California - Bigger Than a Breadbox

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Sheri mentioned this, but we truly had to shed our preconceived notions about the State of California.  There's gorgeous meadows of hills with cattle wandering about.  There's mountains, valleys, oceans, cities, old closed prisons...just about everything.

Monterey Bay was where we began, and we're finding that, with the kids, we're not a "walk around and shop" kind of family.  Therefore, what little we saw of Fisherman's Wharf was nice, but the Aquarium is the best we've ever been to.  Great exhibits with hands on items that can't be beat (seriously, you're not allowed to beat the hands on stuff).  A must see!

The drive on Highway 1 was amazingly beautiful...just beware.  If you're driving to a destination...it takes forever.  This is a road to take for enjoyment.

We had several great conversations at the Reagan Library.  I'd encourage you to ask questions - some of these folks were involved in the administration and you'd be surprised what you can learn.  My favorite story was how Reagen used to broadcast baseball games, but NOT from the park.  He would get the info from someone at the ballpark.  During the middle of one at bat, his communications to the park went down so Reagan did the only thing he could...he had the batter foul off SEVEN minutes of foul balls until he could get back in touch with the ballpark.  Nice.

Our first California beach was in Oceanside and the kids loved it!  It was still too cold for us old people, but we still were able to play a bit and enjoy the the lapping waves on the beige sand.

Alcatraz is one of California's highlights.  This was the first tour I was interested in the entire way through.  Fascinating...especially the escapes...if there were any.  We continued from there to San Francisco where you cannot help but fall in love with the trolley cars (unless you're driving).  Little scary to watch my daughter hanging onto the outside of a trolley car going uphill at an enormous angle, but I survived.  San Francisco is a place my wife and I need to return to, sans children, to enjoy the food and a stroll throughout more of the city.

The redwoods were big, but my expectations ruined it.  I thought I would be walking around a forest of all giant trees and I would feel like Mario in Giant Land.  Instead there are some huge trees next to some normal trees so I never got that tiny feeling I expected.  Big trees, though, and worth the drive.  I wood see them again...

California is BIG and not meant to be toured in a week.  It really deserves several vacations, and perhaps several blogs instead of the overview you've just read.  In addition, you can see several diverse landscapes depending on where you stay and what you do.  Not too many states can boast the dramatic differences in both environment and culture available in California.  Let us know if we can help find the right places for you in the state.

Best Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Marina.  Not just because we had a nice big room upgrade, but the person that checked us into the hotel spent a ton of time with us planning our CA trip.  It was rough planning with so little time and so much ground to cover, but her help was invaluable!
Worst Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Fortuna.  Nice people, but old and our stay was very noisy because of a variety of factors.  This is where we learned the new "H" logo for Holiday Inn means there was a remodeling.
Best Restaurant:  Jelly Belly!  Man these things are good!  We bought 100 (exaggeration) pounds of "Belly Flops" which are ones not good enough to be sold as a Jelly Bellys.  Cheaper, but not as good.  No restaurant really was awe inspiring in CA so I'm going to have to choose the Jelly Belly Factory as the restaurant winner for the joy those little things bring.
Best Memory: Walking through the Nixon library with Levi.  He was intrigued and so was I.  There was enough information to get a feel for Nixon's psychology ("I'm am not a crook")  It was fun learning and chatting with Levi.  A close second is walking around beautiful San Fransisco.
Worst Memory: We were running out of time in San Francisco before our Alcatraz Ferry and were really looking forward to a wonderful San Francisco meal...we only had time for Subway  Ouch.
Mini-Golf Winner: Sheri, again...
Possible state to live in: California with all its beauty and attractions has a number of issues including (like most government entities - but worse) the inability to stop increasing their budget.  While we met a bunch of wonderful people in CA, we met even more people in neighboring states complaining about the mass exodus from California into their state.  We'll give them some time to get things figured out before we think about living there.  (Of course the last time we said we wouldn't live somewhere...we were there for 5 years.)

