Road Trip 2008

Day 3

I DID NOT sleep well last night. I kept waking up wondering what time it was. I am definitely going to need a nap in the car today. Apparantly Jen didn't get enough rest either because she had a MAJOR meltdown beginning in the hotel room lasting well into breakfast. Her vehicle today was the wardrobe choice. I had chosen her clothes and packed everything else away. It was already in the car. She did not like what I had chosen and was a bundle of tears, thrashing limbs and screams in no time at all. Truly, it had nothing to do with the clothing. It really was a matter of inadequate sleep. After she had calmed down and she and I took a trip to the ladies room, I was talking to her about her behavior and how she needed to stay calm for dad's sake. She said, " Mom, dad just DOES NOT understand how much beauty sleep I really need. " 'Nough said!!!

Before hitting the road, we stopped at this interesting gas station

Do I really need to say anything?

Lunch in Lakeview, Illinois..

We stopped first to refuel at the Shell station and visited the filthiest public bathroom in America! Yuck. We tried to touch as little as possible and then disinfected everybody back at the car.

The attendant at the gas station was able to direct us to a nearby park for lunch. This place was great. A playground for the kids, nice little picnic ramada with tables, and a bridge covered pond with ducks who gladly ate our leftover bread crumbs

.The kids had a great time running all over the place and were even entertained by a family of chipmunks while we ate lunch.

Jen and I discovered that we have now entered mosquito country. Looks like it's time to pull out the fabric softener sheets. ( I know you all think I'm a little nuts about this but, tuck one of those puppies into your pocket and the mosquitos avoid you like the plague).

We are heading East on I-70 now towards Indiana and will be at the state line in about 1 1/2 hours. The kids are watching a movie and I am enjoying the scenery. There are lots of farms w/ cute little houses. Everytime we pass this way in the summer, I am literally speachless at the amount of corn growning in the fields. AMAZING

It seems like after lunch is the most popular time to nap. Jolie likes to look cool while napping

Monday Afternoon Rest stop.....

Terre Haute, Indiana- our first afternoon without a Sonic! Not to worry- we found a Dairy Queen instead. Not just any DQ but the WT capitol of DQ's! Very interesting characters around these parts. Anyhoo- after some yummy ice cream cones, we are back on the road. Two more hours and we will be in Richmond for the night. We are really hoping to avoid rush hour traffic in Indianapolis!

We spent the night in... Richmond, Indiana

Man! That was a VERY long drive today. An extra hour on the road makes a BIG difference! We checked into our hotel and walked across the street to have dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Aftrwards Chino and the kids went swimming in the indoor heated pool while I read poolside. Chino's assessment of our hotels thus far: Day 1 = best breakfast, Day 2= best room, Day 3 = best pool. Back to the room for showers and ultimately sleep but not before Chino snuck off to White Castle for a late night snack!

There are just some things you cannot get in the West!