Just the Facts

Miles Traveled: 7,834

National Park Visited:  7

National Monuments Visited:  3

State Parks Visited:  3

States: 18

Friends Visited (including kids): 15

Favorite National Park: Yellowstone

Most Favorite State: Oregon

Least Favorite State:  Idaho - because of the cross winds we endured and the back roads we had to drive
 

Ten Most Useful Things We Brought:

10.  Wash Bucket - used to hold ice when the fridge stopped working
9. Rubber Mallet
8. Bisquick Shake and Pour Pancake Mix
7. Blogger
6. Scan Gauge for When the Check Engine Light Came on
5. Collapsible Basket for carrying towels and toiletries to the bathroom
4. Urban Sunstar Adventure Book
3. Kids Clothes in Ziploc Bags - an outfit a day
2. Zippered Plastic Clothing Bags
1. iPad with data plan and hotspot

Ten Least Useful Things We Brought:

10. Sand Toys/Beach Stuff
9.  Ipod Docking Station
8. Clothing Line
7. Clothing Pins
6.  Pogo Stick
5.  Scooters
4. Drill
3. Greg's Bike Helmet
2. Telescope
1. Ice Cream Maker

Lists - Redux

Now that we are wrapping up the trip, we'll summarize the high points and not quite so high points of the trip.  Our list of lists.

1. Best places/events
2. Places/events that weren't as good as we hoped.
3. Things we brought that were most useful (winners!)
4. Things we brought that we could have left behind or didn't work as advertised (losers!)
5. Things we left behind that we should have brought
6. Things we would have done differently

Look for this in the next day or two!

The Long and Winding Road Home

There isn't much to say about this drive. We got up and on the road Sunday as soon as we could given our late night Saturday.    It was long, it was boring, and I only had to do 1 shift (thank you Greg for all the driving!).  We stopped at travel centers for lunch and dinner.  Luckily there was a Panera at the dinner stop!  We didn't make it out of Pennsylvania before dark, which meant dark and windy roads.  The kids didn't complain about the last long day.  Kellen fell asleep around 10 but Bella had naped, so she stayed awake only asking close to the  end how much longer till we got home.  We rolled in around midnight, about a half hour before Greg's dad Rudi who was coming to watch the kids for the week.  We had a nice welcome home sign from our neighbor but no kitty to greet us :(

Everyone was happy to be home but so tired.  30 days, we had fun, we saw incredible sites, and we hung out with some awesome friends.  I would say it was a roaring success.  

Stay tuned, we pan to put up some trip stats later in the week!

"Bitter" Sweet Home Chicago

This was the first trip back to Chicago for the kids and I since we moved.  Greg had been back once early on after we moved to sail for a weekend.  It's crazy to think it's been 7 1/2 years since we moved!  Once we finally got settled at the hotel Friday afternoon, we went to go get a quick bite to eat and maybe go up the Sears, I mean Willis Tower.  We were right around the corner from one of Greg's old offices.  Our walk around that part of town brought back lots of memories for him. 

After lunch, we met my Dad and Step Mom who had driven down from Michigan.  It was a 2 hour wait for the Tower, so we decided to skip that and head down to Millennium Park.  The park had opened a year or so before we moved. I knew it had some fun things the kids would like so we walked across the loop to the park.  Kellen loved the Crown Fountain.  It's an interactive water fountain that kids can play in and it's pretty cool.  Bella wasn't into it, too many little squekers, to use her term.  Greg took her to the bean sculpture instead.  After awhile, Kellen was soaking wet and it was getting late.  We headed back to the hotel to change and meet my parents for dinner at my favorite deep dish pizza place, Girodano's. There was a pretty long but it was downtown on a Friday in the summer, so we expected that.  The pizza was just as good as I remembered it and worth the wait.  

At the old Sears Tower

Millennium Park

Getting "Spit On"

Bean Reflection

Trying to eat the bean.

Saturday, our 17th wedding anniversary, we woke up and decided to go up and see our old neighborhood.  It's a long L ride from downtown, but since the kids wanted to ride it anyway and the RV isn't that city friendly, we figured it was the way to go.  At this point, I still wasn't feeling that nostalgic but that changed as we headed up the red line towards our old neighborhood.  We got off the L and noticed quite a few new restaurants and a new high rise building right on the main street.  We walked towards our old house and pointed out to the kids that if we had stayed, they would have had a McDonalds right around the corner.  Kellen thought that would have been awesome.

Bored on the L

Not Impressed with Chicago Public Transit

Our old house looked good.  We ran into an old neighbor who said it was still the same couple who had bought it from us.  That was nice to hear.  The neighbor filled us in on some of the changes in the community and then we headed towards the park I used to go to with the kids.  I was starting to feel really nostalgic, I spent a lot of time in the neighborhood and I really miss being able to walk everywhere.  At the park, we found the brick we had dedicated to Bella when they re-did the park.  The kids had fun playing and seeing their old park, even if they didn't remember it. 

