By this Author: brendagerber07

We awoke to a hot air balloon show before our sub par breakfast.

Then we drove a bit of the Trace below Jackson to enter the city of Nachez. We wanted to see a bit of the actual road before riding tomorrow.
The Trace was peaceful and we hardly saw another car as we drove about 100 miles this morning. I am really looking forward to starting at mile 0 tomorrow morning. But today is all about the sightseeing and especially checking out the antebellum homes in Natchez. We went to the Visitor Center first and started by viewing the Mississippi River.

We walked around Historic Nachez and saw several of the notable antebellum homes as pictured below. They were so massive and ornate. I would have loved to taken a tour of each one, but we only had time for one...so we chose the Longwood Home to actually tour. Our guide did a great job of explaining how the plantation owners were affected by the civil war.

Of course, we try to stay away from too much political talk on these adventures!

And of course I have to take a pic of a water tower or two.

And the pump is for my grandkids that love to play in the water!
My girlfriend, Janis, from Jr. High/High school drove over from Louisiana to join us for the tour of Longwood and then out to eat a fabulous meal at Roux 61.

Part of the fun of these trips for me is catching up with friends across the US and also sharing our travels with others back home. We are now back at the Red Carpet Inn for the night. A beautiful sunset makes me excited about the cycling part of the adventure to begin tomorrow.
Goodnight from Brenda and the Pony riders

The Gerbers and the Roobs started out at 6:00 am and drove to pick up the Linn's. We finished the final packing and were on the road at 6:30 with coffee in hand. Greg started the 800+ mile drive and drove through the traffic in Columbus and Cincy and Louisville. The rain was steady but didn't seem to slow the drive down too much. Dan took over the wheel and managed the slow and speed up traffic in and around Nashville and Memphis. Wynn took over the last leg of the journey in the dark and got us safely to Canton, MS ( just outside of Jackson. ) Thanks to our great drivers, the ride is past us and we only have a couple of hours to Natchez. We picked up a coupon book at the roadside rest inside of Mississippi and secured our three rooms for 49.99 each +tax. We are staying at the Super 8 Motel in Canton, 885 miles from home. Lunch was at Subway and Supper was at Sonic so we could have an evening shake. My apple brownies hit the spot for dessert. Tomorrow morning we will get breakfast at the motel and then try to get on the road around 8 am so we can be in Natchez between 10-10:30. Touring and getting our bearings for the beginning ride on Sunday are the plans for tomorrow. I am also looking forward to meeting up with a childhood friend who lives in LA. Supper at Roux 61 is on the schedule.
The ponies traveled well in the back of the van and I think overall we were comfortable. ?
Skies are suppose to be blue tomorrow...
Brenda and the riders

Here we go again! 6 riders, 1 van, 3 couples, and 440 miles of riding to accomplish in 8 days. I am excited to be one of the riders this trip. Although I plan to only ride 1/2 of each day and drive the SAG vehicle the other half. The rest of the riders will split the SAG driving when it is my turn to ride. We are leaving Grafton, OH early on Friday morning, Sept. 30th and plan to drive much of the day. Traveling south towards Mississippi, we plan to munch on pepperoni rolls, party snack and trail mix....among other things.

So, who are the riders? The faces and names are familiar as most of these were on the pony ride of 2013. Dan and his wife Evelyn are with us again. Evelyn will be riding this trip as well. Colleen and her husband Greg are also joining us. We are so glad that the Roobs are retired and that Greg and Colleen could both take vacation during the Fall. We hope to see some of the seasonal leaves in full color, although we may be a week early. We decided to drive to Natchez and ride North on the trail to Nashville. Supposedly the winds are more from the South during this month. Not sure the forecast for the first two days agrees with this tendency. We do have very little rain in the forecast so far and favorable temperatures. We will see how accurate Weather.com is!

Wynn and I are just coming off a wonderful vacation in NYC. Guess I should have blogged that trip too. Suffice it to say, that we had a fun-filled week of sightseeing and watching tennis at the US Open. It was a first for us and we took a zillion pictures and did a lot of walking. Highlights included cycling over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and also around and through Central Park. We are looking forward to this new adventure.

So come along with us and see the sights along the way and hear about our ride as we go along.
In anticipation,
Brenda and the rest of the ponies

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This will be my finally post from the Alaskan Anniversary Adventure.
What memories we have made with Bob and Evelyn. I'm sure we will go back and read about this adventure many times over the next 35 years, Lord willing. Bob plans to make a nice coffee table book and I plan to do a DVD of the adventure once I get all the pictures edited. But the Blog was fun to write as we experienced each day. Thanks for coming along on our journey. I loved seeing the majesty and beauty that each day gave us, but I will admit that this will probably be the only time I go to Alaska for a vacation. Wynn has said many times that I am a beach baby and prefer the sun to the cold. We do want to take a journey to the Northwestern states and also up the East coast to Maine. But those are for the future.

