One of the many joys of being a military family is having the opportunity to travel. One of the sorrows is moving. And so after 4 1/2 years in Jacksonville we are loading up and moving west to Coronado, California. 
All 3 of us really enjoyed our time in Jacksonville and we all tried to make the most of our last couple of weeks before moving. 
Tobias took advantage of his last flight in the area and took pictures of downtown Jacksonville and our church.
James spent his last weekend in Jacksonville going to the zoo with his best buddy. James is still asking for his friend at least every day. In this picture James is on the left.
For James' last day at school we brought in ice cream and cookies for the kids to enjoy. Yummy!
We also spent one more evening with James' Jacksonville grandparents where he enjoyed another piano recital.
And so, after everyone had a chance to say goodbye to their friends (or in my case, avoiding good-byes entirely) and the car was all loaded up, we started our journey. For those of you familiar with US geography you will notice that we did not take the most direct route between Jacksonville and Coronado - we took the scenic route.
First stop - the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta!
James' favorite song is Baby Beluga by Raffi. And James just loved seeing the beluga whales. 
James also had the opportunity to practice some of his seamanship skills. Possibly following in his mommy's footsteps as a Surface Warfare Officer? Hmmm.
From Atlanta we headed to Cape Girardeau, Missouri home of Jill Mama. My mom had a really cool hot wheel tricycle waiting for James.
James and Tobias also really enjoyed playing football and soccer right on the shores of the mighty Mississippi River.
Here's a great picture of James at a park in Cape. After seeing him low crawl (voluntarily, of course) I could see James becoming a Marine - the few, the proud!
From Cape we continued our trek west and stopped in Kansas City where we stayed with one of Tobias friends from his days at Colby Community College.
From Kansas City we made it to St. Francis, KS and the Walters' Farmstead. Grandma Edie and the dogs were waiting for James with lots of hugs. 
Grandpa Jim took a few days off from work which gave the two James' time to bond and play games.
Uncle Kyle and Aunt Crystal hosted us for many yummy meals during our visit, but our favorite meal was Uncle Kyle's wonderful ribs. Delicious!
James really enjoyed the farm and has now decided he's a cowboy. Here's James checking out a baby box turtle he found while checking cattle with Uncle Kyle.
After a wonderful visit, it was time for more goodbyes. Here is a beautiful picture of 3 generations of Walters men.
From St. Francis we drove to Denver where Aunt Teri hosted us for the night. We also had a chance to visit with Great-Grandma Leah.
The longest part of our drive was from Denver to where we stopped in Utah for the night. Utah is beautiful but a difficult drive. Here's James and Tobias at a scenic outlook literally 50 yards off the interstate.
After a rough day driving, James was ready to relax in front of the tv in our hotel room in Cedar City, Utah.
And finally, after 2 weeks of traveling we made it to Coronado, CA. We spent our first night in Coronado at the Navy Lodge right next to the Hotel Del Coronado.
In 2 weeks we drove 3000 miles. It was a wonderful journey, which is a good thing because we're only in Coronado for the summer. We'll be heading to Maryland in September where we'll live for at least 2 years.
All 3 of us really enjoyed our time in Jacksonville and we all tried to make the most of our last couple of weeks before moving. Tobias took advantage of his last flight in the area and took pictures of downtown Jacksonville and our church.James spent his last weekend in Jacksonville going to the zoo with his best buddy. James is still asking for his friend at least every day. In this picture James is on the left.For James' last day at school we brought in ice cream and cookies for the kids to enjoy. Yummy!We also spent one more evening with James' Jacksonville grandparents where he enjoyed another piano recital. And so, after everyone had a chance to say goodbye to their friends (or in my case, avoiding good-byes entirely) and the car was all loaded up, we started our journey. For those of you familiar with US geography you will notice that we did not take the most direct route between Jacksonville and Coronado - we took the scenic route.
First stop - the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta!
James' favorite song is Baby Beluga by Raffi. And James just loved seeing the beluga whales. James also had the opportunity to practice some of his seamanship skills. Possibly following in his mommy's footsteps as a Surface Warfare Officer? Hmmm.From Atlanta we headed to Cape Girardeau, Missouri home of Jill Mama. My mom had a really cool hot wheel tricycle waiting for James.James and Tobias also really enjoyed playing football and soccer right on the shores of the mighty Mississippi River.Here's a great picture of James at a park in Cape. After seeing him low crawl (voluntarily, of course) I could see James becoming a Marine - the few, the proud!
From Cape we continued our trek west and stopped in Kansas City where we stayed with one of Tobias friends from his days at Colby Community College.
From Kansas City we made it to St. Francis, KS and the Walters' Farmstead. Grandma Edie and the dogs were waiting for James with lots of hugs. Grandpa Jim took a few days off from work which gave the two James' time to bond and play games.Uncle Kyle and Aunt Crystal hosted us for many yummy meals during our visit, but our favorite meal was Uncle Kyle's wonderful ribs. Delicious!James really enjoyed the farm and has now decided he's a cowboy. Here's James checking out a baby box turtle he found while checking cattle with Uncle Kyle.After a wonderful visit, it was time for more goodbyes. Here is a beautiful picture of 3 generations of Walters men.From St. Francis we drove to Denver where Aunt Teri hosted us for the night. We also had a chance to visit with Great-Grandma Leah.The longest part of our drive was from Denver to where we stopped in Utah for the night. Utah is beautiful but a difficult drive. Here's James and Tobias at a scenic outlook literally 50 yards off the interstate.After a rough day driving, James was ready to relax in front of the tv in our hotel room in Cedar City, Utah.And finally, after 2 weeks of traveling we made it to Coronado, CA. We spent our first night in Coronado at the Navy Lodge right next to the Hotel Del Coronado.
In 2 weeks we drove 3000 miles. It was a wonderful journey, which is a good thing because we're only in Coronado for the summer. We'll be heading to Maryland in September where we'll live for at least 2 years. How do you reward a 2 1/2 year old who was a trooper through the entire journey? By taking him to the zoo the first full day you have in the area, of course.
Comments