Best Western Country Haven Inn Searcy

... trying to navigate our way from Houston to Washington DC. We've tried to mix with the locals as much as possible along the way, which has been interesting. More trouble than it's worth for the most part. For instance, I have been accused of stealing credit cards, pretty ironic when I think of how much money has been nicked from me on this trip and had drinks with someone who turned out to be nothing more than a complete racist ...

... br><br>Tomorrow we head for Louisiana and hope we will be traveling with sunshine and a temperature of at least 60. <br><br>So glad our 5th wheel has a furnace and portable heaters.<br><br>Despite the weather the Mississippi River view is gorgeous, Graceland was nostalgic and the Corvette Museum is what dream cars are made of.<br><br>Louisiana beckons....<br><br>The Mrs.

As one enters Graceland you see beautifully manicured grounds, with horses grazing in the pastures surrounding the estate.<br><br>Going in the front door you see the living room to right completely as in was in the 1960's. Each room has been preserved to the exact standards to when he was living. <br><br>The mansion was crowded with people from all over the United States ...

... King of France. He asked the King for Permission to explore a part of the Louisiana Territory, and for a grant to whatever part of it he might find to his liking. The King greed to his request.<br><br>Chavet was engaged to be married to a young girl in Paris who, when told of this plans, asked that they be married before he left France so that she might accompany him. Thinking of the hardship and danger that would probably be encountered ...

I left OKC with sun and cloud and 44 F. But as miles of farmfields and trees passed, the clouds thickened up and I wondered when the thermometer would hit 50. It did in spite of the persistent cloud cover, about an hour outside of Little Rock. But, hey, it did not rain.<br>Saw more of the city than ...

I hope everyone enjoys this misadventure with my Dad and myself. We will give updates and pictures as we go along. The official time of departure will be Friday? We r only 2 WEEKS behind, but should be for a good trip. Well will talk to u on the 12th

Today, I bought my plane ticket to Bangkok. I leave June 17, 2009, at 11:40 a.m. from Chicago O'Hare Airport. I decided that since this is my first concrete step toward my trip, I should commemorate it with my first blog entry (it also gave me an excuse to get this thing up and running). Now, I've bought several things to go toward my trip (a backpack, hiking shoes, a trial pair of "travel boxers", and many other items), but nothing I have ...

... that I can do to spread God's word, so please keep me in your prayers! I know that it is easy to be overwhelmed by other cultures and not want to interact as much for fear of messing up, but please pray that I will work through that and be able to work with the people there. Thank you all again and please keep in touch! You can leave messages on here and I will get them. God bless

So, as we conclude our journey, what have we learned about the good ol' USA--and about ourselves? First, the vital statistics: --13,600 miles --exactly four months, sleeping in the Airstream every night. When we parked at homes of friends and family we used the facilities of the Big House, but we always stayed in the trailer. --average of about 13.8 miles per gallon. On the highway we got as much as 15.6 MPG, but in the mountains down to 12.8. We learned that small town ...

September 5, the date of our departure, is nearing! We are busily preparing the leave -- preparing course materials, packing, etc. We are excited about getting to know 25 university students better this semester. Our kids are looking forward to the entire experience. I'll be posting entries frequently once we've left.