By Rachel - 5/12/09

We didn't do much today - mostly driving until we got to the final hotel around 2:30. Until we got unpacked and settled in, it was about 3:15. I went swimming for a little while, but soon we had to get ready for dinner at Boston Cooker. When we got back to Treasure Island (which is where the hotel is), we had to leave immediately to get to the beach so mom could take pictures of the sunset. We then went across the street for ice cream. After we got back to the hotel, I went swimming again.

By Rachel - 5/11/09

Arriving at St. Joseph Point Lighthouse was our first stop of the day while on our way to Tallahassee. When we got there, we discovered they were reconstructing it so they put the lantern room on a steel structure.

Our next stop was at Cape St. George Lighthouse. It was actually a $575,000 replica of the original which collapsed at 11:45 on Oct. 21, 2005. On March 21, 2008, the replica was completed. All the bricks from the collapsed lighthouse were used to reconstruct the new one. The heart pine stairs were the nicest lighthouse stairs I have climbed. With only 92 stairs and 62 feet up, it is probably the shortest one I have climbed. Instead of walking on the deck, you got to stay in the lantern room which had no lantern.

The last stop before we went to Tallahassee was at St. Marks Lighthouse. we didn't get to climb it or go on the keeper's quarters, so mom just got to take pictures.

After our 45 min. drive from St. Marks Lighthouse to Tallahassee, we drove to Publix to get some food. When we finished eating at the hotel, Mom took me swimming.

By Rachel - 5/10/09

Instead of going to a gospel/bluegrass festival as we had planned, we decided to go on an Island Time Tour. We went snorkeling near Shell Island and then went out into the Gulf of Mexico to look for dolphins and swim with them but none came close enough. When we got back on land, we went to Winn Dixie to get supper and then back to the hotel to get showers. After we got cleaned up and ate, we went to Coconut Creek Mini-golf. There they had giraffes, alligators, elephants, lions, and gorillas. (all statues...but no zebras which made Stripes very sad!) :o( When we got done there, we went to Sunsation and Alvin's Island. They were both huge gift shops. We soon got back to the hotel to watch the final innings of Boston beating the Tampa Bay Rays.

By Rachel - 5/9/09

Again this morning we went back to Pensacola Lighthouse. Unlike yesterday, we got to go in and climb the lighthouse. It had 171 steps one way! It only took me about two minutes to walk up, but on the way down, it took longer. The reason it took longer is because just before you got down all the way, there was a side door to see the keeper's "office". The walls at the bottom were 10 feet thick. There was a small gift shop, but it didn't have much so the lady sent us across the street to the National Museum of Naval Aviation. There we found a gift shop as big or bigger than my house! Thee were three old "Blue Angels" which you could climb in! In the biggest one where the bomb would shoot out, you could climb in (if you were small enough). :o) When we finished there, we drove to Panama City.

By Rachel - 5/8/09

Today we drove down to Pensacola, FL. After going to Publix and checking into the hotel, we went to the Pensacola Naval Airforce Base to see the Pensacola Lighthouse. We didn't get to go up into it, but tomorrow before we head onto Panama City, we are going back to do the tour of it. Once we were done there, we went to Pensacola Beach where we looked around in a few gift shops. The one simply called Beach Shop had a sand covered floor to represent the feeling of being on the beach. Following that, we stopped at a small florist to look at flags and windsocks and then went back to the hotel to have our supper which we had bought at Publix.

After eating supper, we went back to the Pensacola Lighthouse for some pictures. Since we were a little early, we walked a short distance to the beach. Oddly angled, there was a small area where the water up. While waiting for my mom to finish taking pictures, I would get as close tot he water as possible. When the water went out and came back in, I would try to beat it from getting my shoes wet. Once we were done at the beach, we went back to the hotel. While getting out of the car, Grandpa & I decided we would go find a gas station and get ice cream. After walking probably a half mile, we returned to the hotel and went to sleep.

New Adventure

Yesterday, we began our first traveling adventure for 2009. Actually, we did make a trip to PA in April to visit family & friends AND SEE MY NEW BABY NEPHEW and my cousin's new baby boy too, but this is our first exploration for this year. We are not in the motorhome this time, but are taking a few days to travel around the panhandle of FL, and then into the Orlando area. Brian & Amanda will join Rach, G'pa Jack and me when we get to Kissimmee. Two years ago, we did travel around the perimeter of FL including all of the east coast, and then up the gulf coast as far as St. Petersburg. This time we started in Pensacola, will move onto Panama City, into Tallahassee, then down to Treasure Island near St.Pete/Clearwater. Most of this journey is to mark off some more lighthouses from my list. Yesterday, we saw onto the Pensacola Naval Airforce Base to see the Pensacola Lighthouse - twice, actually. We went during the day, and then went back just before dark to watch the light come on. How beautiful! We also did a little sightseeing in the area of Pensacola Beach. Today, we're going go back to the lighthouse to do the tour & see the museum & gift shop, and then moving onto Panama City. I'll continue to add the lighthouses to the lighthouse gallery on the left. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

