Happy Friday Everyone! Not sure why Fridays still excite us, considering the fact that everyday is a weekend, but still... Ya gotta love Fridays!
Today we are writing from South Dakota, a state we never thought about much but has proven to be pretty fun so far, with lots to see.
To update since leaving Chicago on Wednesday, we drove to Buckhorn State Park in Wisonsin first and camped for the night. The. owners of the Powell's Inn (Aaron and Emily) suggested the park to us and raved about it. When we arrived, we could see why. The campground consisted of mostly walk in sites and only had a few that had a travel trailer pull in spot. We found a place where we could pop up Stevie and read some of the state park brochures. The brochures gave information of local wildlife and we laughed when we read the last sentence stating "...the occasional Black Bear". "We have a machete" Matt said, "we'll be fine".
Each campsite had it's own private lake access little beach area. We popped up the camper, propped our chairs, cooler and daisy by the beach and fished while the sun was setting over the lake.
The campground did not have electrical hookups and after the sunset, it was pretty dark. We loved it though... The quiet and peacefullness surrounding us.
While we were sitting around the fire later on, we both started hearing some noises that made both of our skin crawl. We would look at each other and convince each other that we both did not just hear a growl, even though we were thinking in our heads that we did. After about 15 min. and the growl noise getting louder, we both began to panic. Daisy has been trying to eat every wild animal at every campground, and she wasn't acting like there was anything near. Finally we hear a huge growl followed by what sounded like a horse. Ha!! It was an old man snoring in the campground next to us. The loudest snoring we have ever heard. It was embarassing that we let our adrenaline levels rise so high and fear take over our bodies over an old man snoring. This time, we were lucky; Next time it could be a bear and we'll be ready.
We left early Thurs. morning and drove through Southern Minnesota farmland and stopped at Palisades State Park right across the border in South Dakota. We had another peaceful night last night and woke up early again this morning to move on. We are driving to Custer State Park today to stay thru the weekend. We stopped once already to see Devil's Gulch where Jesse James leaped over a ravine to escape the law, and are stopping at The Corn Palace in about 30 miles. A Palace made of corn... Can't wait!!! Custer State park is right neat Mt. Rushmore, Crazyhorse, and so much more to see.
We are hoping for good weather this weekend. The outlook is not so good so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
Last but not least, we have another shout out:
Happy Birthday Colchild!!! Yesterday he turned 24!!! We miss you and love you so much!!! See you in San Fran soon.
One more side note:
Today reminds us how lucky we are to be traveling this great country of ours. Each part has such significance and we are so thankful for the everyday heroes, past and present, who have protected every inch of it. It's so hard to believe that it has been 8 years since 9/11. Everyone needs to take time to be thankful everyday of the week and honor those whose lives have been lost. We do.
See you when we get there!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Veggies, Hot Dogs, and White Castle... Oh My!
Our drive from Cleveland to our next stopping point was easy as pie.
We woke up Saturday morning in Cleveland in a bit of a panic. It was labor day weekend, one of the busiest camping weekends of the year, and we didn't reserve a campsite anywhere. We immediately got on the phone with the state park reservation line in Indiana. After a few "we're completely full" responses, we finally had luck on our side. There was one campsite available at Pokagon State Park near Angola, Indiana. We were on our way.
The highlight of our drive that day was a food stop in Toledo. We couldn't bypass the city without stopping at "Tony Packos Hot Dogs". Anyone who has ever been anyone has eaten one of these amazing hot dogs. The place was originally made known from the TV show M.A.S.H. and now hosts everyone from movie stars, pro athletes, presidents and more. We bought a box of hot dogs, chowed them down and finished our drive.
We camped at the beautiful Pokagon State Park until Monday morning. It was completely packed but it was still beautiful and the park is well taken care of. We bought loads of veggies from local farmland and grilled up some amazing kabobs.
We left Monday morning and headed towards Chicago. The drive was beautful. We drove past loads of amish people driving their buggies around.
