Woke up to a really cold morning with temp at minus 3 degrees. In the morning we headed away from Memphis and headed for Nashville the home of country music. The drive took around 3.5 hours and we arrived around 1.30PM. The drive was different than what we had experienced so far with a few more hills and lots of trees / forests around although most had no leaves as we are in middle of winter. Very clear sunny day but still very cool. State Troopers everywhere on the drive to Nashville ( I reckon we must have passed at least 20 on the drive with half of them booking someone and the others trying to catch someone speeding. They should all be back in Memphis ! Had lunch at a diner next to out Hotel ... read more

Well the day did not start well. Our 1 bedroom was 2 x Queens and young Luke had his worst snoring session yet which meant we had a sleepness night. Anyway got up at the sound of ringing cell phones in stereo at 7.30AM as we had aimed for a departure around 9.00AM. Went to breakfast at the dining room, and we were the only people around. Just had a small serve of scrambled eggs on toast with the one piece of bacon and some OJ. We packed the Buick Enclave and were on our way around 9.15AM so not too bad. It was quite cool around 10 degrees and we decided we would check out the downtown Jackson MS area since it was the State Capital. The storm from last night had passed by and ... read more

Up late as it was a restless night with everyone changing beds (except me). I woke first at 8.30AM and got everything charged up again (camera’s, batteries, IPOD’s etc) and updated my diary entries. Nearly 11AM now and still no sign of Luke. Looks like everyone has hit the wall, so we will start today a bit later than normal. We finally got moving and decided to walk down to the French Markets along Decatur Street. Had breakfast at some restaurant nearby Jax Brewery at midday which is just alongside the Mississippi River in the French Quarter. Weather is warmer today at around 23 degrees and a bit of a breeze as well. T-Shirts and jeans are the go today. For breakfast the Luke & Elise had pancakes and Kerry & I had eggs on toast. ... read more

Up early at 7.30am as we had to be ready for our pick up at 9.00AM from Bell-Trans to take us to Las Vegas Airport as we are on our way to the Big Easy (aka New Orleans). Price was pretty reasonable at $6.50 per person. At the Airport we used the valet drop off for bags at the roadside and gave Mike a tip of $20.00 for the convenience, straight then to security and that was pretty easy and quick (Kerry & Luke had to through the new body screening machines). We had some breakfast from Popeyes. We had some biscuits which came with with either Cheese or Egg (biscuits are like what we call scones). I then called the Hotel in New Orleans to confirm from our new cell phone and also clarified best ... read more

The day started with good news. Luke’s nosebleeding is finally over. In the morning we drove to the Las Vegas Outlet Centre (my 3rd visit in 3 days). We were on a serious shopping mission today. Kerry bought a nice warm winter jacket reduced from $100-00 to $30-00 and she also bought 2 necklaces and some earrings. Elise bought a Guess handbag for $35.00 and also some trackpants and a sloppy joe. Luke bought some cool Nike shoes with a hint of green, and I picked up a different pair and we only paid $50-00 each. Both Luke and I got 2 T-shirts from Nike ($40-00 in total). Luke got 3 T-Shirts from Billabong for $30-00. Time went fast and we needed to get over to Mandalay Bay to get the tickets for the Lion King ... read more