By Tracy - 8/10/08

Well, another Elphick Expedition has come to an end. We returned home yesterday (8/9) from our most recent trip. Though the trip was wonderful, it's good to see Brian, good to be home, and good to visit with our friends today at church. We have some missed hugs to make up for (right, Papa?) We also look forward to seeing some of our Family TOUCH "family" in the coming days.

I'd say my favorite stop on this trip was Branson. Could have spent more time there. Did extend the stay by one day and shortened our time in Memphis. Wish we could have done more exploring around TX, but fuel costs kept G'pa from wanting to go south along the Gulf coast or inland to San Antonio. We also did not do a day trip to Biloxi, MS as orig. planned because so much there has not reopened since the Hurricane. So...I didn't add any lighthouses to my list this year. There would have been one in south Texas and also in Biloxi. I really enjoyed our time in New Orleans. It was very eye-opening to see the area first-hand. Seeing the devastation in that area was very impacting. Last year, we toured New York City and saw Ground Zero. Honestly though...and I'm not down-playing the loss of lives in the 9/11 attacks, but for some reason, seeing the area of New Orleans hit me harder. Maybe because it was spread over such a broader area, and the reality that there are still folks displaced or living in extremely poor conditions since the flood...three years after the hurricane. Many are still living in travel trailers in their front yards, and nothing has been done to their homes. It was so sad.

Enjoyed exploring all the new areas and sampling the local foods. Really enjoyed the crawfish and the Po-Boys in New Orleans, and the Beef Brisket in Ft. Worth was fantastic. Could have eaten out every night for several weeks in Branson and not tried everything, but we only had breakfast out one time & dinner one evening. There were several seafood buffets I could have checked out...but honestly, there is no seafood like in the Chesapeake Bay area....not even New England! So I probably would have been disappointed in the buffets and will just have to make my own seafood now that I'm home.

We have now been in every state but Vermont in the continental US. Pretty phenomenal considering this is only our fourth summer (5th "big trip") to travel with G'pa in the motorhome. Usually by the time we return from one excursion, I have tour books in-hand to begin planning our next adventure. This time, however, I'm not sure where we'll be going next time we venture out. We'll probably begin revisiting some states that we didn't have enough opportunity to explore, but our next destination remains unknown. However, wherever the road takes us, we hope you'll join us on the journey!

By Rachel - 8/10/08

We have been back home for a day now. “Pro’lly” my favorite thing on the trip was Silver Dollar City. My second favorite was Memphis, and my third favorite was the Lake View Campground Clubhouse in Houston.

Silver Dollar City was my favorite because of all the exciting rides. My favorite ride there was Powderkeg. I was tall enough for almost every ride. I also liked Kid Concoctions.

Memphis was my second favorite because o the Elvis stuff, and the Rock ‘N Soul Museum. My neighbor, Caroline, is a huge Elvis fan, so she got me hooked on him.

Last by not least is Lake View Campground. I liked it there because we met some friends, and every evening looked forward to watching and playing pool with them.

I had preferences, but I enjoyed everything on this trip. I collect magnets from the places we visit. When we got back, I counted how many magnets I have. I have 80, and all 80 of them probably cost about $300.

We only have 3 more states left to visit, but we still have a lot of fun left to do in the motorhome. Check out our blog the next time we travel.

By Amanda - 8/10/08

Well, we’re finally home. That ride from Memphis back here took forever! Some of the highlights for me were:

1) Texas Stadium – The tour was great, to start with. However, I never, in a million years, thought I would play football on the field. And (drum roll, please), I only missed a field goal by 3 feet or so. PS – Uncle Scott, I’ll race you any time you want. I’ll beat you every time, I guarantee it.

2) Memphis – I was never really an Elvis fan, but being in the same city where he and so many legends got their start was really cool. I also enjoyed eating at Neely’s Barbecue, because they’re really good friends with my favorite cook, Paula Deen. They’ve got some good BBQ!

3) New Orleans – The affect that the hurricanes had on the city was incredible, as is the still-evident damage. Hearing our tour guide’s story was really interesting because he was an evacuee. Also, I tried crawfish…and really, really, liked them.