We found a place to camp North of Chicago in Zion, Illinois Beach State Park on Lake MIchigan. We set up camp and left to drive through Megan's childhood neighborhood. It was the exact same and Megan was really wierded out, but really enjoyed it. It's such a small community and they were having a Labor Day block party. Megan took some pictures and we had the feeling that people were worried we might be kidnappers or serial killers casing the neighborhood. It was a quick and surreal trip.
Tuesday, we wanted to go into the City and one of our best friends, Jason, from Mckinney, told us we should call his brother and stay with him. We made the call and stayed with Aaron and Emily last night. On the way we stopped at a White Castle and seriously chowed down. We couldn't show up starving to the house afterall!
They showed us to the train which we were able to take into the city. We spent the evening in the city and had a great time. We ate some Chicago Hot Dogs, pizza and spent time in millenium park. This morning we awoke to some biscuits and gravy and the option to do some much needed laundry. Aaron and Emily have been amazing hosts and so nice to let us crash. We have had a great time. Daisy even made some new friends, Niko and Duece.
We are leaving today to go to Wisconsin and camp at Buckhorn State Park ( after the laundry is done of course).
Thank you again to the Powells for your kindness and letting us take over for a night! We will pay it forward!
We woke up Saturday morning in Cleveland in a bit of a panic. It was labor day weekend, one of the busiest camping weekends of the year, and we didn't reserve a campsite anywhere. We immediately got on the phone with the state park reservation line in Indiana. After a few "we're completely full" responses, we finally had luck on our side. There was one campsite available at Pokagon State Park near Angola, Indiana. We were on our way.
The highlight of our drive that day was a food stop in Toledo. We couldn't bypass the city without stopping at "Tony Packos Hot Dogs". Anyone who has ever been anyone has eaten one of these amazing hot dogs. The place was originally made known from the TV show M.A.S.H. and now hosts everyone from movie stars, pro athletes, presidents and more. We bought a box of hot dogs, chowed them down and finished our drive.
We camped at the beautiful Pokagon State Park until Monday morning. It was completely packed but it was still beautiful and the park is well taken care of. We bought loads of veggies from local farmland and grilled up some amazing kabobs.
We left Monday morning and headed towards Chicago. The drive was beautful. We drove past loads of amish people driving their buggies around.
We found a place to camp North of Chicago in Zion, Illinois Beach State Park on Lake MIchigan. We set up camp and left to drive through Megan's childhood neighborhood. It was the exact same and Megan was really wierded out, but really enjoyed it. It's such a small community and they were having a Labor Day block party. Megan took some pictures and we had the feeling that people were worried we might be kidnappers or serial killers casing the neighborhood. It was a quick and surreal trip.
Tuesday, we wanted to go into the City and one of our best friends, Jason, from Mckinney, told us we should call his brother and stay with him. We made the call and stayed with Aaron and Emily last night. On the way we stopped at a White Castle and seriously chowed down. We couldn't show up starving to the house afterall!
They showed us to the train which we were able to take into the city. We spent the evening in the city and had a great time. We ate some Chicago Hot Dogs, pizza and spent time in millenium park. This morning we awoke to some biscuits and gravy and the option to do some much needed laundry. Aaron and Emily have been amazing hosts and so nice to let us crash. We have had a great time. Daisy even made some new friends, Niko and Duece.
We are leaving today to go to Wisconsin and camp at Buckhorn State Park ( after the laundry is done of course).
Thank you again to the Powells for your kindness and letting us take over for a night! We will pay it forward!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Another Week Gone By
Note to self: we must find an Internet connection more often in order to update this blog. Way too much goes on in one day and it is impossible to remember all the craziness that happens.
We left off last week in Boston during cold and rainy weather. Sunday ended up being a gorgeous day, which allowed us to see the sights of Beantown. There is so much history in Boston so it would be impossible to see everything in one day. We narrowed it down. We decided to see one historical and one food landmark. We took a tour of the USS Constitution and the museum. It was pretty amazing to see an old naval ship and see how sailors used to live on the sea for years at a time. We learned all about Scurvy, a disease you get from a vitamin C deficiency, so ever since we have been drinking OJ everyday and concerned that our teeth will fall out if we don't eat veggies.
