Week at the Beach


The Chapin family week at the beach was a wonderful time for the whole family. The boys had a wonderful stay with Oma and Gampy while we drove across the country the country. There were some fun stories of visits to Stuart Heights pool and 'golf'. By the time we arrived at the beach, Dakota was fully swimming on his own (a major break through). He was all about the pool at the beach condo complex. He still has not figured out how to lift his head up to breath but he can hold his breath for a surprisingly long time! It was really fun to see him make such fast progress.

Wren had great fun doing all kinds of fun beach stuff. He particularly enjoys boogie boarding, spending many hours charging in and out of the surf. He also built some deluxe sand castles and working on his back dives at the pool. He made fast friends at the pool and played fun games with them.

For me the time was a very good last chunk of quality time with my family (mom, dad, brother and his family). I feel luck that we got to leave Chattanooga on such a fine note. It was really nice to kick back and hang out with the family. We really did not go out and do much of anything besides hang out at the pool and beach. Sometimes having absolutely nothing on the agenda is precisely what is needed.

On the last night Heidi, Wren, Dakota and I went out on the beach and watched a thunderstorm roll by. The next morning it was an early start. After tears in the parking lot we were off to Jacksonville. We arrived safe in Walla Walla later in the afternoon. Gaining 3 hours in time zones makes the day really long but it was nice to arrive with plenty of daylight. We had left the mattresses at the front of the pile so we all pretty much crashed on arrival.

The Crossing

Day 1: Stuart and I finished packing up the Uhaul, picked up the car towing trailer and headed west. Crossing this great country of ours was an adventure all of it's own. We talked, listened to audio books, and enjoyed each other's company. We made it to Kansas City the first night having passed through St. Louis and seeing the St. Louis Arch, a new sight for me.


Day 2 brought us some challenges. First we encountered the mighty Missouri River flowing out of it's banks flooding over 11 miles of land to the east of the river proper. This made it a particularly hard river to find our way across. After a 2 hour detour, we crossed the Missouri on a little bridge. On the other side the water was really only about 1 foot below our road.


After getting across and being delayed we were excited to jump on the interstate and make some time. This was not in our cards quite yet. The check oil light came on forcing a 1/2 hour break to first find and then put in special "big truck" oil. Now we were ready to make some time crossing Nebraska ... but again no such luck, we ended up behind a wreck on the highway waiting 2 hours in hot sticky sun moving about 1/2 mile per hour. Finally just before we were slated to exit for the detour, the road up ahead opened giving us a much needed break in our luck. We made some good time for a while stopping for gas around 4 pm. Luck would have it that this proved to be another challenge. Bank of America in all it's wisdom is aware of all transactions on our credit and debit cards. Apparently they noticed some unusual activity on our card....i.e. driving across the country buying TONS of gas. I guess this could have been someone who stole our credit/debit card, so I am apprieciative of their service...BUT when we tried to pay for gas, our cards were blocked....So 1 hour later after talking the bank and disengaging the block and paying for gas...We were finally on our way again. This brought us out on to the Nebraska highway... headed west. And wow did we have a treat! This sunset was what our luck for the day brought us.
Our second night was spent in Ogalala, Nebraska. Still humid so no camping.

Day 3: We woke early so we could make it to City of Rocks in Idaho. A long drive through Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and finally Idaho. Pulling into the City of Rocks just before sunset, we set up camp and fell asleep under the beautiful moonlight.



Day 4 and 5: We had 2 days of amazing climbing at City of Rocks and took almost no pictures because we were either climbing or belaying. It was great!!


Day 6: We arrived in Walla Walla on Thursday night. Saw the house, met our landlords and neighbors had a wonderful dinner. More pictures of the house to follow in the next post.