Summer Fun

Well, as many of you know, we took our longest road trip yet! Many called us crazy, but none-the-less, we made it with most of our sanity still in tact. The trip started in Idaho Falls on June 24 at 3 pm. We decided for the first leg of the trip we would drive through the night, hoping that the kids would sleep most of it. We made it into Nebraska, but at 3:00am we decided to pull off at a rest area for a couple hours of sleep. We probably could have gone on, but it seems the deer in Nebraska have a suicide wish! After almost hitting 3, one of which I am sure lost its tail, we decided it was time to stop until it was lighter. Shortly after 5, we started out again. We stopped for breakfast at a local restaurant and changed for the day. Once finished, we started on the road again. We made it to Evansville, IN at around 9:30pm (our first stop).

We had nothing special planned for Indiana. We just wanted to catch up with friends and relax. While there we ate at many good restaurants, played some poker with friends, watched the world cup, ran through a down pour, and melted in the humidity. As we were packing up to leave, I was saddened to realize that it may be a while before we return. Three days later we started leg two of the trip.

This one was much shorter. We left about noon on June 28, and pulled into Grovetown, GA at 10pm. It was a bittersweet arrival as I saw my nieces run down the stairs. Where did the past year go! They grew entirely too much and I missed it!!! Hannah, Adrea, and Abby went straight up and started playing as if they had never been apart. They were inseperable for the entire week! All three slept in the same room sharing beds back and forth! We kept busy the entire time. We went back to Atlanta and saw the Georgia Aquarium and ate at The Varsity. Shortly after, we headed toward the Atlantic coast. It would have been a crime to drive all that way and not see it. We went to Hilton Head, SC, where the ocean was very warm. After playing for several hours we drove further up the point and ate at The Salty Dog Restaurant (yum yum)! The end of the week was July 4. We danced around with sparklers and lit a few fireworks. The following day we started the third leg of the trip.

We left the Georgia close to 8:00am on July 5th and started for San Antonio, TX. As much as we wanted to get there, we didn't want to pull another all-nighter! We made it as far as the Louisiana/Texas border and stopped for the night. With a leisurely start the following morning, we arrived in Converse, Tx around 2:00pm. With the sweltering heat...we promptly set up the kids pool and all jumped in. (You can see Ed sitting in it on a previous post.) The four days we spent in San Antonio were very relaxing. Everything we did revolved around the kids' naps and were activities that would keep them occupied. A couple of attractions we stopped at were the San Antonio River Walk and, of course, The Alamo. We ate at two fabulous restaurants, The Rainforest Cafe and The Salt Lick, I highly recommend both! As the week ended, we were saddened that we had to leave. July 10, we started for home!

Again, we didn't want to pull another all-nighter, and being in the car was started to wear on us, we made it as far as the New Mexico/Colorado border. We tried to push through as quickly as possible, but we did make a couple of unscheduled stops. We made sure to buy a shot glass from Roswell, NM, (now we can say we've been there) and one from the Four Corners. I was disappointed at the Four Corners. It was under construction and the closest we could get was 25 ft away. The whole thing was blocked off! We never did stand in four states at once. Oh well, maybe on the next cross-country trip...YEAH RIGHT!

Finally, 19 states and 2.5 weeks later, we were back home. It was close to 8:00pm on July 11. The girls were exhausted and Ed and I were worn out! We needed one more day to chill, but that wasn't meant to be. 8:00 the next morning we were back at work.

All-in-all it was a great trip. We saw many old friends and family and lots of new sites. Here are a handful of pics that were never posted previously. For the specifics of the trip check out my earlier posts.