Divemedic

Leg Four: Four Corners and Zion

After a couple of days exploring the Grand Canyon, we headed north east to where four states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) come together in one spot.

After a short time looking around, we headed west. We ended the day in Page, Arizona, where we spent the night.

After a good night’s sleep, we continued westward and found ourselves at Zion National Park. It was our original intention to spend a day or two in the park, but it was incredibly crowded. We spent over an hour stuck in stop and go traffic, just trying to move a couple of miles. There was no parking to be had. We finally moved on, and headed for Las Vegas.

By Divemedic, ago

Leg three- Texas to the Grand Canyon

We left San Antonio and spent the next 3 days travelling. We stopped in El Paso for the night, and were up early on our way to Las Cruces, NM to have a bit of fun at the White Sands missile range. We went sand sledding. It was a blast, but I did bruise my tailbone racing some kids to the bottom of a dune. That sand is harder than it looks.

While we were driving through White Sands, I was amazed at seeing signs like “Secret US Government Laser Test Facility,” thinking how un-secret it was to have a sign out front. The government works in strange ways.

After a morning of playing around, we moved on. We drove to Tucson, where it was 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and spent the night. The next day, we headed north to see Sedona, and ended this leg, to spend the next two nights in Flagstaff, which we used as a base to check out the Grand Canyon. Thus ended the first week of the trip…

Sedona:

The Grand Canyon:

By Divemedic, ago

Leg 2, San Antonio

From New Orleans, we headed west. A day’s drive took us to Gonzalez, Texas. We spent the night there before moving on to San Antonio and staying there for a night. We rode a boat around the Riverwalk and went to see the Alamo. After the Alamo, we went to dinner and had Mexican food chased by some pretty good Tequila.

One thing that was a bit of a problem was that the hotel we stayed at (the Hilton) was posted with signs prohibiting both concealed and open carry. We were not aware of this when we booked. Since we had already paid (nonrefundable) for the room, I adopted a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy, and brought my firearm in anyway.

Please enjoy some pictures of San Antonio:

By Divemedic, ago

Home again, home again jiggity jig

My vacation is complete. We were gone for 50 days, travelling over 13,000 miles through 27 states. This was the longest vacation that I have ever done, and we saw quite a bit.

We began our trip at 5 in the morning, leaving for New Orleans. Travelling down Interstate 10, we arrived in Mandeville, Louisiana at lunchtime. We stopped by my father’s grave, and then had some really good Roast Beef Po’ Boys. Roast beef Po’ Boys are easily my favorite sandwich. It is roast beef cooked in gravy, and served on French bread. I always get them “dressed,” which is with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

They are messy, bad for you, and totally delicious. Seriously, try one.

After we ate, we drove across the Ponchartrain bridge and into New Orleans. We stayed in a hotel in the French Quarter, and spent two days enjoying Cajun food, Beignets, and jazz music. One of our visits was Preservation Hall. This Hall is working to preserve traditional New Orleans jazz. The musicians who play here have been playing for 30 years or more. Incredible talent. The only bad part was that it began raining the first night, and rain continued until we headed west.

 

By Divemedic, ago

Pepper spray fail

The next time someone tells me that I don’t need to carry a firearm because I can simply use pepper spray, I am going to show this article to them…

When Reyes still wouldn’t leave, Mosley sprayed him with pepper spray that he had attached on his keychain… at which point Reyes grabbed a machete and repeatedly struck Mosley… Police said Mosley was semi-conscious when they arrived, suffering from severe injuries to head, torso and arm, and his hand was nearly severed. The 63-year-old man was airlifted to a local trauma center, where he was in “extremely critical condition” before he died Saturday

Pepper spray failed, because the assailant was high on narcotics. A firearm would have worked much better.

By Divemedic, ago

Walkabout, continued

The travels continue. We parked the car in Seattle and took a bus to Vancouver. Once there, we caught a cruise ship through the inside passage into Alaska. We stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Hoonah, Alaska. The cruise ended in Seward, and then we took the train up through the state, with stops in Anchorage, Talkeetna, the Denali National Park, and Fairbanks. In all, we spent two weeks in Alaska.

We then flew back to Seattle and retrieved the car. We drove through Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

I bet you are wondering how we stored my handgun. Before we entered California, I placed it in a Pelican case with desiccants and oxygen absorbers, lowered the spare tire from under the car, and placed the case on top, and raised the tire back up. Once we left Washington, I lowered the tire and retrieved it, none the worse for wear.

We continue on our journey…

By Divemedic, ago

On walkabout

I have been on the road for the past few weeks. During that time, the wife and I drove from Florida to Seattle, on our way to Alaska. We stopped for a day or more in each of the following cities:

1- New Orleans, LA
2- Gonzalez, TX
3- San Antonio, TX
4- Tucson, AZ
5- Sedona, AZ
6- Flagstaff, AZ
7- Las Vegas, NV
8- San Francisco, CA
9- Eugene, OR
10- Seattle, WA

It has been a great trip so far. We have had beignets and went to a jazz concert in the French Quarter, saw the Alamo, the Grand Canyon, and more.

I did discover that the Hilton in San Antonio is posted against both concealed and open carry, but the Marriott was not. Since signs have the force of law in Texas, I was faced with the choice of breaking the law and hoping not to get caught, or leaving my handgun in the car and hoping not to get burglarized. Once this trip has concluded (we have already paid deposits on all of the hotels for this trip) I will no longer use Hilton. I will be switching to the Marriott brand for my future travels.

Phoenix was hot at 108 degrees. The Grand Canyon was amazing.

One of my hobbies is that I am a bit of a gambler. The only game that I really enjoy is Craps. During our 4 day stay in Vegas, I won about $1200 at the tables. I will admit that I generally do not play as well when the wife is next to me watching. I think it is because she looks at me oddly when I make $100 bets. For this reason, I do not think that I can concentrate as well, and I tend to do less well. Once we were in a casino with her parents, and I was slightly at a loss ($100 or so). She left and went to the bar with her father, and 2 hours later I rejoined them, having won $3200.

At any rate, it’s been a good trip so far. We leave in the morning for our next destination. We have already driven 5,000 miles in the past three weeks. The journey continues.

By Divemedic, ago