Bluffs, Bites, Breakfast, and Beauty

"What do they eat when they can't get hobbit?" -Merry Brandybuck

We stayed in Chicago perhaps longer than we should. And we had to stop in Wisconsin for frozen custard and Packers apparel. So we arrived at our campsite on the bluffs of the Mississippi after dark. If you've never driven seventy (the speed limit, and the speed of traffic) in the dark, on a curvy cliff face over a gigantic river, you probably shouldn't.

By the time we arrived at our campsite, we seriously considered sleeping in the car, but that would have been extremely uncomfortable, so we hustled out to set up our tent and got bitten by about six million mosquitos. Add to that there were no rangers around, the campsite was angled and nearly deserted and our only neighbors had a big dog and foul mouths, it wasn't easy to get to sleep. All too soon our alarm was going off and it was time to fight another swarm of mosquitos to pack up. There were 15 trapped in the car alone after we were done. Oddly, the bathrooms were really nice, so that helped a bit.

Since it's my birthday, we stopped for breakfast at Perkins for my free meal. The manager was extremely nice, and breakfast was tasty.

A few hundred miles put us at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The falls are gorgeous, the walkways are lovely, and we all loved it. I will post some good shots of the park later, and just send the one I took with my phone now. Next stop, Rushmore!

Our Kind of Town

“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.” ― Vladimir Nabokov

The thunderstorms and rain when we arrived in Chicago couldn't dampen our spirits. It is lowering for a Packers fan to admit, but Chicago is truly awesome. We had to drag Scott out of every exhibit at the Adler planetarium, and the Field Museum was far too epic to squeeze into the few short hours we had available.

The beautiful layout of the museums along Lake Shore Drive was picturesque even in rain, but by the time we got out of the museums, we got to catch the skyline in sunlight, too.

Even better? After getting slightly lost, we headed back out and are now in Wisconsin, which was my home for many years. It still feels like home. We are debating a hotel because it took us too long to get out of Chicago and our campground has rain predicted again, but we will decide after we get tired. Right now, we are revved.

Day One Highlights

- 599.5 miles driven.
- The tent doesn't leak! (Yup. Rained on our s'mores...)
- Everyone is smiling.
- Chipmunks are cute, in the forest where they belong. (Just for you, mom - I know they drive you crazy at your bird feeders!)
- We have provided sustenance to many starving creatures. Mosquitoes, mostly.
- Did I mention we're having fun? Headed to bed soon, as I got far too little sleep last night. Tomorrow morning, Chicago!

Pokagon Money Making Racket

"And they can't afford better bathrooms..."  - Nick

Pokagon State Park in Indiana seems to have quite the money making racket going. We got here about 3:30, and set up camp. We had already paid for our campsite, but turns out you need to pay for entrance to the park, too. Fine, okay, some parks do that, but it wasn't mentioned on my reservation. I was probably a bit cranky after Ohio charged me $15 to pass through their state, so I chalked my mild annoyance up to a super tiring day. But then we found out we had to buy our firewood from them, and we were legally obligated to buy a firestarter because dead and fallen branches were not permitted to be used as kindling. Nice.

On the plus side, we enjoyed the little nature center. Scott and I liked a window that allowed us to watch woodland animals and birds without startling them. Kai and Nick had fun watching the turtles and snakes. We all liked the view of the lake from the beach, but we arrived too late for watersport. The hike back up from the beach was pretty steep so we all decided it was dinner time. Starting a fire with logs and one commercial firestarter was an adventure, but the kids are roasting hot dogs now, so I better get in line before they're all gone!

Westward, Ho!

"A destructive summer vacation for you and your angry family is to visit the Rocky Cupcakes in Colorado." -Mad Libs on the Road

I was first up for driving this morning, so we're already well on our way. We just stopped for lunch at an Ohio rest area and had tasty sandwiches and fruit. Unfortunately, there were no picnic tables and it was sprinkling, so our first vacation food was in the car. Still, since we left home 6.5 hours ago, we were happy to eat wherever.  So far, we have gone 388 miles, watched one movie, listened to three hours of music, found 21 license plates, and crossed one lousy state border. Why is Pennsylvania so long? We are all still laughing though, and that is a good start!

