Road Trip 2008

New, Permanent Nguyen Family Site

2008-09-21T16:03:00.002-04:00

I started a new site that we will use as an all-purpose Nguyen family website:

http://taimelwillhaden.com/

So, check that site to keep up with us!

Warrenton, Missouri

2008-06-17T00:08:00.006-04:00

We're staying in Warrenton, Missouri tonight. Sorry, no pictures for today!
We just drove across Kansas and went to see Kung Fu Panda in Topeka.
In Kansas City, Missouri, we all ate ribs at the restaurant owned by the guy who invented KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce.

In the morning, we're going to visit the gateway arch in St. Louis, then we are staying at our house tomorrow night. Thanks for coming on vacation with us, and thanks for all the comments. Special thanks to everyone who donated to the gas fund!

Today's progress (6/15)

2008-06-16T00:32:00.001-04:00

We're staying in Colby, Kansas tonight.

Colorado

2008-06-16T00:27:00.003-04:00

We drove across Colorado today. In Denver, we tried to find a theater that was showing Kung Fu Panda, but we didn't have any luck. We'll make that our highest priority tomorrow since there probably won't be much to do in Kansas.

Monument Valley Pictures 2

2008-06-15T01:26:00.003-04:00

Monument Valley Pictures 2

Monument Valley Pictures 1

2008-06-15T01:14:00.004-04:00

Monument Valley Pictures 1

Grand Canyon Pictures 4

2008-06-15T01:10:00.003-04:00

Grand Canyon Pictures 4

Grand Canyon Pictures 3

2008-06-15T01:04:00.004-04:00

Grand Canyon Pictures 3

Grand Canyon Pictures 2

2008-06-15T00:57:00.004-04:00

Grand Canyon Pictures 2

Grand Canyon Pictures 1

2008-06-15T00:50:00.005-04:00

Grand Canyon Pictures 1

Will's reaction to seeing the canyon was, "Whoa, what happened?"

Grand Canyon and Monument Valley

2008-06-15T00:33:00.008-04:00

Today (Saturday), we went to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, and we are staying in Moab, Utah tonight. In the morning, we will go to Denver, Colorado and see Kung Fu Panda. After that, I think we are pointing our compass toward Greenwood and stopping wherever we see something interesting.

Williams, AZ

2008-06-13T23:55:00.003-04:00

We are in Williams, Arizona tonight

We drove across the Mojave Desert in southern California today. In the morning we are going to the Grand Canyon, which is less than an hour away from here. If anyone is looking for some land, I saw a billboard in Arizona advertising some for $275.00 an acre.

Williams is a small town, and we're staying in a hotel on Route 66. Mel and I had a couple of excellent prime rib steaks tonight.

San Diego (Day 2)

2008-06-12T21:03:00.005-04:00

First Full Day in San Diego

First picture -- Haden making a line in the sand with his foot.
Second picture -- the boardwalk in front of our hotel.
Third picture -- Will draped in San Diego seaweed.

We spent the day lounging by the pool and at the beach. Will wants to eat crab legs again for supper tonight, so that's where we are headed.

What is the Big Deal With Elevator Buttons?

Every time we have to use an elevator, the boys argue over who gets to press the button.

Today's Progress

2008-06-11T23:03:00.002-04:00

We didn't stop much today since we were in a hurry to get to San Diego. My original plan was to go through Monument Valley, but we decided to skip it for now so we could guarantee some time at the beach. We are planning on going through there on the way home, as well as the Grand Canyon.

San Diego

2008-06-11T22:55:00.003-04:00

We made it to San Diego!

It took us five days to get here, and I'm ready for a driving break. We were all disappointed that we couldn't get a picture of us in front of the "Welcome to California" sign... there wasn't a spot to pull over.

It is cold here! I wasn't expecting this, so I did a little searching, and the climate isn't very hot at any point here during the year. Melissa had to stop at a shop on the boardwalk and buy a hoodie.

Arizona Scenery

2008-06-11T22:51:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures of us going across Arizona today.

Today's additional progress

2008-06-11T01:25:00.005-04:00

The major cities we went through today are Amarillo, Albuquerque, and we're staying in Flagstaff, Arizona tonight. We think we can make it to San Diego tomorrow (Wednesday)!

Arizona

2008-06-11T01:17:00.003-04:00

Here we are at the Arizona border. Notice Haden still has some paint on his face from Cadillac Ranch.

Route 66 in New Mexico

2008-06-11T01:09:00.003-04:00

Here we are getting our kicks on Route 66 in New Mexico

More Cadillac Ranch pics

2008-06-11T01:05:00.003-04:00

These are more Cadillac Ranch pictures.

Cadillac Ranch

2008-06-11T00:53:00.006-04:00

Before we left Texas, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch on Route 66 in Amarillo. They encourage graffiti, so the boys found some cans and went to work. Click here for background on the area.

Gas

2008-06-11T00:45:00.002-04:00

I'm not very happy with oil companies right now.

Various Pictures in San Antonio

2008-06-09T23:39:00.003-04:00

Progress

2008-06-09T23:10:00.002-04:00

Here is a map of where we've been so far. Tonight, we are in Lubbock, Texas. Tomorrow, we are going to Amarillo to hop onto the old Route 66.

Remember the Alamo!

2008-06-09T22:44:00.009-04:00

This morning, we visited the Alamo in San Antonio. It was a great thing to see after watching the movie.

We had lunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant downtown by a river where a mariachi trio gave us a tableside performance (I've attached a short video of this to the post). I asked the guy what the song was about when they were done, and he said it was sort of a Mexican version of Freebird.

