creek and across it at points. We also had to climb ladders at waterfalls until we couldn't go any further. It was very refreshing given the hot, sunny day. We then went to Bryce Canyon National Park, which is by far my favorite park. We hiked the Peek-a-boo Trail down into the canyon and back up again. After the hike, drove to Shady Acres campground in Green River, UT.

June 11th we drove most of the day. Since Aspen Seals Sledging was closed for the season, we went to Mile High Stadium in Denver because Chrissy is a Broncos fan. The weather was extremely bizarre. There were torrential downpours, followed by hail that piled up to about 4 inches in spots. This unfortunately kept the water trapped on the road, turning it into a lake. After the stadium, we drove to our campsite in Pagosa Springs, CO.

June 12th we found ourselves driving to Four Corners Monument. Unfortunately, it was closed due to construction, so we ventured to Goosenecks State Park to take some pictures. After that, we drove through Albuquerque, NM, before taking a quick nap. The next day we went to the Cadillac Ranch and each spray painted Bible verses onto the cars. Chrissy chose Proverbs 3:5-6, which states "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will keep your paths straight." I chose Matthew 6:25 which says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Attempts to find a place to watch the Germany vs. Australia game were futile, so we made our way to Shrevport, LA, for the night. (Germany won 4-0 for those who are interested).

June 14th we slept in a bit and then drove, with much excitement, down to New Orleans for the night. As a surprise, I got us a room at the Inn on Bourbon Street with a Bourbon Street balcony. Chrissy of course thought that I was crazy, but extremely happy. I figured I was just channeling Randy Pausch by helping make someone's dream come true, which does have an amazing feeling to it. It worked in my favor as well because I absolutely love jazz and New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. After checking in, we wandered Toulouse Street to Jackson Square to take pictures of St Louis Cathedral at my brother's suggestion, and then found the statue of Joan of Arc. The downpours started, so we found our way into the French Market restaurant for dinner. I had some epic grilled chicken while listening to thunder claps that

sounded more like cannons going off than anything else. It was raining so hard that the floor of the back room started flooding because the patio drain was clogged. The wait staff was entertaining and kept asking us if we wanted to go for a swim. Once the rain stopped, we wandered along the Mississippi River to the Jackson Brewery for a sampler before making our way back to Bourbon Street for some shopping. That wore us out so we topped off the night by drinking Sangria on our balcony and watching the world go by.

Whirlwind on the West Coast

Jeepers it's been a busy week. We left off in Gold Beach, Oregon I believe. Well on Thursday, June 3rd, we drove south along Route 101 so that we could travel through Redwood National Forest. It was stunning to see such gigantic trees lining the roadways. When stopping at a visitors center, we happened to come across a herd of elk, which was pretty awesome. We decided to then travel along the Avenue of the Giants and paid a few dollars to literally drive through a tree because not everybody can say that they took the time to drive through a redwood. After the park, we located a Starbucks to do some reading, but I was too intrigued by the women's Bible study to actually do any. Once we relaxed for a bit, we continued on down the coast and detoured at Point Arenas Lighthouse just because it was there. The facility was closed, but it was beautiful seeing a lighthouse at night. Finally reached our campsite in Gualala State Park around 10pm. I was greatly amused by the security guard who spoke to me in German and actually knew how to pronounce my last name as "moot" which hardly ever happens.

Friday morning Chrissy and I got up bright and early at 6am (well not so much bright as it was still pouring rain). After showering and disassembling a wet tent, we ventured towards Calistoga, CA to go wine tasting at Chateau Montelena. The venue was gorgeous and the wine was decent. I drove afterwards since I only had tiny sips, whereas Chrissy finished off the wine and it was pre-breakfast at 9am. I continued south through Napa Valley to get us onto 120 east towards Yosemite National Park. Yosemite was absolutely breathtaking! We saw Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Brideveil Falls, El Capitan, and Half Dome. What made everything even better was the fact that the sun finally came out after almost a week straight of rain that was really wearing on my psyche. After Yosemite, it was off to our campsite on Half Moon Bay. We were truly blessed with the location of site 16 because it just so happened to be literally 50 feet from the beach so we got the luxury of falling asleep and waking up to waves crashing along the shore.