4 Days and Counting

“What are you doing with all those books anyway?" Ron asked.
Just trying to decide which ones to take with us," said Hermione. When we're looking for the Horcruxes."
Oh, of course," said Ron, clapping a hand to his forehead. "I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library.”  -J.K. Rowling

Fortunately, I have a Kindle app.  Otherwise, I'm sure Scott and I would be having the same conversation as Ron and Hermione later this evening.  I'm spending the day doing laundry (which is rather normal for summer) but I'm almost happy about it (not at all normal) because half of the laundry is being piled on the dining room table, ready to be added to suitcases.  My sister wrote me yesterday to say how excited she is for our visit, and we're all pretty excited to get going, too!

Unfortunately, I don't have an Undetectable Extension Charm, or TARDIS technology, so our suitcases, bags, tent, sleeping bags, and totes are defnitely NOT bigger on the inside.  We are trying to take as little as possible, but we need supplies for camping, clothes, food, comic-con costumes - the list goes on, and every time I think I've got it figured out, I find something else we'll need.  For example, I told everyone NOT to pack 21 days of clothes, we'd do laundry.  But that means taking laundry soap and bags.  We wanted to use our Sam's club membership to grab breakfast muffins, granola bars, and snacks, but have you SEEN the size of those club packs?  Maybe what we really need is a car that is bigger on the inside.  Hermione? Doctor?

Survive the Drive

"Are we there yet?"
-Every child, ever

We are less concerned about the actual drive, I think, than most families headed on a 7,500 mile trek with two teenagers would be. Much of our confidence is luck, really. We are ridiculously lucky to have two kids who actually get along. We had nothing to do with it, so don't ask how we did it. Twenty solid days of family togetherness may test that, but we aren't worried. We are lucky to have a car that is practically new and still under warranty, so car trouble is not really on our radar. (Though I feel like I should knock on wood having said that!). Also, we already spend a large chunk of our lives in the car.

Still, we have a few plans for the actual drive to keep us all sane. The aforementioned playlist is up to 177 songs. We bought an inverter for the laptop, and are downloading movies and games. We have our phones and my omnipresent camera. Not to mention the section of my binder full of paper and pencil games, and the pile of games and puzzle books pictured above that Amazon delivered this morning. We will see how long we can avoid the dreaded "Are we there yet?"

Plotting and Planning

"Think it'll work?"
"It would take a miracle."
-Miracle Max and Valerie (She's not a witch, she's his wife!)
We are spending the evening while the kids are at Grandma's working on the trip. We did a disatrous preliminary pack - we may need a UHaul if we don't think it out again. Then I scrubbed up some of our gear and made a shopping list for tomorrow while Scott works on the soundtrack for the road. (Although as I listen to him working on it, I fear for the children...)
In other news, we just found out that Yellowstone is under a norovirus warning. So we are wondering if it's better to bring food and get eaten by marauding bears or eat a restaurants and get attacked by marauding viruses. Decisions, decisions. Whatever we decide, we are finally getting excited for this trip!

Actual Itinerary

"Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience." - Francis Bacon

After several false starts, and more changes and rearranges than I care to think about, we are actually doing this thing.  My mom can't come along because my stepdad suffered a stroke and can't stay alone for that long.  We switched back to plenty of camping - perhaps more than we are sure we can do.  We added destinations, took them away, added more, changed plans a hundred times.

But now I have a binder of information.  And reservations for each and every night of the trip.  And wonder of wonders, four tickets to Comic-Con, after a frantic morning of waiting in a virtual queue with hundreds (perhaps thousands) who were not so lucky.  I have a budget that is just barely workable.  I have a car that has been babied and carefully maintained for the year since we purchased it.  We are really leaving, in only 31 days.

