Okay, okay - I know. It has been MONTHS since I posted. And this has been the question I have been asked. And so, here is my answer.
I've Been Everywhere!
As you may recall from earlier posts, son Stephen joined the Navy. At the beginning of July, he went to Newport, Rhode Island, for training. In true military fashion, that left Bethany in Texas to close on their house, prepare for her first ever PCS move ( that's Permanent Change of Station), and drive herself, the children, and the dog (of course there is a dog) across the country by herself to their new duty station, which happens to be in Virginia. I thought that sounded like an awful lot for one person to do alone, so I volunteered to go and help. Layden stayed in Hawaii to tend the cat and continue to go to work in order to fund this little junket.
Sooooooo
At the end of July, off I went, and my first stop was...
...not Texas, but Colorado. I figured that since my plane had to make a stop in Colorado anyway, that I would take a few days to visit family in Colorado Springs. It was a quick visit but a good one. There is no shortage of fun things to see and do here.
I spent most of my time with my brother and his family. A highlight was eating out at the Chinese buffet. My nephews and niece are all growing up and moving ahead. James has just joined the Army. Christine is in her second year of high school, and Jacob is in junior high. Michael isn't in this picture, as he is currently serving a mission for the LDS church in California.
There was a bit of excitement at my Mom's house, which is located in the mountains above Colorado Springs. They often have wildlife that wander through their yard, especially this year as the terrible Waldo Canyon fire drove a lot of the animals across to their side of the mountain. This fine specimen not only wandered through the yard, but also in to the kitchen. It was a bit startling, to say the least! Here he is, moments after being shooed out of the house.
Next stop-
-Lubbock, Texas to begin the real adventure.
The day after I arrived, the packers arrived. Boxes everywhere! This was a good crew. They were efficient, quick, and had all the right boxes, paper, and tape. They were scheduled for three days, but got done in one day! Rather unheard of.
That left us with some time to finish up Bethany's summer project, which was to visit museums along the Texas Plains Trail. Mostly these are very small-town, very local musuems, with artifacts and exhibits specific to the town. This musuem is in Dal Paso. The town got its name because it is halfway between Dallas and El Paso. The museum is housed in the old hotel and it was really quite interesting. Bethany and I decided that we are really glad we didn't have to cook in this kitchen, but that we could have done it - we are glad kitchens have improved since this one!
The next museum we visited was in O'Donnell, Texas. It has lots of local history items, but the real claim to fame is that this town is the home of Dan BLocker, who played Hoss Cartwright on the TV show Bonanza. They have all sorts of memorabilia - stuff from the TV series like lunch boxes and autographed posters, but also his high school football uniform, childhood toys, and family pictures. 
This museum is curated and tended by these two Texas gentlemen, who used to be cotton farmers and also worked in the cotton gin. They were as interesting as the museum, and rounded out our visit with historical tidbits, as well as a couple of ghost stories. We really enjoyed listening to them.
We paid one last visit to the Science Spectrum museum in Lubbock. This place has been a favorite for the family - it is a really fun place!
We visited the Lubbock Veteran's War Memorial. Stephen and his family honored Grandpa Layden with a commemorative brick. Colt and Cammon are standing next to it. Even though our family doesn't live here anymore, we will always have a bit of connection to this place.
I had a good time playing in the back yard with the adorable, charming and energetic grandchildren. It was great fun except that some how, some afternoon, I got a miserable case of sun poisoning. It plagued me the rest of the trip, with an itchy rash that was also blistered and painful. Not only was it miserable to live with, but also miserable to look at - I felt like I had some sort of horrible disease. Oh well - since that was the worst ailment we suffered on the road, I can't complain too much.
Well, the fun had to end sometime, and sure enough, the movers came and loaded up the truck, and Bethany said one last goodbye to her lovely house. She was very brave.
And then we hit the road! Drove all the way across Texas in hundred-degree plus heat. Worried about the tires and the engine, but we were auto incident free - what a blessing!
