California
In 2016 we visited our friend in San Jose, California. While we were there, we spent 24 hours in San Francisco and stayed at a hotel near the Union Square. It was there we located one of the first Hearts of San Francisco. This was the heart for me because I left a piece of my heart there. My mother was born in San Jose, I had a grandfather who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge, and another who helped create the trails in Muir Woods. I often wonder how life would have been different if the family would have stayed there.
Date of Statehood: September 9, 1950
Capital: Sacramento
Size: 163,696 square miles
Number of Counties: 58
Nickname(s): The Golden State
Motto: Eureka
Tree: California Redwood
Flower: California Poppy
Bird: California Quail
Our Blog Posts About California
Chasing Arkansas Waterfalls – Fall 2018
One of the places we love to visit in Arkansas is the Ouachita National Forest where you will find the Ouachita Mountains. Granted these are not the type of mountains you find in the Rocky Mountain, Great Pyrenees, or the Andies, but they are mountains to us and one of our favorite places. We have often found ourselves thinking about living within the area, but there is still so much more to visit so we must not stop here! On this trip, we decided to specifically find as many waterfalls as we...
Our New Travel Mate. He’s Such a Trip!
A year ago this past April, we had to have our sweet, hammock-loving Chihuahua Cordie put to sleep. She had a very bad stroke and she wasn't dealing with life well. It broke our hearts and traveling just wasn't quite the same. Our sweet girl was definitely a traveler and she has been missed greatly.Cordie was an extremely good travler and she was always ready to "go". There are so many times she would stalk the car and try to jump in. When we did get her into the car, she would get right...
We Have a STATEment To Make
One of the things we love to collect are counties of the United States. Because counties are within the states, we are able to count off those states as well. It is very much a win-win for us. So far at this point we have visited 44% of the states (22 out of 50). The states we have visited are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisanna, Mississippi, Missouri, Montona, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,...
Waco Mammoth National Monument 2016
Scott and I visited the Waco Mammoth National Monument in 2016. We absolutely loved visiting this site because of the fossils. Those of you who have been following us for a while know how excited I tend to get when I find fossils. There is something about seeing where places were during pre-history. It has helped me be able to see how real science really is.We decided to do a video about our trip. If you haven't already watched it, please feel free to take a few moments and see what a great...
We Drive
Scott and I drive a lot when we do our travels. There are 3,144 counties in the United States and we intend to pass through each of them; driving tends to be the way we are best able to do this. It enables us to stop and visit a town, getting to experience the people, their foods, and their culture. This is a bit slower than flight, but we both feel the hours getting to a destination is well worth it when we see the colored in space on the maps. When we decide to go on what we call "Collecting...
It Once Was A National Park, But No More
Have you ever wondered if there was a National Park in your state? We sure did and we found that Oklahoma had a National Park at once time, but now it is only a National Recreation area.
Staying Flexible
Being flexible when you travel can help your adventure be more fulfilling. Here we look at how one of our trips were made better because we took the road less traveled.
Let’s Go Grab Some Counties
Psychoanalyst Werner Muensterberger states in his book Collecting: An Unruly Passion that collecting was "selecting, gathering and keeping of objects of subjective value." While Carl Jung believed collecting stemmed from a collective unconscious of "nuts and berry" behavior inherited from our ancestors. This activity of our prehistoric ancestors literally saved their lives and it is now found to be a comfortable behavior to each and every one of us today. Scott and I are definitely collectors....
Moving Home For A Good Cause – UPDATE
The Art Auction Fundraiser went really well. We raised over $2,000 to help us get the items we need to fix up the RV and to get the tags and title.
Moving Home For a Good Cause
auction for us to help us finish the motorhome. There have been many pieces of artwork (painting, embroidery, photography, and more) donated by artist friends who are extremely talented. Please join us July 2-16 (central time) and help us by bidding on some art for yourself.
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All images on this page has been taken by Scott and Ren, unless otherwise cited.
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