vacation

Cross-Country Road Trip 2016: Cali to Bama in a Pick-Up Truck

One last basketball game with friends

The movers came and boxed us up.

Day 1: I promise our children do not normally consume sodas and play video games all day. Remember this was a manly trip…which really just means that I was not there, so don’t blame me. 😉

California: Do you see the train going into the tunnel? Look closely.

hangin’ with friends

There was an Avengers thing-a-majig going on there,.

And Caleb’s turn

Next Stop: North Rim of the Grand Canyon!!

Before the trip they thought the Grand Canyon was worth skipping. Ha! They get it now.

And on the road again…

I love these window landscape shots. The Southwest is uniquely beautiful.

This one made me laugh. Bless their hearts. Buy them some sunglasses!!

Once you finish chuckling over their eye covers, check out the FOUR CORNERS behind them: You can be in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado all at the same time.

I’m thinking this is probably Colorado. I wasn’t there, and Alan’s outside building a trampoline, so I can’t ask him. Poor Alan. So glad I’m not the one with the big muscles that builds things.

Mesa Verde National Park

As I mentioned before, we learned about these Anasazi cliff-dwellers in school this year, so what a perfectly timed field trip.

When do I get to go see this because I want to too!

This part would have been my favorite!

On the road again, just can’t wait to get back on the road again….

Next Stop: Oklahoma City

It just might’ve been his best birthday ever. And no, we’ve never been Braves fans, but I thought it went along with the whole becoming Southern thing. He approved. He also loved his bat bag and baseball cards.

They went to an OKC Dodgers (minor league baseball) game. Caleb is crazy for baseball this year.

It was a double-header, so Alan even got them a hotel where they could watch the game from their hotel room. Nice!

Well, iHop is a close second. Mmmm

Oh yeah, and Alan also took them to Pops, a soda pop factory/store. (Thanks for all the ideas, Greg!) They brought back a cooler full of sodas too. I might as well go ahead and schedule their dental appointments. No, it hasn’t been a full 6 months, but there was this trip.

On to Arkansas…

By this point, Alan was speeding the trip along, so they just whipped right through Arkansas, and on to Tennessee:

We were all intrigued to see what this giant pyramid was, and it turned out to be a BASS PRO SHOPS!! Haha!

And no trip to Bammer is complete without a visit to Bryant-Denny. (That’s the University of Alabama football stadium, for all you non-southerners or non football fans.)

They had to shield their eyes from the glitter of all those national championship trophies. hehe Roll Tide!

And finally, they arrived and reunited with Mom and little brothers!

We enjoyed being together for a couple of days, all of us as a family in our new house. But our work is not done. Alan, Joshua, and Caleb are over at my parents’ house, helping them move, and Joshua and Caleb are going to stay for the rest of the week. They are super excited because the Wii died in the fire, so Grandaddy has promised to buy an x-box for their house.

Happy Summer, y’all!!

aprilmomoffour

April is an upbeat, Christian, blog-obsessed, military wife, and home schooling mom of four little boys. She writes about education, travel, and humorous adventures in parenting. Follow along if you’d like a little bit of encouragement and a whole lot of crazy.

View Comments

  • Happy summer to you! This looks like an amazing road trip. Glad the boys came around to the Grand Canyon, LOL! #happynowlinkup

  • Your road trip looks like a blast. By the way, X is wondering if you stopped by the Memphis Bass Pro Shops. He is obsessed with the idea of going there one day. :)

    • Thank you! I am sorry to report that they did not stop and go in the bass pro shop. Maybe he and Joshua can do that once they have their own drivers license. Ha!

  • Really enjoyed the road trip pictures. Very pretty and exciting. Glad they had so much fun. Sun really bothers me too. I have been to beach before when I could not even open my eyes with sunglasses! Welcome now to the South and the heat! It does seem extra hot this year.

  • AWESOME looking trip! I agree on the fair eyes - people look at me like I'm odd wearing sunglasses in the rain and such, but it's still bright to me. The glitter from all those championship trophies had to be 100X brighter than the sun, too - I can't imagine :) Glad they all had fun at our old OKC stomping ground. Yay for being back in the South!

  • Looks like an amazing road trip and memories made with dad to tell their kids about!

  • So um the last time we drove through Vegas it was 8 o' clock at night and I had to tell the kids to shut their eyes, because the billboards were bad. Really bad!

    Glad your buys had fun and made it!

  • Loved the pictures of their road trip. I wish I had the time for the road trip....seems like we miss quite a bit by flying.

  • How fun! I've always wanted to try a cross country road trip with my boys. And when we hit the road all bets are off as far as nutrition and video games; it becomes all about survival and keeping everyone quietish and happy. Looks like it was a great "manly" trip.

Recent Posts

Tips for Talking to an Anxious Teenager

Today I have a mental health expert here to help us with talking to our…

4 days ago

6 Important Considerations for Homeschooling

Today I have a guest post for you on the topic of important considerations for…

2 weeks ago

Last Chance to See the Cherry Blossoms in D.C. Before Major Tidal Basin Reconstruction

Did you know 2024 year is an important year for the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival?…

1 month ago

Exploring Our Family History in Tannehill State Park: A Beautiful Place to Take Your Family

Last year my cousin Amber sent me a VHS video clip of an interview she…

1 month ago

Traveling by Train from Naples to Sigonella Navy Base (in Sicily)

On the last day before our flight out of Italy, Alan and I needed to…

2 months ago

How to Build a Career as a Fire Rescue Officer

Today I have an expert guest post from the field of fire rescue! He is…

2 months ago