On the Road Again ... Maybe !

Time to head to Niagra Falls.

Away we go.

There was a sign??  I didn't see the no truck sign.

Truck clearance 12' 1"

Bridge height:  12' 0"

OOPS!!    After checking with the police officer that came and realizing that there would be no further obstacles up ahead, we cleared the bridge, ON THE HIGH SIDE.  

Needless to say we took a different route on the way back

Niagra Falls

We Made it to Niagra Falls.  The kids and I are posing here at the top of American Falls.

Aren't we attractive in our Maid of the Mist "uniform".  

We had so much fun going on the boat to the base of Horseshoe Falls.  

Getting a little wet..

Next Stop:  Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

By the time we reached Kirtland it was getting late.  We missed the temple tour :(   But we did get to see Historic Kirtland.   

Can you tell the kids are getting tired?

Next Stop:  Chicago

Chicago

Once we made it to Chicago, we went down town and went on the architectual boat tour with Blythe.  During this time we really enjoyed learning about Chicago and the many wonderful buildings along the river.  The kids especially enjoyed the corn cob building.

Unfortunately, Caden came down with something and he fell asleep on the boat after running a slight fever.  He didn't look too well.  Caden spent the rest of the night in the stroller fast asleep.  We were able to go to the American Girl Shop and later to dinner.  We did not return back at Blythe's home until after midnight.  But we had so much fun.  We were scheduled to leave the next morning.  

The next morning we awoke and went to a pancake house for breakfast.  Everything on the menu looked so good that we decided to order a little of everything and eat family style.  This was a great idea.  It ended up being the best meal of the entire trip.  It was wonderful.  

After breakfast we stopped at the park to let the kids play before we left.  This way we could wear them out a little before we put them back in the car.  Then they walked home with Blythe so we could leave ... or so we thought.

After checking his pockets Scott realized that he did not have the keys to the truck.  We proceeded to check the house as well as all of our luggage, and the van.  They were no were to be found.   AAAHHHH!!!   Now What ???  (No Jamie this is not just to make the story interesting.  They were really gone.)

We ended up calling Penske and luckily they have a code and were able to make another set.  Scott just had to brave Chicago traffic to go get them.  However, this gave me three extra hours to visit with my sister.  Yep, that's right a 4 hour delay.  Oh Well we weren't on that tight of a schedule, and I enjoyed the visit.

Next Stop:  Mt. Rushmore (of course we did have to drive through Madison, Wisconsin.)

Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore was fun ... honestly it was different than what we imagined.  We looked at it, said "cool", time to go.   Actually, we did go to the visitor's center and see a couple of movies.  It is amazing what they were able to do, but it is not on our "top ten things to do again list".

However, it was interesting, because as we were driving toward Mt. Rushmore we saw a few bikes, then more, and more, and even more.   The closer we got the more we saw.  Scott finally said, I wonder if Sturgis is soon.   The answer was Yes !!  Sturgis started the day after we first arrived.  Hotel accomodations were tough to find, at least for a decent rate.

I think we had as much fun watching and looking at all the bikes as we did seeing Mt. Rushmore.  The mountains and surrounding area is beautiful, though.

If you look really careful you will see that bikes are just lining the streets on both sides.

Driving Across Wyoming

O.K.  many of you have done it and know what it is like.

You are driving across Wyoming and this is about all you see. ...   And then it hits you (or rather your child in the back seat).   It is time for a bathroom break ... you drive a little further, something has to come up where you can stop.   But it doesn't, you keep going, and going, and going.   I told Eliza well I can stop and let you use a bush.   Her face was classic and I wish that I could have captured that picture.  NO WAY !!!  she said.

We continued on.  Eliza continued to dance in her seat.  Pretty soon with eyes moistening up, I hear Eliza say, "I think I better use a bush."

Now you know it has been done many times, and yes, it was done once again.

We were able to get back on the road, Eliza feeling much better.  Unfortunately, when your in the middle of nowhere it seems to trigger something.  Pretty soon Eliza and Maddie are both in desperate need of a bathroom.  After waiting for what felt like eternity we pulled up to a gas station.   

This is what greeted us, right in front of our parking stall.  I felt like this accurately portrayed the feelings that were being felt in the car.

Finishing Up the Trip

A good game of Leap Frog at a rest stop is always a welcome escape after a week in the car.  

Actually, we were at Independence Rock.

The next stop was Martin's Cove.   This was a fascinating stop and we would love to go back and spend more time there, when we are not feeling rushed to get to our final destination. 

The kids had fun pulling small handcarts and we loved hearing about the stories of the pioneers who passed through this area.  Eliza especially enjoyed the story that started out by the missionaries looking at her and saying "this story is about a little girl who was about your age, ... her name was Eliza."   Eliza's eyes shone bright and her excitement was noticeable.   

I will quickly end.  We were able to stop at Nana and Papa's house to enjoy the evening with the.  We were extremely late getting in and had to leave early the next morning in order to sign some papers for the house.  However, we were so glad that we were able to stop and see them.

Then of course, just as you have FINALLY arrived at the end of our trek across country, we arrived to our new HOME.