Memphis, Tennessee

Home.

What can I say?

Snap.

It's good to not be driving.

It's GREAT to see Mom.

But I wish there was a beach nearby. I wish there was someplace like Universal just a few miles away instead of across the ENTIRE COUNTRY! I wish I had a giant sandbox or a great big hole, or great big cave, or huge waves to play in or rocks to climb.

Why is Memphis so far from all of this cool stuff?!

Snap.

I wish summer could last forever.

I wish...

Dallas, TX

Mom's family is huge. But, for some reason, Dad's family is pretty small. There's Gramma and Grandpa, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Violet, Uncle Mike (I think) and then, Uncle Charles and Aunt Sue in Dallas where we spent our last day of vacation.

Uncle Charles and Aunt Sue are great! Uncle Charles is always curious about my Gameboy games. He asks lots of questions when I'm playing (as opposed to Dad who always bugs me about playing my Gameboy.) And Aunt Sue loves to take me to museums. Last time we were here, she took me to the Kid's Museum of Science. Very Cool! This time we went to the Museum of Aviation History. Cool again!! She says she wants to take me to a new museum every time we go to Dallas. Okay!

The night we got in we ate at the Mexican restaurant where Uncle Charles had his birthday party. I had beans and lots of cheese and chips. Dad had vegetable fajitas that he thought came to the table with meat. But it turned out to be mushrooms.

I wish that we could've stayed another day in Dallas. Maybe we can go back soon. I want to see the museum of fun. Dallas is so big, they've got to have one.

Carlsbad Caverns / Abilene, Texas

I guess I didn't get my sleep out the night before, cause while Dad drove this morning, I slept. I guess I didn't miss anything...probably. I'm sure Dad would've woken me up.

After lunchtime we arrived at Carlsbad Caverns. Another big hole. Only this time, I WENT IN! Here's a picture of me doing just that. I know this looks like a little hole in the picture, but it went down, like, forever. Dad said we'd be going down 750 feet before we got to the bottom. And we did...down, down and down more.

This is my first really big cave and it's really cool. Almost cold. HA! At least it wasn't like the walk at Arches. I felt fine all the way down and saw all kinds of rock formations, some that came down, some that went up, some that went both ways, and some that went both ways but didn't quite touch. Those were my favorite.

I hate that the ranger that took our tickets before we went in told us we had to whisper whe we were in the cave. Carlsbad Caverns is great for echoes. And I love making echoes! Unfortunately Dad was the only one making echoes. He started pooting when we were about half way down. They were louder than usual, if that's even possible.

I'll be coming back here someday (only WITHOUT ol' Trumpet Butt!)

After the caverns, we drove into night until we got lost in Abilene, Texas. When we finally found the hotel, it was real late so we just passed out.

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Pool. Pool. The hotel's got a pool. Life is good again. But we decide not to get in it right away. Dad has been talking about the White Sands National Monument saying that it's this giant park with miles of nothing but white sand. No plants. Giant dunes. OOOOooooo! A giant sand box! Perfect!

So we go out there and instead a giant sand box, it's a SUPER GIANT SAND BOX, with dunes fifty feet high that go on forever. I walked, ran, jumped, fell, rolled, slid down on my stomach, dug, threw sand, threw these weird hard chunks of sand that blew up when they hit Dad (until he got mad)...got lost...it was a BLAST!

As the sun was setting, we went back to the car and there were these kids and their parents playing on the top of the gigantic hill next to where we parked. The kids were sliding down the dunes in plastic saucers and on this really cool thing like a snow board.

At first Dad and I would run as fast as we could down the hill until we couldn't go any faster, then fall and flop and flip until we rolled to the bottom. I had no idea Dad could fall like that and still get up. The other kids thought it was cool and starting doing it too. They tried to talk their parents into trying it but they wouldn't.

Then Dad and I got invited to try the snow board. Very Cool!! We did it until it was too dark to see and the park was closing. Then Dad and I went back to the hotel and, yep, you guessed it, we swam.

Good day.

Tombstone, Arizona

Next morning, Dad and I walked back to the beach to throw the tumbleweed we caught into the ocean. Dad said we'd be bringing desert to the sea. I said I'd get another chance to stick my feet in the waves, which I did.

Then, after breakfast we started driving to Tombstone. The traffic was so stupid again that Dad decided to get off the Interstate and drive down the coast highway. Great idea! Not only was it faster, it was cool scenery. I like the beach. I want to spend my whole next vacation there.

Since we got a late start, we didn't get to our hotel in Tombstone until after 11 at night. It was not like the other hotels we stayed at. Instead it was kinda small and creepy and I felt kinda creeped out. But Dad felt good about it and when I woke up the next morning after sleeping like a log, I felt okay about it too.

Tombstone is booooorrrring! Nothing opened until afternoon -- gunfighter shows, OK Corral, that stuff -- and Dad said we didn't have time to stick around. So we walked through the Boot Hill cemetery (cause it was free and on the way out of town). Lame. Won't go back. Dad said he won't either.

Oceanside, California

After Dad finally dragged me away from Universal, we drove towards Oceanside...slowly. The traffic on the highway barely moved all the way from LA to Oceanside. Fortunately I had plenty of Gameboy games to play. And even Dad didn't get upset (much). He just got bored waiting for the traffic to move faster.

When we got to the hotel at Oceanside, that's what we did...ocean side! Dad and I ran right to the beach and body surfed for what seemed like hours. It was great except for some strange thing that happened to our nipples. Yes, I said nipples. Something about the water or the new shirts we were wearing made our nipples sting so bad that had to laugh. So...we did. A lot! Hard!

At sunset, after Dad ordered me out of the water (see the picture of me pouting...NOT), we walked along the pier and I saw a really weird shark this guy caught. It was flat and looked like a sting ray, but had fins like a regular shark. I talked Dad into turning it over so I could see the bottom but he wouldn't open it's mouth so I could see the teeth. What a wuss.

Universal Hollywood Theme Park

This is the coolest place!! Rides and shows! Getting soaked! Spongebob! Shrek! Dinosaurs! MUMMIES!!

We rode every ride and saw every show except WaterWorld which we skipped only 'cause we ran out of time. Ran out of Time!? We went two days in a row!!! We were supposed to go the the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park the second day, but I said I'd rather come back here and we did! So we rode everything, yeah, more than twice, yeah, more than three times, YEAH!!

Here's what we did...The Mummy (my favorite!!), Jurassic Park (my second favorite), Back to the Future, Shrek 4D, Terminator 3D, Special Effects show (which I was in), Backdraft, Nickelodeon Blast Zone (water, water, water!!), The Studio Backlot Tour (Dad's favorite...lame), and then everything again!

I had my face painted like Darth Maul. You'll have to beg Dad before I show that picture (but it's great!). I don't want to leave!!!