So, that’s my wrap-up of our trip. We had so much fun traveling, and just as much fun reading your comments! Hope you enjoyed the posts, and check out the blog when we go on our next trip. See ya!

By Samuel - 8/8/08

Today is our last day on this trip. I'm really sad becuz I won't see as many trains at home.

Today wuz slow. We saw a lot of Elvis stuff. You now, people say Elvis wuz so cool. I don't think so. He wore stupid pants. And my sunglasses are waaaaay cooler than his. Actually, I'm way cooler than Elvis was. And I'm alive, not dead.

So, this is my last writ for this trip. I'll be writing on other trips though.

Bye-bye,

Samuel S. Elphick

By Jack - 8/8/08

On this trip, we went to a lot of places. Stop 1 - we went to Talladega. In Talladega, we saw the race track. Stop 2 - We went to New Orleans and saw the city. Stop 3 - Houston (main stop in Houston was Blue Bell Ice Cream). We ate a lot of ice cream. Tracy got peaches. Stop 4 - Dallas-Ft. Worth. We saw the Rangers and Cowboys stadiums. We went to a rodeo. Stop 5 - Branson, Missouri. We went out for breakfast. We went to Silver Dollar City and went out for ice cream. Had 2 scoops of Blue Bunny ice cream. I played mini-golf and got 3 holes in one, yet Rachel still beat me. Stop 6 - Pulled into the campground and it was pouring rain. I got soggified. What does that mean in the dictionary? Went out and practiced on the banjo. Then went and had supper and ate too much. Came home and took a shower with soap (not like the shower in the rain!). Plus got beat up by youngest granddaughter. Took her for a walk and to get ice cream. Went to bed. Got out of bed this morning. Going to do some sightseeing and I "might" ride the upside down train (monorail). Tomorrow we will go home to SC.

Jack

PS - Some of the best stores on my trip - the candy stores, of course. Only had ice cream twice. (correction by the editor....we have counted 5 times!)

By Samuel - 8/7/08

Today we came to Memphis, Tennis-see. There are lots of music places here. My family looked at the Gibson Guitar place. My dad is going to be the next big country music star like George Jones. He played the banjo. He also played and sang "Cross Over the Bridge." That's one of his specialities.

They ate at Neely's BBQ. I didn't even get a bone. Then they looked in a lot of shops. I saw trains on the way home.

Thank you.

Samuel S. Elphick

By Samuel - 7/31/08

Hello readers - I know you have greatly enjoyed my dily published works. I'm hoping to accumulate enough of them in order to publish a book or something.

Anyway, I didn't do anything of interest today. My family left me at home with nothing to do. I was really bored. I watched a bunch of motorhomes go past. That wuz my excitement for the day.

I've just received a report that my family saw four train engines. If you recall from my previous literary endeavors, I am enthralled with trains. Now I'm really mad that I didn't see any trains.

Well, that's all. I hope you all are enjoying my writings.

Bye,
Samuel S. Elphick

Pee-Es - I am an official sheriff. I got a badge today.

By Rachel - 8/8/08

Today was full of Rock ‘n Roll. First, we went to a bunch of Elvis gift shops. I GOT AN ELVIS T-SHIRT!!! The next rock ‘n roll shop was the Rock ‘N Soul Museum. It is mostly of famous black musicians. Maybe they had just ten exhibits for Elvis Presley. The tour was an audio tour. They had juke boxes which you can listen to a variety of about 120 songs. The artists varied from Hank Williams Sr., to Johnny Cash, to Elvis Presley, to Otis Redding.

After the museum, we went back to Beale St. Once we were done, we went to Desoto Park by the Mississippi River. Here mom took pictures. Then we went to China Inn Buffet for supper. Later, we went back to the motorhome so we could get things packed up and get ready to get up at 3:00 a.m. to drive home.

By Amanda - 8/8/08

Today was our final day in Memphis, Tennessee, which also makes it the last day of our trip. We spent our day exploring the music that made Memphis famous, and really shaped the rock, soul, R & B, and country music industries.

When you think of Memphis’s music, several names come to mind- Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the great Johnny Cash. In fact, one day Elvis decided to visit Sun City Records, where Cash, Perkins, and Lewis were all recording. The four had an unscheduled jam session resulting in one song. They were dubbed “The Million Dollar Quartet.”

Graceland, which is where Elvis lived, sits across from our campground. His two planes, the Lisa Marie (named after his daughter) and the Hound Dog 2, are right across the street. We didn’t do the tour of the grounds, but we went in all of the shops.

We also toured the Rock’n’Soul Museum in downtown Memphis. This museum tells the story of how the music came about, and has exhibits displaying some of the big names.