And, we encountered this curious sign. It made us laugh to contemplate what they might really be selling. Parrot brand beer? A parrot? Ice for parrots? Parrot ice??? Or maybe they just misspelled "paradise?" It was good to have a distraction from the HIGH gas prices! Here it was 3.35 a gallon - and this was one of the cheaper places.
Next, crossing the Mighty Mississippi, which marks the border between Louisiana and
Missippi. Another hot, green, southern state. It made for a pleasant drive as we made our way to
Georgia.
Since leaving Texas, our stops had been only one night. But, we made a two night stop in Atlanta, mostly so we could take a break and go to the Georgia Aquarium.
What a wonderful, exciting, and interesting place! We were all enchanted!
Next -
North Carolina.
We stopped here at the home of good friends of ours, the Thompsons. They came to visit us in Hawaii. They live on the Outer Banks, right near
Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
In addition to exploring this interesting place, we also went on a boat ride, and visited light houses and the beach.
The dunes and grasses here are beautiful - and very different from the palm tree beaches of Hawaii.
At long last...
...Virginia!
We made it! Over 1,700 miles!! Everyone came through the trip fine and healthy and in one piece - including the dog. Bethany and I are still mostly sane. Norfolk is now home for Stephen and his family. Seems like a l-o-n-g way from Hawaii, but it is a lovely place. We stayed at the Navy Lodge on the naval station for a few days while we got things ready at the house. The house is an older home on a tree-lined street not too far from the beach and Chesapeake Bay.
The best part of Norfolk was being reunited with Daddy! Everyone was happy to see Stephen.
Soon enough, the truck arrived and everything was unloaded - of course on a day when Stephen had to report for duty and couldn't be there.
All this paper is SO much fun!
Of course, it wasn't all work. One of the first things Bethany did was look for a good children's museum. And we found one - The Children's Museum of Virginia, located in Portsmouth, which is not far from home - unless you hit rush hour traffic, and then it is a long way. We went to this place with my good friend Michelle, and her two delightful boys. It was good to see Michelle again - we met while stationed Germany - and wonderful to watch these two very competent and dedicated mothers playing with their children and delighting in being with them.
We also visited Virginia Beach. Cortlynn and I are next to this giant statue of Neptune.
I got to take a tour of Naval Station Norfolk with now-Lieutenant Stephen. It was interesting. I got to see an aircraft carrier, and Admiral's Row, which is like Palm Circle at Fort Shafter in Hawaii. It was good to get better acquainted with the Navy.
We had some lovely drives along wooded highways - so different than the wide-open Texas Plains. And we visited more lighthouses.
Alas, it was time to go. I had been with Bethany and the grandkids for a whole month, which should have seemed like a long time, but it didn't -at least not for me. I learned a lot more about my daughter-in-law than most people get the opportunity to do, and it has made me appreciate her very much. She is a good Mom and a great support for Stephen. It was good to see him too (wish there had been more time with him), and exciting to see him getting settled in to being a Navy man. He looks good in his uniform - can't imagine how I didn't get a picture of that. Despite all the hard work, and the long drive, I was reluctant to leave. It was really hard to say goodbye. I am looking forward to the next time we get to be together.
And so, a little sad and a lot tired, I headed to...
...not Hawaii, but Sarasota, Florida. Since I was already on the east coast, and since I had to fly through Atlanta anyway, I decided to add in an extra leg for a couple of days and go visit my stepmother. I haven't seen her for several years, so it was a long-overdue visit. As usual, she fed me delicious foods, enlightened me with good conversation, and took me to interesting places.
This is the portico at the Ringling Museum of Art, where I saw a most excellent exhibit of early 20th century Japanese art.
After a very short time in Florida, I embarked on a very long flight home.
Honolulu at last! I was really happy to see this sign. 6 weeks away from the beach and my Layden was too long. But I am really glad I went. It was a grand adventure and I wouldn't trade any of it. (Except the sun poisoning - could have done without that).
ALHOA
(Read on for Part II)
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