DAY 1 - Thursday, June 30, 2005 - Written by Kelley
4:58pm ,Day one of our expedition. We are slow getting started. The plan was to leave as soon as Dad got back from work, around 9am this morning. As usual, the hospital kept him longer. Once he finally made it home things happened to slow our progress even more. Brother Ford, a guy from our church, is staying at our house while we are gone. Everyone is alittle on edge right now. Getting ready for a trip can be very stressful. I just hope we will leave soon and that the rest of the trip will go smoothly.
End log - 5:10pm

Day 2 - Friday, July 1, 2005 - Written by Kelley
Morning. We finally left the house yesterday around 8pm. We got an extremely late start, obviously. We drove all through the night last night, only stoppping to get gas. I drove first. I drove for about 4 hours. I got to almost Houston. Then we stopped and Zack started driving. He drove for about 3 hours, then Dad drove. He drove like 6 hours. That got us to almost Alabama. We all slept in the car. We folded down the seats and layed on them. It was extremely uncomfortable but it was ok I guess.

We reached Alabama. We stopped at around 8:30am to get gas. We had some cereal in the car. Now Mom is driving. We're all excited. We're only a few hours from Thomaston. I can't wait!

Mom dropped her laptop yesterday so now her CD-ROM won't open. That stinks cause we wanted to watch some DVD's. We also have a TV with a built in VRC but the tape got stuck. Luckily Mom fixed it. Now we are watching Harry Potter.
End Log

Day 5 � Monday, July 4, 2005 � Written by Kelley
2:31pm. We have been on the road for the last few days and were not able to update the site but we are now at our friend�s house and they have the net. On Friday we finally reached Thomaston, Ga at around 2pm. We all called out friends to see if we could meet up somewhere. We went to the local hospital where a friend of ours works, Trish Morway. We visited with her for a little bit then went our separate ways. I met up with Stephen who then took me to see Andrea. Mariah went to her friend Jayne�s house and Zack didn�t see anyone. At around 6pm we all got back together and went to Trish�s house to visit. Her husband was there so we got to visit with him a little. That was fun. I really wanted to see our friend Mr. Ritch but we couldn�t get a hold of him. That stinks but what is worse is that he tried calling us back so we could get together but I didn�t get the message until the next day. Our phones don�t get service in Thomaston so I guess that�s why it didn�t ring. That really irritates me cause we could have seen him if the stupid phones had been working. We also didn�t get to see our other good family friend Cathy Mahan.

After leaving Trish�s house we left Thomaston. We are on a tight schedule. It was late and we hadn�t slept since Wednesday so we stayed with my Aunt who lives a few hours from Thomaston. The next morning Aunt Laralee made us breakfast and we got a surprise visit from another relative. Our Uncle Danny and his daughter Sam were driving through Ga on their way back to Florida when their car broke down. They were close enough to Uncle Allen and Aunt Laralee that they called them up for help. Uncle Allen went and picked them up and we all had breakfast together. It was nice.

We left their house around 10:30am, another late start. Then we went to visit Mom�s dad. He lives only about two hours away. We had lunch with Grandpa Charles and a friend of his. It was nice. I haven�t seen him in years. After that we started out again, headed toward Virginia. We reached Buena Vista, Virginia at around 2am on Saturday. We didn�t get to bed until like 3am. The next morning we had to wake up at 6:30 so we could get ready for church. Shawn was coming at 8:30am to show us the way to church. At church we got to see Savanna Mae (Shawn and Trish�s daughter) get blessed. She is so cute! She was born May 20, 2005 at 5:29pm. She was 9lbs. 2oz. 21.5 inches. She doesn�t even look that big.

On Sunday after church we all went to a park out in the middle of the woods and cooked out. Trish's parents were there too. They came down to see Savanna get blessed. There is a river at the park. We walked down to the river. We've got lots of pictures. It was lots of fun.
End log - 3pm

Day 5 � Monday, July 4, 2005 � Written by Kelley
Midnight. Today was a chill day for us. We were all tired from running around so we slept in. I slept 'til noon. Then we layed around for a bit. Mom and Dad went off to a restruant while the rest of us stayed with Shawn and Trish to watch a movie. Later, around 9:30pm, we all went to some friends of Shawn's and shot off fireworks. It was really cool. Savanna even liked them. She was starring at them and smiling. Tomorrow the whole family is going to go tubing down the river at the park we'd gone to. Shawn and Trish were going to go but they can't find a babysitter for Savanna. Hopefully we can find a babysitter by tomorrow.
End log

