In The Blink Of An Eye

Today was the day. The day that we packed up our things and began the trek back to WA. Saying good-bye is always hard and they have not gotten any easier over the last 19 years. Our journey back will be a 3 day, 2 night affair. The first leg brought us to Bismark, ND. Tomorrow the target city is Butte, MT but we may keep driving a little further depending on how we feel. We should be pulling back into Prosser sometime on Wednesday afternoon. As we wrap up the trip, here are a few more pics from our stay in WI and a couple highlights from the day on the road: That's my brother Leinenkugels Tour: Cory (Brother), Aunt Stacy, Jill (Sister-in-law), Tracey (Wife), Me (Myself and I?) Lots of Cousin time! Kellen was "in heaven" at Uncle Rich and Aunt Sue's place Tracey is always on the lookout for interesting things along the way. As we traveled to Bismarck we came across: The world's largest Prairie Chicken?! The world's larges

Our days in Wisconsin are wrapping up and as always it feels like the time went faster than normal. As I sat down to write this I was wondering what I would fill it with. I began thinking back to the days and nights, events or places we went and I began to realize that I could recall what we had done but had not taken a lot of pictures. Then I realized that my phone was put away most of the time so I will be drawing from photos taken by others. Our time in Wisconsin visiting family and friends is just that, time to visit and catch up. We usually slow down and need a day or two to recover from the travels up to this point. The invites start to roll in and various plans begin to form. And then inevitably we find ourselves where we are at now with discussions of the trip back to WA, doing laundry and repacking bags and mapping our schedule for the good-byes before we take off. A few highlights up to this point of our time here: The next generation hanging out - cousins and second

With all the build up and excitement that comes before our trips, this one had an element of unknown. This would be the first time I was back home since the passing of my Dad. I had gotten used to my new normal back in Washington, missing the weekly phone calls and chats we had on the phone. The first time on his birthday I could not call or the first Father's Day with him gone. I was not sure what it was going to be like or how I would feel walking into his house again with him not there. I also knew that we would be spreading Dad's ashes during our visit. Whether or not it was fate, coincidence or strategic planning by my brother, the day that was selected was 6 months to the day of his passing. Cory picked me up and then we headed to Barron to pick up our Step-Mom and his boat. Once we were all loaded we began the journey. Our first stop was at the cemetery. While there we visited the burial sites of Dad's Grandparents. He always spoke highly of them and really love

In an earlier post I mentioned that when we are close to a college campus that we might take a detour from the route for the day and swing through. Earlier in the trip we drove through the Florida State, Vermont and Penn State campuses. As we were traveling through Michigan we passed right through Ann Arbor so a stop at the Big House (football stadium) was a must. Earlier in the trip I emailed the University of Michigan and asked if we could spend the night inside the stadium. I figured we needed a place to camp for the night and they had plenty of grass. After a couple emails, it was not meant to be but I did not hold that against them. As we swung by the stadium and began taking pictures, I noticed that the "front door" was open. I looked around and noticed that no-one was guarding the entrance or turning anyone away. So, I did something uncharacteristic for me and walked in to take a look. Beautiful stadium inside and out. We didn't get to camp the

Prior to arriving in Cameron we spent 3 days, 2 nights in Mackinaw City with a day trip to explore Mackinac Island. Here are some of the highlights from that stretch of the trip. Mackinaw City is located at the northern tip of Michigan. Touristy place, lots of gift shops and food places. We stayed at the KOA with friends from Kentucky. We normally stay with them at their home during our trips but they were going to be on vacation so we thought we would just meet up with them. It was great to catch up and explore the area with them! Camp dinners were raised to a new level - no hot dogs at this campsite! Marshmallows and Starbursts were roasted! Yes, I did say Starbursts. Tents up and ready to go. The one on the far right for the "teenage" girls. Something about needing space and catching up. Mackinac Island is quite the place. The island is only accessible by ferry and there are no cars on the island. You can bring your bikes or rent bikes on the isla

We were able to spend about 24 hours with my cousin Taylor who is pursuing her career dreams and has landed in Bristol, Connecticut. Since we were in the area, stopping by for a visit was a must. When we arrived we went out for dinner. It had been awhile since we had some good pizza so off to a pizza place it was! After a good night sleep it was off to visit her work place. I guess the title gives it a way. She does graphics at ESPN so a tour was definitely in order. One of the first studios we were able to visit was the NFL studio. We were fortunate to visit when all the lights were on as they were prepping for an interview I believe. Very large studio with large screens that can be moved to create smaller or larger screens. The images of Le'veon Bell in the background is two screens pushed together. The big lighted square in the middle of the floor raises up if they want a higher platform for the desks. The desks and other props are stored just outside the set and

As we travel from place to place, campsite to campsite and city to city, there is much to see! Here are a few of the highlights as we traveled from Hatteras Island to Lake Champlain VT and then on to Bristol, CT. Quick stop at Kitty Hawk to take in the sights! Emily and Shantih: friends since they were born. Alexis and Kellen: barely tolerant of each other.  😂  After leaving friends in Philly we drove. New Jersey, navigating the terrifying New Jersey Turnpike, New York, the Catskills, skirting the Adirondaks, winding through beautiful country on tiny roads through upstate New York to Vermont, and finally landing at a friend's beautiful house on Lake Champlain.  We took a little detour to go into New Hampshire on our way to Connecticut and stumbled onto the longest wooden bridge in the United States, and the longest 2 span wooden bridge in the world. Pretty good detour I'd say! Our trip begins to head back west from here. Not sure where we are staying

One of the reasons we took the route we have taken was due to a message we receive about a year ago. The message was sent to a group of Intermountain AmeriCorps members that served together almost 20 years ago. When you are in service together and living off very little, bonds are formed that last a life time. This past weekend (July 14-16th) we came together again and were able to pick up with conversations and story telling as if we had just seen each other last week. In the group that was in attendance this weekend, 4 of the couples met during that time of service. It was also fun to look around and see the next generation (10 kids) getting to meet each other and begin building relationships. The gathering was held at the residence of one of the group members along the shores of Lake Champlain which provided amazing views of the water, ample room to set up tents, short walks to the beach and an elementary school where we took part in a service project. Here are some of the h