The music started out in the fields where black and white sharecroppers worked together, and sang while they worked. Sometimes, landlords wouldn’t give the workers their pay. When this happened, the workers would move to the city in search of better jobs, and they brought their music with them.

A few of these people went on to become big name producers, and many were singers or band members. All of the members of the Million Dollar Quarter played concerts here at one time or another, because this is where they got their start.

The tour had little devices that told you about each exhibit, if you didn’t want to read everything. There were also songs sung by artists from certain eras of music that you could play. I didn’t listen to much of the audio tour, but I listened to a lot of the music while I read everything… my kind of tour. I might have to download some Elvis when I get home!

By Amanda - 8/7/08

Memphis, Tennessee, happens to not only be home to great food and music, but also is the site of Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate The King of Rock’n’Roll as he is called by his millions of fans, got his start here in Memphis’s own Sun Studio.

However, we’ll learn more about Elvis and the city’s music tomorrow. Today we visited several things in the downtown area of Memphis, starting with the Gibson Guitar Factory.

The tour is about a ½ hour long, and shows you step-by-step how the famous instruments are made. First, the top and bottom panels are cut and bowed. The bowed top has been adapted by almost all instrument companies, and is believed to improve the sound quality of the guitar. Next, the side panels are cut, and a stabilizing piece of wood is set in the middle of the guitar. The pieces are glued together, and then sanded to a smooth finish.

The neck is added to the guitar, and then a coating covers the entire piece, making it ready for painting. The instrument is meticulously painted by hand, and may be painted over and over again until the desired effect is achieved. Next, the paint is shaved off of the edges, and one person shaves off the paint for the signature “Gibson” logo.

From here, all the electronic parts are added. Next, workers test every guitar to make sure that the electronics work well, that there are no defects, and the workers also tune the instrument. The people working in this station are experiences musicians who actually get paid to play guitars all day! Can you believe it?

After the tour, we ate at Neely’s Barbecue (at my suggestion!) The owners have their own shows on my favorite channel… you guessed it- Food Network. (LOL Aunt Trina & Aunt Teri!) They have two locations in Memphis, as well as one in Nashville. I had my third beef brisket sandwich of the trip, which was really good. (So was the Sock-It-To-Me-Cake, a recipe by Gina Neely!) Look them up on http://www.foodnetwork.com/ if you want to learn more, or get the recipe for the cake. (Did I mention it was good?)

P.S. - To both my aunts who read this (Ok, fine, Uncle Scott too), maybe while you’re looking up the Neelys, you could check out Paula Deen! Haha, love you guys! ☺

By Rachel - 8/7/08

We left Missouri to go to Memphis today. It was almost a 6 hour drive. When we reached the campground, it was raining. Around 2:15, we left for Gibson Guitar. At 3:00 p.m. we had a tour. Before our tour started, we watched grandpa pose for pictures with a banjo. (He shouldn’t quit his day job…if he had one).

After our tour, we went to the famous Neely’s Barbeque. One of the owners and his wife (Pat & Gina Neely) have a show on Food Network called “Down Home with the Neely’s”. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant. At 6:00 p.m., we were looking through gift shops on Beale Street.

If you want something Elvis, this is the place to be. After looking through all the shops, we went back to the motorhome. Tomorrow will be the last day on our trip.

By Rachel - 8/6/08

Today we went souvenir shopping. We started out in Historic Downtown Branson. All a long the streets there are shops, restaurants and flea markets. Did I mention CANDY SHOPS??? Three of them to be exact. ! We looked, looked, and looked some more.

After shopping in Downtown Branson, we went back to the Strip in Branson. Here we went into about five different shops and bought our souvenirs. Then we went back to the motorhome & mom made Cheddarwurst and twice baked potatoes.

By Amanda - 8/6/08

For our final day in Missouri, we decided to spend it in historic downtown Branson. This part of the city is made up of shops and candy stores. There are plenty of souvenir shops, two leather stores, and several candy shops (all of which we visited!)

Each shop has something different to offer, so we went in most of them. We also looked in both of the leather stores. Leather is prominent in Branson, we almost every store carries some sort of leather goods, whether it is belts, coats, moccasins, or purses and wallets.

We also visited every candy store in downtown Branson… guess whose idea that was! Between the two shops that we went in, we found so many different taffy flavors, it was unbelievable. We hadn’t seen that much taffy since we were in Michigan two years ago. My favorite flavors (so far!) are caramel corn, cinnamon roll, and pumpkin pie. Believe it or not, all of the flavors taste really good! (They’re also good for talkative children with braces… just give them a few pieces and the candy gets stuck. Then they can’t open their mouths for a few minutes… just a thought.)