Day 8 - Thursday, July 7, 2005 - Written by Kelley
11:40pm. We ended up not going tubing cause it cost way too much. Instead, Shawn and Trish came over and we watched movies and packed to leave. We finally left at around 5pm. We always get late starts. Once we left we headed to Washington D.C. It is way cool here. It took 4 hours to get here, though we got lost so it was another hour before we got to our hotel. Luckily we have OnStar. We called them and they helped us find the hotel. After we got to the hotel on our first night here (in DC) we crashed.

The next day, Wednesday, we went to the Smithsonian. We saw the Museum of Natural History (MY personal favorite), Air and Space Museum, a Ice Age exhibit, T-Rex 3D on IMAX and a space station movie 3D on IMAX. That was fun. Dad was rushing us all so we didn't really get a good look at any one thing. In the Natural History one there was a REAL mummy! It was so cool. It wasn't royal though so there wasn't any gold or anything but it was still awesome. I got several pictures of him. I was dissapointed though that he was still rapped up. I wanted to see his face.

After the museum we went to the Washington Monument. It was closed so we couldn't get up in it but we took pictures. You can see the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflection pool from the Momument but mom and dad didn't want to walk that far. It was getting kind of late and they were tired. Then we went to a ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT seafood restruant called Phillips. It was very good but a little pricey. After that we went back to the hotel and crashed. We didn't want to take the car around town cause parking is real bad so we rode the Metro and a bus. It was cool.

Today we went to the Hallcaust Museum. Again I didn't get to see hardily anything. The tour guy said that it takes a minimum of FOUR hours to go through the entired THREE FLOOR exhibit...we did it in barely under an hour. Needless to say I didn't get to see much. That was pretty dissapointing.

After that we went to the Air and Space Museum again so we could ride the plane simulations. Yesterday we ran out of time and couldn't do it. It was expensize, $6.50, but it was way worth it. The simulation holds two people. One is the pilot and the other the gunner. You can switch any time you want. They strap you into a seat that's inside a box like thing. When they shut the door the only light in there comes from the big screen in front of you. The screen shows the plane's view. When it starts you can make it go any direction you want. It was lots of fun but Mariah isn't a very good pilot. If it was real life we would have died about 15 times! I wasn't that great of a pilot either but I wasn't as bad as her. We took turns being the gunner and the pilot. It was way cool.

Once we were done with the simulations we went to the National Archives. It was raining and we were walking so we had to walk fast. In the Archives is the Constitution and Bill of Rights and Declaration of Indepence. It was cool to see. The Declaration was faded I couldn't even see most of the words. Isn't it amazing what our fore(sp?)-father's did?! It was so cool especially for me since I LOVE history. The only problem was that we couldn't take flash pictures and my camera phone couldn't take good pictures.

After the Archives it was about 8:30pm so we had to start heading back. We took a taxi to the Metro station and rode the Metro back to the other station where the hotel people picked us up.

It's interesting that we were riding the Metro here, in the US, the same day that the Metro in London was being bombed. There were alot more police out today because of what happened in London. It's also interesting to that 35 people got trapted on an elevator in the Washinton Memorial today, at the same time that we would have been on it. By the time we got to the Memorial they didn't have anymore tickets. If we had gotten tickets we may have been on that elevator that got stuck. Interesting to think about huh?
End Log - 12:16am

Day 9 - Friday, July 8, 2005 - Written by Kelley
12:34am Today was our last day in D.C. AGAIN we had a late start, around 11am something. Then we drove to the Metro station where we bought tickets for the metro to the Washington Monument. Once we got there we actually got to go UP into the Monument. We have been trying for the past 3 days to get into that monument. If you want to get in then you need to go at like 8 in the morning cause the tickets go quick. Dad got up and got us all tickets while we were still sleeping.

The Monument is 550 feet tall! 50 feet of it is underground. It was so cool. We could see way far off. That was the only time we got a good luck at the White House. We tryed to drive by it but everything surrounding it was blocked off. :( Zack had the video camera in the monument. That camera has really good zoom. Zack was watching the CIA guys on top of the White House from inside the Washington Monument! It was so cool.

