Our year long trip promoting organ donation is officially half over. It's gone so fast! We’ve spent a week in 25 different states and compiled a list of some of the best and worst things along the way.
Best Hotel: Grand Canyon Holiday Inn in AZ because of our free upgrade to the Family Suite, complete with a kid’s room that had bunk beds! It was also located minutes away from the Grand Canyon.
Worst Hotel: Hilton in the San Francisco suburb of Concord, CA where Gore supposedly stayed. Nasty, plus they nickel and dime you for everything. No breakfast, no frig, no micro, no free internet, no free business center, and there was an old, yucky comforter on the bed. Who still has comforters?? Levi even found a bug on the wall, so we checked for bed bugs. Clear, just stained sheets. We had to switch rooms twice because of a broken toilet and then a dirty room where Chloe stuck her bare foot in candy! Ugh.
Best Hospitality at a Hotel: Holiday Inn, Spokane, WA, with a dog named Kip who lives there as a hospitality employee. They even provided balloons and baked a muffin for the birthday girl!
Best Donate Life Group: Utah. They came up with all sorts of creative ideas and worked hard to get news coverage, making our job easy!
Best News Coverage: Bismarck, ND. Two different stations, CBS and NBC, spent over an hour each with us and compiled great stories. View them and all the news coverage here. Scroll down "In the News"
Best Restaurant: Euro Pizza Café in Fountain Hills, AZ mostly for the ambiance sitting outside on the patio with the lights twinkling and the lake and fountain in the distance. I don’t even really remember the food!
Best Themed Restaurant: Safe House in Milwaukee, WI. From the entrance to the exit, everything is spy related. You’re encouraged to get up and check it out while waiting for your food to arrive.
Worst Restaurant: Subway in Sedona, AZ because of the manager who cussed, threw things around in the backroom, and stormed out after the customer in front of us who accidentally took our sub sandwich. We were actually fearful that he was going to pull out a gun.
Best Themed Restaurant: Safe House in Milwaukee, WI. From the entrance to the exit, everything is spy related. You’re encouraged to get up and check it out while waiting for your food to arrive.
Worst Restaurant: Subway in Sedona, AZ because of the manager who cussed, threw things around in the backroom, and stormed out after the customer in front of us who accidentally took our sub sandwich. We were actually fearful that he was going to pull out a gun.
Best Grocery Store: Stew Leonard’s in Newington, CT. It’s set up like an old general store with lots of samples and quirky singing chickens. Their customer service is outstanding.
Best Pizza: Arcaro & Genell’s white double crust pizza in Old Forge, PA. (In non-Pennsylvania language, white sauce is not alfredo but rather no sauce.) To say the white double crust pizza was delicious is an understatement. The crust was flaky and done to perfection with a wonderful blend of garlic and spices. The white cheese was oozing out the “cuts,” as they called them, not pieces. Delicious!
Worst Pizza: Any NY or New Haven style where they purposefully burn the crust.
Best Dessert: La Scala $1 baby gelato in Fountain Hills, AZ. Delicious gelato made on-site at rock bottom prices.
Worst Dessert: Is there such a thing?? The Italian donuts at Joey Garlic’s, Newington, CT, if I had to choose. Blah. Not worth the calories.
Best Drive: Oh, so many! Of course Pacific Highway One in CA but also Wind River Canyon Scenic Drive in WY which was beautiful despite the rain.
Worst Drive: Las Vegas to Reno, NV. Long, deserted, and dangerous.
Most Unusual Drive: Driving through a giant Redwood tree in northern CA!
Where the Kids Drove: Detroit Lakes, MN on a pontoon boat where we spent a fun afternoon.
Worst Roads: New Jersey. Most roads there don’t allow left turns or U-turns. You have to turn right and swerve around to cross the road at an intersection, but sometimes these right turns are few and far between. Also, the main turnpike splits into 2 for quite awhile, but both retain the same name…Really? They can’t come up with a different number?
