2011 North West Adventure, Day 34 FINAL DAY!

Day 34 August 5th 2011:

WE MADE IT HOME!!!!!! We pulled 8:47pm…The day started with all intentions of stopping in PA to give me a break, but after some debate and soft deep eye stares from the kids, I decided to drive straight from Cedar Point to home and suffer the 9 hr. drive…It would have been 8, but we sat in 1hr of traffic in PA…the ONLY traffic we sat in this whole trip. The boys have been FANTASTIC, but really wanted to get home yesterday so they can see some of their friends…so who am I to deny them of that!

It really was not a bad drive, just long, but Nicholas and Michael literally sat up front with me the whole trip to keep me company. They did not play PS3, or watch TV…we just sat listened to music and talked…how unbelievably cool that was and what a way to end the trip. 34 days confined, and the love, respect, and closeness we all have is just beyond words.

When we pulled onto the street, the enormity of what we had just accomplished literally settled in on me. We have been gone for 34 days, and traveled through 17 states and 7,890 miles exactly, and have now been in EVERY state – Less Hawaii and Alaska. We had ZERO mechanical problems…only problem we had was caused by me allowing the gas to go low on the generator. NONE of us got sick, we had no delays anywhere, we had AWESOME weather the whole trip…maybe 1 day of real rain, we did not get any speeding tickets – and gosh knows I did a little of that – truth be told, Patty planned the trip to a tee regarding all of our supplies, the boys got along FANTASTIC, in short we have been watched over in so many ways I cannot even recount them all. Everything just worked, and I can only believe the good lord kept an eye on us!

The only event that was extremely tough was My Uncle Rocky passed away. He had been battling several things the past few years, and lost the battle 2 weeks ago. My mother was very close to him and it was very difficult for me not to be there for her and the rest of the family -trust me we looked at all options for me to get home, but in the end we were too far and too close to do anything but watch from the sidelines. YOU WILL BE MISSED UNCLE ROCKY!

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

This blog was started so I could remember what we have done. Basically it was my journal and a way to share where we were with family and friends. Over the years it has grown in many ways and has now become part of the adventure itself, and I am very happy with that. It is fun to log what we have done, but for me to go back and recount the events, just makes me smile and look to the future for the next adventure. I have said this before, but I would like to once again thank EVERYONE who has followed us on this journey, all of my co-workers for their un-wavering support to allow me to conduct business while on the road, you have all been GREAT….and especially our family for the love and support during this trip!

I know I speak for Patty, Michael and Nicholas when I say we are all blessed to have family and friends like you and we are glad to be home!....well Patty Michael and Nicholas are…. 

So until our next adventure….Stay BLESSED!
 

See you soon Cedar Point!

July 3rd 12:00pm.....

August 5th 8:47pm...

ONE BLESSED ADVENTURE!!!!!!

2011 North West Adventure, Day 33

Day 33 August 4th 2011:

Recap of Day 33…A total CHILLAXIN day at Cedar Point. It was a SHORT drive from Michigan to Cedar point, and once again took the By-Way and stayed off of the highway which was a nice treat. We spent the late morning early afternoon in the park, but it was crowded and the lines for the rides were long, so we went to the water park…but first the boys drove GO-KARTS! After the water park, we changed went back to the amusement park, had dinner and rode a few rides. The day was GREAT, and was a perfect way to top the trip off. I did not take a lot of photo’s, I just relaxed myself…Actually I think I was depressed that the trip was over…I think I cried every 10 minutes…LOL!
 

Just a cool bridge going over Sandusky Bay...

300 Feet above the lake....

5 States of Go-Karts!

Had white caps like an Ocean...This is LAKE Erie.

