The morning got off to a great start with the kiddos having a rock solid night sleep (thank you pool) and then a great breakfast before we got in the car. Speaking of breakfast, we chose to stay at Hampton Inn & Suites as much as we could because of their awesome HOT, FREE breakfasts that are included in your stay. Heck, anytime some is going to include freshly made waffles, fruit, eggs and sausage along with cereal, pastries, bagels and hot coffee when I wake up… well, you have my money and I’m staying. So, all the way through the “Lower 48” we are staying with Hampton/Hilton hotels.
The morning drive went quickly. Before I knew it, we had traveled 200 miles and the kids hadn’t even batted an eye (except for some occasional whining from Abby… but she is getting better). Arkansas indeed had lots of fields – apparently lots of corn and rice. My girlfriend Beth sent me an Arkansas fun fact: more than 50% of the rice grown in the US is grown in Arkansas. The average American eats 25 lbs of rice per year while in some parts of Asia the average is over 200 lbs! Wow! The other thing that we saw plenty of was steel bridges. There is something to be said about an old, authentic, historic bridge. Loved it.
We did something a little different today for lunch. Instead of stopping at some restaurant for about an hour and then getting back in the car to finish off the second half of the day’s drive… we stopped at one of the top attractions in the St. Louis area – Grant’s Farm. Operated by Anheuser-Busch, it is the historical home of President Ulysses S. Grant, as well as home to the Budweiser’s Clydesdale horses. Despite the heat, we had a good time running around and getting a car break. It really was a beautiful park with lots of animals for the kids to see, pet and even feed. See the pictures below for proof. And the best part, as soon as we got back in the air conditioned truck and pulled out… 3 kids were fast asleep.
Speaking of sleep… I thought I would show you what our sleeping arrangements look like each night in the “big beds.” This idea came from my hubby and then my fabulously talented mother-in-law created it and to date it is worth its weight in gold. I’m not sure what we should call it, but anyone who is traveling with 2 small children who need to sleep in the full or queen sized hotel beds… this is for you! Now if I could only figure out what to call this invention?
We ended up resting our heads in Columbia, MO right across the street from the University of Missouri. It was a bit busy for our liking due to a huge soccer tournament there – it was loud, busy and crowded everywhere. Oh well. We might appreciate how busy it was come next week when we are in the sparsely populated towns of Canada.
Day 3 = 351 miles
Total trip = 1026 miles
Day 4 – Columbia, MO to Sioux City, IA
A few things have become apparent in the 4 days we have been traveling:
• Doing this roadtrip is a huge team effort… even from the kids.
• Thomas would prefer to talk with no one while he is in the car; Abbigail, on the other hand, wants to each of us ALL the time.
• The kids are playing with each other more and more. My hopes have always been that my children grow up playing with each other.
• I think we officially left the South when we got to Missouri… there was no more sweet tea.
• Taking the truck on this roadtrip really was the best decision; everything fits without having to have a trailer or roof rack which ultimately means an easier time for my hubby to pack and unpack each day and night. Additionally, we can reach each of the kids from our seats. That is priceless right there.
• Brian has lied to me for the last 8 years I’ve known him about driving on a roadtrip – he does like to drive (his truck) because he hasn’t relinquished the driver’s seat since the first day. That means I have been the navigator/gopher/child-pleaser for the last 1000+ miles.
• Thomas LOVES to tell anyone who we pass that we are moving to Alaska. Once people hear that, their first question is always where are we traveling from? Needless to say, we get a lot of surprised looks. Not sure if that is because of the distance we are traveling or the fact that we are doing it with 3 very small children. Do they think we are insane?
A final word about today. The afternoon was marked with constant detours due to flooding from the Missouri river along I-29. We had no idea that it was this bad this far south... we had only expected the flooding to be up in North Dakota. We added an additional 50 miles and about 2 extra hours of travel today. Not fun. On top of that... we were in awe of what Mother Nature can do... and it was devastating to this part of the country.
In the pictures below, every where that is covered with flood waters was farm land with corn, houses, silos and barns. Truely unbelievable.
Even a local McDonalds was preparing for more flooding with sandbags piled everywhere.
Day 4 = 404 miles + 50 extra detour miles
Total trip = 1480 miles
1 comment:
I'm loving the updates. I'm not sure if Thomas us aware, but that goat was trying to eat him. :)
Post a Comment