Now that we have completed our move to Texas and our life is finally starting to settle down (this is the first "normal" weekend we've had since May... ). We would like to turn our travel blog into something that our friends and family can use to periodically check up on us if they want and see some pictures of the things we've been up to. After finally finishing 5 1/2 years of engineering school and something like 7 addresses in 3 states in the last few years we were very glad that NASA covers professional movers to pack and move our junk to the big TX.
We wanted to go see Lynee's sister and her husband in Utah before we moved and swing by Page since it would be the last time we could easily drive to both places in one trip. On the way we stopped by Zion National Park, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Arches National Park. Here are some pictures from that trip:
B1 at Hill AFB Near Salt Lake City
Driving Through Utah
A Pass in Zion National Park
Zion National Park
Zion
Arizona
My Attempted Panorama of Horseshoe Bend near Page
Horseshoe Bend
The Dam at Night or the "White House"
Lynee and Her Mom on Our Way to the Grand Canyon
Pretty Green for the Desert
Cape Royal
Our Friend Dan from Colorado
The North Rim
Angels Window Overlook
Colorado River & end of the Paria River at Lees Ferry
at Sunset
Arches National Park
On the Way Back to CO
"Blazing Furnace"
On the way down to TX we took our time and drove through Kansas and Oklahoma. Not really sure why, but there is a really good aerospace museum in Hutchinson, KS (aka... middle of nowhere). They have the Apollo 13 command module and Liberty Bell 7 (it sank... nearly killing Gus Grissom... when the mercury capsule landed in the ocean after reentry). It has been on the ocean floor since the 60's and was only recently recovered. They also have the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Russia. Here are some pictures:
Liberty Bell 7 - Mercury Capsule
Apollo 13 Command Module
Inside Apollo 13 Command Module - Not Much Room in There
Russian Voskhod Capsule
Sort of like their Gemini program, in between the first Vostok
flights and the soviet lunar program called Soyuz which still flies today
(2 Soyuz are docked to the ISS right now). The weird looking
thing attached to the Voskhod capsule in the picture is actually an
inflatable airlock that was used for the first Space Walk.
After going to the Cosmosphere Museum in Kansas we went to the Oklahoma City Memorial while we were driving through Oklahoma. Both Lynee and I thought it was one of the best memorials we've been to.
The Museum
A building that was next to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
and withstood the blast.
Children's Memorial
Sadly there was a daycare in the building. We were not clear
from the museum, but we didn't think any of them made it out.
The Main Memorial
One of the Gates
There are two gates through which the memorial can be entered. One gate
shows the time before the blast and the second the time after the blast to
represent the instant change to people's lives that occurred before and after.
Reflecting Pool, "9:01 Gate," and Tree
The tree in the left-background is actually something like 100 years
old and survived the blast and building collapse, it was near the building.
"Victim Chairs"
There is 1 chair for every victim. There are smaller chairs for each of the children.
Remnants of the Building
Inscription on "Outside" of Gate
Following the move to Texas we meet up with two of our friends that flew down to go on a cruise with us out of Galveston. We are really excited about having a cruise port only half an hour from our house. We felt a little gluttonous about going on yet another trip after everything we've done this summer, but most the traveling we have done, though it has been amazing, has been far from relaxing. We went on the cruise to Montego Bay Jamaica, then on to Georgetown, Grand Cayman where I tried SCUBA diving for the first time and then finished up in Cozumel, Mexico.
Beach in Jamaica
On a Catamaran in Jamaica
On Catamaran in Jamaica
Diving in Grand Cayman
The Guide
The Jungle in Cozumel, Mexico
Driving Through the Jungle in Cozumel
In an Old Mayan Cave
We certainly have had an eventful summer, I think when the dust settled we have been in 10 countries and around 9 states since May. We are really grateful that we were able to do so many things before we settle down into our more "professional" lives. Since the cruise I have started work and am getting used to doing a work week since I haven't worked in over year while I finished my degree. My job is going well, I will be training for at least a year... more like 2 years, with a lot of training even after I start becoming useful and do some real work. Lynee has just started her job search and we are excited to see what kind of opportunities await her. We are enjoying a slower pace and are still tying up the loose ends from 6 years of college and so much traveling. Thank you for all of our friends and family who have supported us through school and prayed for us while we were traveling. We miss everyone and wish we could see everyone more often.