After the USS Constitution, we were going to drive by some historic landmarks on our way to Fenuil Market for food. Unfortunately we ended up in 3 wrong tunnels, paying an extra toll and getting completely turned around in a city where the roads do not make sense. It was hard for Megan to admit that the Boston city streets had defeated her because she prides herself on her map reading skills and good sense of direction.
We did make it to Fenuil Market where we ate at the "Cheers" replica and enjoyed some relaxing time for about 30 min. Afterward, we both agreed to go back to our safe house, The Holiday Inn Express.
We left Boston Monday morning and headed North on Highway 1A along the coast. We stopped in Salem, MA to see where the Witch Trials took place. We then went through a small portion of New Hampshire and into Maine. Maine was absolutely gorgeous. A lot of the cities we drove through on the coast were a bit run down but once you cross the bridge to Maine, it's a whole new story. We went to eat in Wells Beach at a place called "The Maine Diner". It was a small diner that we had heard had the best food. They have a garden in the back where they grow there own produce to serve. Everything was fresh. We had some She Crab Soup: amazing, and a hot lobster roll with butter. We shared both, got filled up and continued our scenic drive.
We decided to stay in Vermont for the night and drove across New Hampshire. It started to get dark after we crossed the border into Vermont, so our popup Stevie, decided it would be a good time to stop the lights from working again. Fanfreakintastic. We drove up the Green Mountains to Woodford State Park. Relieved we had arrived and we were alive, we were immediately greeted by the scariest, most horror movie looking man on the planet. He greeted us by turning on the light on the building and staring at us from inside. Matt went to talk to him and he simply stated, "we are closed". Matt ran back to the car and we debated. Our lights were out again, we didn't know where else to camp, we had been driving for 9 hours, it was cold, dark and we were on top of a mountain on a curvy road.
Long story short, we went down the mountain, decided to suck it up and drive to a KOA northwest of Albany, NY (2 and a half more hours away). We got pulled over on I-90 and were kept on the freeway for 45 minutes while the cop made jokes about his own state. He then informed us we had to pull over and not move until our lights were working. Great, midnight, on the side of the road, threatened our trailer/home would be towed if we can't fix it.
Luckily, the amazing Matt had bought some magnetic lights at Walmart and wired them to work til we could get to the campsite. Thank the Lord!
The next morning we woke up not knowing where we were and all we could hear were horse shoes on the ground. We walked out to the most amazing view of Amish Country, complete with a horse and buggy passing by. We were in Cooperstown, NY. The campground was so peaceful and all we could see was rolling hills and farmland around us. The campground host/owner, helped us all day fix our trailer lights and after several hours, all lights were working and we didn't have to pay a dime. The nicest man in the world. We stayed for one more night because we needed the rest and it was so peaceful. We got some free Amish Sweet Corn and chowed all night.
The next day we headed to Niagara Falls and stopped on the way at a Cidar Mill for some NY smoked cheese and Apple Wine tastings. Very good! We saw Niagara Falls the next morning and took off for Cleveland where Matt's mom was still waiting for us to arrive.
We stopped in Buffalo, NY at the "Anchor Bar", home of the original Buffalo Wings. We had never tasted wings so good and could probably eat 100 of them at a time. We made it to Cleveland and have been spending the past 2 days here with John and Juanita. Yesterday, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had a blast. It was amazing and they had some very extensive exhibits. We finished yesterday in Medina County at a "Rally in the Alley" where a Deep Purple Tribute band played all night to middle aged bikers. Very interesting and overall a good time.
Today we are going to Pokana State Park in Indiana to spend 2 nights for the Holiday weekend. We are then heading towards Chicago for a short stay.
Despite all the trials and tribulations thus far, we are having an amazing time and have already learned so much about our Country that we never knew. Daisy is doing great and enjoying herself.
Checking out of Cleveland and moving on!
We left off last week in Boston during cold and rainy weather. Sunday ended up being a gorgeous day, which allowed us to see the sights of Beantown. There is so much history in Boston so it would be impossible to see everything in one day. We narrowed it down. We decided to see one historical and one food landmark. We took a tour of the USS Constitution and the museum. It was pretty amazing to see an old naval ship and see how sailors used to live on the sea for years at a time. We learned all about Scurvy, a disease you get from a vitamin C deficiency, so ever since we have been drinking OJ everyday and concerned that our teeth will fall out if we don't eat veggies.
