Day 11/12

Day 11
"People forget years and remember moments" - Ann Beattie

We were on a roll today. Campsite was easily packed up - less than 30 min. We were ahead of schedule - slotted to arrive in Pittsburgh early to maybe do some sightseeing and some tailgating before the Brewer game.

This was not the case.
We were not in a rush, so there was some dilly dallying. And some lallygagging.
But just outside of Harrisburg, there was an accident. The road was completely blocked off, and we went 3 miles in about 2 hours. This pushed our arrival time at PNC Park to 8:45p. For a 7:05 game. Ugh.
But we stopped in Harrisburg:

And made our way to the game. At completely legal speeds, I swear. I had no idea what parking was going to look like, so Hayden was looking that up while I was driving. We were lucky on parking at least! Pulled into a shady looking alley that had a parking structure one block from the field. We parked, I quickly changed into Brewer gear in the parking lot (classy like that), and we got into the game before the start of the 6th inning. Better late than never?

We were the last ones to leave because Hayden, Nick, and Charlie wanted to try and get a game ball, so they walked down to the dugout after the game. Didn't seem like the Brewers were coming out. However, the guys we were sitting next to had apparently caught more than one ball, and were looking to give one away. I suggested giving it to Charlie.
Look at this smile:

From there, we drove another 1.5 hrs to a hotel in West Virginia that would be closer to where we were going for white water rafting tomorrow. Long day of driving!!!

Today's Totals:
588 miles
$284

Today's Song: The Interrupters - 'Easy on You', because this band is amazing.

Today's Lessons:
1. Doesn't matter how well you plan sometimes, things just might not work out. Frustrating lesson today.
2. Butt donut saved the day - it was a long 600 miles...


Day 12: Final Day!

I actually woke up before my alarm so I could SHOWER (much, much needed. For everyone.) I had not purchased tickets yet for rafting today because I was trying to watch the weather. The place we were going was Cheat River Narrows, and they opened at 8am. I called to see if they were running today, and it sounded like they were a go. But when he called me back, he said the river was down, and that we would be in 'duckies' which are basically inflatable kayaks. I checked with the kids - they said yeah. Then 2 min later when I was still on the phone with the guy, they said no. I agreed with the kids. It was not going to be a white water rafting experience, and we can kayak at home for free.

So we packed up and headed home.

We had made (tentative) plans to crash at my aunt's house in Ohio on the way back (thanks again Aunt Mary!), but we canceled that and decided to drive straight through. With a stop at Avalanche Pizza in Athens (soooooo good):

 (Gotcha)

And in Colombus:

Then we made the long trek home. And just in time - apparently my car was also done.

Trip Totals:
2,984 miles
$2471
2 National Parks
2 State Parks
4 State Capitols
1 National Monument
6 nights camping
7 people to start 😳

Final Song: It was a tough choice because I was listening to everything from Lauryn Hill, to NIN, to The Bangles, to Led Zeppelin. So in the end, I chose this: Ziggy Marley - 'Love is My Religion'  Happy to have recently discovered this song 💙 The link should take you to the entire playlist for the trip (it's a cluster of one for sure this trip haha!).

Trip Lessons:
1. There is a delicate balance between pre-planning and winging it. I have yet to find that balance.
2. Collectively, we all feel that Vermont is a very underrated state. The place was gorgeous.
3. Teenage hormones make for a smelly vehicle.
4. A bruised tailbone is probably the most annoying injury on a road trip. Not the worst injury, by far, but quite possibly the most annoying.
5. The budget was pretty close to what it actually cost this year! I'm getting better.
6. Technology is going to be banned or at the very least restricted on next year's trip. Too much of it. Myself included.
7. If you are ever 'on the fence' about getting the brakes done before a trip - just do it. Mine made it to Racine... 45 miles to go on minimal brakes? Challenge accepted.
8. Fixing the AC before the trip was the best idea ever.
9. By the time I had figured out the perfect way to tetris all of the luggage/gear in the car, we were halfway done with the trip, lol.
10. Things will never go according to plan. I hope this is one lesson the kids take away from these trips: adaptability to situations.

This trip was not all sunshine and flowers: none of our trips are. Yet despite the complaints about sitting in front, using the chargers, and not wanting to do things, the kids survive every year, and hopefully leave with some memories that will last. I think every year Hayden discovers another city he wants to move to (Burlington, VT this trip). I am very curious to see what he ends up doing for a living that will allow for this - I hope it works out for him! Charlie is always interested in checking out new places (not necessarily by hiking there though lol) and loves the big cities. Miles would be perfectly content on or in the water in any state that we go to. I'm so glad we got to have Nick along for the adventure - I think his favorite was Niagara Falls. And campfire pizza haha! It was quite the trip having my mom and Abel along as well - it was nice having another adult on board, and I'm glad my mom was able to join us - even for a bit. She never would have survived Warren Falls though - that would have made her crazy watching the cliff jumping lol. We are winding down on our big adventures through the country - finishing out the lower 48 next summer on our extensive PCH tour: from Seattle to San Diego all down the coast and everywhere in between. Should be quite the trip!

Our updated map

Thank you for following us along on our trip. One GIANT adventure to go, and then we will see where life takes us after that. Now that the kids have sampled most of the country, it's going to be up to them to pick our adventures. I'm looking forward to what they come up with.

