Our Trip Across Country

Now for our road trip....

Having survived it, I can now say that it actually wasn't so terrible. It could have been a lot worse. The first leg was the killer one, a 23 hour stretch of driving all the the way to Wisconsin. We didn't get the sleep that we wanted before we left because of last minute packing so we were both exhausted by the end of it. We switched off a lot, and took an extended dinner break where we found a park in Nebraska and let the kids run around. Elizabeth had a rougher time during this drive because she was still recovering from a cough and would wake herself up coughing. But, we finally made it in the middle of the night Monday night and crashed in two prepared rooms for us at my brother's house (they spoiled us).

We had a great time in Wisconsin. I was actually impressed with the area they live. It's a pretty big city but it feels smalltown-ish. The kids had a great time running around with their cousins and the adults a great time playing games and catching up. One day, we went to a local free zoo. Here are some Wisconsin pictures.

Playing ballet in the unfinished basement

The lion is in the background (hard to see)

Cute cousins in front of the giraffe

Natalie looking at the rhino. She loved to say "Whoa!"

Watching the polar bear

Joe with the poor, sad orangutans (they really did seem to be begging to be let out)

After a couple of days, we were back on the road. Thanks again guys for letting us come! We drove, slept in Kentucky and then drove some more until....we finally made it late Friday night.

This trip taught me many things:
1. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but the parts of Wyoming we saw were not pretty. I love the Jackson Hole/Star Valley area but this area was nothing like that.
2. Nebraska goes on forever.
3. West Virginia is endless trees.
4. Big, thick pillows are ideal for car trips.
5. In some places, premium gas costs less than regular unleaded (I guess this is because of ethanol but I still don't really understand why).
6. Talking about childhood memories keeps Joe and I awake.
7. The ABC game isn't as fun by yourself but it does keep you awake.
8. Anything by the Temptations is like a lullaby to my kids. Once when Natalie was very upset, we decided to try putting on "My Girl" (or as she calls it now, "muh-guh"). She got so excited and calmed right down. Another time when the kids were upset and wouldn't sleep we put the CD in and they both fell asleep within minutes. :)
9. There's nothing better to a 3 year old who's been cooped up in a car than running through some rest stop fields picking dandelions.
10. Elizabeth must have a huge bladder. She can go forever between bathroom breaks (thank goodness).
11. Kids are resilient.
12. Adults are not as resilient.

Well, thanks for humoring me. We'll see how round two goes in a couple months! :)