Worst Congestion: Newport, RI on Labor Day weekend. Do visit Newport; it’s a cute town on the coast with historic mansions, but if you go on Labor Day weekend, plan extra time just sitting in traffic – hours extra.
Best Drivers: Boston, MA. We were driving in rush hour and were impressed with how polite the drivers were in merging every other car.
Worst Pizza: Any NY or New Haven style where they purposefully burn the crust.
Best Dessert: La Scala $1 baby gelato in Fountain Hills, AZ. Delicious gelato made on-site at rock bottom prices.
Worst Dessert: Is there such a thing?? The Italian donuts at Joey Garlic’s, Newington, CT, if I had to choose. Blah. Not worth the calories.
Best Drive: Oh, so many! Of course Pacific Highway One in CA but also Wind River Canyon Scenic Drive in WY which was beautiful despite the rain.
Worst Drive: Las Vegas to Reno, NV. Long, deserted, and dangerous.
Most Unusual Drive: Driving through a giant Redwood tree in northern CA!
Where the Kids Drove: Detroit Lakes, MN on a pontoon boat where we spent a fun afternoon.
Worst Roads: New Jersey. Most roads there don’t allow left turns or U-turns. You have to turn right and swerve around to cross the road at an intersection, but sometimes these right turns are few and far between. Also, the main turnpike splits into 2 for quite awhile, but both retain the same name…Really? They can’t come up with a different number?
Worst Congestion: Newport, RI on Labor Day weekend. Do visit Newport; it’s a cute town on the coast with historic mansions, but if you go on Labor Day weekend, plan extra time just sitting in traffic – hours extra.
Best Drivers: Boston, MA. We were driving in rush hour and were impressed with how polite the drivers were in merging every other car.
Best Mini Golf: Pine Creek Golf Course, NJ. The course was on 12 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Unfortunately, the owners retired October 31, so it’s no longer open.
Worst Mini Golf: Holy Terror Mini Golf, SD because it was “impossible” as Mike and Levi say. (Note: Sheri won.)
Best Hike: Great Head Trail in Acadia National Park, ME. Absolutely stunning views and it's fun to hike over the rocks.
Most Unusual Hike: Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. We hiked on 42 inches of snow around Bear Lake while wearing windbreakers.
Worst Hike: Grand Canyon, AZ. Any hike where you're walking around mule poo just isn't as nice.
Best National Park: Glacier National Park in MT…Beautiful! Check out our Montana pictures if you haven’t already.
Worst National Park: Yellowstone National Park in WY…Too touristy and overrated.
Most Unusual State Park: Slide Rock State Park in AZ where you slide, as the name says, down smooth rocks in the creek.
Best Deal: National Park pass. Buy it for $100 at the first park and get in free to any national park for an entire year.
Best Beach: Bethany Beach, DE…Love the waves and quintessential boardwalk.
Worst Beach: Holiday Inn Express, St. Ignace, MI. They advertised a beach at their hotel. Don’t believe them. It doesn’t exist.
Best Amusement Park: Lagoon in UT but maybe we’re a little partial since Chloe celebrated her birthday there.
Worst Amusement Park: Lego Land in CA. We went expecting a Disney experience with Legos. Had we not expected the entire park to be Legos, had we not expected the rides to be entirely Lego themed, had we not expected the Disney customer service we all know and love, we might not have been so disappointed. It really was fun just not as great as we expected.
Best Place to Play Hide and Seek: Whit’s End and the rest of the kids' area at Focus on the Family, CO.
Worst Tour: Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA. The tour could have been fascinating if the Park Ranger was the least bit interesting. History could have come to life, but the guide was uninterested and therefore boring. The room where the Founding Fathers crafted the Declaration of Independence was much smaller than I imagined. Of course, for only 13 colonies, instead of 50 states, you don’t need as much room.