-mike

California - We'll Be Back

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Talk about insane! A Donate Life event took us to the Reno area at the end of our Nevada week, so basically we were now driving down and back up the state of California in about a week’s timeframe. 

Have you looked at the state of CA on a map recently? It’s a really long state! 

Suffice it to say that we had to make some tough decisions about what to see and what not to see in California. Of course, we had our priorities: the beach, Monterey Bay Aquarium, LegoLand, Yosemite National Park, Jelly Belly factory tour, San Francisco, Pacific Highway One, the redwoods, 2 presidential libraries & museums…whew, this is going to be difficult! There were so many things we had to cut. On the positive side, with so much driving, we were able to see the different regions of California, from big trees to beaches, agricultural to commercial.

Here are some highs and lows from California:

Worst Meal: Grabbing a sandwich from a fast food chain in a not-so-good section of LA. We got it to go, but it wasn’t fast enough in our opinion, especially when 2 guys pulled up and “pretended” to be having car trouble right next to our van!

Favorite Meal: Coffee Mia in Marina. It’s a family-owned, Italian coffee shop that also serves paninis and pastries, in addition to coffee. The owner’s father and daughter were both helping out when we were there. I had the panini with proscuito, humboldt fog cheese, and fig jam - what a wonderful blend of flavors! We topped off the tasty lunch by all sharing a cannelloni. Mmh!

Biggest Disappointment: LegoLand. It was all based upon our expectations. We expected it to be Disney, with Legos, but it was no where near that. Don’t get me wrong - it was fun, just not as Lego-themed as we thought it would be, nor was it quite up to the Disney quality. (Walt has the market on that!)

Biggest Surprise: This was a toss-up between how cold the ocean was and how much of CA is farmland. The kids had a great time playing in the waves, regardless of the temperature. They both are still saying the beach is their favorite part of the trip so far, and getting them to agree about anything is about as difficult as plugging an oil leak in the bottom of the gulf!

Talk about preconceived notions, though. Somehow I had pictured all of CA, other than Napa Valley, as completely developed, one suburbia running into another the entire state. I was shocked by how much open space there was, much of it being used for farmland in the interior and some right on the coast. Who would have thought you’d need to worry about finding a gas station on Pacific Highway One?

Most Un-American Moment: Not going to Hollywood. We discovered the kids weren’t old enough to even sit in a studio audience. Plus, they weren’t interested in going to look at some prints on the sidewalk, most of whom they wouldn’t know who they were anyway, so why drag them when there’s so much else to see in CA? Still, I feel ashamed for not showing them iconic Hollywood, not even so much as the infamous letters on the hillside! What kind of parents are we???

Most American Moment: Riding the cable car in San Francisco while standing and hanging out the side. I felt like I should be in a Rice-a-Roni commercial! Side note: How sad is it that both the Most Un-American and American moments have to do with tv/movies?!?

Worst Closure: Yosemite. It wasn’t technically closed. Well, the road going through was closed because of snow, but the whole park wasn’t. It’s just that both times we tried going, the weather was bad – rainy or snowy. I was truly bummed about missing Yosemite. The pictures of it are so beautiful, and I’m sure they don’t do it justice, as most of our pictures don’t do justice to what we’re photographing.

Best Tour: Alcatraz. We took part in the Ranger program called “Escapes.” The Ranger was entertaining and informative, telling us about the famous escapes (or attempts as he kept stressing) from Alcatraz. The kids were enthralled during both the Ranger program and the regular audio tour. What’s even more amazing is the next day we caught the MythBusters episode on tv about the escape from Alcatraz! That’s not a coincidence in my eyes but rather a little treat from God…thanks!

My CA Hike: Oh no, I’ve started something in Nevada - using a long, city walk as my “hike!” Since we weren’t able to hike at Yosemite, my hike in CA ended up being “hiking” all around San Francisco. I guess we did “hike” up the Crooked Street, but this was not what I had in mind for my state hikes, people! :)

California, we’ll have to return. There’s no way to see you in a week!

