Anyway last night i got the idea to scan our collection…

Write a comment and tell us which one is your favorite! Mine is the Frank Zappa one from a Maryland rest stop, i just love how Maryland’s claim to fame is being the home of Frank Zappa. awesome.

After Moab we headed east, first stopping in Golden CO. Despite spending tons of time there and hanging out with my pal greg, I took hardly any pics. I think Moab sucked all the photographer out of me.

After Golden we headed to the Rockies to get another nature fix. Estes Park was insanely crowded (it was the 4th of July weekend) but still it was really pretty and we saw tons of cool critters. As an added bonus for the the first time in my life I spent my birthday playing in the snow.

As much as we loved CO the clock was ticking and we needed to get to St. Louis by August so we could fly to Hawaii for Marie and Albert’s 50th anniversary. So we headed east and made our first stop in Omaha for a quick week. Omaha was kind of a pit, although the county park we stayed at was really nice. Since there isn’t much to see in Omaha, I only took one pic…

After that “exciting” week we headed to Des Moines to see my Aunt Becky and Uncle Frank along with my two cousins Misty and Ben. None of which I had seen in at least 15 years. It was funny though because despite my horrible memory the Payne clan was pretty much as I remembered them and we had lots of fun playing cards and enjoying some delicious dinners at their house. Despite insane temps we even braved the big Des Moines attraction known as Adventureland. it was a bit overpriced, hotter than hell, and reminded me of crappier version of Disneyland run by ex-circus carnies. still, ingrid had fun.

Since we were so close to Minneapolis and I have a few friends there, we decided to head up there for a visit. I didn’t take as many pics as I should have here either, but it was lots of fun hanging with my old friend Jamie and my current co-worker Jennifer.

Our stay in Minneapolis was pretty short because our next stop was the Air Venture air show in Oshkosh, WI. The event was totally nuts they have a HUGE RV park on the grounds and it is packed for the week long event. The air show was spectacular and the fly-in atmosphere was really cool, it definitely makes me want to fly.

After Oshkosh we had to bee line it St. Louis to catch our flight to Hawaii which was a bit off a bummer because I would have liked to stop in Chicago…oh well, next time. Besides it’s hard to complain about missing Chicago when the alternative is Hawaii. We flew out a week earlier then the rest of Silvia’s family so we could chill on the big island. it wasn’t as much fun there as it has been in the past, mainly because I was super busy with work and pulled like two all nighters while we were there. the big island highlights included visiting the volcano, finally buying our own snorkel gear and having dinner with my old friend Rhea. It was really great to see here and hopefully next time we visit we can meet her family and hang out more. After the big island we spent two weeks in Maui with Silvia’s family to celebrate her parent’s anniversary (and ingrid’s birthday). it was a ton of fun and we got in some -great- snorkeling. we saw dolphins swim right under us, octopuses, spotted rays, turtles, eels and tons of awesome fish. Ingrid had lots of fun with her cousins and overall it was a great trip and a fun way to celebrate her parent’s anniversary.

When we arrived back in St. Louis the heatwave was finally calming down and we ended up spending another month hanging out, having fun, and doing some project on the RV including refurbishing our couch (again) with a more dog/child proof pleather.

Not included in the St. Louis pics is a little weekend getaway we took in the vanagon to the annual “Busses Nowhere Near The Arch” a vw van/bus camp out that has been going on since I lived in St. Louis. it was of course super fun, and ingrid met some great friends and I met some friends from long ago including the guy who sold me my first car/vw.

While we were in St. Louis we also made a big purchase and bought a killer 3 person tandem bike from Co-Motion Cycles. we’ve already racked up a few good miles on it and look forward to adding more. I think late spring we may return to St. Louis and ride the tandem the full 240 mile length of the Katy Trail.

I’m sure there is more stuff i’m forgetting to mention, but that pretty much covers the last five months in the life of our little traveling circus. People keep asking if we get tired of living on the road, but after almost 3 years we’re still going strong and wouldn’t want it any other way.