After that, Dad went to pick up the car while the rest of us looked around more. The car was WAAAYYY back there though so he was gone for like 2 hours. We wanted him to stay with us and see more things but he decided to go so we could look around more. Once he left, the rest of us, Zack, Mom, Mariah and me, walked down to the WW2 Memorial. It was so cool. It had a big stone wall that went around a pond. On the wall was pictures carved into the wall and different quotes about the war. The pond had big water foundtains comeing out of it and ducks were swimming around. It was really pretty.

Next was the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial. Next to the Reflecting pool is a walk-way with trees on both sides. We walked on that to the Lincoln Memorial. I got some pictures of Abe and of the Reflecting Pool. I got one really good picture of the Washington Monument. The Monument is in the middle with a water foundtain on it's left and a American flag on it's right. It looks really cool.

We were hungry so after the Lincoln Memorial we got some food and ate it in a park by the Korean Memorial. I bought an Air Force pin for my shirt. It's cool cause it's also a keychain, and it has wings on it. I like it but Dad didn't like it too much. Mom and Dad don't really like it when we (the kids) are into military. They don't want us to go run off and join.

Zack and Mom were tired so only Mariah and I went to the Korean Memorial. It is a wall of black polished stone, granite I think. It has pictures of people that fought in the war ingraved into the stone. The is a garden next to the wall with stone statues of military men, all dressed up in their uniforms. At one end of the wall is a water foundtain. Mariah and I wanted to go to the Vietnam Memorial but Mom said no cause we were in a hurry and she still wanted to see the National Native American Musuem.

We took a taxi to the Indain musuem but as soon as we got there Dad called us and said he was there with the car. That was dissapointing, especially to Mom cause that was what she wanted to see.

Once we met up with Dad again we drove by the White House on our way out of town. Everywhere close to the White House was blocked off so the only thing we got to see was part of the back. That was really dissapointing. How can you come to D.C. and NOT see the White House!? There were also lots more police out. We are guessing that's because of the bombings in London. I think the totally number killed there is in the 40's and over 700 wounded. That's crazy. There were cops with machine guns at several different places. It was really cool and Zack took picutres.

After the White House we left D.C. We went to see some person that's selling a horse. Mom wanted to ride it and see if she wanted it. It was a big horse, like 16 hands or something like that. That's pretty big for a horse, especially of that breed. It is a Rocky Mountain. She decided not to get it. Good thing too. It cost too much. When she was done riding the horse we found some food to eat and found a hotel. Tomorrow we are going to visit Mom's brother and sister who live in this area. I have never met them. Then it's off to NYC.
End Log - 1:11am

Day 11 - Sunday, July 10, 2005 - Written by Kelley
10:55pm On Saturday we made it to Baltimore and ate lunch with Uncle Nick, Uncle Steve and Aunt Donna from Mom's side of the family. That was nice, especailly since I have never met them before. We ate at a really good diner.

After lunch Mom drove us around and showed us her old stomping grounds. She hasn't been here for 15 + years. We were really surprised that some of the building were still standing and still the same business that they were all those years ago. There was alot that changed too and Mom got mad about some of it. She kept saying, "I can't believe they did that! I can't believe they did that!" She drove us out to her old house. The current owners were there and they let us in. Mom showed us her room and told us about some stuff she'd do. It was crazy that the bathroom looked EXACTLY the same as it did when she was living there, complete with black and pink tile. (Yuck! Supposedly that was "the thing" back then.)

When we were done looking at that house she drove us out to her other house, the one they moved to after the first one she showed us. The second house was much bigger and nicer. There was another house near hers that she showed us. It is HUGE! I told her that I am totally going to buy that house when I get older. She said I'd better be rich cause that house would go for a million or more and then a million or more to fix it up. It is a nice old house that no one has been living in for years. It looked like it was made back in plantation times or maybe a little after that.

When we were done drolling over that house we drove to my Aunt T.L.'s house (from my mom's side). The last time I saw her I was in diapers and Mariah wasn't even born. I am now 17 and Mariah is 14...so...yeah...it's been awhile. We got there at 5pm something but didn't leave until after 8pm. We talked for awhile and then Mom, Mariah, T.L., and I looked at lots of T.L's jewelry. She gave lots of jewelry to Mariah and I. Once it started getting late we started looking for hotels but there were about three conventions in town all on that same day! All the hotels were full! Luckily Uncle Steve came to the rescue by inviting us to stay with them. We gladly accepted.

