ROAD TRIP!!!

On Thursday morning we loaded up the car and headed out. Ten hours later, we found ourselves at my sister Erin's house in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We made excellent time on our trip. We only stopped twice, and once was for me to use the bathroom, not the kids. They only got out of the car once during the 10 hours when we stopped for lunch and gas.

When I was growing up, we would make a 30 hour drive from Wisconsin to Utah every summer to visit family. In a 12-passenger baby blue van. With no air conditioning. And only AM radio. And hand-sewn curtains strung throughout the interior using PVC pipe. And matching fabric pockets hung over each bench to hold our stuff. We would usually drive through the night except for a 2-3 hour sleep for the drivers at a rest stop. This sounds insane to me now. But it wasn't so awful at the time. Maybe a little awful by hour 20. But we were creative and made up a lot of songs. And my mom prepared well for the trip. She would create a "store" in the car and throughout the drive we could purchase items from the store using fake money that we had earned by being good.

I decided to try out the store idea with Amelia and she LOVED it. I loaded up on Dollar Store items and gave her a little wallet with some fake money. She earned more money throughout the trip by being good. Every hour I would open up the store and she could choose a few things to purchase. These would generally keep her occupied until the store opened again. I think it helped pass the time for all of us.

This is how we spent 10 hours in a car:


Entering Maryland!


Eating Muddy Buddies...our official road trip food.


Rocking out to awesome music.


Entering Pennsylvania!


Enjoying some of the "store" purchases.


Eating!






Sleeping.


More sleeping.


Entering Ohio!


Being silly.




Michigan at last!

When we left Ann Arbor Monday morning, we had to make a stop at Tim Hortons. Ben and I were introduced to the magic of Tim Hortons when we were on our honeymoon in Nova Scotia. It's a Canadian-based bakery/sandwich place but they have several locations all over the Northeast. Instead of chips, you get a donut with your sandwich! And the donuts are so delicious. So we loaded up on donuts and sandwiches and our favorite, Timbits (donut holes).










We didn't need a welcome sign when we crossed into Virginia on the way home. Traffic is always a sign you're in Virginia.

(Pictures of the Ann Arbor adventures to come...)