Saturday was a fun-filled day. We started the day by visiting the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. This mansion was designed by the late Mrs. Winchester, who was married to the son of the man who invented the Winchester rifle. The mansion is quite intriguing with its low-rise staircases, the door to nowhere, and windows with views of elevator shafts. Some say that the reason the house is so unique is because Mrs. Winchester was trying to confuse the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle. Chrissy and I opted for the Grand Estate tour, which included both the mansion tour and the behind-the-scenes tour. It was very entertaining to learn all of the inside stories about the house and Mrs. Winchester's bizarre behavior. Following the tour, we trekked up to San Francisco so that we could take the ferry out to Alcatraz. If you remember, I happen to have a great fascination with 1920s gangsters, and Al Capone happened to do time on the Rock. Also, I really enjoyed Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz, so to be able to see the actual cells that those men chiseled their way out of was pretty epic. The audio tour was quite intriguing and made you feel like you were really experiencing certain events such as the riot that occurred and stabbings in the dining area. Once back on shore, Chrissy and I wandered Fisherman's Wharf and found some nice bargain shops before stopping for a loaf of sourdough bread at Boudin's Sourdough Bakery. We then took pictures of Ghiradelli Square and the trolley turnaround on Hyde Street before hiking up Hyde Street to get a view of the bay area. Next was walking down Lombard Street, which happens to be the crookedest street ever. As a surprise, I found Aladdin Street for Chrissy because that is her favorite movie. After our own personal walking tour, we decided to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge before finding our campsite at Sunset Beach State Park along Monterey Bay.

Sunday we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway along Monterey Bay and through the Big Sur area. The blues of the water were absolutely stunning, and the cliff views were nerve-racking and spectacular all at the same time. Around 4 in the afternoon we reached our destination in Santa Monica. Former members of our church (Nathan and Jess Kollar, Josh and Allison Kollar, Ryan and Katrina Connell, and Dan Crismon to name a few) planted a church called Clarity about 6 months ago, so we decided to crash their place for two nights. There was an event Sunday night with a nice pasta dinner and some worship music led by Nathan and Jessica Kollar, along with a short message by Nathan on the Power of One, which focused on the story of Stephen being the first Christian martyr and how his sacrifice fulfilled God's Word of spreading the gospels across the globe. After the event, we all went back to the condo to socialize and eat leftovers.

Chrissy and I got the luxury of sleeping in until about 10am Monday morning, which was awesome! Josh Kollar was the first person to wander into the kitchen, so we celebrated by all eating chocolate cake for breakfast (we needed some sort of excuse to make that okay). After lounging for a bit, Chrissy and I ventured to the 3rd Street Promenade. I got sucked in by the World Cup hype and bought a soccer magazine that came with a World Cup Guide. I then came across the Adidas store and now have a new Germany soccer jersey and zip-up track jacket. It was totally worth it though. After the shopping spree, Chrissy and I decided to be brave and each dunked ourselves in the Pacific Ocean. It was definitely not as cold as I expected. Jumping in the Delaware River in January was definitely much worse (nor very smart haha). We went back to the condo and then went out to dinner at In N Out with Nathan, Jess, Novi, Josh, and Allison. Novi was quite entertained by my phone, so I let her play with it while we were stuck in traffic. Following dinner, we had a quick Mario Kart tournament before Allison, Chrissy, Jess, and I all went to Pink Berry for dessert. I got a mini chocolate topped with brownie bites, chocolate chips, and crushed oreos. It was delicious! Once back at home, we all watched some bloopers on Youtube before settling on watching G.I. Jane on Netflix. Chrissy and I then hashed out what we are planning on doing for the next couple of days. I am currently losing at finding any sort of campsite near Kannaraville, UT, for later in the week, so I should probably sleep considering how late it is. Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Hopefully the next won't be too far down the road.

Sogginess That is the Pacific Northwest

It was pouring rain last night when we went to bed and we woke up to more rain. The idea to hike to Tunnel Falls was therefore scrapped since it was probably not the greatest conditions to hike on a trail that was carved into the edge of a 120 foot cliff. So we got a chance to sleep in and I read some of my book and ate Kix once I woke up from a train going by in the gorge. My half of the tent happened to be sitting in a gigantic puddle, so that was a good time, as was disassembling the tent and packing it. To make up for the lack of a hike, Chrissy and I drove along the Columbia River Scenic Highway on Route 30 to see Horsetail Falls and Multonomah Falls. After getting soaked taking pictures, we went shopping at the Christian Outlet once we found out that our jetboat ride for tomorrow got cancelled due to the weather. A bit of a bummer, but not the end of the world since we can do that on the east coast. We drove through Tillamook Forest and got changed into dry clothes at the visitor's center. After another hour or so of driving, we finally reached the Pacific Coast Highway and got pictures of the ocean. Now that we have wasted time at Starbucks and I have chatted with my brother on the phone, it is time to drive down to our campsite in Gold Beach, Oregon. Oh and for those of you who do not know, Chrissy is also keeping a blog at travelingfervor.blogspot.com. She has some great old pics up of my brother and I that were on the wall at my grandma's, along with an old wedding picture of my parents that I saw for the first time. Enjoy!