2011 North West Adventure, Day 32

Day 32 August 3rd 2011:

Good evening from Monroe, Michigan. Today was a day of WORK, WORK and some more WORK…Oh well, guess I had it coming! I have said it before, but it must be said again…my co-workers, have really allowed me to scale back the hours and truly be able to enjoy this adventure…You all know who you are, and a special thanks to those that carried extra weight than normal, again so not to offend if I miss a name, you all know who you are!  I can speak for the whole family when I say we are deeply indebted to you all!

As for the “free” time today, we did something very different…GO-KARTS! It is now an objective…to find as many GO-KART places we can. We also did a round of Miniature Golf, and some major CHILLAXIN – well Patty and the boys did!

Tomorrow we head to Cedar Point, a place we always stop when we are out past PA…and a signal to all of us that the adventure is truly OVER!

For a change I will not drive from Cedar Point to home Friday, we will lie-over somewhere in PA and be home God willing Saturday by 1ish…I will not Blog tomorrow or Friday unless there is something to blog about. I will definitely Blog on Saturday / Sunday when we get home to capture my thoughts on the whole adventure, and everything we have seen….It is truly awesome for us to have had you following us on this trip…we hope you have enjoyed the stories and pictures, as much as we have had in making them!

So until Saturday / Sunday, Please have a Blessed rest of the week!

Love to all and we do miss you!!!!
 

Even I got to drive today...These were the fastest cars we have driven..but the track was BUMPY!

32 days and still SMILING!

2011 North West Adventure, Day 31

Day 31 August 2nd 2011:

Good evening from Monroe, Michigan. Today was a great and busy day…after some work this am., we pushed out early to head to Ford for my 2:00pm meeting. On the way, I passed several towns I used to work in and called an old friend I have not seen in years to see if he happened to be around…as good luck was on our side, he was and we met at Exit 69, Big Beaver Road……I will pause here for the dramatic humor of what I just wrote. Now Geoff is a character, but he didn’t make this up, nor did he pick it for any other reason other than it was his exit and I was passing it! We met and spent some time catching up in a Fridays parking lot…man I forgot what a character he is, and how much I enjoyed working with him at JCI….Thanks Geoff, it was great seeing you!!!! Also, our motorhome has a new nickname…SHAMU!

After that went to Ford, and like Superman, less the powers and good looks, changed into a suit – glad it fit after 31 days on the road – and went to see a DATACENTER!!!!!! A large one albeit, and actually a great opportunity for our firm…My contact Frank, was great and gave me a ton of tips and places to visit after we were done with business. A short 1 hr. visit, but well worth the time!

After that we drove BY the Ford Museum and Village…saw some of it, but the kids didn’t want to stop. Looks like a place Patty and I will come see again…On the way to our next destination we stopped at a Bob Evens, and ate like we were all going to the electric chair. We had a blast, and laughed our butts off…especially when an 80 yr old cougar told Michael he was cute like JUSTIN BEIBER!!!!! Absolutely priceless!!!!

On a side note, I sit sometimes and watch our family and cannot believe we have been in the motorhome for 31 days, and we are all still smiling and laughing…It is amazing just how fortunate and blessed we are! It has been an awesome adventure thus far, and we are all really dragging our feet to get home. We miss you all, but this time we are together is just priceless!

Tonight we are staying at a campground with GO-KARTS, and other stuff, and will stay here tomorrow since I have a few calls and other work…best I not drive…lol (is this better Andrew?). Then we are off to Cedar point Thursday and Friday and home God willing Saturday…the next few days will not be a lot of photos, but I will update the day’s events…so until the next blog, please have a Blessed Day!

 

The trucks in Michigan all have like 8 - 10 axles...Very strange.

Eminem's Street - a rapper for those that don't know...The kids thought this was cool.

You can see it in the large photo there is a stop sign to the left that is SO small, compared to this sign made of grass...Very Large.

This is a Town who tried stopping a Hooters!  Go figure...BTW, Hooters is now on this road...SPEECHLESS!

Good friends...good times!

