The little "Quaint" town of Drayton in Rural North Dakota The lake cabin I knew would be the last time I would see all my friends together for a year. I had to say goodbye to Nate for a year since he had to go back to Ohio. I knew that everyone in the cities I would see at least once more before I left. Seeing my friends Steve and Julie meant a trip to rural North Dakota. Steve and Julie were in the cities for a wedding and they said they would take me with them back to Drayton. To [View Full Entry]

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We left Hot Springs and drove all day through forests, farmland and swamps and finally arrived in New Orleans at midnight. The next day we walked around the French Quarter, sampling the local food and drinks. In the evening we ate fried alligator and went to the Spotted Cat to hear some great live music. The next morning we woke to the smell of 400,000 gallons of oil in the Mississippi river. Our room was about 100 yards from the river and we felt woozy all day. The river is now closed from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico and [View Full Entry]

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Salinas, CA is on the major rodeo circuit. Every July, the professional cowboys come to town. We've been to this several times. The cowboys do wonders on the bulls and horses. This sort of sport is not for weaklings. Also, they allow some of the younger cowboys to get involved. In one of the photos, they're trying to catch some sheep, not so easy to do. Outside, there is food galore. Lots of BBQ's, the typical Mexican food, and a variety of other foods. Also, you will find plenty of stalls selling all sorts of cowboy merchandise, leather goods, cowboy hats, [View Full Entry]

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Okay, Okay...I get it............ya'll want me to start packing! Soon.........I PROMISE! *smile* I at least cleaned out the Van today so I can put the stuff in it, when I FINALLY pack! I want some kind of "Kudos" for that! So let's all get in agreement that I have "attempted" to kinda, somewhat, half-ass, Pack! Gotta run.......2 days left till we leave! Still got plenty of time left...think I might go to a movie tonight! Love to all..........dd [View Full Entry]

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So, here we are...it is our second day in Canon City and we have no idea upon waking what is happening with the RV so we waited with baited breathe to find out whether or not we would be able to make it to Arches National Park. Our experience in the "waiting" area at the RV shop was similar to the way I feel when I am at the doctors office...stressed out. What will the diagnosis be? When will it be fixed? The reality: the fuel pump did not arrive until 10 am some new issues were discovered which meant we [View Full Entry]

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It has been crazy trying to plan everything to make my study abroad possible. I am so stressed trying to plan and coordinate everything. Of course, to make things more difficult, everything always has to happen in a certain order. For right now I am still home in Iowa, but will be leaving in a few short weeks to study in Perugia, Italy at the Umbra Institute. [View Full Entry]

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Hi there, I've had a request for photos of the RV we used in Canada, so I'm doing a separate entry just for the RV. As you can see, at 32 feet, it is really quite spacious, though the size meant that we had to be very mindful of where we could park. I've even included a photo of the bathroom. This is especially for Carole who related a story of travelling through New Zealand in a smaller RV and accidently knocking the shower tap whilst going to the toilet and having an impromptu shower! As you can see Carole, this [View Full Entry]

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Tiden går fort når man... jobber?? :P Har vært utrolig trøtt i det siste og det kan være mange årsaker til det, men en av dem er kanskje fordi det har blitt en del jobbing og lite søvn.. anyways, har også fått en liten forfremmelse i restauranten, som jeg liker å kalle det;) Jeg skrev jo om de forskjellige oppgavene som finnes i restauranten og som jeg har fått opplæring i, noe som alle i food and beverage får opplæring i. For i tillegg til å greete gjester, seate dem og busse bord er det noe som heter assignor. Assignoren går [View Full Entry]

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Well, it seems we have flown ourselves into some major thunderstorm activity. Our flight left on time and arrived in Nashville for a "20 minute" stop, which turned into three hours of sitting on the plane waiting for the weather to get better in Baltimore. We didn't mind staying on the plane, though, since there were only about 15 people and we could stretch out. The terminal was apparently jam-packed and the people who finally boarded the plane did not look too happy. We arrived in Baltimore after midnight and by the time we made it to the hotel all the [View Full Entry]

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Hollywood and Universal Studios Probably the quickest checkout so far today - we were packed and ready to roll before the kids had much of a chance to wake up (the best way, as it turns out). We all piled into Igor The Boat and set Twiki to direct us to Universal Studios. By more coincidence than harmony between man and machine, we arrived at Universal Studios around midday without any incident, bar encountering a *very* helpful English woman who felt she needed to impart everything she knew about the States to us on a garage forecourt. That said though, she [View Full Entry]

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