Best Statue: Statue of Liberty, NY. It's such a symbol of our country that it gives you goose bumps.
Best Tasting Factory Tour: Ben & Jerry’s, VT. The tour was great, and the ice cream was even better! We enjoyed Ben & Jerry's sense of humor, like the dead flavor graveyard.
Largest Factory Tour Sample: Cape Cod Potato Chips, MA. The self-guided tour was lame, walking down a hallway, peering in windows, but the samples at the end made up for it. We were given 2 bags of chips each.
Best Pool: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV with a wave pool and lazy river.
Worst Pool: Kokopeli Hotel, Sedona, AZ. The kids were afraid to swim with all the unidentifiable floaties in the water.
Best Tasting Factory Tour: Ben & Jerry’s, VT. The tour was great, and the ice cream was even better! We enjoyed Ben & Jerry's sense of humor, like the dead flavor graveyard.
Largest Factory Tour Sample: Cape Cod Potato Chips, MA. The self-guided tour was lame, walking down a hallway, peering in windows, but the samples at the end made up for it. We were given 2 bags of chips each.
Best Factory Tour Sampling: Jelly Belly, CA. After the tour, you could visit the sample bar to taste different flavor jelly bellies. Some were good, and some were gross, like dog food.
Best Pool: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV with a wave pool and lazy river.
Worst Pool: Kokopeli Hotel, Sedona, AZ. The kids were afraid to swim with all the unidentifiable floaties in the water.
Strangest Sign at a Pool: "Warning this Pool is equipped with a Urine Detector" sign in ND. We didn't test it but did wonder what happened when urine was detected.
Best Road Trip: Snoqualmie Falls, WA. Maybe it was just being outside on a rare sunny day in Washington that made it so impressive. After all, we’ve seen plenty of waterfalls, but this was just really nice. It’s taller than Niagara Falls, not as large or U-shaped, but taller.
Worst Road Trip: Geographic Center of the USA, SD. We couldn’t even find it, and the deserted road turned to dirt. Then, we had cows in the middle of the road...Cows!
Best Bathroom: Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, Yorba Linda, CA. It had ornate gold and marble and smelled nice, too!
Worst Bathroom: Beatty, NV. It was a nasty gas station bathroom, but on a lonely road, you don’t have much choice. We’ve dubbed it “Ugly Betty.”
Chloe’s Best Animal: Horseback riding in the Badlands of ND.
Chloe’s Worst Animal: A slug in OR. We were so busy enjoying the coast and having fun in OR that we forgot to do an animal for Chloe. Then at Multnomah Falls, Chloe spotted a slug, so we counted that as her animal for the state…pretty pathetic.
Most Unusual Place to See An Animal: Deer on the city street in Helena, MT. Apparently, it’s a common occurrence, too.
Best Zoo: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in CO. It's built into the side of a mountain, and you can feed the giraffe there.
Best Fishing: Rhode Island, where Chloe caught a 26” blue fish.
Worst Fishing: New Hampshire. If it weren't for the tiny mackerels, we wouldn't have caught anything.
Best Timing: Vermont during fall foliage. Nice. I figured out why New England is so well known for its fall colors: there are so many trees!
Worst Timing: Colorado in early May. It snowed, and Pikes Peak was closed because of the snow. Since we’re from the Midwest, we didn’t realize May was too early for the mountains.
Best Volcano: Mt. Rainier, WA. Not that we saw any other volcanoes, I just really needed a category to mention Mt. Rainier. It’s awesome.
Best Waterfall: Niagara Falls, NY. Shhh, but the best views are from the Canadian side.
Best Big City: San Francisco, CA: the cable cars, Alcatraz, and the crookedest street. It has a lot of character and many unique activities.
Best Main Street: Hershey, PA. The streetlights are shaped like Hershey kisses!
