TravelStream™ news feed for member jlisley on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jlisley en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:57:31 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1195977240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1195977240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1195977240/tpod.html Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:57:31 -0500 A trip out west, a short stay in Mountain View California, and a medical mission in Kenya.

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Mountain View, California, United States

Just Pictures this time. I'll make sure I explain things in the captions. Write more later.
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Los Angeles, California, United States

On to Los Angeles. Upon crossing the state line into California, two things happened: gas prices went up almost 50 cents and there was an inspection station for all vehicles. The gas prices I was expecting, but for some reason was telling myself it would not be as bad as everyone said it would be. Well, instead of the $35 it took to fill up our car in Asheville, it now takes $50. Good thing we have our bikes! The prices are frustrating but the vehicle inspection was terrifying. We pulled up and a nice gentlemen asked us where we were coming from. Upon answering, he began asking other questions about possible items we were bringing into the state. Strange food, plants, etc. He asked to look around the car and of course I said go ahead. This is where the real fear came into play. Unless Lauren was smuggling some cocaine or illegal immigrants into the state, we had nothing to fear. Or at least, Lauren had nothing to fear. I cannot begin to describe to all of you what a work of art that packing job was. When everyone said I couldn't fit a useless mail sorter, I found a nook just out of spite. When everyone said I couldn't pack one more thing, I packed three. And not in some Jackson Pollock abstract way where I simply stuffed items in. No, no, no. This was geometrically beautiful. Something M.C. Escher would be proud of. (Look 'em up) So naturally, one could understand my horror when John C. Lawman was taking a gander inside our car. I fear he would something suspicious and ask to see what it was. I would gladly pay double the gas prices if it meant I did not have to unpack my work of art to show this dude that he was wrong. Well, my over-dramatic consternation was put to rest as he gave us the green thumb and we were off again with another adventure under our belts. On a side note, Lauren was very worried as to why I was profusely sweating. I assured her I would be right as rain in about five minutes.
The California desert was the most desolate place I had ever seen. At least in Utah and Arizona there were occasional shacks in the middle of nowhere. But here, NOTHING. Very strange.
Our time in L.A. was short and so will be what I write about it. Smoggy, crowded, fast, diverse, glad I can say I have been there. Joking aside, it was great to see two of my best friends, Eric and Dave. Dave is married to a very nice girl named Michelle. We stayed with them for two nights and were able to go to church with them. That was great because we had not been able to go in almost two months. The last thing I will write about L.A. is on Sunday night we went to a restaurant called "Roscoe's." Their claim to fame...fried chicken and waffles combinations. GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING!!! I could live in L.A. for Roscoe's.
From Dave's we drove up Highway 1 to Mountain View. Almost there!
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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

Onward to Flagstaff, AZ! We drove to Arizona on the same day we visited Canyonlands so one could imagine the drawn out day we had. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing, just a long day. The drive to Lauren's Aunt's house was...strange. That is the only word I can come up with right now. Beautiful, yes, but when nothing is seen for miles and then all of a sudden there is a four walled dwelling that is obviously being lived in; that is strange. We drove through the Navajo Reservation and came to the conclusion that the Native Americans in this region are in a very sad state. That aside, the drive was nice. I have never before seen such red rocks. And I mean DARK red.
Out West, the highways are different. Everything is so spread out there are not many major interstates in close proximity of each other. It got to the point were I really loved a four lane road. It is also different to go 70mph on a two lane road, but don't worry parents, we were never unsafe.
We arrived at Lynn and Jeff's (Lauren's Aunt and Uncle) at about 9:00 in the evening, but what I thought was 8:00. For some reason, Arizona feels like they do not need to recognize day-light savings. The day we left, the time was changing again (not for Arizona) and we were going into a new time zone. The two days we spent there was terribly confusing in that regard. That is enough about the time. Lynn and Jeff are incredibly kind and have a beautiful house. It was great to see them and Grandma Karen who happened to be visiting the same time as us. We went to a great Mexican place to eat and then watched Nate's (Lynn and Jeff's youngest) football game. The next day, we got up early and went to the Grand Canyon.
The road to get there is a strange one. It does not seem like you are anywhere close to any sort of canyon whether it be "Grand" or not. And then...BOOM. You see past some trees into this wide open space of plateaus, multi-colored rocks, and a blue sky that contrasted perfectly with it. Naturally, it was crowded and we had some trouble finding a parking spot. While driving around, I kept wanted Lauren to stop so I could get out and look. It is awesome. I have never seen one thing in my life as big as the Grand Canyon. We found a spot and hiked along the edge of the canyon to the Kaibob trail head and began our descent. We hiked for about a mile and a half to a peninsula with a fantastic view east and west down the canyon. I am sure we could have spent all day hiking down, but we had to get back.
It was a great trip and we are glad we got to see Lynn, Jeff, Nate, and Grandma. Our next stop was Las Angeles to see my buddy Dave and Eric. That is our last stop before we get to the Bay Area entries.
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Moab, Utah, United States