1248 W. Granville

Bella and Her Brick

We then grabbed some lunch and popped in our old local grocery store, which had been remodeled.  They had also built a new library across the street.  All in all the neighborhood looked great and on a beautiful sunny summer day just a tiny part of me wished that we were still there.  We then walked over to the lake front park at the end of our street.  It's a really cool park that actually had a little waterfront cafe.  Most of the Chicago lakefront is public parks, but this was one of the only ones that had a restaurant.  We were pretty lucky.

View from Berger Park on our Old Street

After that we headed back to our hotel for a bit of a rest.  We then headed up out of downtown for some dinner and then to see some old Chicago friends.  We picked a restaurant that looked kid friendly and after some coaxing, got Bella to sit down.  We ordered their dinners and some cocktails.  After awhile we got to talking with our waitress.  After telling her we used to live in Chicago, she asked where we live now.  We told her Maryland, she said she was from Maryland, specifically Annapolis.  That's right, another Annapolis connection on the road.  She had grown up here and then worked in DC for 9 years.  She had moved to Chicago for her boyfriend turned new fiance.  We had fun chatting with her and enjoyed a good dinner as well. 

Anniversary Drinks!

Our friend Rob and Laura met us at the restaurant with their son Tristan.  We had met them in our birth class when we were pregnant with Isabella.  We became good friends but unfortunately didn't stay in touch with them that much after we moved.  We had such a great night catching up with them.  I love that about good friends.  Years can go by, but when you get together, it's always easy and natural, like no time has passed. Rob is a play write and they come to New York from time to time. They are planning a trip for the fall and we are hoping to go up and see them.  I'd like to stay in touch this time.

We stayed up way too late with Rob and Laura, getting back to the hotel after midnight.  It was going to be a long day driving back to Annapolis, but I was so glad we had stopped in Chicago, even if it felt bittersweet to be there and reminisce about our time in the big city.

Bella and her fancy hot chocolate at Metropolis Coffee

Bella and her fancy hot chocolate at Metropolis Coffee

The Road to Nowhere

We left Glacier reasonably early for the 2 day drive to Chicago.  We had to drive around the southern edge of the park and got treated to a few more spectacular views along the way.  We crossed the continental divide for the last time and headed into East Glacier.  There we found a cute little bakery off the main road to get some coffee and breakfast treats.   Greg talked to the owners a bit after we ate. Their business is very new, they had just opened in July.  The pastries and muffins were delicious, hopefully the business will take off.  Then it was a quick stop for gas and air for the tires before really hitting the road.  We got to see the Amtrak train pull out of the station.  It is pretty cool that you can get to the park by train. Originally, the train was brought in as part of a plan to attract rich Americans there instead of the Swiss Alps.

Amtrak Train pulling out of East Glacier

Bakery

Bakery Owners

Once we headed out of East Glacier, we were back in the prairie of Montana.  Our goal for the night was Bismark, ND so we had a lot of driving ahead of us. The day was pretty uneventful, just farm fields and small towns. To save some time, we had lunch on the road, easy enough to make sandwiches with all the long straight roads.  After meandering east and south all day through Montana, we stopped in a little tiny town, Circle, for dinner.  The it was back on the road, we had several more hours of driving still to go.

sites from the road

sites from the road

Anyone care for a dip?

We had decided we would try our first Wal-Mart camping stop.  For those of you that don't know, most Wal-Marts let you park overnight in their lots for free.  Since all we really needed was some sleep, that sounded great.  We found 2 Wal-Marts in Bismark and picked the one closer to the highway to stop.  We rolled in around midnight, the kids were already in their beds asleep. We were not the only RV, there were several already parked.  Once we found a good spot and  stopped, I asked Greg if he was going to turn off the engine.  He had but I was so numb from the hum of the engine I thought it was still on! Once we put in all the shades, it was off to bed for Greg and I.

Kellen, who had been the first to fall asleep, was also the first to get up.  It is hard to sleep once one person gets up, unless you are Bella, so Greg and petty much got up after less than 7 hours of sleep. Still tired we got ready, I went into Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, then it was back on the road after coffee and gas.

We realized that morning we would never make it to Chicago that day.  We had too far to go, so I began rearranging hotel options and figuring out how far we might get that day.  We wanted to get as close to Madison, WI as possible.  We had lunch in Fargo at a place that is kind of like Chuck E Cheese but with space aliens and much better food.

