Road Trip 2011 - The Way Out

We took an unexpected road trip last month.  We hadn't planned on getting in any vacation time, but, sadly, the untimely death of Tracy's cousin gave reason for us to reconsider.  After much discussion, we decided that we would make the trip to attend the funeral, hoping we could pray for others and have some time reconnecting with Tracy's family since our last visit that way, seven years ago.

So, Monday morning it was decided we would leave and Monday evening, at 8pm, we left the driveway. We spent the day cleaning out the RV, packing, cleaning the house, and finding homes and caretakers for our critters that had to be left behind. (I know we're a little crazy, but 9 people in the rig is enough. Not interested in loading up the cat, ducks, rabbit, and mice too. :-P )

Our first stop was a truck stop on the side of the road on the western edge of Massachusettes. No pics, sorry. I knew you wouldn't mind. ;-)

Next day we took on the grueling drive through upstate New York. Not saying that we don't love the gorgeous scenery, but after living in the tiny states of New England, trekking across the never-ending NY is brutal. It's always the tough part of our trips. We broke up the drive with trip to the Bass Pro Shop. We'dve been dying to check one of these places out and we were glad we did. Not only did we have fun seeing the unique displays, but I got some cool shades and the children got neato flashlights for night time reading and fun.

We decided to make a stop at Niagara Falls. The little girls had never seen it and were anxious to find a rainbow in the mist.

After making it out of Buffalo, New York, we were ready to be done driving for the day. We stopped at one of NY's lovely state campgrounds, Lake Erie State Park. Actually, this campground made our list of Top Ten campgrounds that we've visited and we all agreed that we'd make a trip again just to stay here. Our site was lovely, the price was reasonable, and I loved the sunset and my early morning walk and bible reading. 

We got up that morning ready to take on some miles.  Once we got near Chicago, we decide to make a run for it and try for our destination that evening.  Too bad "making a run for it" means sitting for several hours in Chicago traffic during rush hour. Blech.  We did have some great views of the city, though, while we inched our way long. :-)

After that challenge, we needed a break. We stopped at a quiet, uncrowded rest stop just over the Wisconsin border. We enjoyed a dinner of loaded baked potatoes (cooking in the crockpot while we drove) and David and the children used up some energy at the playground. I did my usual dinner prep and clean up alone in the quiet camper. I love that time of the day when we travel. :-)

Another hour or so down the road we got through Milwaukee (a lovely city, btw, even if I didn't take pics to prove it) and arrived at Tracy's aunt's house for our 2 day visit with family and to share our prayers and grief over Luke's tragic death.