Wednesday, August 19, 2015
On the road again...
Taking our "usual" route out of Michigan through Indiana and Illinois, we are now in Ohio. Though we "usually" start zigzagging our way northwest to meet up with I-90, this trip we are staying on I-80 west to the end of Iowa and staying the night in Council Bluffs. It's 6:10 local time (one hour time change and we still have a little over an hour to go before we stop for the night) and the kids are otherwise occupied so I figured it was as good of a time as any to highlight some parts of the trip. I do think when I put the trip book together this time I will also include copies of Facebook posts.
Nothing too notable today. We left around 5:00 this morning. When Tom went in to get Max he was sitting on the edge of the bed and ready. Last night he asked when he could get up the next morning and I told him when Daddy came in to get him...I wasn't thinking that he'd be awake. Well, he was and was worried that we were going to leave him.
[Shauna's rule of blogging...as soon as I start suddenly everyone is up and around and asking me questions. I blame that for my disjointed narrative.]
Kids are excited for the pool tonight so I think I'll give the highlights of the day and fill in the post with pictures later.
1st Stop - Oma's House (Maxton pointed this out this morning, the kids were both so excited to be in the camper and going)
2nd Stop - McDonald's on the west side of Lansing
Made it through Chicago without incident and paid our $1.60 toll. Not completely opposed to toll roads, seems legit to charge the people who use the road.
3rd Stop - Starved Rock State Park
Let Google Maps override my planned approach to the park and came in through a little town. Would have been a nice scenic drive along the Illinois except Tom caught a high curb and gouged the outside of the passenger rear tire just a bit. Fingers crossed it holds up. The original plan was to hike to St. Louis Canyon to see the waterfall. But, in an early reminder to be flexible the road down to the canyon was closed so we headed to the Visitor Center to find some alternate options. Since Sophie, Maxton, and I had already ate lunch, we did the hike to Starved Rock while everyone else had a chance to eat. Then we all met up and did the short hike to French Canyon. The views from the top of Starved Rock were neat - not just overlooking the Illinois River but also a large dam. The kids weren't as interested in the dam but did enjoy the boardwalk loop around the top of the rock. They did good on the stairs too, especially since I was pushing the pace a little to get them back to the trailhead to meet up. Once we all met up we headed down the trail to French Canyon. Most decided to take the upper route to see the canyon from the top but I stayed behind and ended up taking the short walk into the canyon. Stairs and foot placements were cut into the rock (though water was flowing over it) and in the end I was rewarded to a neat little waterfall. Being in a canyon like that is a pretty cool experience. Nature truly is wonderful. From my vantage point I was able to look up to see Tom and Sophie calling down and waving. After rejoining Ingrid I went with Caitlyn back into the canyon so she could see it from the bottom and Tom ended up coming through with Max on his shoulders. All in all a great stop to let the kids burn off energy. Loaded up the camper, passed out some snacks, and everyone was quiet/napping for the relatively short jaunt to LeClair, IA.
4th Stop - Antique Archaeology
Neat little stop to the home of the American Pickers. A bit of a bummer because it turns out the crew was there yesterday filming - that would have been pretty neat to see. Either way it was a worthy stop since it was only about 5 minutes out of the way. Lots of pictures and a souvenir for Mike (that is made in the USA from South Dakota corn) so it should be a hit.
5th Stop - Country Inn and Suites, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Not there yet but it will be our last stop for the night. We opted for sandwiches for dinner again so that we wouldn't have to stop and could push on to the hotel sooner. On the agenda this evening is pool time for kiddos (of course!) and maybe a short trip across the street to the Horseshoe Casino for the big kids. Up and at 'em early tomorrow with an estimated 7am departure. Lucked out with the weather today...really cooled off west of Chicago so we are enjoying a very comfortable camper.
Footnote - Ingrid and I went to the Horseshoe Casino across the parking lot...she won $40. I lost $10. Still good fun though.
Nothing too notable today. We left around 5:00 this morning. When Tom went in to get Max he was sitting on the edge of the bed and ready. Last night he asked when he could get up the next morning and I told him when Daddy came in to get him...I wasn't thinking that he'd be awake. Well, he was and was worried that we were going to leave him.
[Shauna's rule of blogging...as soon as I start suddenly everyone is up and around and asking me questions. I blame that for my disjointed narrative.]
Kids are excited for the pool tonight so I think I'll give the highlights of the day and fill in the post with pictures later.
1st Stop - Oma's House (Maxton pointed this out this morning, the kids were both so excited to be in the camper and going)
2nd Stop - McDonald's on the west side of Lansing
Made it through Chicago without incident and paid our $1.60 toll. Not completely opposed to toll roads, seems legit to charge the people who use the road.
3rd Stop - Starved Rock State Park
Let Google Maps override my planned approach to the park and came in through a little town. Would have been a nice scenic drive along the Illinois except Tom caught a high curb and gouged the outside of the passenger rear tire just a bit. Fingers crossed it holds up. The original plan was to hike to St. Louis Canyon to see the waterfall. But, in an early reminder to be flexible the road down to the canyon was closed so we headed to the Visitor Center to find some alternate options. Since Sophie, Maxton, and I had already ate lunch, we did the hike to Starved Rock while everyone else had a chance to eat. Then we all met up and did the short hike to French Canyon. The views from the top of Starved Rock were neat - not just overlooking the Illinois River but also a large dam. The kids weren't as interested in the dam but did enjoy the boardwalk loop around the top of the rock. They did good on the stairs too, especially since I was pushing the pace a little to get them back to the trailhead to meet up. Once we all met up we headed down the trail to French Canyon. Most decided to take the upper route to see the canyon from the top but I stayed behind and ended up taking the short walk into the canyon. Stairs and foot placements were cut into the rock (though water was flowing over it) and in the end I was rewarded to a neat little waterfall. Being in a canyon like that is a pretty cool experience. Nature truly is wonderful. From my vantage point I was able to look up to see Tom and Sophie calling down and waving. After rejoining Ingrid I went with Caitlyn back into the canyon so she could see it from the bottom and Tom ended up coming through with Max on his shoulders. All in all a great stop to let the kids burn off energy. Loaded up the camper, passed out some snacks, and everyone was quiet/napping for the relatively short jaunt to LeClair, IA.
4th Stop - Antique Archaeology
Neat little stop to the home of the American Pickers. A bit of a bummer because it turns out the crew was there yesterday filming - that would have been pretty neat to see. Either way it was a worthy stop since it was only about 5 minutes out of the way. Lots of pictures and a souvenir for Mike (that is made in the USA from South Dakota corn) so it should be a hit.
5th Stop - Country Inn and Suites, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Not there yet but it will be our last stop for the night. We opted for sandwiches for dinner again so that we wouldn't have to stop and could push on to the hotel sooner. On the agenda this evening is pool time for kiddos (of course!) and maybe a short trip across the street to the Horseshoe Casino for the big kids. Up and at 'em early tomorrow with an estimated 7am departure. Lucked out with the weather today...really cooled off west of Chicago so we are enjoying a very comfortable camper.
Footnote - Ingrid and I went to the Horseshoe Casino across the parking lot...she won $40. I lost $10. Still good fun though.
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