-Sheri

California - Catch the Wave...of Pancakes

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Once more, Levi responds to the state survey questions...

What were the major events in the state?
We went to Oceanside beach which was so much fun. We also visited an aquarium. You could touch slimy stingrays there.

What did you enjoy the most about this state?
Definitely the beach. It was a little cold, but I still loved it. I mostly went into the water and tried to stand up against the waves.

What was your favorite food or restaurant?
Denny's was probably my favorite restaurant. It’s not local to California, but I still loved their pancakes because they were big and fluffy...and unlimited for $4.99!

What was your favorite memory?
I will always remember Oceanside beach. There were really strong waves. I got knocked down several times.

Please write about the mini golf:
Today we played Lego Land mini golf. This was a let down on several levels. First of all, this was supposed to be an "interactive" mini golf course. Now when it says interactive, apparently that means one hole has small Lego gofers talking to each other and a second hole has some Lego skunks that mist you. (Remember that's two holes out of eighteen.) Another thing is IT'S LEGO LAND. I should be using Lego putters and putting on a Lego green while avoiding Lego rocks. Also there were no big obstacles to put around. There were no castles, no ramps, no windmills, no Lego monkey butts to putt under - nothing but rocks, curves, and pits (not arm pits just indents in the ground). Overall I give it 2 Legos out of 5 Legos.

Please tell one story from the state:
We were in Marina. They have a nice, little beach there. Like every child, Chloe and I wanted to go to the beach. It was so cold, but we enjoyed running away from the waves. You couldn’t touch the water anyway cause it was so cold. This is DD signing off.

-Levi, the son

California - Don't Eat the Cucumbers

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California was awesome! The best restaurant in California was called Port of Subs. It had really good sandwiches. My favorite memory was hanging out with my mom on a pedaling ride at Legoland because it was fun looking at the view. 

My favorite thing in California was Legoland. The first ride we went on at Legoland was pretty scary. On this roller coaster, you start by going up and down a big hill. Then you do a lot of turns. Last but not least, you go down another hill, and you’re finished.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was really fun. There was a touch tank which allowed me to touch crabs, kelp, cucumbers, and starfish. The cucumbers were not food, but rather they were sea creatures. The cucumbers were extremely squishy. There was also an interactive game where you had to be the first one to grow your kelp. (I beat my dad.) The aquarium also had a cave with glass on top, and every once in a while water would fly over the glass. It looked like there's no glass.

-Miss Pomegranate (aka the Daughter, aka Chloe)

Nevada - Beauty and Ugly

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Hoover Dam is just too big not to be cool.  What was funny is they we're charging a fee to get in the Visitor Center - that was new for us.  Since we had already taken a tour several years ago, we decided to pass this time, but I would certainly recommend it for first timers.  It's especially fun to be in there and see it leaking in several places.  They are also building the pictured bridge, perhaps to relieve some traffic.  It's quite a bit higher than the dam as you can see.

Vegas.  Well if you're a gambler, it's the place to be.  If you're not, you need to see it once...especially the strip at night.  The fountains at the Bellagio and the innards of Caesars Palace were some of our favorites.  Some of you may remember they flirted with Vegas as a family destination in their marketing 15 years or so ago.  The folks trying to force strip club brochures into your hands takes a bit of the family atmosphere away, though.  It was a bit worse this time when we visited the main strip.  15 years ago, I would have told you the casinos (at least on the main, newer strip) tried to keep it classy outside.  Now some have fully embraced the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" tagline.

Kids were a rarity, and it should stay that way.

What is so amazing is the massive buildings that were built on money people have lost.  When I was a kid, I started a lottery among school kids for a quarter.  I wrote a computer program that would select a random number on my brand new TI-99 4A personal computer to select the winner.  Yeah, that got nipped in the bud...even though I offered 10% to go toward education like the states supposedly do with their lotteries.

