Bear Lake for Labor Day, Sept 09

Becky brilliantly organized our first annual Dennis Garner reunion. We loved our weekend together sharing a two bedroom condo. They kindly gave Dennis and me our own bedroom. Little John was the only one brave enough to sleep in there with us. Some think we are noisy sleepers, we've never noticed.

The Trip of a Lifetime. The Beginning :Loading Up

The Trip of a Lifetime

On July 21, 2009, we drove to Rupert, ID.

July 22 - rented a U-Haul trailer, loaded it and our pickup with furniture from Mom Garner's home and headed East to take it to Karlene and Doyle. Spent that night at Rawlins, WY.

Crazy Horse Monument and Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota

The Trip of a Lifetime

July 23 - Got to see the Crazy Horse Monument and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. The Black Hills are full of Ponderosa Pine trees that have black bark. Sturgis motorcyclers were gathering for their big rally in another week. Lots of black leather everywhere. I want to go back to the Crazy Horse Monument in 20 years and see how much more they've gotten done.

Niagara Falls

The Trip of a Lifetime

July 24 - (As Andrea Parrish says, Pie and Beer day... you know, Pioneer Day)We traveled 11 hours through South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. We stayed at Rockford, IL.

July 25 - Another 11 hour drive through Indiana, Ohio, a corner of Pennsylvania, and stayed at Buffalo, NY.

July 26 - Spent the entire day loving Niagara Falls and loving Dennis for bringing me there. Walked into Canada and were so disappointed that they didn't stamp my Passport. Sooo AWESOME!!!

Palmyra, NY

July 27 - Spent most of the Day at Palmyra, NY, where the Prophet Joseph lived. We walked in his steps. We got to see his home, the Sacred Grove - that is huge and where the Cicada's were singing to high heaven, the Hill Cumorah (the Pageant had been the previous week but the missionaries were still pumped), the Grandin Press where the Book of Mormon was first printed, and got to do initiatories at the temple there. Many of the temple workers remembered Dave and Elaine, who were there last year and wished they'd come back. Then we drove 5 more hours through New York and New Jersey and arrived late at Karlene's where she had a hot pie coming out of the oven for a great midnight snack.

Karlene's and New York

The Trip of a Lifetime

July 28 - We drove Karlene's cute little Lexus sports car into New York. We got to see the sights and went to Canal street to do some fun shopping, finding great bags for all of us girls for a great price. We got to see "Wicked" on Broadway that night and have been listening to the music on CD or in our heads ever since. We LOVED it!!! We were able to eat Dim Sum - an oriental dish that looks like won tons but are steamed. We were able to eat four different skins with four fillings. It was great.

July 29 - got to have a down day, doing laundry and resting. Karlene fixed Aebleskivers with apple syrup and drove us out for some really fun food. We got real New York style pizza and an Arugula salad with huge slices of Portobello mushrooms and big slices of fresh mozzarella cheese.We got to experience 100% humidity for the first time. The windows steamed up on the outside of the house. In the car we had to use the wipers to clear off the steam that formed. When it finally rained, it was warm rain. I loved the adventure of it. It was foggy just like Roosevelt in the winter, except that it was so hot it felt like a sauna.

Philadelphia

The Trip of a Lifetime

July 30 - We were able to drive Karlene's little sports car into Philadelphia. We saw Betsy Ross's house where she rented rooms for living and for her millinery shop. Then we got on an open top bus and took the tour to see the town. What a great history with cool quaint looking homes. There were tons and tons of rows of apartment buildings that were all built the same but each one was decorated uniquely with different colors, wood workings around the door, etc. The highlight of the day was that we put the top down on her car and drove back to Karlene's with the top down, cool air coming from the air conditioner, hair blowing in the wind, warm and humid sunshine streaming down.

July 31 - We were able to stay just a little longer at Karlene's. She and her family were getting together in Phoenix for a family reunion. Dennis got up early to take them to the airport, where they missed their plane. They decided to stay at the airport rather than come home since they'd just get home and have to turn around and go back. I'm anxious to see Karlene's pictures of when she gets her bathrooms remodeled. She's putting in the most gorgeous white marble floor and shower with a wonderful claw foot soaking tub. It should be about finished this weekend.