2011 North West Adventure, Day 30

Day 30 August 1st 2011:

Good evening from the 48th state we have been in, Roscommon, Michigan to be exact which is mid way through the state, some 550 miles away from Wisconsin. That’s right WE DID IT…we have been in ALL the lower 48 states!!!!! Can you tell I am excited?

All I can say from today is Lake Michigan is HUGE!!!! It took 6 hours to drive around ½ of it! The upper Peninsula of Wisconsin and Michigan are very nice and scenic…slow moving 2 lane highway with a time change in the middle, but very nice and I am glad we saw both states to this detail.

Did I say the lake is HUGE yet…every time I looked at it I had to remind myself it was a lake not an ocean! White caps, beaches, the whole 9 yards…really wicked. I have seen this lake from the shores of Wisconsin and Michigan, but at the peninsulas it looked more like an ocean!

Tomorrow I do a little work and then we stop to see the Ford Museum…

So until tomorrow…. please have a very Blessed day!

 

It's a bloody OCEAN!

2011 North West Adventure, Day 29

Day 29 July 31st 2011:

Good evening and sorry for the 2 Blogs in one day, but as I mentioned this morning today was a total CHILLAXIN day! We did absolutely NOTHING but hang by the pool, and boy was it nice. Patty and I did take a walk to the actual “Dells” and the “Strip”…it was like Seaside, Wildwood, or any other style “Strip” you can think of. The Dells themselves are pretty cool and to be on the water up and down the dells and in the lakes must be great, but the amusement parks, water parks and crowds are definitely not for us…

We did meet the nicest neighbors we have had in a while, Nick and Sue, and thoroughly enjoyed their company…Nick if you read this I hope the “When” is sooner than 1.5 years! Last time we met such nice people was Marty and Ruth…Hi Marty!

Tomorrow we will be taking the LONG way home, up Northern Wisconsin, and down through the upper peninsula of Michigan…We are planning on popping the Champagne when we cross the Michigan border…

So when I write the next Blog, God willing we will be in the last of the lower 48 states, and until then please have a very Blessed day!

 

The areal attack on Michael by Nicholas!

Nicholas in his "Zen" position

Look out!

Still BEST friends after 29 days stuck in a bus!!!  We are all BLESSED beyond words.

2011 North West Adventure, Day 28

Day 28 July 30th 2011:

WOW, did we all sleep in today!!!!! 1st time in 28 days I have slept this much, and man did it feel GOOD!!!!! This morning I am writing from the Wisconsin Dells, on a HOT and HUMID day – I guess this is what you all have been living with while we were tromping through the snow…LOL

Yesterday was a great day…an early start to get to the Mall of America by 10:00am, than 5 hours of shopping and several dollars donated to the Minnesota state fund. About the mall for a second…For those that have shopped at the Mall you know how BIG it is, and for those that have not…OMG, it is HUGE!!!!! There are 4 floors, with most stores having 2 store fronts, with a full size amusement park, aquarium, ice skating ring, and many other non-mall things. An absolute must see if you are ever in this region!

After the shopping, we were off for a 220 mile drive to the Dells to meet our friend Debby and her boyfriend Mark near the Dell’s. After some confusion on where we were and where we should meet - since the roads around here are a tad confusing - we finally sync’d up at an Applebee’s near the campground. Now, the company and stories were FANTASTIC, and it was great to see Debby and meet Mark, but the food and service were the absolute WORST! Oh well…it was all about seeing an old friend, reminisce, and look at old photos from 1991…Debby brought photos of her visit to NY with Patty and I and it was so cool to see the Twin Towers in the photos, and me looking like “Harry Potter with my big round glasses…Nicholas I think wet his pants laughing so hard!…Debby, don’t forget to get me copies of those, and BTW we got so caught up in chatting we forgot to take a photo of us all….ARGH!

