Wesley tried to lend a helping hand with the packing.
We loaded up "the Minivan that Could" and headed west.
Are we really doing this? 4 hours into the drive as we drove through upstate NY, Caroline cried, "Can we start our trip tomorrow? I want to go home. I want my bed!" "Can you hang on for 30 more hours?" I thought, as I missed my bed already too.I actually feel a measure of gratitude when our kids want to go home (even if it's in the form of a meltdown on a long road trip). I'm glad they feel that home is a comfortable haven. We drove on through PA and OH.
People ask us how we do these long road trips. We do it the old-fashioned way...w/o movies (not that we're against movies on road trips), with books (Grace, Thomas, and Christina got through 4 books on this trip), activity books, snacks, strategic seating arrangements (separate squabblers with fun-loving Wes), a kid-friendly Atlas, walkabouts and bathroom breaks at nearly every pit stop, road trip playlists (we listen to this years' primary program music a lot), and prayer! Wayne drives at night and I drive during the day. We didn't have time to site see along the way this time, but in the past we've broken up the MA to UT drive with some great stops....Chicago (Field Museum, Wrigley Field), Nauvoo, Carthage, and Kirtland, OH.
Thursday, June 26....We drove through OH, IN, IL, IA, NE....
and finally we bunked up in Denver at our friend, Julie's house. We had a great time meeting her family, our kids hit it off and had fun running around and playing together...I regret not snapping a few pics! It's been well over a decade since we've seen Julie, so this was a real treat. Her family is so much fun and we loved what we saw of Denver. Although, as we drove on the tolled highway and paid $8 within 15 minutes, Thomas said, "Why don't you just give them your wallet?!" Seriously though, Denver was gorgeous. I'd live there in a heartbeat.Friday, June 27....
Our drive through the Rockies was unforgettable....stunning. We got up to nearly 12K feet and the descent was crazy. I'm just glad Wayne was driving! We stopped to catch a glimpse of the CO river.
As we drove into UT, and the scenery wasn't so stunning, except around Zion's Nt'l Park and Moab, the meltdowns began....Grace: I want to go HOME! Caroline: Me too! As Grace and Caroline's (and Wesley's) tears flowed freely, I found it hard to come to grips with the fact that in just 4 days we'd be back in the car heading back east....what were we thinking?! "I'll do this for Wayne," is what I was thinking.
And then our radiator decided to leak. We made a pit stop, Wayne poured sealer radiator fluid (I'm making up that term) in the radiator, and soon afterward we arrived at Palisades State Park in Sterling, UT for the Brower Family Reunion (Wayne's side of our family).
Next post... The Brower Reunion- Ama style
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5 comments:
YES, I do think you are NUTS!!! But we're SO ELATED, OVERJOYED, grateful that you made the sacrifice and trek so we could all be together once again. My only regret....it wasn't long enough with just all of us and mom. Next time we'll have to do it half way! Now you need a month to recover!
Hooray for doing it w/out movies! Did you play "the quietest gets a nickel"?!? Can't wait to see more pictures!
I'm SO glad you guys made the effort to stop and see us, although it was way too short! Your kids are adorable and certainly did not seem like they had just spent 28 hours in a car. It was so fun to chat again with the both of you, and thank you, Wayne, for knowing even my most obscure movie/Simpson's quotes. We just got back from our own little descent into madness--two days each way to Cali--yes, we are babies. And we did it with the benefit of LOTS of DVD's played on two players. Just curious, why no movies?
We will be making a 10 hour trip to Zion this Fall break. Should be a little better.
UNBELIEVABLE is what I'm thinking. UNBELIEVABLE. You are an amazing family to make that long trip intact. I don't think I'd even dream of it. We just drove 11 hrs to Myrtle Beach and that was good enough...and we cut that trip in half!
Well,I know I am late in commenting, but thought I would share the fact that we live in Connecticut (after 10 years in Boulder, CO) and have also done the cross-country trip SEVERAL times while living here for the last 10 years.
We also have five kids and they are so used to being in the car they just grab their "life" and do fairly well...although the first two times, I thought I was going to die! I don't sit well for that long.
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