Holy lots of driving

Downtown Madison

I am tired. And not like a 3pm I feel kinda sluggish sort of way, but like a straight up, I just had a newborn and I have two other toddlers so I can’t nap, sort of way. Yesterday we woke up in Madison, Wisconsin. Tonight I am going to sleep in Bedford, Pennsylvania. We drove 780 miles in the last two days. To put that into perspective, that is like driving from Fredericksburg to Orlando. And if I am tired, I can’t even fathom how tired Shawn is since he is the driver!

We got up yesterday at our great little campground in Madison, WI with the plan to go to breakfast. After we worked out and finally showered and did the 14 other things that we didn’t plan that seem to take forever with the kids, we left to go eat breakfast at 11:15. By the time we found a place to park and then walked and found the actual restaurant (we were downtown), it was Noon. Thankfully they served breakfast all day and it was worth the wait. It was packed with the work lunch crowd and our children were falling apart with hunger pangs so I glanced quickly at the menu and ordered the first thing I saw. A bacon, arugula, tomato and feta quiche. Big. Fat. Score. So good. The kids devoured their food too. Macy had two pieces of French toast, an egg, a sausage link and then polished off a piece of my toast and more of Jude’s egg. My girl loves her some breakfast. This place was also a bakery so I couldn’t leave there without trying a baked good. The kids got these mini cinnamon donut muffins as their brunch dessert and I got a bran flax muffin. I was trying to be healthy but I am sure it still had 800 calories. It was worth it. We walked around the downtown after we ate, which overlooks the water, and marveled at what a well-planned city Madison appeared to be. If there is one thing that has really struck me about out west, it is that the towns and cities cater so much to bikers and runners. There are literally bike/running paths EVERYWHERE. In every part of the city. On every bridge. In every nook and cranny. It just shows me how much Richmond leaves on the table and what potential we have. 288 is a fantastic example. That bridge was just built. There is no reason that bridge does not have a running/biking path. It is just begging for one.  Anyway, I digress.

So we didn’t even leave Madison until about 2pm, and we didn’t really know exactly where we were going to go, but just kept driving east. Jude napped and since the kids were doing well, we didn’t pull over until about 7:30pm when we found an exit that had a Wal-Mart (necessary for parking) and tons of food options. We could walk to Outback, or we could also walk to a Japanese Steakhouse, which the kids have never been to before. We knew we were running the risk of them being wild and crazy after being in the RV so long, so we opted for the Japanese Steakhouse as we figured it would keep their attention. It never occurred to me that it would also scare them to death. When the chef lit the pile of onions on fire and the whole table went up in flames, Jude jumped out of his seat and latched onto me like a little koala bear, all while emitting his special blood curdling scream. Macy hid behind Shawn and Luke declared it was “awesome”. We made it through dinner but have no plans to go back any time soon. Shawn and I liked it though!

By the time we got through and back into the RV, it was about 9:30 so we decided to just put the kids to bed together in our bed in the back and just keep trucking. We weren’t sure if this plan would work but we figured we would give it a try. They were exhausted and with having been on mountain time for so long, Shawn and I were holding up pretty well from an energy standpoint. After having to rearrange the kids a few times (had to put Macy in the middle. My boys are like freaking magnets and cannot keep their hands off each other!), they were out cold in ten minutes so we ended up driving 3 more lovely quiet hours, and with the time change, pulled into a wal-mart just west of the Ohio border just after 2am to get some rest. We got back up at 7am and pulled out by 7:23am. For a few weeks we had been toying around with the idea of having the kids sleep in our room and us sleeping on the pull out in the den area and just getting up at the crack of dawn and pulling out and trying to cover some ground while they slept in. We now know that plan would have failed because we weren’t 10 minutes into our drive today before they came bounding out of the bedroom. Again, we weren’t sure how far we would go today but based on availability and our desire to get as far east as we could, but we made it to Bedford, PA and got settled in around 4pm. Looooong day. But definitely the most ground we have covered in 2 days time this whole trip, and the kids really were great overall. They must be getting used to it! So now we only have 2 hours to go tomorrow to get to Lancaster, PA and another 2 the following day to get to Cape May, which is where my aunt and cousins are that we cannot wait to see. We should be back in Richmond early next week!

Tonight we cooked up some yummy dinner for Shawn’s 43rd birthday, including several vegetables I was able to get from a produce stand in Madison. I could barely get the cherry tomatoes chopped up with the kids popping them in their mouth like popcorn. They must have missed their veggies as much as me! I can’t believe he is 43. He had just turned 29 when I started working for him and in so many ways, it doesn’t feel like that long ago. He is just an awesome human and I would still follow him anywhere. Professionally or otherwise. I guess this trip pretty much proves that.

I think we are ready to get home. I haven't totally been able to say that this whole trip, but I think I am there. This has been a wonderful, amazing, educational and just fun journey. But i am ready. I want to shower alone. I want to watch a movie with Shawn after the kids go down. I want to go to a grocery store where  I can get meat without hormones. We asked the kids what they miss the most about home today. Luke, "I miss my toys, pwayroom and buzz wight year outfit." Macy, "I miss my bedroom, my playroom and the Internet." Jude, "I miss my buddy. (after a little prodding to figure it out) I miss Cami and Grady." Yep, we are ready.

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