Lots to report: A South tour, Deepwater overflight, Robin's orders end, Louisiana alligators, flight to California, a wedding. Next???

Hi friends and family! Robin here, writing from a Starbucks in Anaheim, California. Lots to report in the last few days. I've posted a ton of photos on our Picasa site (click on the link above or to the right) and that will explain more than I can write here. A quick update--In the last couple of weeks, Josh toured several states in the south and came to meet me in New Orleans, where I was wrapping up my time at the Unified Area Command in the Critical Resources Unit (moving Coast Guard bodies around). Much happened in the last few days there.

- My good friend Rob Lanier (CG Public Affairs Chief), reported to the UAC to serve as the Joint Information Center Chief; I was super excited to see him after several years.

- I was able to catch a ride on a Coast Guard plane out to the Deepwater Horizon explosion site, pretty amazing.
- Josh and I visited brother Erik and Heather on Dauphin Island, Alabama, where Erik was finishing his Coast Guard orders.
- Josh and I took a swamp tour in a Louisiana bayou and saw plenty of alligators.
- Lastly, Josh and I packed up all my gear and headed out of NOLA.

I had made some good friends there at the UAC and was sad to say bye to them. And the switch back to civilian mode, even after only 60 days on orders, is sometimes a funny brain switch. It's like changing toothpastes, swapping meals with someone during dinner, or putting on a pair of shoes you haven't worn in a while. The tempo is just different. It can take a few days to catch up with the rest of what's been going on and get in the groove again. The days at the UAC were longer--12 hours at least. And I realize that I haven't been good at keeping in touch while I've been checked out, or in. All in all, the deployment was a very good experience and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the next summer adventure!

So...after leaving NOLA, Josh and I flew west to Anaheim, where we are now staying with Josh's super cool grandma Maria for a few days. The first day here in Anaheim we went to the wedding of Amanda and Danny Arriaga (Josh's cousin) where we also saw a TON of Josh's relatives. I hadn't seen many of them since Josh's dad's (are you getting confused with all the 's?) wedding five years ago, so it was very cool to catch up with them.

Everyone keeps asking us what we are doing next. So, what ARE we doing next? I'm not sure is the answer! We know at least that we are going to another wedding on August 7th in Sausalito, California, and we are getting there via Dolphin. Before that, we have a couple mechanical checks on the Dolphin and some more Josh family time here in Anaheim (and I am enjoying the down time!). After that--it's sure to be either south, east, or north, and either driving, biking, backpacking, or swimming. Clear as mud!? That's the fun part. Check out the photos for lots more!

Signing out--Robin.

I'm going to Graceland...

After getting to visit for a bit with Robin in New Orleans, I took an amtrak up through Mississippi and in to Memphis. Made the trip to Graceland and the Lorraine Motel, and spent a good amount of time taking in the sites and sounds of Beale Street. Met a nice family at BB King's club on Beale, and played dice and ate fried pickles. Memphis is a place alive with blues music, great BBQ and fun night life.

The bus ride over to Nashville from Memphis was about 4 hours and took me through some very scenic rolling hills and forests. I had heard of a cool hostel in Nashville called the Music City Hostel that had dozens of beds and a fun environment. While staying at this hostel, I was happy to find musical instruments on the walls and a number of people who were willing to jam on them. Spent most of my time in Nashville out on the lawn playing guitar or walking around 2nd and Broadway in the heart of the city.

To get back to NOLA, I decided to take a greyhound from Nashville to Jackson, and then pick up the southbound City of New Orleans train out of Jackson. The bus I took was late leaving and had a broken AC unit, so the trip was very hot during the day. Overall, the ride took about 10 hours and I barely got any rest; arrived in Jackson, MS at 2:30 in the morning and decided to walk around a bit. I quickly found out that the cops were looking for somebody on the streets and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Got stopped by three different cops, and they questioned me about what I was doing with a black duffel bag in downtown Jackson. Decided to wait until dawn in the train station instead...

Took a better look at Jackson in the day, and got on my train in the afternoon. Before too long, I was crossing through marshland again en route to New Orleans...

Summertime...

...and the livin' is easy.

After facing a potential 120 degree day in the desert and dangerous crossing on the bike, I thought it best to amend the trip and make it a train/road/hostel adventure. Stepdad Scott joined me in California and we headed out on a fun road trip through the hellish heat waves of Arizona and California. While in Phoenix, we met up with a fellow backpacking pal before heading out on the road again. Despite dodging Texas Editions, battling banditos on the Juarez border and wolfing down truck stop food, we made to Austin safely, where we then thoroughly enjoyed a plate of Ironworks BBQ.

The following day, I made it over to Antone's Blues Club in Austin where Storyville, an Austin blues rock band featuring Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan's band), was playing. The show was great, and I even met Tommy Shannon after the show. For the 4th, I watched the fireworks over town lake in Austin, and took in some local color walking fifth and sixth streets after the festivities. Austin is a great town with a lot of fun people, good food and great music. It was fun to be there, but I looked forward to heading out on the train and moving towards the swamps and marshes of cajun country. There, my next adventures awaited...

A Ride through the Desert

After dropping our camper off at his grandma's place in Orange, CA, Josh is now on his bike headed east. He is headed first to his other grandparent's place in Prescott, AZ. He's stopped in Apple Valley, CA and Yucca Valley, CA, and is now trying to figure out how to smartly cross the desert. He's finding temps of 110 and is probably going to get a ride across instead of biking it. We'll see what happens on the other side. We're also against a bit of a tight timeline as I'm done here on the 25th of July. So, we'll see if he bikes the whole way or if he hops a bus or train at some point. Either way, he says that he's learning how to pack better for the ride we'll hopefully do together at some point this year...Only two days into it and he already has some really cool stories. I'll let him tell those to you later; for now, I'll just keep posting the photos that he texts to me from the open road and will post his progress.

VP and the Gang

Robin meets Admiral Allen, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Vice President Joe Biden. Check the link to our Picasa site for photos.