24 Jul

24Jul

Phoenix: May 13, 2023 - May 20, 2023
L.A.: May 20, 2023 - June 24, 2023

Our Story

Long story short, we sold almost all of our possessions including our home, dropped our youngest off at college, and are now traveling the country. We're staying at Airbnbs about a month at a time while working remotely. Turns out, there is a significant discount if you book an Airbnb for a month or more!

See our first post "How the heck did we pull this off?" for more details on how we got started. If you have any questions, post them in the comments or contact us directly and we'll be happy to answer them!

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - South of Taos, New Mexico

Pacific Coast Highway - California

Disclaimer

While we are definitely having an amazing experience, life comes along with us. We don't want to give the impression that this journey is always great and stress free. Most of the time it is, but we still have the ups and downs of everyday life.

Please Comment!

We love to read your comments and answer your questions. You can also comment on individual photos in the linked photo albums as well.

Where are we now?

We're in San Francisco, but we leave on July 30th. Our post was delayed but we'd love to see you before we leave if you're in the area!

Golden Gate View Point - Mill Valley, California

Why Phoenix and L.A.?

We have family in Phoenix and it's only four hours from our previous home, Kanab, UT! So, we stayed in Phoenix for a week to be able to visit them.

And L.A.--so much to see in the surrounding area as well as lots of family and friends to visit!

Angeles National Forest - Kagel Canyon, California

Phoenix and L.A. Airbnbs

Our Airbnb Non-Negotiables Just like a home, there will never be a perfect Airbnb. As long as our non-negotiables are met, we'll book it.

Within Budget Room for our kids Good Reviews Safe Area Reliable WiFi	Work areas Washer & Dryer Functional Kitchen Room for Kim to get away from Dave

Phoenix Airbnb
Another great Airbnb. It was in Scottsdale, just outside Phoenix and most importantly, it had a kegerator, vinyl record albums, and a vinyl record player!

L.A. Airbnb
We loved this little place and it's location, in Norwalk. It was in a wonderful and welcoming neighborhood with close proximity to CA Highway 91 where the traffic was so wonderful!

Phoenix/LA Top 10-ish

The Drive from Kanab to Phoenix

The views of our drives out west have been a definite highlight of our journey. The U.S. is stunningly beautiful. (The site only allows uploads of 100 mb or less, so we have to make multiple videos sometimes.)

Below are some highlights of our drive from Kanab to Phoenix.

Part 1

Part 2

Visiting Family

We love seeing friends and family on our journey!

So, we went to Scottsdale to see Kim's aunt and cousins and had wonderful visits. Andrea and Dan graciously invited us to their home for Mother's Day where we had great food, fun, and a lot of laughs. Later in the week we were able to meet for dinner with more of the same.

Thank you Andrea, Dan, Charla, and Aunt Mary for your wonderful hospitality and we hope you're keeping cool and surviving during the heat wave!

Left to Right : Caroline, Dave, Kim, Aunt Mary,
Andrea and Maddie, Charla and Buster, Dan, and Jack

A Day with our Nephew Steven

More Videos & Pics
Steven has been in L.A. for about six years and we were thrilled to meet up and spend a day with him! He planned out a perfect L.A. day and took us all over to include lunch in Malibu, El Matador Beach, Santa Monica, and dinner on the Santa Monica Pier.

It was a spectacular day with the best part being able to spend all day with Steven and catching up on his life and adventures in L.A. He is now a professional photographer where he is hired to be the photographer of major events, parties, etc. Think of an A-List celebrity and Steven has met them. He's an amazing young man who is living his dream in L.A.!

Many thanks for planning an extraordinary day for us, Steven!

The Kathys

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Dave got to catch up with his great friends from High School, Kathy Kushi Carter and Kathy Wesche Twells. We had a fantastic dinner in Long Beach at the Fuego restaurant in the Hotel Maya with a spectacular view of the Queen Mary.

We shared so many laughs and stories and had such a wonderful time. There's not much better about our journey than being able to catch up with such great friends!

Sting 'em Scorps!

Lori, Deb, and Rocky

We had a wonderful lunch and visit with fellow recovering Lakers Lori, Deb, and Rocky! Rocky counts because any significant other of a recovering Laker is also a recovering Laker.

Lori was a fabulous hostess having us all over. We were able to hang out at her beautiful community pool and gardens. So much fun catching up, telling stories, and seeing one another. Lots of love and laughter!

Joshua Tree National Park

More Videos & Pics
Another must see is Joshua Tree National Park. National parks simply defy description. (The site only allows uploads of 100 mb or less, so we have to make multiple videos sometimes.)

Part 1

Part 2

Angeles Crest Scenic Highway

More Videos & Pics
Another spectacular drive. This one was along Angeles Crest Scenic Highway. So beautiful. (The site only allows uploads of 100 mb or less, so we have to make multiple videos sometimes.)

Part 1

Part 2

Will Rogers State Historic Park

More Videos & Pics
We went on a beautiful hike at Will Rogers State Historic Park and earned a spectacular view of L.A. as a reward. We also got to see some polo matches being played near the bottom of the trail. That was a first for us.

Judy's 80th and Grandnephew Kylan

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Kim's mother turned 80 on May 11th (also Christopher's birthday) so Kim was able to fly back to Orlando to surprise her! Christopher and Caroline met Kim in Orlando for the celebration. They took Judy and Wes to dinner at The Raglan Road Irish Pub in Downtown Disney to celebrate Judy's big day.

In addition, they got to see our new grandnephew, Kylan, son of David and Kellie Matthews!

Then Caroline flew with Kim to Phoenix to join us for the summer!

Hollywood

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Can't go to L.A. without a trip to Hollywood.

The clear highlight was paying homage to the original Star Trek cast on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Dave barely held it together.

The Griffith Observatory

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The Griffith Observatory is fabulous, and as a bonus, you're treated to a panoramic view of L.A.

Laguna Beach

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We had a great day exploring Laguna Beach and enjoying its beauty. Lots of places to explore in a beautiful beach town.

Disney California Adventure

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A fun day at Disney California Adventure!

Caroline made the custom Mickey Mouse ears for her and Kim, as well as the dress she wore. Dave respectively declined custom ears.

Knott's Berry Farm

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Kim and Caroline had a girls' day at Knott's Berry Farm.

Lavender Festival at
Highland Springs Ranch and Inn

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The festival itself took place on a large farm nestled in the mountains around Highland Springs. The farm had many little cottages placed throughout it where vendors had set up shop. And even though we got there before the lavender had started to bloom the idyllic scenery more than made up for it.

Bonus Videos (Don't you feel lucky!?!)

Below are some short videos of our drive to Arches National Park during our stay in Kanab, Utah. (The site only allows uploads of 100 mb or less, so we have to make multiple videos sometimes.)

The scenery from Green River to Arches National Park is beautiful so we thought we'd add them to this post.

Part 1