The drive to Sparks is long and lonely, but beautiful.  You'll see some pics by clicking on the link at the top.  It was on this drive, we almost had our car robbed at a gas station.  I saw a youth changing his route from the sidewalk toward our van.  He didn't see me until I moved out so he could observe not only my burly, rugged stature, but also my itchy trigger finger near my iPhone holster.  He moved back to the sidewalk, and conveniently got into a truck that drove up about 500 ft away.         

 

Hopefully our last brush with crime.

The stories we heard at the Donate Life walk in Sparks were unbelievably touching.  Hearing the people that lost loved ones on the waiting list certainly inspired us to keep trying to get people registered.  So neat to talk to people wanting so much to solve the problem.  Again, that's the frustration - if we could get everyone signed up as an organ donor, the problem goes away...people wouldn't have to die.  

We did extensive TV interviews, Sheri giving the best one, only to see a 5 second clip make it on.  The kids were bummed their interviews didn't make it.

Overall, Nevada shocked us with its beauty and mountains, and frankly that it's a state that has more than just gambling.  Nevada could be so much more in some ways, but I think based on where they put their marketing, they have accepted their lot as the gambling capital of the USA.   

Best Hotel: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.  As you've heard before...TV in the bathroom.  Nuff said.

Worst Hotel: Holiday Inn, Sparks.  OK, older TV and plumbing didn't work in our first room.
Best Restaurant: In-N-Out Burger.  I know it's a chainy, burger place, but it was my first time...and it was magical.  Their fries and burgers ARE better than fast food, plus mysterious Bible verses and a secret menu on the web.  How cool is that?
Best Memory: Meeting and talking with other transplant patients at the Donate Life walk in Sparks.  It's weird, but you just automatically feel a bond with other other transplant recipients - especially my kidney/pancreas friends.
Worst Memory: While a beautiful drive, there is nothing between Las Vegas and Reno and the place we were forced to stop in Beatty (now affectionately know as "Ugly Beatty") to use the bathroom was frighteningly disgusting.
Mini-Golf Winner: Sheri
Possible state to live in: Probably not

-Mike, affectionately known as Dad (or just as rugged and burley)

Nevada - Shake It Baby

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Sometimes on a long trip, like one around the United States for an entire year, you find yourself doing strange things. 

That’s how we found ourselves in Nevada. Our nice Las Vegas strip hotel didn’t have a complimentary breakfast, so in our pursuit for healthy options, my 9 year old daughter, the hubby, and I were standing in the grocery store comparing the nutritional content of diet shakes. Yes, a new low. We’d already done the whole gamut of granola/breakfast bars and were looking for alternatives. Don’t ask me why we didn’t go to the produce aisle or even to the nutrition items; no, we were in the pharmacy area looking at generic Slim Fast shakes for something nutritious for breakfast. What surprises me even more is that we bought some! Let me just say that I can see why you lose weight by consuming a nutritious shake in the morning and another for lunch…because you’re starving all day, that’s why!

Our classy Las Vegas strip hotel may not have had a continental breakfast, but it did have huge floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows. The hubby, who was working at the desk with the lights of the city in the background, looked regal. How ironic: one day we’re staying at an out-dated, 2 star hotel, doing 4 loads of laundry in the coin operated machine, and the next night we’re staying in the lap of luxury on the 22nd floor! We even had a TV in the bathroom to which the son insisted on taking a bath to “clean his dirty feet.” That’s a first – him being concerned about his dirty feet! Well, they were sparkling on this leg of our journey.

During our week in Nevada, we visited Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and Reno/Sparks. Is there anything left, besides military training grounds, in Nevada after that?!?

Here are some highlights (and lowlights) from Nevada:

Worst Meal: The snacks from the gas station that we ate as a meal because we couldn’t find anything else on the long, solitary drive from Vegas to Reno!

