Jesse James and the Pony Express

The next few posts will include our family's road trip across country.

 We made our move from coast to coast!

So on our roadtrip towards Georgia we saw on our way we could make a small detour and see Jesse James museum and the home he was shot and killed at.  It was my job to find the address while Richard drove.  I'll have you know I took us right to the place.  The only bad thing is I didn't check the dates and time it was open. DOH!  Lucky for us, however, the Pony Express museum was right next door. Also known as Patee House museum.  Score!!!  This was a way cool museum. We were there for over 3 hours.

So how long did the Pony Express last? Who was the youngest rider? Where did it start and where did it end? How many horses did they use? How long did each rider ride and where did they rest? What about the weather, Indians and robbers? How much did it cost?  Who was John Patee?  etc, etc,etc.  


Those are some really great questions and questions we found answers to at the museum.  Bummer I don't remember most of those answers without googling them.  Oh well, enjoy our pictures we got.... :)

Toy Store Exhibit.  The button on the banister turned the merry go round you can see on display.

Louis' first merry go round thrill!  

The museum had some fun posters and exhibits for kids.  

I didn't take this last picture but the huge ball of string was cool. 

 Also pictured is this carriage hearse on display.

Meet me in St. Louis

I've been to the St. Louis Arch before but it was 15 years ago.  We stopped in St. Louis because I knew Richard and the kids would love it.  Here are our pics. 

Who knew Savannah was strong enough to hold the arch up with her two hands!

We took a boat tour ride on the river. 

It was hot, we were hungry, and Louis was fussy. 

But here are our pics anyhow:

Walking towards the boat.

 Passing the arch floating down the Mississippi River.

Right below and inside the arch is a huge museum.  Here is a picture I took in there with Richard and Louis

I was there with the family; just did't make it in any of the pictures.

Thank you for a lovely pit-stop St.Louis.... Until we meet again!

Ruby Falls Chatanooga, TN

If you ever happen to be passing through Chatanooga, TN then Ruby Falls is a must.  Unless taking an elevator more than 1100 straight into a mountain sounds a little unsettling.  Ruby falls is a 145 foot waterfall  that is completely breathtaking to see. But like I said you walk into a glass elevator and see the rock you pass as you go straight down inside the middle of Lookout Mountain. 

We had no idea what we were about to do before we got on the elevator.  A local just told us it was a must see and so with no questions asked we did it.   After we got to the bottom and the tour guide told us how far we had gone down I almost had a panic attack. Lol.  After  you get off the elevator there is about a half mile walk to the waterfall.  It was such a cool tour with awesome cave formations to view along the way. 

You can see Savannah looking over to me at the top of the lookout in the first picture.

Inside the cave

 Making our way through the cave towards Ruby Falls

The cool formations have been named if they look like an obect.. for instance this looks like the hind end of a donkey.  (glad they named it donkey)  hahaha.

The opening to the waterfall

The Waterfall

Here is video of the waterfall. They have wired it down there so there is a light and music show.

It was so incredibly "Grand"

Nashville, TN was a must! I told Richard I wanted to spend at least 3 days in Nashville.  My idea of stopping at The Grand Ole Opry was a fantastic one.  :)  Enjoy pics where country music got it's start. 

Looking out from the stage.

Girls giving their acceptance speech! 

That night Casey James, our favorite American Idol contestant from season 9, was performing at the Grand Ole Opry. Savannah and I secretly really wanted to see him perform but figured we wouldn't be able to get tickets last minute.  And really, Richard wouldn't want to see me drooling over him. You might recognize him from this picture...

But we got something totally bigger that we weren't expecting.  Later on that night at dinner a mile from the Opry, Savannah spots a familiar face eating at the bar...  

 Complete with autograph and picture. Richard took her to meet him and he was really nice.  Totally made our trip to Nashville.