Here, There & Everywhere Trip

On Tuesday August 5, 2008, Louis & I took Amtrak to Denver for my Brother Joe & his fiancee Bree's wedding to be held on August 9, 2008. The train from Penn Station took off on time but once we got to Albany, then things changed. The train waited for a bus full of passengers for three hours which meant we would be three hours late getting to St. Louis. Since we were three hours late to St. Louis we didn't get the layover that was planned in St. Louis. Instead, we were automatically put on board the train to Denver.

We finally arrived in Denver on Thursday August 7, 2008. My Mom picked us up. She took us to her new house to drop our stuff off. Her new house is really cute & looks like a dollhouse. I took pictures. Her dog, Vader was really excited to see us & wanted plenty of attention. At around 2:15 p.m. we went to a place called The Plainsman to eat. My Dad met us there on his lunch break because he only works next door at Ace Hardware. After we ate, my Mom had to get a few items at Ace & we even bought some things. After shopping we went back to Mom's house. We watched the news & I dozed off on her cozy couch. When I woke up we went to Village Inn to meet Joe, Bree, my 1 year old Niece Kyrie & my new 3 month old Nephew, Gabriel. Gabe was sleeping the whole time & he looked really cute in his outfit. I gave a lot of attention to Kyrie. She doesn't walk yet unless you hold on to her hand. After visiting with them, we all parted ways.

On Friday August 8, 2008, my Grandparent's were coming in from Raton, NM but went to Joe's house first so they could meet Gabriel. They also didn't know how to get to my Mom's house. While my Mom went to get my Grandparent's, we hung out with my best friend, Wendi since sixth grade. We sat & talked with her awhile & then we went to Gunther Toody's to eat. It's one of my favorite restaurants since I was a teen. Each of us had a soda but our waiter put on the receipt, three waters. All of our drinks were free. After eating, Wendi dropped us off at my Mom's. My Grandpa opened the door. My Grandma was taking a nap because she wasn't feeling well. My Mom was helping Bree do something but she didn't take long. Vader sensed she was coming home, three minutes before she pulled up to the house. Turned out she went to the store for more soda. Later on, my Dad came by to drop off a cot for one of us to sleep on which turned out to be me. He also brought his dog, Anina over because I wanted to see her. She wasn't too sure of me but after awhile she was fine. It started to pour outside big time. My Dad & Anina had to get home.

On Saturday August 9th, 2008 was the wedding day & Wendi's birthday. We went to Village Inn for breakfast. Joe & Bree had hair appointments to go to so they dropped off Kyrie & Gabe. I taught Kyrie how to give a high five & she picked it up right away. I got to play with the babies for awhile. My Mom, Dad & the babies were part of the wedding. My Mom had to give the babies a bath & then my Mom needed to shower. When it was time for me to get ready, I told my Mom that she needed to hurry because she was late. She gave me an I know look & she said she knew. We all left together. The wedding was in a cute little chapel on the cemetery grounds. I took video of the wedding & I was really happy when we got the opportunity to take pictures outside the chapel afterwards. I finally got to meet my cousin, Tim's wife, Leilani. Louis finally got to meet Tim. I took pictures of everyone. The highlight was Kyrie taking her first tiny step in front of me, My Mom & Joe. She wouldn't do it again after that but I'm glad I got to witness something like that. Wendi wasn't at the wedding because her parents threw a small party for her birthday. After chatting & blowing bubbles instead of rice, we were on our way to the reception. The reception was held at Bono's BBQ instead of Joe & Bree's backyard because of wasps. I thought the food was delicious. So was the cake. Wendi came to the reception which was nice. Bree's Grandparents paid for a hotel stay for one night so we got to take Gabriel home. I was excited about this because I wanted to get to know my new nephew. Vader even got jealous of me paying any attention to Gabriel & not him. Silly dog.

