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What is it they say about March? It blows in like a lion and out like a lamb? Something like that. For us, March rolled to dead stop on the side of freeway not five minutes after leaving Disneyworld!!
It was the same thing that we experienced in the Everglades, except this time it was not starting back up. Jim can fix most anything but we were way too close to the freeway to even try troubleshooting the problem. So I fired up the Franken Jeep and with Jim steering the bus, pushed the bus further off the road. You could almost hear the Jeep saying, "I think I can, I think I can..."!
We broke down around 8pm. We knew it wasn't out of gas, because Jim never lets it get below a half a tank. But it really sounded like a fuel issue. I helped Jim change the fuel filters (in a very environmentally sensitive way), but no luck, so I went inside and made dinner. Meanwhile Jim put a call in to Ted the Bus God (Coach Maintenance in Williams, CA) and got more suggestions. He removed the top of the gas tank, and stuck his arm in to see if anything was clogging up the fuel intake, no luck. He tried lots of other stuff, to no avail. Finally around 2am he did some voodoo involving adding a spare electric fuel pump from the Jeep, and we hobbled to a grocery store parking lot.
The next morning, we cranked up the satellite dish and Jim got on his beloved BusNut (BNO) forum. We found a guy nearby who took care of us. Two days later, with a new fuel pump and fuel lines (the old ones were clogged) we were on our way. Thanks to Phil at Deal Bus Service in Orlando for fixing us up, letting us sleep in your lot and not taking us to the cleaners!!
Okay back to the fun stuff!
Savannah, Georgia
Oh Savannah, how do we begin to describe you? Moss draped trees, tree lined streets and gorgeous squares? Beautiful, mysterious, seductive?
Because of our breakdown, we only had two days here. On top of that, Matthew got sick on our only real sightseeing day, so Jim hung out at home with him, while Maddie and I saw what kind of trouble we could get into.
Yes! We love Paula's Home Cooking, and were lucky enough to score a dinner reservation. Yes, the food is as good as you think it is. We ordered dinner for the guys as well and took it home to them. After that we had just enough time to get back to town for our ghost tour.
We chose Sixth Sense Ghost Tours and met in the owner's house...
which is HAUNTED. It has been featured on T.A.P.S. and other ghost shows.
Maddie get out of the VORTEX!!
Walking the streets of Savannah at night while our guide shared stories of the city and its citizens was really cool. We got home late and had an awesome time!!
We next headed North to Hamstead, North Carolina to visit some friends of ours that had moved there from California. Ed, Annie, Kristen and Dusty couldn't have been more welcoming. For those of you who have not been out on the road for an extended amount of time, let me tell you that sometimes you can get a little road weary. What a treat to find a little slice of home on the other side of the country. We feasted, laughed, went to the beach, laughed, drank lots of wine and laughed some more. Besides being a nuclear engineer Ed is hilarious!! Good times. Thanks again Schrull Family
And speaking of finding a little piece of home across the country, when we arrived in Washington DC, I called my Mom and found out that my sister Becky was in town as well.
So we got together, visited and had a great dinner. What are the chances?
Our first view of the Capitol at night.
Okay, so on day two, we see tons of police out, snipers on rooftops etc., we're wondering what's going on? Then we see the President's motorcade go by. We thought it could be the first lady or the vice president, so we flagged down an officer and he told us it WAS the President!! As we were walking away from the Capitol we saw a tall man walking briskly towards the Capitol. The kids recognized John Kerry right away from the Jib Jab parodies they love so much.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Bunny
The National Museum of Art
The Declaration of Independence - Pretty amazing
Tomb of the Unknowns
I had to memorize the Gettysburg Address in eighth grade...it's all coming back.
The Vietnam Memorial
Fifth row from the bottom, my Father's uncle Ricardo Hinojosa Soto. He survived three years as a POW during the Korean War only to be killed in Vietman.
You see a larger section of just that one panel, it really hits home how many died.
Then you see more panels, more men lost.
And the names seem to go on and on. Very humbling.
We visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
and brought back a fighter pilot.
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Oooohhh - Aaaahhh - The Hope Diamond
They found my crown!
Attack of the Giant Ground Sloth.
DC was a blast, leave yourself plenty of time to visit, and wear comfy shoes. Did you know that everything (museums, monuments, galleries etc) on the National Mall are free?? Cool huh?
Maddie assuring Matthew that we'll survive the subway ride.
- Late March -
So now we're in Virginia, and I (Cindy) am having a yucky day (ladies you know what I'm talking about), so Madeleine senses that I need chocolate, tells me to sit down and prepares this for me.
I seriously think we should buy her a pony!
But since her birthday is only a couple of days away, alas, I have no time for pony shopping. But she did get this...
and was very happy!
We also toured Skyline Caverns.
What we imagine it looks like this after being swallowed by one of those worms from Tremors!
The guide was going on and on about these formations existing in only three caves on Earth. We're thinking, "Duude! Like, we can totally grow those in the fridge"!
Maddie wanted Red Velvet Cake, so that's what she got.
Mmm... pecan-coconut cream cheese frosting!
It's not a birthday though....
'till Jim makes his birthday face...
and the kids exchange contraband! (forbidden Monster energy drink...pick your battles)
We were all pleasantly surprised when Platia's distant cousin, Ballina, (see August) arrived for the celebration!
It's hard to believe...
Madeleine is 14!!
Happy Birthday Mija!!