January 26, 2006:

January 27, 2006:

January 28, 2006:

January 29, 2006:

January 30, 2006:

January 31, 2006:

February 1, 2006:

February 3, 2006:

February 4, 2006:

February 8, 2006:

We ordered the carburetor today. We're holding a meeting at 7:30pm at Giovanni's to discuss progress and make plans.

We started building the entertainment center.

The Rear-View Camera has arrived in the mail.

The rear-view camera is installed, and the entertainment center gets more work done to it.

We researched and listed all of the items we need to buy to complete the bus. We started designing the bus in 3D.

February 10, 2006:

February 11, 2006:

February 12, 2006:

February 17, 2006:

February 18, 2006:

We worked on the bunks and finalized the ingenious bed-to-couch design. We also researched mattresses/foam.

We finished the bunk frames, and repaired the engine after a spark plug wire fiasco.

Tim went solo on the bus today and attached all the legs on the bunks.

We bought Steel to cover the windows, caulked rust spots, and peeled off the "Go UCF" Decals.

Dimitri and Tim fabricated a generator cradle and mounted the the generator under the bus. The secondary electrical system is underway.

February 26, 2006:

February 27, 2006:

March 1, 2006:

March 3, 2006:

March 4, 2006:

The rear window replacements got a new coat of bustrip.org white paint on them!

We finished replacing the leaky rear axle seal and put the wheels and axle back on the bus.

The new carburator came in the mail and will soon be placed atop our 427hp engine.

Installed the rear window replacements and finished wiring the A/C. Bring a jacket because its freezing!

Removed the old heater core from the rear of the bus along with 50 feet of radiator hose that led to it.

March 9, 2006:

March 17, 2006:

March 18, 2006:

March 19, 2006:

March 28, 2006:

The shower pan, sink, and toilet are all on the way from different parts of the country.

We finished hooking up the generator and fired her up for the first time.

We Installed the shower and the toilet black water tank.

We built the kitchen countertop, breaker panel table, and finished putting up the walls on the bathroom.

We bought the tow dolly for the car today with plans to pick it up in Daytona on Friday morning at 10. Also, we ordered the water heater for the shower and sink.

April 1, 2006:

April 8, 2006:

April 14, 2006:

May 5, 2006:

May 6, 2006:

We finished wiring the tow dolly, wiring the water heater, piping water into the shower and the sink, putting floor and walls inside the bathroom, and securing the countertop.

We bought all of the upholstry and foam required to cover the bus entirely. Also, the water pump came in the mail. We did a bit of planning for the trip, as well.

We upholstered our main couch and carpeted up to the middle of the bus.

We worked on the water system and upholstered some more furniture.

Bryan Horgan helped us tie a lot of loose ends in the water system and helped upholster and carpet some more of the bus.

May 7, 2006:

May 8, 2006:

May 14, 2006:

May 14, 2006:

May 15, 2006:

Today, Bryan helped us make the transformation of bus to RV official! We finished the carpet, fiinished the upholstry, cleaned everything, tiled the back area, got the shower and sink working, fixed all of the leaks, and welded the hitch to tow the Toyota Avalon.

Bryan, Karrie, Danny, and Stephanie came out and helped us out today. Danny built the refrigerator table, Kerri and Stephanie worked on the back wall and covered up imperfections, while Tim, Dimitri, and Bryan did a lot of engine work. Another hard day of work awaits us!

Our tire on the tow dolly busted, so we spent mother's day looking for an open Wal-Mart. We Arrived in Savannah and had a high class seafood dinner. Next Stop: Columbia, South Carolina!

It's 9:30 PM and we just hit a huge hailstorm with Golf-ball sized hail... after an hour of good times, hoping none of our windows broke, we pulled over at a truck stop. We're gonna stay the night.

We went whitewater rafting today in Nantahala, an hour west of Asheville, NC.

We met up with Jimmy at a truck stop and arrived in Arlington, Virginia.

We had a great night hanging out with Maddy and Marissa, and we visited the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Today we visited the White House, The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, The Spy Museum, and The National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution! Next Stop, New York!

Our alternator went out in Times Square, but we found the problem in time and fixed it. We arrived at Bay Shore Long Island around 6:00 am followed by a walk in central park and a night at the Waldorf Astoria.

We stayed the night at the Waldorf, Astoria in NYC and circled around times square in search of Mr. Softee's ice cream.

Today, we visited the Statue of Liberty and the 102nd story of the Empire State Building.

We're driving to Boston, MA to spend the day!

We left Boston today after picking up Karrie from the airport and are headed towards Niagra Falls to ride the Maid of the Mist!

We arrived in Niagara Falls, rode the Maid of the Mist, drove into Canada, and had some fun in the casino.

We arrived in Cleveland, Ohio at 1:00PM and washed our clothes, ate food, and had coffee at Dimitri's aunt's house. Next Stop Chicago!

We made it to Chicago today after attempting to find parking for 3 hours. We took the car into the city to see the Sears Tower, Eat in Chinatown, and we visited the Navy Pier to see the fireworks.

Today, we arrived in Iowa. We visited Tim's grandparents' getaway house 45 minutes away from Des Moines. We took a ride out on the lake, relaxed in the jacuzzi, and made smores as fireflies lit up the night.

Karrie had to leave today, so we took her to the airport and then went to dinner with a few of Tim's relatives.

The bus was parked in dirt, and after an early morning shower, the ground was soaked. That didn't stop us, though. We began mid-trip maintanance by taking out the radiator and sending the throttle cable to get duplicated.

The throttle cable took the company forever to finish, so we worked on other things from 8:00AM to 4:30PM and picked up the shiny new cable. After installation, we looked under the bus and found that 3 new leaks had sprung due to old hoses. We pulled the hoses and called it a night at 10:00PM.