Well, as I said it was a great day all around and today is a day to totally do NOTHING! We were supposed to go zip lining, but it is too bloody hot, so it’s a day to hang by the pool, to give dad and motorhome a rest from driving. :-)

Tomorrow we head to Michigan…THE LAST STATE! In reality we could count Michigan, but it would be a lame count…so tomorrow we really see the state…and for those that have been following us for a couple of years, that will make the lower 48 states 100% complete…The family will have been, stayed, done something in EVERY state – Hawaii and Alaska excluded…We are all very excited, since this has been a huge goal and will be God Willing a reality and accomplishment come tomorrow night.

So, until tomorrow and Blog…please have a Blessed Day!

Looking down from the 3rd floor

Looking up from the 1st floor...The place is MASSIVE!

30 foot structure made from legos...

Like us...ADVENTURES...trotting North America!

2011 North West Adventure, Day 27

Day 27 July 29th 2011:

Ok, this time we are a lot farther than yesterday…we drove about 500 miles today from SD to 10 miles away from the Mall of America!

It was a quick 500 miles, and very uneventful, with a quick stop at the Corn Palace…another must stop touristy trap…we just can’t help ourselves!

I must say, it really stinks coming back into civilization again, we have been out of South Dakota less than a day, and I already miss the tranquility of the Mountain states, and real mid west…

Oh well, I guess it is a smooth transition to the real world again…

Tomorrow we shop, then head to the “Dells” to meet our friend Debbie for dinner. We are not sure what we will be doing after that, except we are now 7 days from NJ…maybe less! 

So, until the next Blog…please have a Blessed Day!

 

Town 1808..down the street from where we stayed...too hot to stop, so a bad drive by photo will do for memories!

Just liked the shack...and really  our last look at South Dakota... ;-(

This place is too funny!  The whole outside is made of corn.

June and David...thinking of you!

We think that was Patty in that suit, but we really are not sure!

Interesting Structure at a small Municipal Airport...

2011 North West Adventure, Day 26

Day 26 July 28th 2011:

Once again we are not very far – just 250 miles – from where we were last night…It was a day of sightseeing and just chillaxin in South Dakota, which is still one of my favorite states!

We started the morning by a drive through the city of Rapid City to find a Game Spot! Nicholas and Michael needed to get a new PS3 game…NO COMMENT!

After that we went to the Bear Country Drive in zoo, a place I have wanted to come back to since 2009 when we were last in this region. We drove through the zoo and were able to see some animals we did not see in the wild, and actually some we did…after the drive you get to walk fairly close to the section they are raising the cubs…OMG, it was by far the CUTEST thing we have ever seen…a pen filled with baby bears, playing. We stayed there a lot longer than we had thought because it was fun and they were comical to watch…after the zoo we went…ok are you sitting down…TO RACE GO-KARTS again!!!!! This time it was in an in-door place, which was so different. The things you can do out here are things I wish we could do back East, but the insurance waivers, and lawsuit happy state we live won’t allow it…Oh well.

Once complete with a few laps and playing on a giant slot race car set – which was unbelievable, we drove to Wall Drug Store, a place you HAVE to visit if you ever go through South Dakota…a total tourist trap, but a fun one! This is the 2nd time we have been here, and it was even better this time! A must place to re-visit for sure….Once on the road, I had dreams of getting to Sioux City, another 280 miles…well 70 miles later, and I was cooked…so we found a campground, which happens to be truly one of the nicest KOA’s, not Glacier nice, regular KOA nice…It even had a restaurant, which we all sat down and gave Patty a break…what a fantastic surprise all around! Great food, great hosts, beautiful sunset, and a blessed family and day!

Tomorrow once again is an un-known…we are heading to the Wisconsin Dells –we are almost there Deb, we may be in that area tomorrow, but we will be there God Willing for sure by Saturday…So until we land somewhere tomorrow, hope you have a very Blessed Day!

 

They were all in the roads...very cool!

A Nicholas shot!

Another Nicholas shot...

We have Go-Karted across America!!!!

South Dakota is just a BEAUTIFUL state to drive through!

A truly BLESSED Adventure thus far...