Mom, June 27

There are no VW dealerships in Jamestown, NY.  Nor VW mechanics.  But, according to the most esteemed mechanic in Jamestown (pop. ), it’s ok to drive with your check engine light on, as long as it isn’t blinking.  At least on GM vehicles.  Not a lot of options, so we checked the gas cap, oil, and any other fluids that we could, and since everything looked fine and the van was still running well, we decided to press on. 

We headed back to the Alleganys and Hwy 6 in Pennsylvania, intending to take it across the state, but there was a detour that took us back north, so we just kept going back into NY near Eldred and got on Hwy 417, and then Hwy 17.  After that, to save time, we just got on the turnpike.   

Made it in about 8:00 pm local time.   Tomorrow (or Monday), the mechanic!

Evan, June 27

Today we woke up, ate a really quick breakfast and watched the news, and we saw that a levee broke in Missouri and it was the last one.  And then we drove to a gas station in Yew Nork, and then to a McDonald’s somewhere on the interstate and got ice cream.  Mine melted so fast that the stuff went down my arm and Willy had to lick it off.  And I got two cones with my ice cream.  And then we got back in and started driving.  And we still are.  

Oh yeah, and yesterday we played “Would You Rather...” and it was really fun.   

Emily, June 27

Today we drove for a long time, and then finally we stopped and I got to have an ice cream with an ice cream cone.  And it was really good.  And we’re in Massachusetts and it’s going to be really fun.  I’m going to see my Nana and Grandpa.  And my daddy got a whiffle ball and a whiffle bat for Father’s Day from my mom .  

We played Rubberneckers and it was really fun.  And we went through a bunch of toll booths and it was really boring.  And my brother when we were playing rubberneckers he had to wave his foot at the window and someone had to wave back at him.  And that’s all.   For today folks.

Mom, June 26

Day 6:  Warsaw, Indiana to Jamestown NY.  Randy brought his bike for exercise, and finally had the opportunity to ride.  He headed roughly north and east out of Warsaw, and after I fed and loaded the kids, we headed off to meet him.  Picked him up in a town called Syracuse, then headed north on Hwy 13, then east on Hwy 6 (Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Highway).  Finally started seeing lots of cornfields.   Jumped down to 224 through Fostoria, I-76 around Arkron, jumped up to I-80 (after it stopped being a toll road), and then went north through the Alleghenys on 8, and 62 to Warren - where the check engine light came on.  So we quit for the night in Jamestown.  More later!

Evan, June 26

Today we went through 4 states Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Yew Nork (New York).

Emily fell asleep and snored really loud so i couldn’t sleep in the car.  Oh yeah, and I played rubberneckers.  I had to find things that were on the three cards i had, and after that you get the points and a new card.  And I got truckers to honk for us.  

Mom, June 25

Let's see - I somehow feel like the kids are leaving quite a few blanks in their reports.  Randy has been the main driver, and I think it wipes him out so he isn't helping here either.  So...

Day 4:  I already wrote about that - Billings to Chamberlain, South Dakota

Day 5:  Chamberlain to Madison, Wisconsin, where we stayed with my sister and her husband and two kids.  We took mostly I-90, but jumped off in LaCrosse and took some back roads through Westby, Viroqua, and Richland Center.  

Day 6:  We hit the road late because we wanted to visit a little longer, but still made it from Madison to Warsaw, Indiana.  We took Hwys 12, 47, and 30, because we were completely sick of the interstates.  I wouldn't recommend 30 as a way to avoid Chicago though - sprawl hell.  Much nicer after we got past Valparasio.  

What might need explaining?  The dog park was in Sioux City (we just stumbled upon it, lucky us), the blizzards were too big, the macaroni and cheese was fried, and I really did knock the water glass into Randy's plate.  I know nothing of the Yogi Bear episode, I was in the front seat.  Oh, and the "creepy fairy tale land" was some sort of 1800's-themed amusement park.  Even the gas station was themed.  And it was late, and un-manned, so it looked abandoned, but shiny new all at once.  It was creepy!

And since you've been asking how Willy travels, I attached the photo.   And Dave, sorry about your lawn.  Wouldn't you know it, that's the only place he's left such a mess.  

Evan, June 25

In Madison we played a game were you throw balls at each other we had space helmets & fire helmets & football helmets & i have 4 bug bites.  Today was boring, we just drove & drove, until we stopped to have lunch at a bar, i had chicken fingers, emiy had mac & cheese, allison had the same, mom had a club sandwich, dad had a fily cheese steak and then we just kept on driving.

Emily, June 25

Today I sat for about two hours and it was really boring.  And we stopped finally and I found a port-a-potty and it had a juice box on the floor; an Elmo juice box.  I did definitely not taste it.  I got to see my cousins in the morning, and me and my cousin Joshie were pretending we were ghosts.  Woooo.  Wooooooooooo.  Woooooooooooooo.  And my little cousin Ryan played with a little thingy-clock.  

