Driving Home

When the party is over, dang it, you have to start that long, long drive home.

I was just grateful that I had such lovely travelling companions and such beautiful scenery to admire.

Man, Montana. Those are some great clouds.

Day 1:

The first day of our trip was probably the most eventful. By the time I got to Spokane, my "check tires" light was on. Ok. I checked them. The air pressure was fine. Continued on.

I should have had a professional look at them...but I didn't want to lose time. (It was already going to be a 9+ hour day.) So, we drove through the norther bit of Idaho and into Montana. About a half hour outside of Bozeman, at 9pm, one of my rear tires shredded. 

Thank goodness for roadside assistance! Nice gentleman put my spare on and informed me that it was nearly flat. I got to drive on the shoulder, going 20 mph until I got to a gas station, and, even with the spare at full capacity, could only drive 45 mph all the way to Billings.

We got to our hotel at midnight and were informed that they did not accept pets. Poor Matt had to sleep in the car. Lucky for us, he couldn't have cared less.

(Ain't he adorable, holding hands with his 'Mama' while he naps!)

Day 2:

Got four new tires.

As a result, didn't get on the road until 10am.

North Dakota was lovely. Chilly, but full of sunflowery fields.

We made it to the hotel by 10pm.

Better, but still not great. Losing an hour a day is lame. I hate driving East.

Day 3:

Better!

We got a decent start and drove through Minnesota....

(Where Cozette gave herself a sleeve tattoo with her markers. The pool rinsed it right off!)

...and into Wisconsin, where I want to go on vacation. It'll be one of those vacations where we learn to make our own cheese, harvest wild rice, and visit Laura Ingalls Wilder historic sites. The kids are going to love it.

We were lucky enough to stop for a potty break near the Cheese Chalet!

I had to resist my impulse to buy a thousand-dollar cuckoo clock...

...but I did buy some other, less spendy souvenirs. Maple sugar (just like in Little House in the Big Woods!), sorghum molasses, wild rice, and dilly beans.

We were finally able to stop early enough to swim! Happy for the kids...and happy for me....since I didn't swim. I decided to take the lazy lifeguard approach, threw life jackets on the littles and just sat back and watched.

Our hotel in Wisconsin did leave something to be desired.

It was about to change from a 'Holiday Inn' to a 'Clarion Hotel' - a fact I was not aware of. AND they had already changed the sign! I finally called the hotel to let them know that their building didn't exist, and then they let me in on their secret. Nerds.

I couldn't get too mad. 

Cause it was free. (Yay for hotel reward points!)

Day 4:

We mostly drove through Illinois. Tony had me routed right through Chicago, but I opted to give big cities as wide a berth as possible. We spent all day driving on nice, straight country highways. (We even went by Rock Island! Just for you, Dad.)

This was also the day that I started feeling super bored and stir-crazy.  I stopped at a gas station and bought 4 cds of dramatized Louis L'Amour stories....saved my sanity.
Of course, now we are trying to figure out why every single heroine in his books (aside from the prostitutes with hearts of gold) is named Ruth!? Really. Why?

Spent the night in Indiana, at the same hotel we stayed in on our way out West. It gave me that "almost home!" feeling. Plus, it was a couple of blocks from Sonic.

Day 5:
Last day of driving!!!
Can I just tell you what a good kitty Matt was during this long, boring trip.
He mostly liked to sleep in his carrier, on Sofia's lap, but he also entertained us with his attempts to find other, more innovative places to nap.

We would just be driving along and James would say, out of nowhere, "Matt is so adorable!"

...and he is.

(And check out the giant cow that I just noticed through the car window.)

Matt snoozing on Cozy's seat.

He even got brave enough to climb my seat....but I think he regretted it. Doesn't he look terrified?!

We drove through the rest of Indiana, then Ohio, Pennsylvania, and back through Maryland.

Home again, home again!

And, when I got back, I found that my lovely friend Amanda had stocked my fridge with dinner and breakfast for the next morning!

What a nice trip.

Next summer I'm going to be the laziest slug ever. :)