May 02

May 2 – A Week to Rest in Whitehall, Michigan

Chicago Skyline

Dreary, cold and dangerous Chicago

Got up this morning to high tail it out of town, destination “Whitehall, MI”.

We will be staying with Greg, who is my daughter’s husband’s dad. Got that?
The trip down, around and up the shores of Lake Michigan was great for the most part, except for the nightmare drivers and traffic of Chicago. It is now at the very top of my list as most dangerous and worse city to drive in. If you are driving in Chicago, you had best be on top of your game and be able to make split second decisions and reaction time be fine tuned. That is one scary ass place to deal with. Construction directions are confusing, drivers are beyond the realm of aggressive, roads are in desperate need of repairs, infrastructure must have been laid out by a toddler and driver rudeness prevails. I was extremely grateful that we came out on the other side unscathed.

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Apr 25

April 25 – Catching Up with Dave and Mom Pat

DSC_2226Today we checked out late from the motel in Lake Geneva, drove around some so Han could take pictures, drove into Twin Lakes to see our friends lake front cottage (it is beautiful) and then began our very short trip into Kenosha, Wisconsin.
For old times sake, as I had previously lived in Kenosha for 11 years, we stopped at the Brat Stop to have lunch.
Not the best restaurant if you don’t eat meat. We both had Caesar Salad and shared a side of fries. The fries may well  be the best in the world.
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Apr 24

April 24 – Re-Creating More Memories From Previous Lovely Ones

Bill MurrayWe were able to be lazy and take our sweet time in the morning because our next stop was only about 90 minutes away. We are re-visiting Woodstock IL, where we were married 10 years ago in May. Han and I kept trying to get it right with others and we felt we finally did when we met each other, so we married in the gazebo where they filmed Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. We loved the idea and figured it fitting. I even purchased my gown in Woodstock.

We had our reception and honeymoon at an outstanding B&B called Alexandria House and loved every second of our festivities. The innkeeper was exceptional and it was all a fairy tale beginning to a fun interesting life together. Continue reading

Apr 23

April 23 – Looking Back Does No Good, but Take The Time to Be Thankful

100_1423This morning as we were getting packed we learned via Facebook that a previous neighbor, wonderful person and friend succumbed to her sickness and passed away yesterday. It tore through my heart as we finished packing the car and got on the road. Really worried about her dedicated, loving husband.

On the way out of town we crossed the Mormon Bridge and drove into Iowa.

The wind immediately started kicking up, shoving the car around and making it difficult to drive. My arms were getting fatigued holding it on the road, so Han suggested going some of the back roads. We went through an extremely rural area of Iowa, roads up and down like a rollercoaster and sharp corners to add to the excitement. Guess what? The wind was about the same but at least there was very little traffic and no semi’s, so it was all good, however it took us a bit longer. Good thing we are not in a hurry anymore. Continue reading

Apr 22

April 22 – Omaha Nebraska Small Town Ambiance with Big City Attractions

100_1374I checked online for the top ten sides to see in Omaha and then figured out which ones would be doable with my sweet hubby who needs to be taking it easy with his knee. He pushed the limit as usual, and we were busier than expected. He wanted me to have a good time too.
Our first stop was the Mormon Trail Center. Being raised in the Mormon Church, but no longer practicing, I still find some of the history intriguing, especially during the pioneer times and this was about their trails, trials and tribulations but also the wonders that made them special and the blazing of trails that others would follow.
There was a short movie and then an explanation of individual exhibits portraying pioneer scenes. Omaha was the middle stopping point between Nauvoo IL and Salt Lake City UT, while they waited out the brutal winter, then they turned it into a staging point for future pioneers. We were not able to make it up to the cemetery but could see it from the overlook window. There is also the Omaha Temple next door.

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Apr 21

April 21 – Buffalo Wild Bill Cody Fort Began Our Fun-Filled Day of History

DSC_2120Slept good, no mountains in sight, a couple cups of coffee and I was ready to begin the day, which turned into an enjoyable day of some “Wild West” history; after all we were following the trek west of the early history of the Oregon Trail in reverse.
We visited Fort Cody before heading out of town. I had a blast doing some shopping for my son Cody, taking some silly pictures, chatting with the two lovely ladies who run the fort, mailing a postcard which I actually got to slip into an authentic Pony Express leather mail holder and receiving some history lessons. One of the sweet ladies at the shop and museum is a retired school teacher. Buffalo Bill had a farm a little ways up the road in the later years of his life. In the early days he was an army scout and pony express rider.

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Apr 20

April 20 – Today We Hit The Highest Elevation On This Trip

Entering NebraskaToday Hit The Highest Elevation Experienced During Our entire Trip across the USA. How high? 8640 feet. 5280 Feet is ONE MILE so this is 1.64 miles up in the air! Thin air!

I swear I am not trying to dwell on negative thoughts but I think the elevation is eating my brain cells or at least the good mood ones.
Slept like crap, left the hotel fairly early, did not even bother with breakfast and headed east out of town.
Literally the second we got to the edge of town on the interstate, we saw a semi sitting on its side, perfectly straight, like it was simply tipped over. Seeing something like that does not build one’s confidence in what is coming up ahead. A wind gust must have blown the entire rig over, as there were no signs of a crash.

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Apr 19

April 19 – Thought The Largest Mountains Were Behind Us?

end of I-84Woke up refreshed, enjoyed a much better complimentary breakfast than normal in a grand acoustic lobby setting, dragged our feet getting ready, finally loaded the car and got on our way.
By the way I would highly suggest Ben Lomond Suites in Downtown to anyone visiting Ogden Utah. Ladies the bathrooms are huge.

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Apr 18

April 18 – Seeing Idaho on the Fly

Idaho mountainsLet me begin these next few blogs with an apology. If I don’t paint your home state in the best of light, people should realize I am only seeing part of that particular state, but I am sure there are plenty of beautiful areas in every state so please do not become offended. It is just my limited knowledge and opinion, however I would enjoy hearing about places to visit in each state. Some days we barely make it through a state and other days we’re just barreling through several ones. Our ‘good’ days are those that come with the pleasure of being educated or wowed by nature or human creativity or perseverance. The ‘bad’ days are the ones that have no highlights form scenery to food to human interaction. Our trip through Idaho today fell distinctly into that latter category.

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Apr 17

April 16 and 17 – The Oregon Columbia River Gorge is a Magical Journey

Columbia GorgeWe sadly said good-bye to my daughter and my three precious grand children. It’s so difficult to leave when they are small because I worry that they forget so easily. I am going to make sure to Skype a lot.
The drive from Silverdale WA to Vancouver OR was uneventful but still found too many aggressive drivers on the road.
We ate lunch in Vancouver then got back on the road. Once we hopped on I-84 the magic began. So far this has to be my favorite drive for scenery, decent considerate drivers, lush landscape and adorable little towns. Driving the gorge is something to behold and quite literally my photos or description could never do it justice.
The rivers, dams, towns, people, flowers, trees and everything in between already has me making plans for a return trip.
I really want us to take about a month just to meander and explore the entire gorge drive.

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