Home Again, Home Again

June 26, 2018

We left the Cedar Rapids area and had two days of driving ahead of us.  This was kind of a bad idea on our part.  At the beginning of our trip, we had fun stops along the way, like Kansas.  On the back end of our trip, it was just a long slog of driving through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and finally home to Kentucky.  If you've ever driven this part of the country, you know it is just a whole lot of corn!  

We tried to break up the drive with a fun stop at The World's Largest Truck Stop.  It was just a large truck stop, but hey, we can say we've been there!

Our final layover was a night at the Galesburg East Campground in Knoxville, Illinois.  There is a whole lot of nothing in Knoxville, Illinois, but this campground was a gem.  Very clean, well maintained, lots of trees.  Since there was nothing in the area to draw people, it appeared that most of our fellow campers were just passing through.  

The campground offered a pool, which was clean, a fishing pond, and a playground.  That's Perry much all we needed, especially after a day of driving.  If you ever find yourself in the area and in need of a campground, the Schneiders recommend Galesburg East!

See the little girl touching the fish? How is that my daughter? Eww!

Me as a child in the 80's: This slide is AWESOME. Me as a parent in 2018: This slide is a death trap!

June 27, 2018

We woke up, broke camp, and drove east for our final day.  Luckily we were able to break up the 6 hour drive with a stop in Indianapolis to have lunch with Rob's sister Jenni.  When we got home, the house was just as we left it and we were all a little bummed to be done with our Grand Adventure.

You see, at no point on this trip did any of us say we just wanted to go home.  I'm not saying every day was perfect (tow truck out of the mud, ahem), but Rob and I maintained a sense of adventure for the kids.  Plus, there is so much to see in our great country, that everyday held something new, even if it was just a playground with a cool slide from the 1980s.  

During the stretch from lunch with Jenni to our house I got down the road atlas and studied it.  "You know, Rob," I said.  "Next year if we head south..."