Our 50th State, Hawaii!!

     We did it!  We have now been to all 50 states, 48 of which were on our RV excluding Alaska and Hawaii which we flew/cruised.  Our amazing Hawaii trip began with a very long flight to Honolulu.  After a 7 hour flight delay and enjoying the Dallas airport, we ended up in Hawaii around 8:00pm their time which was about 2:00am our time.  We had gotten up at 3:30 am the day before to catch our first flight so besides a little napping on the plane, we were up for almost 24 ours straight!
     The next day, we boarded our ship, the Pride of the Americas, and sailed away towards Maui, which is where we spent our first two days.  The first day in Maui we drove to a cute little town called LaHaina with cute shops, restaurants and a beautiful ocean view!  We had lunch overlooking the water and then our group split up:  Kevin, Zack, Carson and I went to the Iao Valley State Monument.  It was a beautiful park with rushing waters and mountains...the boys got in the cold water while I just stayed on the back with the camera!

     My Mom and Dad went back to the ship while my brother Walt, sister-in-law Heather, Lily and their children Knox and Bennett went to the aquarium in Maui.  That evening we took the kiddos back to the boat while Walt and Heather rode up to the Haleakala crater to admire the incredible sunset views from above the clouds.
     Our second day in Maui we took a boat to Molokini for snorkeling.  We saw some pretty fish but were hoping for something like a sea turtle but no such luck.  It was still nice time and they served up breakfast and lunch on the boat.
     Our next stop was Hilo where there is an active volcano.  We rented cars and drove to the park where we saw lots of lava rock but no lava.  The kids were disappointed that the volcano was not going to spew molten hot lava while we were there, but we did see a lot of steam rising up from it.  Maybe the next cruise ship got to see lava! :)

   On the other side of the Big Island is Kona which was our next stop.  We snorkeled there at a beautiful beach right off the boat.  The waters were so blue and we saw some beautiful fish there.  After our lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., (the kids really wanted to try it) we took a cab to "turtle beach" in hopes of spotting a sea turtle.  We were told this was the place!
    It was a rocky walk into the water but right there, in the shallow area, were two adorable sea turtles!  They didn't seem to even notice our presence--they just kept nibbling things on the rocks and coral.  We were inches away from them and it was so cool!  It was definitely a highlight for me.
     Our last stop was Kaua'i where we spent the first day on the beautiful beach and the second day we took a helicopter ride over the island.  It was truly amazing.  There were so many beautiful areas, some green and mountainous and then the dry, red Waimea Canyon which is referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  We flew along the spectacular Napali Coast and even saw the beach where surfer, Brittany Hamilton, was attacked by the shark!  It was just solid evidence of God's handiwork!

The Napali Coast

Walt and Heather

At the luau

     When our cruise came to an end, we remained in Honululu for two nights and were able to take in a luau, a little shopping in Chinatown and some more beach time.
    It was a beautiful trip and a big thanks to Walt for handling a lot of the rental car and hotel arrangements for everyone.  So 50 states--done.  What's next??  Continents?? :)

Day 7, 8 and 9: New Orleans, Stone Mountain, GA

Our last day in New Orleans was great.  We had a little rain in the morning but it blew over by afternoon so the rest of our day was good.  

We had lunch at Antoine's, the oldest restaurant in New Orleans.  Our waiter, Sterling, had worked there for 50 years!  It was such a cool restaurant with big banquet rooms decorated with items from previous carnivals as well as autographed photos from famous people.

Yes, even on e of the kids favorites, Nic Cage had been to Antoine's!

 

That afternoon, we took our movie tour ,which I enjoyed, but the kids made sure to tell me that they'd only seen one of the movies.  Trip planner is a thankless job with teenagers!  We did get to see Brad and Angelina's house which is for sale.  You can make is yours for 5.9 million dollars!

We also saw John Goodman's, Sandra Bullock's and Anne Rice's homes.  

Sandra Bullock's house

The house used in Benjamin Buttons.

We also had no idea how many movies are made in New Orleans!  All or parts of Planet of the Apes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, JFK, Red, 21 Jump Street, The Dukes of Hazzard movie, A Streetcar named Desire, Interview with a Vampire, the last Twilight movie and so many others were filmed in New Orleans!  That's not to mention the TV shows like Scream Queens, NCIS: New Orleans, and American Horror Story: Coven and Freak Show to name a few.

The next morning, Lily and I ran out for some coffee and beignets before leaving.  New Orleans is such a cool city with beautiful architecture, interesting history, cool shops and great food!  Just don't let your kids read the t-shirts in the store windows!!😉. (Pretty much impossible!)

We drove most of the day yesterday to Stone Mountain, GA.  Today we went to their amusement area where they have a ropes course, a sky ride, a 4-D show, jumping pillows, shops and restaurants.  The centerpiece is the huge carving in the side of the mountain of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.  