"Wild hearts find a home in every place they roam" - C. Churchill



Adventure is out there! 🎈

Day 10

"My favorite thing to do is to go where I've never been." - Diane Arbus

It was definitely a less windy night, which made for some better sleep. A quick breakfast, because it looked like rain, and then a quick take-down of the site. One more night of camping to go - I think we will make it :)

We drove just a couple of hours today to Bristol Connecticut to Lake Compounce Amusement Park. Miles found this while we were driving a few days ago. It was a great call! Campsite was right down the road, and they shuttled you to the park for free. The best part is that it wasn't terribly busy. Hayden and Charlie split to go on all of the land rides, and Miles and Nick hit all the water rides. It was a perfect balance. Lines were super short, so everyone was able to get on the rides a few times. Between the online family four pack deal and the Groupon I found, it turned out to be a better deal than the original park we had looked at in New Hampshire. And the lack of lines made it totally worthwhile!

When we got back to the campsite, they were having DIY smore's, which Miles and Nick immediately took advantage of lol. Then we were finally able to have our campfire pizza - Nick's personal request. Hayden and Charlie also picked up some ramen at the camp store that I was able to boil water for. Dinner turned out better than I had planned, and Hayden was able to keep the fire going for quite a bit - throwing everything in that he could find. Wonder where he gets that from? 🔥

While I wasn't able to do too much today, the kids enjoyed it, and really, that's all that matters.

Today's Totals:
121 miles
$246

Today's Song: Redbone - 'Come and Get Your Love', thank you Guardians of the Galaxy Radio...

Today's Lessons:
1. Soot. That stuff will stick to anything and everything. Mostly me. And my clothes.
2. Charlie and Hayden can get along in very few conditions: one of them is an amusement park.

Tomorrow we head out early(ish) to go to Pittsburgh for a Brewer game! Everyone is pretty excited about that one! Long drive to get there, but worth the trip! Not sure where we will land tomorrow, but somewhere south of the city is my guess...🎈

Day 8/9

"Most of the time, beauty lies in the simplest of things." - Winna Efendi

Decided to post for both days at once.
Day 8:
Sunday morning we got up to a very busy breakfast center at our hotel - we ended up eating outside by the pool because there was no room inside. After checkout we headed to downtown Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. We started at the U.S.S. Constitution (very cool):

We then hiked it over to Bunker Hill. Hayden, Nick, and I walked up the 295 steps to the top - worth it for the view!

When we made it back down, Charlie was having trouble walking because her mosquito bites were itching and making her nuts, and Hayden's knees started to flare up, so we decided to drive the rest of the Freedom Trail. That didn't happen. Hayden was trying to navigate, but we kept getting rerouted due to one-way roads and a couple of festivals that had some roads blocked. So we did get a fantastic tour of downtown Boston because we were lost though it. Made it to the capital building, barely, and had to do some quick pics and jump back into the car before it was towed. 

(Boston, MA)

After we found our way out, we headed to Providence, Rhode Island to see the capitol building:

And then... we drove to Fort Getty on Jamestown Island in RI. We scouted our campsite, then decided to go out for dinner. Charlie found a place on another island that was on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives called Crazy Burger. It's always one of our goals on the trip to hit one of the restaurants from that show, and it worked out great.

We headed back to the campsite, and basically had to set up in the dark. There was a wait for dinner, and we had to make a Walgreens run. Also the restaurant was 30 min away... 

The mosquitos came out quickly, and we had no problems sitting in the tent relaxing for the night. Camp is pretty close to the ocean!

Day 8 Totals:

148 miles

$162

2 State Capitols

1 National Monument

Day 8 Song: (predictably) Dropkick Murphy's - 'I'm Shipping Up to Boston'

Day 8 Lessons:

1. Benadryl roll-on topical works for mosquito bites.

2. I now require the use of a butt donut for driving. Kids think it hilarious. Endless jokes. ENDLESS.

3. Boston may have more one-way roads than Waukesha.

Day 9: "To escape and sit quietly on the beach - that's my idea of paradise." - Emilia Wickstead

Today consisted of waking up slowly, putting on swimsuits, and sitting at the beach. We left to grab food (not once, but twice at the same little market today), but otherwise enjoyed a gorgeous day of sun.

We had to rethink our dinner plans when we were done with the beach(saving cast iron pizza for tomorrow night) and instead opted for burgers/chicken brats. 

(Miles was annoyed I caught him being nice to his brother)

After dinner I found a quiet spot to enjoy the sunset.

So happy the weather cooperated. Hopefully the wind will stay down tonight - made sleeping a little difficult last night!

Day 9 Totals:

7 miles

$95

Day 9 Song: Leela James - 'A Change is Gonna Come'

Day 9 Lessons:

1. Hayden will forever think he is in the Blair Witch movie if the tent moves. Even if it's just the wind.

2. It was nice to not pack up/set up anything today so we could just enjoy the beach!

Tomorrow we head to Bristol Connecticut to go to an amusement/water park. I am going to try and find a lazy river to sit in a "big butt donut", as Charlie so eloquently pointed out 😂 One more night of camping to go, and one more hotel! Then maybe a surprise visit for some relatives lol 😬🎈