First of all, sorry folks for taking so long on getting this going again. This entry has to do with our drive to Utah and the time spent there. We left Boulder, CO on Tuesday morning. Now one must understand that the weather was pleasant and warm there. The fact that I (John) was wearing shorts and flip-flops was not a big deal. Something else one must understand is that I have never driven through the Rocky Mountains in late October. Call me naive or ignorant, but for some reason I was not thinking snow. Obviously I should have; and not just some snow, but A LOT of snow. The situation was not helped by the fact that the tiny engine in our car was ready to kick both of us in the shins. We had driven 2/3's of the way across the country and now we were ascending the largest mountains in North America. Did you know that a loaded down 4Runner will only do 50mph in fourth gear going up those mountains? Neither did I until it happened. We were driving along smoothly when all of a sudden, traffic stopped. Apparently, there was and accident inside a tunnel. We sat in stopped traffic, in the snow, in shorts and flip-flops, at 12,000 ft. for about an hour. One could guess as to how awesome that was. Now Asheville is in the mountains but not 12,000 ft. Just sitting there we had occasional trouble breathing. This was all soon over, because my trusty navigator noticed a mountain pass that went around the tunnel. But it also went on a windy, two lane road that was 1000 ft. higher. And I believe we all know what that means...more snow. Now I fancy myself a mountain driver, but I am forced to say I may have resembled a Floridian going over that pass. I am so ashamed. On the other side of the pass, traffic was moving again so we filled up and began phase two of our trip to Utah.
We drove through Vale (nothing to sneeze about) and then down the mountain(s). It was a supremely paculiar day. About and hour and a half after driving through Vale, we were in the desert. Snow to desert in the same day...very strange. This was however, our favorite part of the trip. I saw red rocks, plateaus, and tumbleweeds...all things I had never seen before. It was amazing. There was also a sudden and profound sense of praise for God who we deemed the Ultimate Artist. My words do not do it justice; the pictures will have to do. Our destination was Moab, UT, which is between Arches Nat'l Park and Canyonlands Nat'l Park. After following the Colorado River for about 20 miles we came to Arches, which was our first stop. After having to avoid a baby mountain goat, we headed to the Delicate Arch. Of the five days in a row that we went hiking, this was my favorite place. It was beautiful the way such blue sky shown against such red rock formations. Lauren and I were able to hike around a good bit and get lot of different views. The Delicate Arch is great because it sneaks up on you. Kind of the way the Biltmore house does. You go around all these different turns and then you are suddenly blasted with the view of this one lone arch and deep in the background is the snow-capped peak of the highest mountain in Utah. Spectacular!!!
That night we got a hotel room for the first time on the trip. Thank you to all our friends and family. Thank You. The next morning we slept in for a little bit and then hit the road for Canyonlands. The park is literally land with a bunch of canyons. Not really fond of the name. I thought something like Canyon-Great or Super-Canyon or Canyons-R-Us would be better. (Shout out to my boy Michael Scott). This was Lauren's favorite place we hiked. It was also awesome. The rocks were rouned like one would see in a creek or river, except these are gargantuan. We hiked to a spot called the Needles. They were tall and narrow rock formations all grouped together. I do not know why, but it remined me of the Jungle Book. I am rediculous.
In terms of all the states we visited, Utah was our favorite. I know, I know. Most of you are thinking, "What about Nebraska?" It was a close call, but Utah won out by a nose. Our next stop was Flagstaff, AZ at Lauren's Aunt's house and the Grand Canyon.
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Boulder, Colorado, United States

