Follow their Journey

The bus trip begins with scientific packing theories, denim realities, medical shots, Elvis on the radio, and Griffo discovering that getting four children started is already an expedition.

Griffo's first dispatch finds him aboard the bus with four children, seven bags, Elvis on the radio, and the dawning realization that getting started may be the hardest mile.

New Orleans gets the full Griffo inspection as the children confront fish-market aromas, ferryboats, Bourbon Street mysteries, contraband toys, and the French Quarter's many chances for paternal alarm.

The French Quarter offers history, heat, ferryboats, and the famous fish market, but the children mostly supply the commentary, including Gregory's urgent relationship with every bus washroom.

Crossing Texas, Griffo tries to pacify Gregory with rewards for impossible livestock, only to find pink cows, Alamo questions, hairbrush law, and child bargaining all harder than expected.

Arriving in El Paso at a deeply inconvenient hour, Griffo and four tired children are rescued by a Hilton sample room that turns into both emergency shelter and children's paradise.

In El Paso, a hotel clerk meets four children, one tired father, and no proper reservation, then finds shelter in a sample room that becomes an instant family barracks.

In Juarez, a wooden horse, four children, a camera, and a watchful policeman create a miniature international incident, settled with two bits and Griffo's wounded dignity.

Juarez proves lively enough for any tourist, with souvenir windows, a wooden horse, curious children, and one father trying to shepherd international relations on a family budget.

Phoenix greets the travelers with sunrise mountains, copper country, and a portable radio that dramatically regains its voice after a midnight fall, startling everyone within range.

A Phoenix morning of earaches, breakfast diplomacy, and odd hotel smells becomes a fire-prevention success when Chuck's nose helps uncover a smoldering chair.

The arrival in Phoenix is marked by desert scenery, tired passengers, and a portable radio that survives a crash only to resume blaring at the worst possible hour.

In Phoenix, the children vote for hieroglyphics over a cool movie, turning South Mountain Park into a family field trip of rocks, gold-mine hopes, ancient markings, and vacation democracy.

Phoenix begins with Gregory's aching ear, breakfast negotiations, drugstore medicine, and Chuck's nose eventually helping detect a hotel-room fire before the day can behave itself.

A Phoenix layover becomes a democratic family expedition to South Mountain, where hieroglyphics, rocks, heat, and Arizona cantaloupes all compete for the children's attention and Father's patience.

Scottsdale outfits the travelers in Western ties, lariat lessons, souvenir temptations, and enough staged frontier charm for Chuck to judge whether the West is Western enough.

In Scottsdale, the family goes Western with colorful ties, lariat lessons, tourist shops, and Chuck's firm opinion that the West's Most Western Town needs more real cowboy grit.

On the road to Tombstone, Wyatt Earp lore meets impromptu wrestling lessons from traveling midget matmen, giving the Griffo children a Western education no guidebook promised.

On the way to Tombstone, the Griffo party meets midget wrestlers, Old West legends, and enough roadside novelty to confirm that a family bus trip can outdo any planned attraction.

Near the Grand Canyon, Arizona offers antelope, mountain views, and grand scenery, but Chuck keeps proving that a boy's tourist eye can still be led firmly by his stomach.

Between the Painted Desert, Albuquerque lights, souvenir shopping, and the turn eastward, a leaky thermos steals the scenery by raining soft drink inside the bus.

Flagstaff, antelope, mountain views, and Chuck's devotion to cantaloupe all crowd into a day when Arizona's wonders have to work hard to beat a hungry boy's breakfast interests.

Between Painted Desert beauty and Albuquerque lights, the bus experiences indoor weather when loose thermos bottles begin raining soft drinks on a passenger, with Martha quietly identifying the storm system.

Near the Grand Canyon, Arizona offers antelope, mountain views, and grand scenery, but Chuck keeps proving that a boy's tourist eye can still be led firmly by his stomach.

Between the Painted Desert, Albuquerque lights, souvenir shopping, and the turn eastward, a leaky thermos steals the scenery by raining soft drink inside the bus.

Between Painted Desert beauty and Albuquerque lights, the bus experiences indoor weather when loose thermos bottles begin raining soft drinks on a passenger, with Martha quietly identifying the storm system.

The final leg carries the family past Pikes Peak, Denver, and the long road home, with extra passengers, fading mountain scenery, and Griffo's relief all sharing the bus.

Homeward bound on U.S. 40, Griffo lightens the luggage, survives Denver and the mountains, and discovers that the last lap of a family bus trip is still no place for amateurs.

The bus trip begins with scientific packing theories, denim realities, medical shots, Elvis on the radio, and Griffo discovering that getting four children started is already an expedition.

Griffo's first dispatch finds him aboard the bus with four children, seven bags, Elvis on the radio, and the dawning realization that getting started may be the hardest mile.