Learning to Get Rid of Bitterness

I'll admit that I was quite anxious to see my grandma again after 12 long years. I do not really know why it was so long in between visits, but I believe that pent up bitterness might have existed for reasons unknown. Following the visit, I felt better about life and was happy that my grandma appeared to show interest. I guess part of me always wondered if she really cared about me, and I finally realized that she does, but prefers to not have a major part in my life. This made me turn to Ephesians 4:31-32 which says Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. In essence, I will now be content with writing my grandma letters and sending pictures and not necessarily seeing her because that is just the way things are. There is no reason to hold a grudge over her absence. Instead, I will be grateful for what I have.

Washington Adventures, Grandma, and Shady Past of Portland

On Sunday, Chrissy and I drove up to Glacier National Park in Montana and went along the 14 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road that were accessible at this early stage of the season. The weather was a bit dreary, but we still got some nice pictures of the mountains, river, and Lake McDonald. While taking pictures of the lake, a man came and told us that he had seen a bear off the road. I went towards where he pointed and low and behold there was a bear that looked to be about 2 years old. It happened to stop on the slope and turn and look in my direction so that I could snap a picture before it lumbered across the road and into the hills.

We left Glacier and headed west on I-2 towards Idaho, crossed Idaho, and entered Washington after driving through Priest River. Drove through Spokane in order to catch I-90 west towards Seattle. We stopped at a viewpoint along the Columbia River and took pictures of the sunset before continuing westward to our Motel 6 that was between Tacoma and Seattle.

Yesterday morning we woke up and drove to Tacoma to check out the Museum of Glass at Chrissy's request. It was pretty cool seeing all of the different flowers and creations made out of a variety of colors. Soon after, we trekked north to Seattle so that we could visit the original Starbucks that is across from Pike's Place Market. I ordered a Java Chip Frappucino for our walk through the market. We saw them tossing fish at the world famous fish market and then ventured to the Space Needle. Took the 41 second elevator ride to the observation deck and got to see some awesome views of Puget Sound and the Seattle metropolis. The last stop for the day was Camano Island to visit my grandma for the first time in 12 years. The visit was quite pleasant and I updated her on my life and answered most of her questions about my family. She gave Chrissy and me each spoons that belonged to her mother-in-law; one of mine was engraved with her name, Ella, and was made in 1894. She also gave me 2 books; one was from 1877 and the other was given to her in 1940 by her future prom date. The last gift was my great-grandmother's opal ring that she used to wear. For dinner, we had some hamburger pie and my grandmother told stories about how she had met my grandpa Pete. After dinner, we got to see more of the house and I came across my parent's wedding album, pictures of my brother and I when we were really young, along with pictures of my grandmother from when she was a baby and growing up. I believe I found a picture of my great great grandmother who happened to be a famous trapeze artist, along with her sister. They toured as either the Vaidis Sisters or the Vaidis Twin Sisters.

This morning, we ate breakfast before packing up the food that my grandma provided for us. We then drove south towards Portland, Oregon. Ventured through the Columbia River Gorge along I-84 east and set up our tent at site 11 in Eagle Creek Campground. Our next destination was Hobo's Restaurant so that we could do a tour of Portland's Seedy Underground, known as the Shanghai Tunnels. I of course saw an episode of Cities of the Underground on the History Channel and became interested in the tunnels. The tunnels were used to get able-bodied men to work on merchant ships to China, or for the white slave trade where women would be sold into prostitution. The men were either drugged in saloons or dragged out of opium dens into the tunnels to be sold to ship captains. They were given knockout drops so that they wouldn't wake up for 13-16 hours when they were well into their voyage. If they were lucky, they would get back to Portland in 3-6 years. If they were unlucky, they never made it back. And if they were super unlucky, the ships ran out of food and they were served for dinner as "long pork". After our history lesson, we found a Starbucks to update the world about our recent escapades. More again soon, hopefully!