Drivin' Around

I've mentioned "driving" in passing in a few blogs, and thought I might share a little more about that part of our adventure here. So far, we've spent roughly 35-40 hours in the car. Wow. That sounds like a lot when I put it that way.

Our trip "legs" have ranged anywhere from 10 hours (once) to 4.5 hours each time. We usually stop every 2-3 hours, regardless of how far we're going. We might picnic at a pretty stop, eat at a restaurant, or tour some roadside oddity. It all depends on what's available and what we're in the mood for.

Rick and I try to keep the driving evenly split, so neither of us is too worn out. However, I jumped on his obvious excitement at driving through Chicago- I wanted nothing to do with that!  Whoever isn't driving gets to handle passing stuff to the kids, navigation changes/questions, and taking photos of the passing scenery.

The scenery has chnged quite a bit! Now we see more farms than anything. I still don't understand why there are so many beautiful old barns tumbling into ruin along the way. Why isn't anyone taking care of these old buildings? It makes me sad.

We've seen lots of funny signs, too. I think my favorite was one that read, "6 flat acres for sale" in West Virginia. I had no idea flat land was so special there! They should check out Indiana- dear lord is it flat! Another sign in Illinois read "prison nearby, do not pick up hitch hikers". Quite the security system there!

I've been amazed at the range of gas prices. The highest so far was Chicago, at $4.30. The lowest was $3.39 in Frankfurt, Kentucky. The Gas Buddy app has helped us watch our gas pennies, too. A few exits can mean ten cents a gallon!

While we drive, the girls have videos, crafts, music, and each other to pass the time. Sometimes they trade movies ("Mom, I wanna watch what she's watching!") and they repeatedly ask for "their" songs. Bella claims one Pink song (darned if the names just run out of my head!) and Kaya claims "Raise your glass". I think we've burned through the cd. It's hilarious to hear Bella scream along that she's gonna get in a fight to her song.

Since the girls are drawing, each stop involves picking up rolling markers and ripped out paper. Bella has colored on her seat and the windows- she is only allowed color wonder now.

Rick wins the award for buying the loudest car toy. He got Bella a memory game where you can change out cards for new games in a wooden case. You open and close wooden flaps to reveal what is inside. Let's just say, the child needs felt for that thing!

Well, I planned to show you a few of our pictures from the road, but the internet here is so slow I can't. I promise to share some when I can. Thanks for reading!