Never so Happy to See This Restaurant: McDonald’s. We aren’t typically McDonald’s patrons, as we prefer to taste the local flavors, or at least something we didn’t have available in central Illinois! In fact, that’s part of the reason we waited until our kids were 9 & 12 to go on the trip, so we didn’t have to stop at every McDonald’s.  However, after the gas station lunch and the same prospects for dinner, we’ve never been so excited to see a McDonald’s!

Biggest Waste of Money: Shark Reef Exhibit at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. There are just so many better, bigger aquariums across the United States. Save your money and skip this one.

Best Deal: The free entertainment and “education” our children received by just walking down the Las Vegas strip.

Most Teary-Eyed Moment: Walking with my family in the Donate Life Walk behind a group who had lost their young daughter because she didn’t receive a transplant in time and knowing if more people were registered to become organ donors, she could be alive today. Being so very thankful for my hubby being there with me in the walk all because of Annie Gift of Life.

Best Memory: Discussing as a family what to do with the $ we found at our casino hotel, and all agreeing to turn it in because we felt it was the right thing to do in God’s eyes.

Best Kodak Spot: Hoover Dam. I loved the view looking at the Colorado River with the new bypass bridge in the background.

Most Fun: Playing with the kids in the Mandalay Bay lazy river. It wasn’t so lazy, though, because you didn’t have to use tubes, so we ran around and around and around until I wore them out! J

My NV Hike: Walking the strip from Mandalay Bay to TI - and back! So it wasn’t my typical, scenic walk in the park, but it was definitely a hike!

Nevada, I must say you surprised us with your beauty!

Nevada - The Tooth Revealed

Click here to see our Nevada pics and map (under State Links)

Levi answers questions about Nevada...

What were the major events in the state?
In Nevada we did a few major things. We walked the strip in Las Vegas. Also we went to a Donate Life walk in Sparks.

What did you enjoy the most about this state? 
I probably enjoyed Vegas the best. The part I liked was walking in the different hotels. My favorite was Caesars Palace.

What was your favorite food or restaurant? 
My favorite restaurant was probably Subway. We weren't adventurous in Nevada. I also enjoy Subway a lot.

What was your favorite memory? 
I will always remember me taking a bath in Mandalay Bay. They had a small TV in there. It was the first time I had ever done that.

Please write about the zoo/mini golf:
This mini golf review is for Nevada. Wild Island has three courses. We did the two non-glow golf courses.

Wild Island golf was fun. They had tricky holes and skill holes. The hole I enjoyed most was the haunted house hole. One thing I found interesting was they had wheels (like on the wheel of fortune, but much smaller) that you could spin and do the outcome. For instance, if it landed on trade scores, you trade scores. If you get a hole in one, you do just that. Over all the golf was very fun and interesting, so I give it three and a half putts out of five. 　

Please tell one story from the state: 
After my family had seen several hotels on the strip, we got hungry. We stopped at the Caesar’s Palace food court. While we were deciding what to do, my sister and I started arguing. She does a baby grip on my cheeks and knocks my loose tooth straight out. Then she has the audacity to say that she gets half the money from the tooth fairy! 

This is DD (Levi) signing off.

Nevada - Nothing But the Tooth

Click here to see our Nevada pics and map (under State Links)

My favorite restaurant in Nevada is called Slice. It's a pizza place that serves pizza by the slice.  My favorite memory is driving up to our hotel and practically screaming because it looked awesome. Our hotel was called Mandalay Bay, and it had shiny fake gold windows. My favorite thing in Nevada was the Donate Life walk which went around the marina. It was fun to walk around the marina.

One day when we were deciding where to eat, my brother was saying places he wanted to eat and places he didn't want to eat. It was my mom's pick, and she can get frustrated easily about choosing a restaurant. I grabbed my brother’s mouth and shook it. Then his tooth fell out! I felt very awkward after knocking his tooth out.

The aquarium in Nevada was called Shark Reef Aquarium. It was very small, but it was interesting. We saw a really big blue fish who we called "Big Blue." There was an audio tape, but only my mom used it. I actually wanted to use it right after I had the chance to get it, but it was too late. We could pet rays, sharks, and horseshoe crabs. There was also fish in the touch cage, but I didn't get to touch them because they were too fast.

