J/k, go ahead and procreate...we just can't handle anymore.
Day 1: Anyway, the drive to Indiana was planned to start at 7 am on Friday, June 3rd. Jenna missed the last day of school, but didn't seem upset. In fact her and Zac woke Steve and me up at 5:30am, and so we were loaded, got breakfast and were on our way by 6:30am.
Northeast Utah is gorgeous. We went through Heber Valley and onto Wyoming that morning. After 203 miles, we stopped in Rock Springs, Wyoming for calisthenics and to feed the baby. We also filled up the tank with gas. That was mandatory for stops, whether we needed more gas or not...That is mostly because "what if by some miracle all 4 of the kids were asleep, and we needed to hit the road hard?" If there was less than a half tank of gas, it would be a shame. They all seem to wake up when we exit.
At 360 miles, we stopped at a super small town called Eagle Mountain, WY. Population 194. We stopped at a new, small elementary school to play and eat lunch.The town was lined with sandbags; they must have been expecting a flood. The kids thought this was a great stop until Jenna's head got in the way of the merry-go-round. They did have a good stop there. It was the kind of stop that makes it so I come along on these journeys.
The 3rd stop of the day was 580 miles into the trip. We stopped in Sidney, Nebraska. There is the Cabella's headquarters and a duck pond out front. I fed the baby and the kids explored with Steve. Zac and Jenna chased the poor ducks. This was the first stop where the weather was getting warmer.
The last stop of the day was at 704 miles- North Platte, Nebraska. We stayed at the Hampton Inn. Which to me is the "new" Holiday Inn. We swam in the pool. At first, Trev was not a fan, but it didn't take long until he loved the pool! Gage did good in the water as long as I was holding him close.
We ordered food from Runza, the order was wrong, which happened to be the rule with larger orders as opposed to the exception. Gage was a total bed hog, and we realized that night that bringing a pack and play for the baby may have been worth making adjustments in the van for. Because he is such a mover, I worried all night that my pillow barrier would not be enough to stop him from rolling onto the floor. He didn't fall on the floor the entire trip, but at the expense of my good nights rest. Wait, I haven't slept well in years! Trev slept on the floor because he too is a thrashing sleeper that needs his space.
Day 2:
Rise and shine and on the road again!
Our first stop was at 180 miles, in York, Nebraska. The 2nd stop was 381.9 miles into the day, at Stuart, Iowa. Finally, a new state, a cute town, and a great park! The kids swang, climbed, and chased a squirrel up a tree.Stop 3 was at mile marker 504 somewhere in Iowa. The baby ate, and the kids stretched. We met some nice folks from Canada at the rest stop there. We liked their accent: They said that they had traveled "aboot 5400 miles!". The final stop was in Galesburg, Illinois, 650 miles into the trip. We were looking for a Dairy Queen per my request, but we got slightly lost despite the GPS unit. We ended up at a McDonald's on a Saturday night were all the local senior citizens were having dinner and got a great show of disobedient, disheveled kids eating ice cream sundaes. At McDonald's, it is worthy to note that Trevor thought that he saw uncle Kevin and was certain that it was him.
The Final stop of the day was in Bloomington, Illinois. It was a 730 mile day.
We stayed at a Hampton Inn again. We swam in the pool that must have been the loudest environment of all time. There were several 11- 12 year old girls there for a softball tourney, and they were squealing in the worst acoustics ever. We literally could not hear each other talk. But the kids had fun. The room had 2 beds plus a couch that pulled out to a bed. That was nice! We all slept better that night.
Day 3:
We slept in on day 3 because we didn't have as far to go. We showered and enjoyed the breakfast there. Hamptin Inn waffles are awesome. Gage nearly ate an entire waffle on hos own. We opened Grandma's box that she prepared for us. That was so fun and thoughtful. The best part of the box was the travel bingo. We got a coverall minus seeing a pig, even though Steve says he saw some in a livestock trailer while I was sleeping. We saw a surplus of silos and even saw a house on fire that the kids thought met the "firehouse" criteria.
Our first stop of the day was in Edinburg, Indiana after 209 miles on the road. Woopwoop, I am starting to get real excited now, because it is familiar. I know that we are getting close to home. Plus, I love the Edinburg outlet, I even went in the Nike outlet briefly to experience the shopping Mecca before I fed the baby. We had McDonald's- they did not get our order right either. Then we headed for "home", almost to Madison. At 262 miles, we were at my brother's new house in Madison, Indiana. The total miles for the journey to Madison from Orem, Utah was 1704.7 miles.
The ride out was fun. We did the ticket thing again. They passed up a ticket at most every half and hour and were able to exchange that for a snack or a toy. The treats were all suprises that I had bought from the Dollar Tree and happy meal toys and junk food that we had hoarded for months as we planned for this trip.
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