Let the Adventure Begin!
The whole family had been looking forward to our vacation for a very long time. Once school got out I think Rachel asked everyday when we were going to get to leave. I too was anxious to go, but I was not looking forward to entertaining the kiddos in the car. But the kids surprised me and did much better than I had expected. John and Sarah had their moments, but they really did quite well.
One of the first fun memories of our trip was when we were driving through Louisville about to go into Indiana. John looks out his window and says. . .
. . . "I want to go on that!"
The "that" was a big bridge crossing the Ohio river. As we crossed the bridge he was one happy little boy, because not only did we get to be on the bridge but we could see other bridges and a big river too. We heard repeatedly throughout the trip a request from John to go on a bridge. When we reached mountains he discovered tunnels and his requests changed to wanting to go in a tunnel.
When our trip was in the planning stages and I realized that we would be driving through the town of Danville, IL, I planned a brief stop there. This is the town where my Great Grandparents are buried. I have never met them but years ago I put together a history about them and have felt a closeness to them since.
It took a little bit of looking but we finally found their headstone. We even drove the 20 minutes to Georgetown, IL to the town where they lived and we attempted to find their house. In preparation for these stops I had taught the kids a little about their Great-Great Grandparents who immigrated to the United States from Poland. I enjoyed being able to teach my children about their ancestors and to be able to visit a place where they had lived and began to raise their family.
One of Sarah's favorite stops, was at a gas station somewhere in the middle of South Dakota. It was a Sinclair station, and as you may know their logo contains a dinosaur. Well this particular gas station had a miniature green Sinclair dinosaur. Of course the kids had to sit on "Baby Dino" as Sarah called it (the names comes from an episode of Dora the Explorer). For quite a ways after that stop, Sarah was asking to see another "Baby Dino".
We visited many Rest Stops along our journey and the Rest Stops along I-74 through Illinois were our favorites. Driving through Iowa became long and tedious. But driving through South Dakota was somehow enjoyable. Perhaps it was because neither Paul or I had been there before or because it was much prettier than we had expected, or perhaps because we could see what seemed like forever in every direction (rather refreshing after living surrounded by trees in every direction).
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A long time ago Paul and Elizabeth started collecting rocks from places that we would visit, so of course when we stopped at this "look out" in South Dakota the kids had to get a few rocks. As a side note you may be thinking that this doesn't seem like much of a "look out" but it is the highest point around for miles.
One of the first fun memories of our trip was when we were driving through Louisville about to go into Indiana. John looks out his window and says. . .
. . . "I want to go on that!"
The "that" was a big bridge crossing the Ohio river. As we crossed the bridge he was one happy little boy, because not only did we get to be on the bridge but we could see other bridges and a big river too. We heard repeatedly throughout the trip a request from John to go on a bridge. When we reached mountains he discovered tunnels and his requests changed to wanting to go in a tunnel.When our trip was in the planning stages and I realized that we would be driving through the town of Danville, IL, I planned a brief stop there. This is the town where my Great Grandparents are buried. I have never met them but years ago I put together a history about them and have felt a closeness to them since.
It took a little bit of looking but we finally found their headstone. We even drove the 20 minutes to Georgetown, IL to the town where they lived and we attempted to find their house. In preparation for these stops I had taught the kids a little about their Great-Great Grandparents who immigrated to the United States from Poland. I enjoyed being able to teach my children about their ancestors and to be able to visit a place where they had lived and began to raise their family.
One of Sarah's favorite stops, was at a gas station somewhere in the middle of South Dakota. It was a Sinclair station, and as you may know their logo contains a dinosaur. Well this particular gas station had a miniature green Sinclair dinosaur. Of course the kids had to sit on "Baby Dino" as Sarah called it (the names comes from an episode of Dora the Explorer). For quite a ways after that stop, Sarah was asking to see another "Baby Dino".
We visited many Rest Stops along our journey and the Rest Stops along I-74 through Illinois were our favorites. Driving through Iowa became long and tedious. But driving through South Dakota was somehow enjoyable. Perhaps it was because neither Paul or I had been there before or because it was much prettier than we had expected, or perhaps because we could see what seemed like forever in every direction (rather refreshing after living surrounded by trees in every direction)..JPG)
A long time ago Paul and Elizabeth started collecting rocks from places that we would visit, so of course when we stopped at this "look out" in South Dakota the kids had to get a few rocks. As a side note you may be thinking that this doesn't seem like much of a "look out" but it is the highest point around for miles.
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