Best Road Trip: Snoqualmie Falls, WA. Maybe it was just being outside on a rare sunny day in Washington that made it so impressive. After all, we’ve seen plenty of waterfalls, but this was just really nice. It’s taller than Niagara Falls, not as large or U-shaped, but taller.
Worst Road Trip: Geographic Center of the USA, SD. We couldn’t even find it, and the deserted road turned to dirt. Then, we had cows in the middle of the road...Cows!
Best Bathroom: Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, Yorba Linda, CA. It had ornate gold and marble and smelled nice, too!
Worst Bathroom: Beatty, NV. It was a nasty gas station bathroom, but on a lonely road, you don’t have much choice. We’ve dubbed it “Ugly Betty.”
Chloe’s Best Animal: Horseback riding in the Badlands of ND.
Chloe’s Worst Animal: A slug in OR. We were so busy enjoying the coast and having fun in OR that we forgot to do an animal for Chloe. Then at Multnomah Falls, Chloe spotted a slug, so we counted that as her animal for the state…pretty pathetic.
Most Unusual Place to See An Animal: Deer on the city street in Helena, MT. Apparently, it’s a common occurrence, too.
Best Zoo: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in CO. It's built into the side of a mountain, and you can feed the giraffe there.
Best Fishing: Rhode Island, where Chloe caught a 26” blue fish.
Worst Fishing: New Hampshire. If it weren't for the tiny mackerels, we wouldn't have caught anything.
Best Timing: Vermont during fall foliage. Nice. I figured out why New England is so well known for its fall colors: there are so many trees!
Worst Timing: Colorado in early May. It snowed, and Pikes Peak was closed because of the snow. Since we’re from the Midwest, we didn’t realize May was too early for the mountains.
Best Volcano: Mt. Rainier, WA. Not that we saw any other volcanoes, I just really needed a category to mention Mt. Rainier. It’s awesome.
Best Waterfall: Niagara Falls, NY. Shhh, but the best views are from the Canadian side.
Best Big City: San Francisco, CA: the cable cars, Alcatraz, and the crookedest street. It has a lot of character and many unique activities.
Best Main Street: Hershey, PA. The streetlights are shaped like Hershey kisses!
Most Patriotic City: Medora, ND. The whole town is run by a non-profit foundation whose mission is to preserve the history and values of Theodore Roosevelt. You cannot leave without feeling proud to be an American!
Best Oddity: The gum wall in Seattle, WA. You actually chew gum and then stick it on a wall, along with a million other pieces of chewed gum. Gross? Yes. Unusual? Yes. Worth the walk down the stairs from Pike Place Market? Yes.
Worst Oddity: The Chihuly glass bridge in Tacoma, WA. It’s not a bridge made of glass but rather a bridge with a few glass sculptures atop. Very disappointing if you’re expecting to walk across a bridge made of glass.
Best Oddity: The gum wall in Seattle, WA. You actually chew gum and then stick it on a wall, along with a million other pieces of chewed gum. Gross? Yes. Unusual? Yes. Worth the walk down the stairs from Pike Place Market? Yes.
Worst Oddity: The Chihuly glass bridge in Tacoma, WA. It’s not a bridge made of glass but rather a bridge with a few glass sculptures atop. Very disappointing if you’re expecting to walk across a bridge made of glass.
Worst Place to See Duct Tape: The railing of the observation deck on the Space Needle, Seattle, WA.
Most Fun: Zip-lining in Oregon. Big trees + zip lines = Fun.
Least Fun: Sitting around waiting for the van to be repaired when we could be out seeing sights and promoting organ donation around this great country.
Biggest Thanks: God. Thank you for this trip. We wouldn’t be on it without your miracles and blessings.
Most Fun: Zip-lining in Oregon. Big trees + zip lines = Fun.
Least Fun: Sitting around waiting for the van to be repaired when we could be out seeing sights and promoting organ donation around this great country.
Biggest Thanks: God. Thank you for this trip. We wouldn’t be on it without your miracles and blessings.
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