Lunch stop in Fargo

We made it to Minneapolis around rush hour and decided to stop for dinner.  At that point, I was starting not to feel well.  I wasn't sure if it was just from being so tired and burnt out or if maybe I was getting a stomach bug, but as the evening progressed, I started to feel just awful.  I laid down in the back a good chunk of the evening and we finally decide to stop and find a hotel outside of the Wisconsin Dells, a summer tourist area with all kinds of resorts and theme parks.  We got a hotel room with a king sized bed, pull out couch, and roll away bed. Oh, and a bonus big triangular jacuzzi tub next to the couch.  Of course the kids thought that was awesome, and I tried not to think about what usually went on in that room.  By the way, it was a Best Western, not some honeymoon suite in the Catskills, not sure who normally would pick that room but at 11:00 at night and feeling as sick as I was, I wasn't complaining.

I felt a bit better by morning.  We all got much needed showers or in the kids case, jacuzzi baths and hit the road again,  my Dad and Step Mom were meeting us in Chicago from Michigan, so we wanted to get there as soon as possible.  Traffic and construction were not our friends.  While I slept more in the back, Greg slogged through the 45 mile an hour construction zones to get us to town.  By 2:00 on Friday, we finally made it back to Chicago.  For the kids and I, it was the first time back since we moved 8 years ago.  I was excited to be back, poor Greg was just tired and wishing we were home.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times: 2 days in Glacier

We started out our 2 days in Glacier pretty leisurely.   We got up Monday morning and decided to hang around and enjoy our lakefront campsite for a little while.  I don't like to excercise in the morning unless I get some time to really wake up.  So, I decided to take a late morning run around the campground.  I ran all the different camp loops and took a couple of paths through the woods. I was a bit nervous as the campground host said they had a bear in the campground the day before, but all I saw was a deer.

We headed over around lunch to Apgar Village and the visitor center.  We wanted to get the kid's passports stamped and decide what to see.  It was there we found out we couldn't take the RV up the main mountain road, Going-To-The-Sun road.  Instead, we would have to take the shuttle.  We also realized we wouldn't be able to see as much of the park as we liked given the distances between the interesting parts of the park and the fact we would have to drive several hours around the bottom of the park if we wanted to see things on the east side. Glacier is a big park and their is no loop road like in Yellowstone. 

We decided to spend the afternoon enjoying Lake McDonald, and to get up early tomorrow morning to see the top of the mountain and the east side of the park.  We got on swim suits and headed down to the beach.  We found a spot away from the crowds and the kids went in the water. Lake McDonald is spectacular.  The water is so clean and the views are amazing.  After a while they managed to drag me into the water with them.  Although the water was cold the air was warm enough that it felt refreshing.  When you opened your eyes under water, you could see everything, so amazing.

Lake McDonald

Kids Swimming

They had paddle board rentals and Greg went off to rent us a board.  We took turns paddling around the lake.  I swear you could see at least 20 feet down, if not more.  It was a great lake to paddle.  The kids continued to play and we got some ice cream while Greg went out for a final long paddle.  I tried the huckleberry ice cream, pretty yummy, and the kids opted for their usual; chocolate for Bella and vanilla for Kellen.

Post Ice Cream Bliss

We headed back to the campsite at dinner time to spend the evening enjoying the site. We had another fire and Greg tried a little fishing on the lake.  We wanted to head to bed early since we were going to try and catch the 7:30 shuttle up to Logan Pass from the transit center a few miles away.

We all went to bed but Bella couldn't fall asleep, so I had her join me in my little couch bed.  She has done it before but always in the middle of the night, not for the whole night.  We did fall asleep only to be woken up by the loudest thunder I have ever heard.  It poured rain all night long.  Those of you who know what rain sounds like on a metal roof know how loud even light rain can be.  And this was a serious downpour. Needless to say, none of us slept well.

We still got up at the appointed hour and took off to the transit center in the lingering rain to catch the first shuttle which ran as an express to the high point of the road - Logan Pass.  We made it, just barely, and got on the shuttle.  They allowed us to squeeze on the bus, even though our family put us over capacity by one person. Kellen had to sit on my lap for the hour plus trip up, but we did get seats up front which meant we could look out the front window.  This gave us a great view when a  momma moose and baby moose crossed the road just in front of the shuttle.  It was definitely the highlight of the ride.  

Momma Moose

Baby Moose

We wound our way up the mountain, stopping for construction for about 10 minutes at one point.  They are working on a multi-year project to fix the road and since the season is so short, they have to stop traffic at times to get the work done.  As we got higher we actually were in the low hanging clouds, it was very cool.  When we reached the top we had to transfer to another shuttle to get us down the other side to the boat dock at Rising Sun.  It was freezing up there and we had to wait about 30 minutes for the shuttle that would take us down to the east side and a boat trip on St. Mary's lake.  We got to the dock in time to watch the 10 am boat pull away without us. The next boat left at 12:00, so we had almost 2 hours to kill.  We decided to get some early lunch next door and check out the gift shop.  Kellen and Bella practiced their animal skills (gazelle and cheetah) but kindly donned their human costumes to go into the restaurant for lunch.