- Chloe, the daughter

Arizona - Saved By a Medical Center

Click here to see our pics (under State Links), our map, and learn more about Arizona

This was our second time to the Grand Canyon...it keeps getting better!

Again we only hiked less than an hour down, but things change so quickly that it creates a myriad of stunning views as you walk.  The kids did not get the chance to encounter mules on the trail like we did, unfortunately...although they did encounter what they leave behind.

Before I pass, I truly would like to hike all the way down  (and perhaps be flown out by helicopter).  

Our drive to the canyon was long, starting from Durango, CO, but the scenery could go from desert to mountain to grassy.  In addition to passing a closed Four Corners Monument, their were tremendously long patches without civilization.  We always buy enormous sodas before these stretches and soon come to regret it.  There was a desperate stretch where I explained how my dad wouldn't stop on a trip for anything and would even bring an empty coffee can - luckily a Medical Center popped up in the middle of nowhere and saved us.

Sedona has gotten so much more touristy since our last visit.  We ate at the same restaurant we did 13 years ago but now it is surrounded by blocks and blocks of other restaurants and shops.

Still so beautiful.

Take the time to find more trails to hike and cliffs and valleys to explore than we did.  That's how I remember Sedona from 13 years ago.  Even the drive on the main byways are still gorgeous, though.

If you've been following us, you've heard us rave about Fountain Hills (east of Phoenix).  On of my requirements when we settle again is to be near a good hospital (many hospitals can mess up a transplant patient due to inexperience) and Mayo Clinic is right there.

It was there we met the owner of La Scala Creamery.  We each had about 5 $1 cups of Gelato in 3 days so we got to know the people there.  The owner sat down and talked to us about business, our dreams, our faith, and our families.  We have similar dreams as we would like to open a restaurant as a family - she is just further along than us.  What was fantastic was her willingness to help us not make the same mistakes and benefit from what they have been through.  So great to meet good people on the road!

The drive to Vegas was relatively uneventful.  We regretted not making it down to Tuscon, but time was not on our side and we found Phoenix to have everything you could need...including hot weather.

We did technically hit Hoover Dam in Arizona since it is in both states.  We at least got to stand in two states at once - believe it or not, that Dam area wasn't closed for construction.

...but we'll leave that for Nevada.      

Best Hotel: Holiday Inn, Grand Canyon - free upgrade to a kids suite. Great view, great room.

Worst Hotel:  Kokopelli Suites, Sedona - Very nice, clean and spacious rooms...BUT breakfast, fitness center, and pool left much to be desired.
Best Restaurant:  Euro Cafe in Fountain Hills, food - good, outdoor seating - excellent
Best Memory:  Eating gelato in Fountain Hills on a cool summer night.
Worst Memory:  Again the car acting up with the warning light coming on as we hit the Grand Canyon.
Mini-Golf Winner:  Levi
Possible state to live in:  Yes, perhaps a community like Fountain Hills for the Gelato

By the way, the Doante Life people in AZ are awesome!  Great to work with and so passionate about saving lives!  You guys are great!

- Dad

Thank You!

Our thanks go out to the YesUtah Coalition for all their work every day saving lives.  We met some great people from the Intermountain Donor Services, The Quest for the Gift of Life Foundation, and many others.

Thank you for the award.  We are humbled and hope we can make a difference as 18 people die every day waiting for an organ donation.  If everyone in the USA registered as an organ donor, they wouldn't have to.

www.MyStateCares.com will take you to the appropriate place to register as an organ/tissue donor in your state as well as tracking how each state does in the My State Cares! contest.

www.BestPlacesInTheUSA.com will allow you to track the Greiner's progress across the USA, connect you to their facebook page, and allow you to tell us where to visit, eat, and eventually live in the USA.

Thank you.