Today morning Aunt Donna made us a real good breakfast. We all got to sleep in and and visit some more. It was nice. We don't live near family so it was nice to get to be with some family, especailly since it's my mom's side. I hardily know anyone from her side but I know almost everyone from my Dad's side. After breakfast we packed up the car. While Dad was getting directions to New York Zack, Mariah and I played disk golf with Uncle Steve. Disk golf is kind of like adding frisbee and a basketball net. You throw the frisbee into a basketball net like thing at different lengths away from the "net". It was fun and we were pretty good for beginers.

After leaving Uncle Steve's we headed to Philadelphia to see Ben Franklin's house, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. By the time we got there the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were closed but we still got to look at all the old houses and walk around Ben Franklin's house, or should I saw what's left of his house.

While we were walking around there was a man dressed in colonial clothing. We stopped and talked to him. It was really cool. He talked in a British accent and acted just like they would have back then. Dad asked if he was George Washington and the man said, "I am two inches shy of him sir but I am from the great state of Virigina." "Thomas Jefferson!" my dad said. "That I am sir." replied the man. Then Dad told him how we are related to Thomas Jefferson. I'm not sure how we are realted though. It's some distant thing like second cousin or great uncle or something. "Thomas Jefferson" then told us some about himself and we took some pictures with him. In one of the pictures Mariah was standing next to him. He held out his hand and told Mariah to lightly lay her hand on told of his. "This," he said, "was the most contact allowed between and man and a woman in public back then." Mariah had to try hard not to laugh. Before leaving us he told us a little something. "In my day the most terrible, loose, floosy thing a man could do was to look at a woman's ankles. It was a terrible thing to look at a woman's ankles. Oh how I wish the only thing I had to worry about now was looking at a woman's ankles!"

That was so funny. After that we drove to New Jersey where we found a hotel.
End Log - 12:10am

Day 13 - Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - Written by Kelley
11:04pm. For the past two days we have been in New York City. On Monday we drove to a park by the Hudson river. We parked the car there and rode a ferry across the river to New York. In New York we walked through Central Park (which is filthy and smells like lots of unflushed toilets), walked around looking for a building we couldn't find, rode the subway, got lost, bought way overly priced ice cream and water, got lost again, took directions from someone and got lost again, found our way and finally made it back to the subway station where we rode it back to the spot where the ferry would pick us up. Then we rode the ferry back over the river, got our car and left. It was a VERY loooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggg day.

Today Zack was so tired that he stayed at the hotel while the rest of us went out. This was the first time the whole trip that we actually got up on time. We were out of the hotel room by 9:30am. Then we went back to the park we were at the day before and parked the car. We caught the next ferry going to Ellis Island. At the island we watched a play about the imigrants that came through Ellis Island. It was pretty good. Then we looked through the gift shop for awhile and headed out to the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue was so cool. We got to go to the top of the pedestal. A park ranger there gave a short tour. Did you know that the guy that designed the Statue of Liberty made the face after his mother and the body after his wife? Did you know what the "skin" of the Statue is only as thick as two pennies?

When we were done with the statue, Dad went and did his own thing while Mom, Mariah and I went shopping on 5th Avenue. We went to several places and didn't buy anything until we got to Old Navy. I bought a few shirts and Mariah bought lots of shirts and several pairs of pants. When we were done shopping we met up with Dad again.

Dad had some excitment while he was gone. He saw a police chase and a hooker tryed to pick him up!! Can you believe that?! I think Dad could tell it better than I could but it's getting late so .... TO BE CONTINUED. End Log - 11:43pm

Day 17 � Monday, July 18, 2005 � Written by Kelley
11:45am. Sorry I haven�t updated in awhile. We�ve been getting in late and not all the hotels we stay at have internet. There�s lots I need to tell ya�ll about and hopefully I will remember.

After we left New York City we headed to Palmyra, NY. Our church does an annual play in Palmyra. After we got our hotel in Palmyra we went around to other historic places. The play didn�t start �til 9pm so we had only a few hours to look. We got to the play at around 7:30pm. Even though it didn�t start for awhile it was already packed. We found some seats and then went and got some food.

MAN! That play was awesome! The stage was up on a hill and it was 14 levels! There was awesome special affects. Things blew up and there were waterfalls and rain and lighting and thunder. It way cool.
I have run out of time again so once again....TO BE CONTINUED
End Log