After the USS Constitution, we were going to drive by some historic landmarks on our way to Fenuil Market for food. Unfortunately we ended up in 3 wrong tunnels, paying an extra toll and getting completely turned around in a city where the roads do not make sense. It was hard for Megan to admit that the Boston city streets had defeated her because she prides herself on her map reading skills and good sense of direction.
We did make it to Fenuil Market where we ate at the "Cheers" replica and enjoyed some relaxing time for about 30 min. Afterward, we both agreed to go back to our safe house, The Holiday Inn Express.
We left Boston Monday morning and headed North on Highway 1A along the coast. We stopped in Salem, MA to see where the Witch Trials took place. We then went through a small portion of New Hampshire and into Maine. Maine was absolutely gorgeous. A lot of the cities we drove through on the coast were a bit run down but once you cross the bridge to Maine, it's a whole new story. We went to eat in Wells Beach at a place called "The Maine Diner". It was a small diner that we had heard had the best food. They have a garden in the back where they grow there own produce to serve. Everything was fresh. We had some She Crab Soup: amazing, and a hot lobster roll with butter. We shared both, got filled up and continued our scenic drive.
We decided to stay in Vermont for the night and drove across New Hampshire. It started to get dark after we crossed the border into Vermont, so our popup Stevie, decided it would be a good time to stop the lights from working again. Fanfreakintastic. We drove up the Green Mountains to Woodford State Park. Relieved we had arrived and we were alive, we were immediately greeted by the scariest, most horror movie looking man on the planet. He greeted us by turning on the light on the building and staring at us from inside. Matt went to talk to him and he simply stated, "we are closed". Matt ran back to the car and we debated. Our lights were out again, we didn't know where else to camp, we had been driving for 9 hours, it was cold, dark and we were on top of a mountain on a curvy road.
Long story short, we went down the mountain, decided to suck it up and drive to a KOA northwest of Albany, NY (2 and a half more hours away). We got pulled over on I-90 and were kept on the freeway for 45 minutes while the cop made jokes about his own state. He then informed us we had to pull over and not move until our lights were working. Great, midnight, on the side of the road, threatened our trailer/home would be towed if we can't fix it.
Luckily, the amazing Matt had bought some magnetic lights at Walmart and wired them to work til we could get to the campsite. Thank the Lord!
The next morning we woke up not knowing where we were and all we could hear were horse shoes on the ground. We walked out to the most amazing view of Amish Country, complete with a horse and buggy passing by. We were in Cooperstown, NY. The campground was so peaceful and all we could see was rolling hills and farmland around us. The campground host/owner, helped us all day fix our trailer lights and after several hours, all lights were working and we didn't have to pay a dime. The nicest man in the world. We stayed for one more night because we needed the rest and it was so peaceful. We got some free Amish Sweet Corn and chowed all night.
The next day we headed to Niagara Falls and stopped on the way at a Cidar Mill for some NY smoked cheese and Apple Wine tastings. Very good! We saw Niagara Falls the next morning and took off for Cleveland where Matt's mom was still waiting for us to arrive.
We stopped in Buffalo, NY at the "Anchor Bar", home of the original Buffalo Wings. We had never tasted wings so good and could probably eat 100 of them at a time. We made it to Cleveland and have been spending the past 2 days here with John and Juanita. Yesterday, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had a blast. It was amazing and they had some very extensive exhibits. We finished yesterday in Medina County at a "Rally in the Alley" where a Deep Purple Tribute band played all night to middle aged bikers. Very interesting and overall a good time.
Today we are going to Pokana State Park in Indiana to spend 2 nights for the Holiday weekend. We are then heading towards Chicago for a short stay.
Despite all the trials and tribulations thus far, we are having an amazing time and have already learned so much about our Country that we never knew. Daisy is doing great and enjoying herself.
Checking out of Cleveland and moving on!
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