Andrew got to go on a killer bike ride through Porcupine Rim, about 30 miles I believe. We flew our new kites, and Andrew attached the GoPro for the first time. The dogs loved it, being outside all day long. At first they whined at being tied up, but eventually they succumbed to the heat and general peacefulness of the campground, and were totally happy after that.

Ingrid met some new friends, including a 7-year old named Madeline, the daughter of the organizers. We’re happy she’ll be there every year. They and a bunch of other girls played with the merpeople I made, and had a ball. By the time the event was over (2 days later!) the girls were nearly in tears at having to say goodbye.

Such a great family time, the only hitch is that it happens at the same time as the Carnaval parade in San Francisco. So I have a terrible choice to make.

• Kauai 2011
• Ingrid @ 6yo
• Disneyland
• San Diego
• SyncroFest
• The Dogs at Fort Funston

Probably the biggest factor though was that my nephew Oliver had his cardiology appointment and we learned that he may be having surgery soon. He was put on a new medicine to try to slow down the enlargement of his left ventricle and we thought he was having an allergic reaction to it. If this medicine doesn’t slow things down he is headed for surgery right away so it was all very stressful. As it turns out, no allergic reaction and we’ll know if the medicine is working in a couple of weeks.

So we trudged around Disney tired and cross. It was packed as usual for a Saturday, and also they were closing early to host the world premier of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, so the red carpet was out and people were lining the streets to get a glimpse of Johnny Depp and company. It would’ve been fun to see him in person (Ingrid is a real fan of the movies) but none of us felt strongly enough to stand in the sun for hours, so we spent the rest of our visit at California Adventures. There we saw the elecTRONica show (not up to par, IMO) and then went to Flynn’s arcade for some old school arcade fun. The music was loud, there was Tron all around, and we had a good time. We drove for a bit and spent the night at another rest area.

Next morning we got up and went to Legoland. In March they opened their newest attraction, Star Wars Miniland. It was awesome! Almost worth the $60 per person price tag. The rest of the park was really neat too. The rides were more original then Disney’s. Ingrid got to drive around a course with other kids in her own lego car. The course was exactly like a regular street, with stop signs and traffic signals. We enjoyed several super mellow rides and some excellent shopping afterward.

And then on the way out, Andrew saw a Steak ‘n Shake sign. I think that was probably the most exciting moment of all for him… this is the furthest west one so far, just opened in December.

We’ll try to upload all the pics tonight at Vegas.

When we got back from San Diego and Disneyland, we stayed in Redwood City for just one week, during which we planned our parents’ surprise Hawaiian luau. It’s their 50th anniversary this year, and my sisters and I have been secretly scheming since November on a wonderful gift for them. We wanted it to be their dream come true, and I think we nailed it. We, our entire 20+ family, are taking our parents to Maui for 10 days in August! The luau was our way to deliver the gift. We ordered a sheet cake with the words “Happy 50th Anniversary, we’re going to Maui!” on it and unveiled it to them at the luau. They were pretty much speechless! : )

Next day Ingrid and I drove to Disneyland again, this time with my sister and her 3 kids and our mom. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel thanks to my 40% discount with the annual pass and it was great being so close to the park. Ingrid had a fabulous time of course, it doesn’t get much better then being with the cousins 6 days in a row, and being in Disneyland!

The day after we got back, I went to my last rehearsal and then the following day I danced with my Trinidadian group for a Carnaval benefit. Fun fun fun! But exhausting and scary. Especially since I’d missed 4 rehearsals in a row!

One week of barely catching up with life (laundry, bills, shopping, errands, etc.) and now it’s off to Hollister for a weekend of Syncros. My family will come Sunday to celebrate Easter and then we’re back to RWC for a week during which I’ll plan our next journey which goes something like: Disney-Legoland (shhhhh… it’s a surprise)-Las Vegas-Moab. We’ll spend a month or so in beautiful QUIET Moab and then eastward bound, to St. Louis and beyond! (I’ve been spending waaaay too much time at Disneyland).

Yipeeeeee!