Road Trip to the Lake House, Day 3, July 29

Well, I can post stories, and some photos, but not ALL of the photos. Apparently, photos that I personally did not take, but which others have shared with me, despite being saved into the photos on my phone and Google photos, are not accessible to the blog (despite blogspot being a Google app). Oh well. I'll do my best! And when I insert a photo, it shows up on the draft as a long series of numbers, letters and shapes. Hmmm...

This day we left Texas, and drove across a bunch of states. One of them was Oklahoma and we passed the off-ramps or county highways which led to Talequah (where my mom went to college), Warner (where my grandma grew up and where my great grandfather had a general store), and Stigler, home to Connors State Teachers' College (my grandparents both got their teaching licenses there). This was a really long day of driving, from Amarillo, TX to Memphis, TN. There was a reason: I had booked a room for us inside the Bass Pro Shop pyramid, at the Big Cypress Lodge!

It was so fun! The interior of the pyramid is like being inside of the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland: perpetually twilight. It's huge, and designed to look like a cypress swamp. All of the boats they sell are floating in water, with 6-foot catfish swimming beneath them. There are bridges and trees and boardwalks, a shooting gallery, a restaurant, the requisite aquarium, and then in the center of it all is the tallest freestanding glass elevator. Hotel guests can ride in the elevator at no charge, and it takes you up to a rooftop restaurant! We had lumch there, enjoying delicious food and spectacular views.

After thoroughly exploring the Bass Pro Shop, we headed for Georgia.

Road Trip to the Lake House, Day 2, July 28th

We woke up and headed to historic downtown Gallup for coffee, and then we were back on the 10, a.k.a. Route 66. Headed east, we began the trek through Texas. Our destination for that night was Amarillo, at the Big Texan Steakhouse Ranch! They also have a motel, and there's a Buc-ee's on the other side of the freeway, so we picked up a few souvenirs. We did not swim in the big pool that is shaped like the state of Texas.

Road Trip to the Lake House, Day 1: July 27th, 2025

Okay. This is a test, to see if all of the scrambled jargon will post as a photo. I haven't posted on the blog in over ten years, so I'm surprised that I even managed to sign in. I clicked "preview, and it looks like it's working! I'm going to start the new posts as of July 27th, when Abigail (and her friend Alana) and I left Orange, CA and headed for Anderson, SC. The first few photos are of us clowning around before hitting the road.

We drove to Phoenix, so that the girls could get "dirty sodas" at Swig. It was SO HOT in Arizona. My friend Jamie, who lives in/near Prescott, AZ, drove an hour to meet us there. Following a brief refreshment break, it was back on the road. We stopped for the night in Gallup, NM, at the El Rancho Hotel. You should look it up. It's theme is old Hollywood western movies. Abigail and I had stopped there last summer, and she wanted to duplicate the trip, because it was such fun.

Hey, because a number of my friends are not on social media, but I'd love to share my adventures with them, I'm considering ressurecting my blog. What do you think? Would you visit? Would you leave a comment? Let me know!

Our trip to Washington, July 2012

We took a trip to Washington state this summer to see friends. We had driven to WA once before, but this time I decided to do it as an airplane trip, to maximize the time we could spend there.

We flew out of Long Beach, and I have found my new favorite airport! I loved the waiting area - a big, open air patio (this is also the baggage claim area) with a coffee/ice cream kiosk, umbrellas & tables. There was even a man sleeping on a bench in the sun! Probably not a good place during inclement weather, but in July, it was fantastic. And pick up & drop off is one lane at the curb. We arrived early for our flight, so the girls and I sat under an umbrella and they ate ice cream. The airport is under construction, so to get to your plane, you walk a really long way, outside under wooden breezeways. The girls really liked that you have to walk out onto the tarmac and go up a ramp or stairs to board the plane!

Our first stop in Washington was in Yelm, to see our friends Jennifer & Bryan, and all of their children. They have cows, pigs, chickens, geese, a turkey, dogs, and a kitten. Add to that a trampoline, climber, a firepit for s'mores, and some woods, and you have kid paradise! My girls each had several playmates in the family, so they did not have to play with each other, and they were so busy and happy that I was able to visit with the adults.

Abigail loved all of the animals there. Several times each day, she would ask to go to "the farm." Five-year-old Micah was always willing to take Abigail to collect eggs, touch the cows' noses, and look at the pigs.

We were so blessed to be able to stay there at our friends' house, in their yurt. It is a 750 square foot dwelling, separate from the big house, that (although it is basically a permanent tent) has electricity, plumbing, heat (important even in the summer up in the Pacific northwest) and is snug & weather proof.

Jennifer had arranged a reunion of most of our "team" from the volunteering trip to China in May 2011. It was terrific to see them again, and we feasted on tacos and other yummy stuff! We found a new favorite chip: Juanita's Gluten-Free tortilla chips. I am grateful that they are not sold here in southern California...

Abigail and Micah are the same age, and were great friends during our trip. They did everything together. Both of my girls enjoyed riding in the cart, pulled by Bryan on the tractor!

Family Camp, 2012

I bought a new computer mid-summer, so I have to find the photos from camp before I can post them! I think they are on one of the six flashdrives in my purse.... But here are the Bushnell girls on our last evening at camp, out on the fairway before dinner. We were in a tent this summer, and as always, it was a truly blessed week. After we had been home about a week, Abigail surprised and delighted me by rattling off the memory verse, unprompted! Of course, Frances had been the first kid at camp to learn it, because there was a prize involved. Deuteronomy 6: 5-7 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. These commandments I give to you today are to be upon your heart. Impress them upon your children, talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.