The Ambitious Odometer: July 2015

Monday, July 6, 2015

{Road Trip} Day Ten - Another Stop in Baton Rouge and HOME!

On the last day of our trip, we swung back by the Louisiana State Capitol to retake a few photos, as the ones from our first visit last year all turned out blurry!

The Louisiana State Capitol building is quite different and unique looking in comparison to the other ones nearby including Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi...

The art deco structure is the tallest of the U.S. State Capitol buildings...

We really liked seeing the states listed step by step. Below is B with the South Carolina step...

Before moving on, we stopped back by the little plaque commemorating President Zachary Taylor and one of his residences that once stood nearby...

Though we got back home quite late, we are thankful for another family adventure in the books!

Until next summer...

More {Road Trip} 2015 Fun

Day One - From Running Up Stairs to Painting Cars

Day Two - New Mexico

Day Three - A Canyon, a Dam, and a Whole Lotta Lights

Day Four - Vegas By Day and a Surprise at Night

Day Five - DisneyLAND - Day 1

Day Six - DisneyLAND - Day 2

Day Seven - DisneyLAND - Day 3

Day Eight - Desert Driving, Waving to Mexico, and Night Swimming Under the Fireworks

Day Nine - LBJ Ranch and Austin, TX

Sunday, July 5, 2015

{Road Trip} Day Nine - LBJ Ranch and Austin, TX

We woke up early and headed over to the LBJ Ranch for a great tour!

Though we didn't get to go inside, on the grounds of the ranch, we saw the reconstructed birth home of President Johnson in a cow pasture off in the distance...

and the burial site of the Johnson family, including President Johnson...

After our tour of the main house, we continued on toward Austin, stopping in Johnson City along the way for a photo op at President Johnson's Boyhood Home...

Hated that we didn't get there in time to tour, but we will just have to keep it on the list for next time!

Once we got to Austin, we were thrilled to see that the Texas State Capitol was not only inundated with both sightseers and locals walking around the grounds, but that the inside was still open for visitors, so we decided to explore the inside as well...

So, they say that everything is bigger in Texas, and it very well be, but the state capitol building steps (outside) are not...

However, the inside steps did not disappoint!

and we just had to climb them ALL...

From the capitol building, we headed over to the Texas Governor's Mansion to get a glimpse at where President Bush once made himself at home!

Before leaving Austin, we grabbed dinner at The Magnolia Café, and continued on east to Louisiana...

More {Road Trip} 2015 Fun

Day One - From Running Up Stairs to Painting Cars

Day Two - New Mexico

Day Three - A Canyon, a Dam, and a Whole Lotta Lights

Day Four - Vegas By Day and a Surprise at Night

Day Five - DisneyLAND - Day 1

Day Six - DisneyLAND - Day 2

Day Seven - DisneyLAND - Day 3

Day Eight - Desert Driving, Waving to Mexico, and Night Swimming Under the Fireworks

Day Ten - Another Stop in Baton Rouge and HOME!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

{Road Trip} Day Eight - Desert Driving, Waving to Mexico, and Night Swimming Under the Fireworks

With the change in plans, we left California a little behind schedule on Friday night. Keeping in mind that Hubby was still planning to be at work on Tuesday morning (back at home in South Carolina), to get a good chunk of driving out of the way, we drove through the night (and through the desert, too) and arrived at the historic Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix, AZ first thing Saturday morning.

From Phoenix, we continued driving on into New Mexico and crossed over into Texas, stopping in El Paso to wave over the border at Mexico and grab a late lunch...

We continued on through the l-o-o-o-n-g part of Texas, stopping in Fort Stockton for the night.

The littles were just thrilled to take in some night swimming while we enjoyed the city's 4th of July fireworks off in the distance...

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.,!

Friday, July 3, 2015

{Road Trip} Day Seven - DisneyLAND - Day 3

Well, you know how it goes... The best laid plans... Today's itinerary had originally included stopping in to pay our respects to both President Nixon and President Reagan and a trip south to San Diego to visit the famed San Diego Zoo, grab ice cream at the Hotel del Coronado, and take a dip in the Pacific Ocean...

Well...

We were having so. much. fun. annnddd hadn't finished everything on our Disneyland list, so we decided to stick around one more day. Afterall, our military tickets are a set 3-day park hopper pass anyway...

So, to clarify, we drove cross-country to California. We were extremely close to the beach. We did NOT visit the Pacific Ocean. Most people that know me would ask if I was feeling okay that day! I know I'll be kicking myself for quite some time over this, but let's just say that it guarantees that we will just have to road trip back over in another couple of years...

So, we kicked off Day 3 back at California Adventure to experience Cars Land during the daylight (you really must see it at both day and night - amazing)...

Cozy Cone Motel...

Stanley's statue in front of the Fire Station...

Luigi's Casa Della Tires...

Ramone's House of Body Art...

{Remember this stop at the U-Drop Inn on our trip out here?}

After our fun in Cars Land, the boys stayed put in California Adventure to ride the rides in both Cars Land and Grizzly Peak...

The Radiator Springs Racers ride was one of B's favorites...

as well as the Grizzly River Run...

while the girls and I went back to Disneyland to meet up with Mickey, Minnie, and friends in their Diamond Celebration attire. I'm so glad that we stuck around to do that. I would've regretted it if we hadn't ~ it did not disappoint...

Minnie & Mickey...

Minnie...

Pluto...

Donald ~ we just missed the elusive, Daisy...

Chip...

and, the best for last, Goofy...

I mean, he took my girls for a stroll...

and showed them the view of the castle...

Seriously, the best little memory for them!

Before leaving the Main Street, U.S.A. area, we grabbed a couple of the commemorative Diamond Celebration treats...

While the boys were still playing at California Adventure, we decided to tackle the line for Peter Pan's Flight...

Evidently, it had just opened back up after refurbishment, which explains why every time we attempted to get in line, it was over an hour wait time (& NO Fast Passes for any of the rides in Fantasyland)...