Road Trip 2013

We just accomplished a 17 day, 4,490 mile, 16 state road trip.  This was our route:

Our first stop was outside of Madison, WI, where David (a colleague/friend from our Madison days), Lolly, Henry, Charlie, and Jack were nice enough to let us spend the night after a long day in the car, and then shared a nice breakfast and some fiddle and piano tunes before it was time for us to hit the road again.  They also helped us come up with an idea for our group pictures at each road trip destination: line up tallest to shortest and set the camera up on an auto-timer.  Partly because we were trying to smile while the mosquitoes closed in on us, I also decided on a "one take" rule.  

July 6, Oregon, WI: The Merrell-Van Sickle Crew

Next stop was the Cottage.  We had a great week with perfect weather, lots of boating and swimming, and great fun with cousins.  Grandpa and Grandma and Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jacob were there for the beginning of the week, and then Nana came up for the second half of the week.  (Her brother Jim dropped her off, so he made it into the group shot below.)  While everyone was there, we held a second wedding for Shannon and Jacob since the kids weren't at the main event (in Bend, OR in May).  

July 8, Three Lakes, WI: The Dickinsons

From Wisconsin we drove across Michigan's Upper Peninsula, down through Michigan and Ohio and rolled in late at night to my stepsister Emily's house in Pittsburgh.  We slept in the next morning and then spent the day at the pool, where Mazie and Athena had a great time swimming and playing with Maggie, Brady, and Alison.  In the evening we had a great cook out with Emily's husband Brian's family and co-workers.  Of course, we made all of them line up for another group shot.  (This one wins the prize for most challenging camera placement... it was propped up on top of our van, and I just barely made it up the hill and into the shot.  Note the kids looking over to see if I made it.)

 July 13, Pittsburgh, PA: The Lowes (and friends)

After Pittsburgh, we were headed to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Along the way, we stopped in Richmond for lunch with Tiffany (another friend from our Madison days) and her fiance Mark.  They introduced us to a very yummy vegetarian restaurant, and Tiffany was sweet enough to show up with a basket of tropical-themed picnic bowls and cups that kept the kids entertained.

July 14, Richmond, VA: Tiffany Green and Mark Robinson

And then we were at the beach!  We had another wonderful week with more great (if hot and humid) weather, and most importantly, our wonderful (and ever growing) group of friends from our Durham days: the Lupiens (now in Maine), the Collinses (in Boston), and the Gray-Ekblad crew (in Guelph, Ontario).  The house we rented had lots of space for all of us, and the kids enjoyed the beach, the pool, and each other.  Note the big difference between this group and the cottage crew:  Mazie went from second shortest in the height lineup (and third youngest) to the oldest & tallest kid!  Not surprisingly, we didn't quite manage to keep this young group completely in line...

July 18, Southern Shores, NC: Durham Friends Reunion

We were having so much fun at the beach that we decided to stay an extra day and cram the originally-planned 3-day return trip into 2 days.  We did manage to squeeze in a (too) short visit with the Smiths, also part of our Durham clan, who weren't able to join us at the beach this year (but we look forward to seeing them next year at the Cottage!).  Mazie and Lauren put on a little singing and dancing performance for us, so that was pretty cute.

July 20, Durham, NC: The Smiths

After leaving the Smiths we put in a long day on the road and then stopped for a 1:30 am - 6 am nap at a motel in St Louis.  From there we drove about 3 hrs to Kyle and Jodi's (childhood/high school friends from Boulder) house outside of Kansas City.  Once again the visit was too short, but it was great to see the Woltman's new house and to finally meet 3 year old Annabelle, who did a great job of sharing her toys and playing with Mazie and Athena.

July 21, Overland Park, KS: The Woltmans

From there it was a short 9 hr drive back to our home sweet home.  The kiddos actually did great on the entire ride... there were rough patches here and there, but surprisingly few given the 70+ hours we ended up spending in the car!  Grateful for a fun adventure filled with so many great people... and also grateful to be home for the next few weeks....