Our Day 15 started with a lovely rain storm. We were all really thankful that we took the time to purchase Rainproof, not rain resistant coats before we traveled. Wynn and I also had waterproof hiking boots and our feet never got wet! Before piling into the car, we first got everything to fit into our suitcases (miracle) and grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich at McD's before heading for the last of the souvenir buying. We also took time to walk around their JoAnn Fabrics just to move inside from the rain. Then we spent a few hours at the Fairbanks Visitor Center. We saw many exhibits of what life in early Alaska was like. We also watched a creative movie on the Northern Lights. It was a nice way to start closing the chapter on this adventure. We ate our lunch at the River's Edge Restaurant. Of course I have to show you the picture of our delicious meal (I mean,desserts!) we had a very friendly waiter who filled us in on the change in climate the last few years in Fairbanksand the upcoming visit by the President.

I forgot, we also saw the downtown Fairbanks city monument, and the clock tower, that plays chimes on the hour.

Then it was indeed time to head to the airport for the long flights home. Red eye flights no longer hold their appeal for me. Our flight was suppose to go to Seattle, Chicago and then Cleveland. But the connection to Chicago had been cancelled and in its place was a connection to Miami. Our flight from Fairbanks to Seattle got a very late start, due to a lady having to be transported off by the EMT's. So instead of having a nice layover before boarding to Miami, we ran off the plane and down the concourse to catch our plane to Miami. Everyone was a little frustrated at this point...mostly because we didn't get time to eat anything before the all night ride. This flight link was hot, crowded and made sleep nearly impossible. When we got to Miami, we did have just enough time to get a quick sandwich and bottle of water before boarding a little commuter jet (2+1 seats across). I think we all managed to sleep a bit on this final leg home. I basically remember hearing the pilot say we are beginning our descent.

So now we are home ? but our luggage did not come with us. I have a feeling it did not make the connection when we ran to our plane in Seattle. Hopefully we will get it tomorrow and nothing will be broken or ruined. Scott and the girls picked us up at the airport. It was so fun to see the girlies again.

So Wynn is already out riding his bike. I got groceries and am putting the final touches on this trip. There are so many highlights...but I think the best part was spending time with my soulmate and best friend. How Wynn has put up with me for these past 35 years is beyond me. God has not yet completed the work He is doing in our lives. The beauty and majesty of the mountains and scenery was breathtaking...but pale in comparison to the work He has done in creating our marriage and our family. We are indeed blessed! Our next anniversary trip may be to Australia in a couple of years. We have a fun bike ride planned down the Natchez Trace next Fall. So hopefully more trips will appear on our blog as we go Here and There...

Good evening everyone,
I think we will have an interesting time getting back in the swing of Eastern Standard time. It is 9:34 pm here, but that is 1:34 am back in Grafton. But I am just beginning to download. I will see how the internet speed is tonight.

We stayed in little cottages last night and tonight. We ate breakfast at the Lodge, definitely nothing to write home about! Over priced and under flavored... Then we took a taxi to the airport on the hotel. (They did not have a working shuttle this morning) We picked up our rental car and decided to keep it an extra day so we don't have to be waiting on a shuttle. We had two goals in mind today: drive to the North Pole and Santa's house and drive to Chena Hot Springs.

So off we went to find the North Pole...

I mean how cool is this? Then we found Santa's house, complete with reindeer. We had fun shopping and looking at all the ornaments and paraphernalia. And of course, we got our picture with Santa.

This whole little place reminded me of a Hallmark Movie...especially the one "Moonlight and Mistletoe". The whole time we were there I was cracking up and waiting for the maker of the nutcrackers to walk through the door. Ha! And...when talking with Santa, we found he didn't care for Wynn's OSU sweatshirt. He was from that school up North. Bleh! Hope he will still bring Kendall and Maddie a trampoline for Christmas!

Then we headed back through Fairbanks and after a quick stop at the Fred Meyer store for munchies, we headed off down Hwy 6 in search of wildlife and the ever elusive Moose. Although we still did not see a moose, we did find this fellow and had a wonderful time watching him show off for us.

We also drove back into a recreation area and found these three lost and caught up in a fenced area. We found a Park Host and he said that the dogs had been reported missing. The owners will be glad to find these three beauties.

We continued on our way and literally came to the end of the road. We had arrived at the Hot Springs. The first thing we did was attend a demonstration in the 20 degree Ice Carving Museum. The artist was actually working there. She was a world champion for several years. She and her husband work all year, restoring and replacing the different sculptures. Unbelievable! And I know the pictures do not do these justice. The intricate sculptures were beautiful. Take a look.

Then Wynn and I decided to take a little time in the hot springs. The 20 degree cold was nicely offset by the 100 degree water. It was a soothing time and soon our legs were feeling like jelly. Evelyn found some horses to feed and Bob tried to stay warm in the greenhouse. He is still feeling a bit poorly, but continues to push through and successfully gets us all around.

As we started down the road back to Fairbanks, I realized that I could not find my Visa. Talk about panic...Bob swiftly turned around and we drove back into the Hot Spring Resort. Evelyn walked into the pool area and the worker there had my card. ?

Talk about being grateful! We all breathed easier and continued our quest for moose...well, maybe tomorrow!

We hunted down one last gift shop in downtown Fairbanks. The streets were all torn up but we persevered. Then we headed to Pike's Landing for dinner. It was a great little spot with huge helpings, all situated on the river bank.

So now our bellies are full, we are tucked into bed and will be soon be asleep. One more day before we climb back on the airplane and head for home. What an adventure!