On Sunday August 10, 2008, was our last day in Denver. We had breakfast at Mom's. We also did our laundry & I took a look at one of my boxes. I found some paper to write stories on. At Noonish, Joe & Bree came to pick up Gabriel. I gave Bree the gifts for the kids & a birthday card for her since it was her birthday. At 3:00 p.m. we met my other best friend, Kim & her 4 year old son Connor at Sonic. I love their tator tots but since I forgot to ask for them, I got fries instead. After meeting with Kim, we went back to Mom's. I said goodbye to my Grandparents since they were going to my Aunt's house for dinner. I also said goodbye to Vader & we loaded the car. We picked up my Dad at his house since he wanted to see me off too. When we got to Union Station, Louis checked in. Someone took our tickets & told us to sit in the handicapped section on the bench. When the train came, they loaded everyone on the train but us & 1 other guy. Louis went over to the check in area & asked about our transfer. The guy said they had to drop nine people off. I didn't even see the guy come in for anyone. My Mom told Louis to calm down & that made Louis even angrier. Not a good idea to tell a person to calm down in an angry state of mind. The guy finally came to get us & the other guy. On the way out they said if we didn't speak up then they would have forgotten us & we would not have been on the train. Louis & I were the last two to board.

On Monday August 11, 2008 we were still on the train & this lady comes to wake me up. She's one of the passengers & she is complaining that I'm making too much noise. I told her that if she doesn't like it then go to another car. It's a good thing I'm not on oxygen because those make louder noises. Our train was really late getting into Chicago. We had to stay in Chicago overnight & Amtrak paid for our hotel stay.

On Tuesday August 12, 2008 we got up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready. We had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. After breakfast, we caught a cab to Chicago Union Station for our 7:00 a.m. train. We waited in the station & then we boarded our train for St. Louis. We got to St. Louis & Burke picked us up at the station. He took us to his house to drop off our stuff, then we went to his Mom's house to visit with her. We haven't seen Alice in a long time. She went with us to eat at a place called Uncle Bill's Pancake House & Restaurant. All of us have never been to this place & it was good. After we ate we went to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I had a root beer float. It was delicious. We dropped Alice off at her house. After we got home, Burke's wife, Beth came home from a meeting. I'm glad we got to see her. We all went to bed early.

On Wednesday August 13, 2008 we woke up at 6:30 a.m. & got ready to go to Memphis. We had breakfast at Hardee's. I haven't had Hardee's in ages. It was OK. We stopped in Metropolis, Illinois & visited the Superman Museum. It was cute but I wish they had more Smallville stuff. After the Museum we were on our way to eat. We drove through Kentucky which is a state I can cross off my list now. We ate at a place called Lambert's. It's a place known for throwing dinner rolls. Really good ones too. The food was delicious. We went through Arkansas & then we were in Tennessee. The first stop we made was Sun Studio where Elvis Presley & all of those other legends go their start. Sam Phillips was the owner of Sun Studio. It was an interesting tour. Our tour guide, David Brookings, looked like Jim Sturgess He was a good guide. After the tour we drove by Beale Street. I wasn't too impressed. We went to Comfort Inn & stayed for the rest of the night.

On Thursday August 14, 2008, Louis & I had a very small Continental breakfast. I was disappointed. After breakfast we went back to our room & watched TV for awhile. We were on our way to Graceland. We took a tour of Elvis Presley's Mansion, his trophy room, raquetball room, his meditation garden where his gravestone is, his jumpsuits, his cars & his two jets. My favorite part of the tour was his house & his Lisa Marie jet. I took lots of pictures. In some parts of the house you could actually feel his presence. After Graceland, we had a little bite to eat at Checker's Burger Stand. After we ate we went to the Rock & Soul Museum. That was very interesting. It goes to show how music got it's start & where it is today. After that we went to eat at a place called Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ. We didn't eat much but they did give you plenty to eat. After eating we headed back to St. Louis. When we got to Burke's house, we visited with Beth for awhile. After they went to bed, we got on the computer to check our email & then we went to bed.

On Friday August 15, 2008 was leaving day. On the way out I spotted a Coyote. Burke was impressed because he said its a rare thing to see them around. Burke took us to Fuddrucker's & then Ted Drewes Frozen Custard again. He then took us to the train station. We were hoping our train would be late to Chicago so we could spend a day there, but that didn't happen. I was a little disappointed but at the same time I was happy to be home in our own bed.

On Saturday August 16, 2008 was the 31st Anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. It was interesting to pay my respects to him a few days before. After doing something like that, I do agree when people say he is still alive.