The travelers are getting weary--too much time away from gaming and having their own space so we are going to drive a few hours tonight and we'll be home tomorrow on Easter Sunday.  So thankful that the Lord has looked after us on yet another adventure!

Day 6: Another day in New Orleans

Today we had amazing weather in New Orleans. It was not too hot or too cold--it was just right!  We walked around a little in the French Quarter, popping in stores to sample pralines and hot sauces, before meeting our tour guide from Tastebud Tours.  We walked to several different places and tried many of NOLA's signature foods such as po'boys, gumbo, jambalaya, beignets, muffelatas and pralines.  It was a nice way to get a taste of the city and get a little history along the way.
Afterward, we did Escape my Room:New Orleans.  We had so much fun at Locked In in Birmingham, we decided to try it again but this room was quite different.  It had a couple of secret doors that accessed other rooms and it was very cool.  And yes, we did escape!  I think we had about 4 minutes to spare!
Tonight, at the request of our children, and due to the fact that we are in Louisiana, we ate Popeye's chicken!  Cheapest meal we've had the whole trip!
Tomorrow we are touring movie set locations.  They were filming NCIS:New Orleans right by our campground last night.  We saw a bunch of crew trailers and equipment but no sightings of Scott Bakula. :) We also saw them shooting a commercial in the street in the French Quarter.  Maybe we'll get to see Brad and Angelina's house tomorrow!

Kevin at Escape my Room

Day 5: New Orleans!

Today we did it!  We made it to our 48th contiguous state and our 49th state total!  We drove to New Orleans, Louisiana today.  We are staying at a very nice RV park just two blocks from the French Quarter.  This afternoon, we walked around and took in some sights (and some smells!), checked out the French Market and had some awesome New Orleans food for dinner--Po' Boys, Fried Alligator, Shrimp and Grits and White Chocolate Praline Bread Pudding for dessert.  My diet has just been blown out of the water! :(
We walked back before it got too late and have settled in to the RV for the evening.  Tomorrow, we have a food tour scheduled and I am sure that is going to be yummy!  Here are a few pics:

Day 4: A day in Mobile

Today, we took a break from driving to enjoy a day in L.A. (Lower Alabama!) and took an Uber downtown.  We walked around visiting shops (an old bookstore, a peanut shop, a mardi gras shop), eating lunch at Mama's restaurant and just enjoying the sights of this beautiful town.  Did you know that Mobile is actually the original location of Mardi Gras?  It was called Carnival but of course we know who gets the credit for the Mardi Gras celebration!
In the afternoon, we shopped a little, went to a movie and headed back to our campground.  Tomorrow, we plan to add that last sticker to our map as we head to New Orleans!  Here are a few pictures from our day today.

Days 1, 2 & 3: Atlanta, Birmingham and Mobile

It has been a busy couple of days!  After our Walmart stay, we got up and drove to Atlanta to visit The World of Coca-Cola.  We had been told by a few people that this was really cool and my kids were looking forward to the tasting station where you could try sodas from all over the world as well as over 100 combinations of coca-cola drinks.  Needless to say, we had our fill of soda for a while as our bellies were sloshing around!  We saw their 4-D movie, some history of Coke, walked through the way they package it and saw many things made out of coke bottles in the gift shop.  Sadly, my kids are past the age that they wanted to be photographed with the Coke Polar Bear!

So this is the sofa from the American Idol set from season 4.  This is where they 

interviewed the contestants in the green room.

Anyone remember Max Headroom?  You do if you're my age!!

After visiting the World of Coke and having lunch, we drove to Birmingham, AL.  That means we only have two states to go!  We added that Alabama sticker to our map today!

In Birmingham, we went to "Locked In", where they lock you in one of three scenarios, a Warehouse, a Laboratory or a Classroom (easy to hard in that order), and you use clues and keys to try and decipher the code to the door so you can escape.  It was a lot of fun.  We did the lab and without our kids' help, I think Kevin and I might still be in the room! :)  We escaped with 5 minutes left on the clock and on average, only 33% of groups that do the lab are able to figure out the code.  See, smart kids!  

Afterwards, we drove to Mobile, AL which is where we are tonight.  Hoping to catch some sights here tomorrow before heading on to New Orleans on Tuesday.  Thanks for following along with us!  

Spring break and our last two states (before Hawaii!)

It's Spring break!  The Sikorskis are on the road again and we only have two states to visit and we will have been to all 48 contiguous states!  Only two more stickers on that map on the side of our RV.
We left yesterday and stayed in the kid's favorite campground, Walmart, last night.  Today we are on our way to Birmingham, AL for the night with a possible stop at the World of Coke in Atlanta on the agenda.
Oh, I forgot to mention that those last two states are Alabama and Louisiana.  We will be in New Orleans in a couple days!
I know some of you have followed us since our first big trip a few years back so I hope you will stick with us as we finish out this amazing country of ours.

The picture that started it all!  California or bust.  This was the day

we left for our first cross country adventure!