Stopped at the Alhambra. They had sold all the tickets but we were able to peruse the grounds. Pretty and great spot to photograph. We stopped at a viewing point where a little dog lead us to the top. Think he was waiting for a tip. He definitely was a tour guide. We got some beautiful views of Granada. All the shops were closed due to it being a Sunday so I definitely saved some money.
Got a rental. It was a Lynk & co SUV. Patrick immediately impressed. Man at the hotel said “Bonita”. He liked it.
Driving straight to Andorra as Patrick had his eye on checking off another country. We stayed at Roc Blanc. A beautiful hotel in Andorra De Valle between many different ski resorts. Awesome bath tub and they had a pool with thermal water that we didn’t make it into but definitely would next time
Patrick was a bit surprised I lost my cool driving. The in town driving was very confusing. Might have gone through a red light and had a near miss with the pedestrians and pissed off a truck driver. Went through a ton of cool mountain tunnels. Figuring the speed in the car was also challenging but the amount of round abouts definitely challenged my patience.
Day 2. Three countries in one day. A drive through France. Stopping of course for some French fries.
A beautiful drive through the Pyrenees mountains. Passing lots of old castles and mountains and snow.
Patrick’s goal was three countries in a day so yes… we had French fries in France after leaving Andorra and then straight on to Barcelona. I would say we more than checked the box!
Starting Wednesday became my few days of rest. Spent the afternoon with the kids. Went in the lazy river and then watched a thunderstorm come in.
Thursday we picked up the Jeep rental through a company called NU. Couldn’t leave the state but we weren’t planning on it. Started our day at the zoo visiting my spirit animal the Aye Aye. A lemur with a really long middle finger. Then a stop for a go kart ride. Finally arriving in Estes park at the advice of Kristin and Greg. Rocky Mountain National park was amazing. The views stunning and so fun to see the animals at the side of the road.
Stayed the night at Saddle and Surrey an adorable motel with so much space and a. Full fridge. While dates it was clean and totally a throwback to good ole kitchy America. A great choice
Winding down the trip we went shopping in the adorable town of Estes. Kate got a beautiful cow backpack for school.
Other things we did
Air Force Academy free planetarium show was well worth the trip. Learned so much about astronauts. They had a nice visitors center. Being a cadet certainly seems like hard work.
Manitou Springs had some Pueblo homes. We drove by but didn’t stop since the thunderstorms were lingering near by and a zip line didn’t seem like a great idea.
Garden of the Gods surprised John he expected small rocks when in fact they are huge formations
Pikes Peak - a nice drive to the top of Pikes peak. 
Patrick got whiffed by lightning he and Kate both heard static when the clouds rolled in. No strike but he certainly felt the residue. His hair stood up for a bit of time afterwards.
a stop at Top Golf to play angry birds was a fun way to end the day and sit out some rain. A rainbow reminded us we made a good decision.
We snuck in a visit to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal animal sanctuary at sunset ended our time in Colorado. Bison coming right up to the car and deer everywhere. Didn’t get to see the prairie dogs as they must go to bed early. But overall a good trip.
UTD is such a Cute campus and she has a great bunch of roommates. Went to El Fenix in Dallas for dinner and had such a nice time getting to know her friends.
Then stayed at the Dallas airport. Patrick got up early because it was his dream hotel and he wanted to see the sunset. He could watch the runway from his bed.
On our way to finish the states we stopped for some Texas Kitsch at the Eiffel Tower in Paris Texas.
8/15
Returned to Texas. Vote was to make sure we made it to Austin.
Nora wanted Voo Doo Donuts. Patrick wanted to see it and Kate was inquiring. We made the four hour trip from Shreveport to Austin. Got a view of the bats at the bridge. Then dinner at Eureka and of course the Voodoo donuts. Walking down 6th street felt more but an street than texas. Quite diverse. From bachelorette parties to homeless people. People celebrating pride and a wide range of ages and cultures. Lots of live music and activities.
8/16. Spent some time at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Fun things we did: Horse Barrel Racing, petting zoo, Nora and Jen rode a mechanical Bull, Kate bought a huge belt buckle and a cowboy hat
8/17
the trip home... as always an adventure in itself.
8/13/2021
Despite Covid and all of our obstacles this last year we made it. We hit 50 states before hitting 50.
A huge accomplishment and it feels amazing to have completed something so big. Who would have known that an airline going out of business would be such an inspiration.
We went to dinner at Gibbons fine dining in Shreveport and it was an excellent deal. Good food and everyone got what they wanted. Then stopped at the horseshoe casino. John and I dropped some cash. Not much. And it was only me that lost and then wanted to spend his winnings. Going to the exotic zoo in the morning then back to texas.
8/14. Up in the morning and went to Gators and Friends outside Shreveport. We got there just in time for the feeding of the gators. We got feed and went through the petting area. They had kangaroos to feed as well as a zedonk. (Looked like a zebra but part donkey). There were miniature horses and Kates favorite a Highlander cow. A couple of gokart rides and Then back to Texas.