The second stop along the way is to visit good friends in Boulder, CO - good friends and a very good place to visit. It is a beutiful town with neat shops, eateries, and great scenery. We arrived late Sunday night after the most excrutiating drive of our lives. I believe I would be okay if Iowa and Nebraska fell off the face of the earth. Sorry to any patrons of those states. The bleakness we were forced to gaze upon was comprable to what the Democrats would call torture. It was all bearable until we passed the hog farms. Our nostrils were greated with such a salutations as we have never before had the pleasure of enduring. Nevertheless, we were in Boulder and happy to see our friends, Kristy and Alex, and Eileen "Don't Give Me No Flack" Stack. Oh yeah, they have a dog named Porter. They were all very kind to allow us to stay and dirty-up their place. Monday marked day one out of five that we went hiking out west. It was awesome. First we went to the flat-irons; called that because of their resemblence to flat irons. Those folks in CO are quite original, eh? From the top, we were able to get our first glance at the snow capped peaks where we would soon be spending more time. Tuesday we went to Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. We saw elk, mule deer, and snow. We bouldered up a creek that was created by a dam bursting and moving thousands of rocks into the stream. It was something I had never done before to that extent. Having our fill of Boulder and its funtimes, not to mention its sushi and burgers (I had way to much), we went to bed Tuesday night ready to head to our next destination...Moab, Utah.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193284320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193284320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193284320/tpod.html Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:54:37 -0500 A trip out west, a short stay in Mountain View California, and a medical mission in Kenya.

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Antioch, Illinois, United States

On Oct. 23rd after much scrambling and cleaning, we left Asheville and ventured on toward our first of many stops along the way. We arrived in Antioch in a timely fashion - 10.5 hours - despite our car being packed to the brim. I can thank Noah for this expression - we did a wheely the whole way there. Mom had some wonderful soup waiting for us and grandma betty had also arrived that day - so the Beatty hotel was full. It was great seeing the family and having grandma around was a bonus. She was recovering from a back injury and staying with Mom and Dad until she's able to get around by herself.
We did some fun things during this stop. The first being a grand tour of the Milwaukee suburbs including names of towns I keep forgetting like Oconomowalk and Mukwanago. Nice towns but hard to pronounce. Dad has lots of tricks up his sleeve in order to make Wisconsin seem like the best state in the country. It was some good family time, ending with a dinner on the shore of Lake Michigan - the restaurant was "Pieces of Eight" and the atmosphere was just my style.
Also while in Atown John joined Dad and uncle Chip for a wild goose hunt...literally. No geese were killed during this excursion, however many pieces of "wisdom" were shared. Uncle Chip suggests that we move to "Alasker". Enough said.
We met up for dinner with Grandpa and Lettie at the Silo. Where else would we go? They have the best pizza in the world and grandpa's fan club resides here. We had a great time with them and got to see gramp's new minivan....very snazzy.
On our way out we actually took a detour and went down to Bloomington, IL to see Jim run his last cross-country meet - maybe ever. He did soooo good and I get so proud of him since I run and I know how hard it is. Ohhh Jim, I miss him. We said goodbye to Mom and Dad, which is never pleasant to do, just as saying goodbye to John's family is no fun either. But they are going to come out and see us soon....right!! After our goodbye we followed Jims team bus over to Rock Island, IL and stayed with him at his college house in the "boom room".....I still don't know what that means. But we did get to play old school Nintendo and had some good hang out time. John and I are old geisers now and got too tired to participate in the Halloween parties that Jim probably would have gone to if we weren't there, but Jim was gracious and made us feel like hanging out with us more important. I wanted to convince him to drop out of school - his last year- and come with us. but this was not possible, so we parted ways the next morning.
So, by this time we had spent 4 days in Antioch and 1 day with JIm and we were back on the road, heading to Boulder, CO on Sunday Oct. 28th.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193155200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193155200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jlisley/gypsies/1193155200/tpod.html Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:06:25 -0500 A trip out west, a short stay in Mountain View California, and a medical mission in Kenya.

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Asheville, North Carolina, United States

Our upcoming adventure has yet to begin and we are having mixed emotions about leaving Asheville - after all, it IS the place were we met, got married, and lived the past 3 years. It's sad to leave this town behind, but much harder to leave behind our family and friends and coworkers;). The comforting thought during all of this is that God has shown us the time is right for movin' and shakin' around the country. We are doing travel nursing and the first assignment is in Palo Alto, Ca. I will be working at Standford University Medical Center from Nov.8 - Feb.23. John is going to find temporary work - his ideas have included and continue to include.... another YMCA camp, a temp agency - this may be mind blowingly boring, Trader Joes - a new idea, Blockbuster - a huge benifit to the customers since he is a movie connoisseur, or any other location that he is able to ride his bike to. I am actually a bit jealous of his position in all this. But despite the free life of John, travel nursing is essential in our adventure since it provides us with free housing! How wonderful! We will try to keep you all updated as we make our way across the country these next 2 weeks. First stop - good old Antioch!
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