Remember that Time we Drove to Maryland??

My sister MarKey, despite the protests of many, moved to Maryland a few weeks ago. In the planning phase of her moving, she asked if we would consider driving one of their cars and following them there since we were planning a trip East this summer anyway.  We decided to do it, and even after driving across Nebraska, we'd still agree to do it.  Oh, it was wonderful in parts, miserable in parts, unbearable in parts and boring in the whole middle part, but we'd still do it again.

We left on July 31st, a little more than an hour later than planned, but we were ready to drive all the way to Kearney, Nebraska to get the really long day out of the way first. Our first state to travel through was Wyoming.  I kind of can't see why people live in Wyoming, but I hear those who do love it, so who am I to judge?

We stopped to have lunch in Rawlins, Wyoming.  We sat on the lawn of the Fire House and saw some antelope and a squirrel.  Then we left and about 10 minutes later, this happened:

*sigh*

Yup, it's flat.  After about 90 minutes we'd located the spare, put it on, got the kids back in the van and made the decision to drive back to Rawlins.  We didn't know if the tire would hold to Laramie, so we thought going back was the best idea.  When we got to Rawlins, the tire store didn't have the tire we needed.  They suggested that we stay the night there and have the tire delivered from Laramie the next morning.  We asked if we could drive on the spare and they said yes, but the location in Laramie was closing in 30 minutes and we wouldn't make it there. So we decided to drive to Cheyenne, where they also had the right size, stay the night and go from there in the morning.

We ended up at the Comfort Inn Cheyenne.  There must have been something going on in that little town, for most of the hotels were sold out.  We were grateful to find the one we did.  It was pretty nice and came with this awesome view!  I tell you, who wouldn't want to live here.

 We went across the street to Denny's for dinner, where we spotted this sign which made us laugh.

Our room had a pull out chair, which Natalee loved.  I'd never seen one before, but it worked out nicely.

 Shortly after waking up and getting the tire fixed, we were on the road again.  Soon we were in Nebraska.

 We saw a really redneck sign and lots and lots of corn, soybeans, barns and silos.  What we didn't see was trees, which was surprising since according to their sign, they are the birthplace of Arbor Day.

Dallas loved Nebraska.  He did this for most of the trip across the state.  We drove through the town where we were supposed to spend the night the night before and wondered if we were crazy thinking we could make it that far in the first day.

 We drove about 15 miles through Iowa, so we got to tick another state off the list. 

Then we landed in Missouri.  We were set to spend the night in Middle of Nowhere, Missouri (otherwise known as Macon) at another Comfort Inn.  We were really pleased with this hotel.  

 

If you ever find yourself in Middle of Nowhere, Missouri, we highly recommend this property.  They had a really nice breakfast, run by a little grandma woman who was sweet as pie and they had towel animals like you get on a cruise on the counter tops in the bathrooms. It was also at this property that Nathan introduced Bennett and Libby to the fun that is riding on the luggage trolley and something that was repeated at every hotel thereafter.

The next morning we got on the road, just to get off again quickly because Bennett threw up.  Poor little guy, he really suffered through this whole day.  Thankfully, he slept for most of it, but it was so sad.
This day we drove through three states; Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.  Our end goal was Zanesville, OH.  Illinois and Ohio didn't want us to stand by their sign (*boo*).

All of these states look the same, and they all look like this.  Actually, Ohio got a little hilly and woodsy by the time we got to the place where our hotel was, but most of our drive was flat and corn. 

We made it to our hotel where Natalee finally got to swim!  It had been kind of torture for her to be in two places with a pool and not be able to get in the water.  The next morning we got up, very excited because this was the day we were going to get to Maryland!

Before I tell you the bad news, here is an adorable picture of Bennett.  He was feeling much better and we were all so grateful.

Somewhere between here:

 and here:

we got some horrible news.  MarKey and Jon's truck was not going to be waiting for us at their house in Maryland.  In fact, it wouldn't be there until Monday. It was a huge blow to what had been an exciting day.  Suddenly we weren't so excited since now when we got there, we'd have to buy new towels and sheets and clothes for church. However, we pressed on.  We had lunch in the worst Wendy's on the planet and a few minutes after that experience, we were finally in Maryland! 

We made one final stop for gas about an hour away from MarKey's house. They had the following noteworthy things at this truck stop, which since I'm strange, I like to remember.

 

All the toilets?  Well, if you insist.  I was afraid to look in the "Not a Trash Can" to see what they were actually using it for.  

Then HOORAY, we made it to the exit!!!

And a few minutes later, we made it to the house.  It would have been perfect had the truck been waiting there for us to unload, but we made due. The house is beautiful and has lots of space for the kids to run.  There's a charming garden in the back, with veggies, herbs and baby bunnies all growing in it.  We were so happy to be here! 

Our trip was far from over, but I'll get around to telling you about that another day!