To cap the visit, we went through a Ripley's walk-through Haunted House where tough guy Haden was scared to death, and Melissa was so frightened at one point that for a moment she was inadvertently grinding Will's head into a rail. He was okay, though.

Louisiana to Texas

2008-06-09T00:40:00.004-04:00

We are in San Antonio, Texas now.

After we left New Orleans today, we drove through the bayou in southern Louisiana. In South Carolina, our roadkill consists of possums, squirrels, and things like that. Driving through the bayou, I'm not kidding, some of their roadkill are alligators! A couple of them were up to about four or five feet long.

We drove all day today, and didn't get to any tourist-type attractions, although we did get to watch the Sun go down in front of us over the flat Texas horizon while we were driving.

Here's a picture of us at the Texas border. Tomorrow, we are going to The Alamo and Cascade Caverns, if we have time. Then, we'll hit the road and drive until we get tired.

Slap Bus Video

2008-06-09T00:34:00.004-04:00

Video

The boys have a game similar to "Punch Bug" that they call "Slap Bus"

The Boys

2008-06-08T08:45:00.001-04:00

We've seen some beautiful scenery so far, and it tickled me that through most of it, the boys had their noses buried in video games in the backseat.

A Brass Band on Bourbon St.

2008-06-08T00:17:00.003-04:00

Video

Bourbon St. New Orleans

2008-06-07T23:57:00.004-04:00

This was on Bourbon Street a few minutes ago.

That's it for today. We're driving to San Antonio tomorrow.

Signature pose - Mississippi

2008-06-07T23:55:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Mississippi

2008-06-07T23:53:00.003-04:00

This was earlier today.

Bayou LaBatre, Alabama

2008-06-07T23:50:00.003-04:00

These are some shrimping boats in Bayou LaBatre. I think that is where Bubba's mom lived in Forrest Gump.

Dauphin Island, Alabama

2008-06-07T23:47:00.003-04:00

This is in Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Hank Williams

2008-06-07T23:41:00.002-04:00

Here we are at Hank Williams's grave in Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

2008-06-07T23:36:00.004-04:00

We made it to Montgomery last night.

...and they're off!

2008-06-05T16:21:00.003-04:00

Here we go.

We're putting Greenwood to our rudder and setting off into the great wide open!

Where are y'all going?

2008-06-04T15:50:00.002-04:00

When they find out about our trip and this website, most people want to know, "Where are y'all going?" Well, keep checking the site and find out! Really though, so far, we only have the first few states planned. Our first stop will be Friday night in Montgomery, then Saturday, we'll drive through Biloxi to New Orleans. After that, we'll see... keep checking on us, I plan to update the site every day!

Almost Time!

2008-06-04T06:26:00.001-04:00

We only have two more days until we leave, and I cannot wait to get away from the stress.

Memory Card for the Camera

2008-06-01T19:35:00.002-04:00

I got a new camera with my rewards points through Eaton, so I needed to get a memory card to go with it. I bought a 2 gigabyte card, and I think that may have been a little overkill, since I put the card into the camera and found out the card holds 1,280 pictures.

Supplies for the Trip

2008-06-01T16:03:00.002-04:00

Today, we bought a lot of non-perishable food for the road trip. I figure we can stop at grocery stores or roadside stands to get fruit when we want them.

Prepping the House

2008-06-01T16:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Mel had lists of things to do around the house before we leave.

The Hamburger on top of the car

2008-05-31T11:08:00.002-04:00

I bought one of those cargo roof carriers for the road trip, and Mel calls it a hamburger, so that's what we're all calling it now. So, here are some pictures of me installing the hamburger, and some pics of the boys inside it.

Will's Hair: Before & After

2008-05-30T17:12:00.004-04:00

The car's condition, and travel time

2008-05-29T20:51:00.003-04:00

I had the car serviced for the trip a couple of weeks ago, so we should be fine mechanically.

A few years ago, Mel and I drove from Memphis to Greenwood in a day with no problem (granted that was in a Mustang GT), and that's nearly a third of the way across the country. So, we should be able to make it to San Diego within a week.

Goodbye Earl

2008-05-28T21:29:00.003-04:00

Haden singing Goodbye Earl on karaoke

Haden's fresh new summer cut

2008-05-28T20:49:00.005-04:00

The boys are getting haircuts to kick off their vacation. They will actually be on the road for three straight weeks since they will be gone with their grandparents next week.

Haden said he was going to get a buzz cut and I didn't believe him...

Gasoline

2008-05-28T17:19:00.001-04:00

I'm going to track the amount of money we spend on gas for the trip in the upper-right corner. Should be, umm, interesting. I estimate it's going to take about $1300.

Thanks to those who have donated!

Video of my Gladiators

2008-05-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

This was at Fuji's family day

Things to do

2008-05-27T21:29:00.001-04:00

This weekend will be our last weekend in town, so we'll have some running around to do... grocery shopping, grass cutting, etc. I bought one of those plastic carriers that attach to the roof rack of the car, so I'll go ahead and install that this weekend so I won't have to worry about it during the week.

Maggie Valley

2008-05-27T18:56:00.001-04:00

Signature pose - Angie & Brad's backyard

2008-05-27T18:48:00.000-04:00

This is in Angie & Brad's backyard

Signature pose - Granny's carport

2008-05-27T18:37:00.000-04:00

This is mine and Haden's signature pose. We will be doing this at various places across the land. This one is on Granny's carport.