We took the hoses to a shop in Des Moines to get duplicated in the morning. After only 25 minutes, we were back to the bus, where we replaced all of the old lines with the new ones. By 7:00PM, we had finished. At 8:30PM we gave our baby a bath and called it a night.

We rolled out of Des Moines after running a few errands and we traveled 300 miles to Spencer, South Dakota, where we had a problem with our engine starting up. We slept the night at "Royal Flush Pheasants," Thanks to the owner, Denny, who offered us a tow.

The day began at 8:00AM. We tinkered with the engine for 6 hours, attempting to find out what the problem was. Based on the symptoms, we narrowed it down to 3 possibilities, so we took to the road in the avalon to find the nearest town with a parts store, and we bought a new coil.

We came back with the coil and after another 5 hours of changing spark plugs and tinkering with the valves, carburator, etc, she was purring like a kitty! A big thanks to Denny and Tammy who treated us like family during the duration of our stay, and managed to put smiles back on our faces!

We visited Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Sturgis. After an eventful day, we drove to Gillette, Wyoming to spend the night at a truck stop.

Our #1 Fan, Crazy Jimmy met up with us again in Gillette, WY! After hanging out with him in the morning, we ate lunch with Dimitri's cousin, Mike Klidas, who is temporarily there on business. After a relaxing day, we left for Livingston, MT.

We did the loop around Yellowstone by car in 8 hours and came back to Livingston with lots of great pictures and memories.

We set aside 8 hours to bring the website completely up to date with stories and pictures. Some editing still remains, but by tomorrow, we'll have everything up. We are currently making a beeline for Seattle, Washington through the rockies.

Tim and Dimitri split driving time and covered 430 miles on the way to Seattle, Washington. After a long day, which involved a cracked windshield and losing the Avalon keys, we finally reached Seattle at 11:00PM, finding parking in a Staples lot.

We were woken up this morning to the thud of a nightstick and were forced to move the bus. After getting the windshield replaced, we drove out to a truck stop, parked the bus, and took the Avalon into the city to see the Space Needle.

We drove to Vancouver, B.C. and spent the day at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We drove back to Seattle and slept the night at a Flying J truck stop.

We left Seattle, Washington and drove many miles today, passing through Portland, Oregon. Tim won rock, paper, scissors, and we wound up taking a detour on US1 where the bus met with the Pacific Ocean. We slept the night at a truck stop, a couple of hours away from San Francisco.

We arrived in San Francisco. On our way in, we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and rode into the city. We met up with Paul Ciarlo for dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown.

We visited Alcatraz and the Fisherman's Wharf today. The prison tour was very interesting, as was the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the island. We ate sushi with Paul Ciarlo again and drove south of the city towards Atascadero, California.

We reached Atascadero, California, and were greeted by Tim's grandparents. They took us to Morrow Bay and bought us six pounds of taffy! After an hour at the beach, we went to a field to pick cherries and berries off of trees. A great dinner followed, and we called it a night.

We visited the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Later, we bid Tim's grandparents goodbye after a very enjoyable stay. Billy and Tim's mom, Elizabeth, welcomed us on our arrival in Glendale, CA. Shortly after, Dimitri parted ways to go spend some time with his friends Vicky, Billy, and Eleni.

We woke up and Billy took us out for a fine lunch at the Cat & The Fiddle. We then drove all over Hollywood. While Tim relaxed and spent time with his relatives, Dimitri drove to Northridge to see his aunt, uncle, and cousins. That night, we went to Highlands on Sunset Strip and had a great time.

We visited Venice Beach, with the company of Dimitri's cousin Alex, and saw some interesting street performances as well as some very interesting people. We ate dinner and left in the midst of rush hour.

Tim spent time with his family and worked on the water system as Dimitri drove down to Orange County to hang out with Carly on her Birthday. We visited Newport and Laguna beaches and ate world famous clam chowder at the Crab Cooker followed by a nice meal at Claim Jumpers restaurant.

That night, we visited Carly and Paul's studio apartment right off of Sunset Strip, and left to hang out at The Standard. When the Standard closed, we went back to the apartment and hung out until the early morning.

We stopped by the Northridge Mall to do some shopping and then left for Glendale to pack up. Billy took us out to dinner and Dimitri came back to a suprise birthday cake and present. at 12:00AM, Dimitri officially turned 21.

Dimitri is officially 21 and we are leaving for Vegas! Danny joins us for the trip.

After an entire night spent at the blackjack and craps tables, we finally found an available room at 10:00AM at the Circus Circus hotel. We took a nap and went back out to a few more casinos. By 11:00PM we were all dead tired, so we passed out.

We woke up to the Circus Circus breakfast buffet and then drove Danny to the Airport. After that, we booked tickets for the "Blue Man Group" show at the Venetian Hotel & Casino. Tonight, we're heading out towards the Hoover Dam.

We visited the Grand Canyon and saw it the only way it was meant to be seen: by helicopter! A long journey awaits us as we begin the beeline back to Florida through Arizona and New Mexico.

After the bus quit on us twice in New Mexico, we determined that the heat and high elevation should be taken more seriously. After letting the bus cool down a bit, we made record time to Dallas, Texas, where we met up with Tim's cousin, Scott.

We woke up outside of Scott's house, and he invited us in to hang out for a bit. We got back on the road at 9:00AM and drove until 2:00AM through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to Pensacola.

We suprised our families when we showed up at home in Orlando, Florida at 8:00PM! Today marks the official end of the bus trip! After traveling 2300 miles in 4 days at 60mph, we can finally call the trip a success!