Above the Clouds

Cold and Cloudy at Logan Pass

The boat tour was fine, except that one family had a toddler which is trouble when it comes to Bella.  One of her sensory issues related to her autism is crying, specifically crying a babies and toddlers.  She has such an anxiety about it, she can't tolerate even being around one who is not crying.  Add in the fact she didn't sleep well the night before and you can see where this going.  Bella was agitated the entire first half of the trip, which she spent lying on the back seat next to a guy from Ocean City, MD.  After getting back on the boat after a stop at a waterfall, Bella was extremely agitated and it was rough trip back to shore.

St. Mary's Lake

Pretty Water Fall by Lake

Kellen following what the teenagers were doing

Once ashore we again had to wait and wait for a shuttle up to Logan's Pass.  We finally made it back to Logan's Pass and tried to take some hikes.  The first one we rejected because it was littered with small kids.  We decided to hike out on a "real trail" that we know would be devoid of small children called The Highline Trail. The first 1/2 mile was fine but then it goes along a cliff wall that is at least 100 feet up. We actually made it through that section, but then the trail opened up along a ridge line and Bella would have none of that.  She wouldn't even let me go check it out.  We had hoped to hike long enough to see some goats or big horn sheep, but instead we turned back.

Posing at Logan Pass

Dividing the continent. (Straddling the continental divide)

Don't Look Down!

Hiking Views

Hiking Views

Hiking Views

At that point it was getting late and we decided to just head down the mountain.  Disaster 2 for the day. We started talking to a nice young couple from Oklahoma who travel a lot.  We got on the shuttle and noticed too late the toddler in the front.  We were trapped.  Bella was a mess, which upset Kellen as well.  Between Kellen and Bella's bickering, Bella's taunting of the innocent toddler, and our desperate attempts to keep the kids in control, it was a very long ride down the mountain.  Needless to say I don't think that couple from Oklahoma will be having kids anytime soon.

We had to change shuttles again and I really thought we wouldn't make it home.  Bella, now virtually surrounded by children under 6, went manic.  Some nice folks offered Bella and I their seats and she rode with her head in my lap most of the way.  Exhausted, we finally got back to camp, ready to eat some quick dinner and call it a night.

Watching a storm from our campground

Last fire of the trip

So while we really enjoyed parts of Glacier, I am not sure we really got to see or enjoy the best the park has to offer.  Maybe next time we will take the train there.  And see a glacier up close.

Goodbye to Bach

 This past Saturday morning in Washington we woke up to a text from our house/cat sitter.  It was Bach’s time.  She had warned me a few days before that his health was deteriorating.  We had held out hope that he would make it until we got back so we could way our goodbyes, it was not to be.  

Bach was the last of the four cats of our youth.  He adopted us almost 20 years ago when we lived in our house on Madison Place in Annapolis.  He liked our cat Charlie and started sleeping on the back porch.  Greg started feeding him and I called the vet.  He was ours.  His name was originally spelled Bahc.  He was scrawny when we got him but he had a huge head.  His name was an acronym for “Big A** Headed Cat”.  It also filled in the “B” name from our clan of cats (Amaretto and Charlie).  

From the start he was an awesome cat.  Gentle and playful, he and Charlie were best friends.  When Charlie disappeared about 4 months before we moved to Chicago, we were all heartbroken, including Bach.  We moved and about a year later adopted a kitten we named Delilah. As expected, Bach loved her and they too became buddies until Delilah’s life was tragically cut short.  I couldn’t take getting another cat at that point so from then on it was just Bach and Amaretto, Amaretto the queen I should say.  

Bach waited patiently through our move back to Annapolis and Amaretto’s departure from our lives.  He finally became king of the house a few years ago.  Through it all he was our easiest most even keeled cat.  He was so loving and wonderful, I just can’t say enough about what a great cat he was for our family.

His decline started about 2 years ago.  He had several health issues but he continued to eat well and was generally healthy through his old age.  We really never thought he’d live long enough for us to need a caregiver for him on our trip but he did.  He was reasonably healthy when we left and we figured he’d make it till we got back.  So my friend and fellow cat lover Amanda agreed to stay at the house and look after him.  Thank you Amanda for giving him the love we couldn’t during his final days.   Also, thank you to our friend Nick who took him to the vet when we realized it was time to say goodbye. 

Rest in peace Bach, we know you are playing at last with Delilah and Charlie and once again giving Amaretto a hard time.  You will be forever missed.

(Note: We've been desperately trying to find a picture but without access to all our photos at home, I haven't had any luck)