So, our itinerary, in brief, is a mixture of education, entertainment, and experience.  It involves quite possibly too much driving, tons of sightseeing, and a crazy number of stops.  Here's the "short" description:

Sunday, July 7 - Drive to Pokagon State Park in Indiana for a night of camping.
Monday, July 8 - Drive to Chicago.  See the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium.  Drive to Great Bluffs State Park in Minnesota to camp for the night overlooking the Mississippi River.
Tuesday, July 9 - Drive to Mount Rushmore. Stay in cabins.
Wednesday, July 10 - Sightsee at Mount Rushmore and the surrounding area. Stay in cabins.
Thursday, July 11 - Drive to Yellowstone. Camp, and see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Friday, July 12 - See Old Faithful, Hayden Valley, and the rest of the lower loop. Camp.
Saturday, July 13 - See Tower Fall and Mammoth Hot Springs on the way to Missoula, Montana.  Stay in a hotel.
Sunday, July 14 - Drive to Bremerton, WA for a visit with my sister.
Monday, July 15 - More visiting with my sister.
Tuesday, July 16 - Drive to Patrick's Point State Park, and camp overlooking the Pacific.
Wednesday, July 17 - Make the impossibly long drive to Anaheim, stopping halfway to visit the Jelly Belly Factory. Camp at Anaheim RV Village - apparently an urban campground.
Thursday, July 18 - Go to Disneyland. Camp.
Friday, July 19 - Go to California Adventure. Camp.
Saturday, July 20 - See the California Science Center (with the Space Shuttle Endeavor) and the Hollywood area. Camp.
Sunday, July 21 - Attend San Diego Comic Con.  Stay at a hotel.
Monday, July 22 - See the USS Midway and go to Coronado beach.  Stay at a hotel.
Tuesday, July 23 - Drive to the Grand Canyon, and sightsee for an hour or two.  Drive further to Flagstaff, AZ and stay at a hotel.
Wednesday, July 24 - Drive to Amarillo, TX.  See various Route 66 attractions.  Go to the Texas! show at Palo Duro State Park.  Stay at a hotel.
Thursday, July 25 - Drive to St. Louis, Missouri.  See the Gateway Arch and the Westward Expansion museum. Stay at a hotel.
Friday, July 26 - Drive to Dayton, Ohio.  See Gaelic Storm at the Irish Fest.  Stay at a hotel.
Saturday, July 27 - Drive home.

This feels crazy, and heady, and scary, and thoroughly amazing.  Now I just have to figure out a better way to pack the car...

Many Plans, Many Changes

"Well, back to the old drawing board." - Peter Arno

It has certainly been a year.  With one thing and another, and the band trip below that ate our budget, the road trip (which we had already decided to push back to 2013) and this blog took a far back seat. 

But now I am home for the summer, and other than VBS, my schedule is fairly clear.  And that means it's time to plan a vacation!  We are all extremely excited about the road trip, and I've spent several days plotting it out, but it looks very different from our original plans.

First, we need a new car.  Our old car is well beloved, but it's nearing the end of its usefulness.  Since we're planning to upgrade to a crossover, and our car will be practically new, it doesn't make much sense to rent an SUV for the trip.  Especially since we'll have a car payment to add into our budget soon.  So we've decided to drive our own car on the trip.  Of course you know, that means we have to add to our trip - we can't fly back home if we're driving our own car!  Here's the Chevy Equinox I've been eying at a local dealership:

Next, we've invited my mother along.  She will be a great addition to the trip.  She loves to travel, especially with us.  However, that means no camping, and we have to find hotel rooms with suites everywhere we go.  It will be worth it, though, to get all that quality Grandma/Mom time!

Last, and in the eyes of the kids and Scott, most important, we've decided on the exact timing of our trip.  Timing has become important, because one of our stops is now going to be the 2013 San Diego Comic Con (assuming we can get badges - we're going to have to get all four of us on the computer the morning they go on sale, methinks).