At lunchtime I had macaroni and cheese in these little case things.  And they were really good and I gave my mom a bite.  And I had french fries with it.  And my mom spilled her water on my dad’s sandwich.  And it was really funny.  Daddy didn’t think it was funny - he wanted to clean it up right away.  And I think he wanted to get a new sandwich.  And I got some lemonade, and so did my brother and sister.  But my mom and dad didn’t.  

Emily, June 24

Today I watched Yogi Bear with my brother and my sister and it was fun because on one part Yogi, he made a bear scout camp and um there was this little boy and he was trying to make a fire.  And he never made the fire and he ate cold beans.

We went to Dairy Queen and we gave some of my brother’s ice cream to the dog.  And we went to a dog park and I found these little rocks that were pink.  They were really cool.  Outside I saw a horsie and a cowie and trees that I liked.  And that’s all I want to write today.  

Evan, June 24

Yesterday we were in South Dakota.  We went to Wall Drug there was a giant dinosaur it was loud.  There was a lot of signs about wall drug, and it annoyed Allison when mom read the signs.  Then we went to the Badlands. It was made of sandstone.  We got to climb the rocks and also we almost ran out of gas but, we found a gas station in a creepy fairy tale land.

Today we watched yogi bear.  It was fun. Yogi bear stole picnic baskets from the ranger in Jellystone.  Before that we went to a park and kicked the soccer ball around and went to a river.  And Willy ran around like a lunatic.  And that’s really all.

And today we went to Dairy Queen - me and Allison got root beer floats, and Emiliy got a swirl cone and mom and dad got giant blizzards and we got to eat the rest that they didn’t want.  Tonight we are going to Madison to spend the night at our cousins’ house.  I can’t wait to see them!

Mom, June 23

Yesterday, started in Billings, waited too long for coffee (for Randy) and took I-90 east to Hwy 212, into Wyoming and then South Dakota, where we caught I-90 again, after a little jog on Hwy 34.   We stopped at Wall Drug, then took loop 240 through the Badlands at the speed of light in order to make it to the visitor center before it closed.  I almost ran us out of gas but was saved by a Shell station in Belvedere or something.  

We found a Holiday Inn Express for the night, and the mosquitos are plentiful.  It sounded like it was raining as we drove in the twilight.  I'd feel bad for the little buggers, but enough of them survived to bite me several times this morning.

Evan was too tired to blog last night.  Allison has a headache.

Dad, June 23

Yesterday the scenery started taking a backseat to wildlife.  Sorry, no fraternities around that I could see.  Wildlife that I am referring to is those things in nature that move on their own.  Hiding for them was a challenge as there is nary a bush or tree to be found.  Started the day in Billings, Montana and ended in Chamberlain, South Dakota.  We saw lots and lots of antelope, a few buffalo, the odd deer, and for birds we saw lots of different kinds.  

I guess where I was most impressed was insects on the windshield and other parts of the vehicle.  Especially the last hour or so last night.  It was like a steady rain on the windshield but it was small bugs.  Those skweegees at gas stations become imminently important!  Unfortunately in Lame Deer, MT yesterday we have bug guts in abundance and the station...the only one and we were low...was creepy and lacking in service.  It was on a reservation and meth is pretty popular.      

Emily, June23

We drove for 12 hours today which is too much.  I liked Wall Drug and the Badlands.  Wall Drug had a dinosaur that roared and it scared me a little.  But it was fake.  The Badlands I liked because we could climb on the rocks and we saw a herd of buffalo.  Earlier we saw a bunch of antelopes.  They were cute.  For breakfast I had a maple bar.    

Mom, June 22

In an attempt to make sense of the blog here, Evan is writing his entries by himself.  I am transcribing what Emily tells me (And I do prompt her once in a while, or they would be really short and extremely off-topic.)  Allison is old-fashioned, and is keeping a written journal.  The entries in general have been sparse because we're still trying to figure all this out, as well as the fact that Randy starts feeling green if he tries to type while in a moving vehicle.  I haven't really felt very chatty.   Not to mention that we've been driving until about 9:30 or 10 at night.  

Our trip so far:

Day 1:  Eugene (after school) to Bend, stayed with kind friends who put us up.  Thanks!

Day 2:  Bend to Pocatello ID, mostly on Hwy 26, and I-84.  Stayed at a rather nasty Ramada.

Day 3:  Pocatello to Billings, MT.  I-15 to Hwy 26, then north on 89/191 through Teton and Yellowstone Parks.  We were going to stay in Livingston, MT, but there was a State of Montana Veterinary Convention at the dog-friendly hotel.  So we're at a Comfort Inn in Billings instead.

Thanks for the encouragement, and I'll try to at least keep making sense out of the kids' posts.  Hopefully, you'll be getting a postcard soon, but you're on your own with those.  

One thing I thought was funny.  Emily sent a postcard from Eastern Oregon to Nana (in Massachusetts) saying "We're almost there!'.  Wishful thinking.  

Emily June 22, 2008

 

I saw some buffalo today.  I really liked seeing buffalo.  And my dad wanted to see boiling dirt and he did.  I saw it too.  It was really cool.  There was this thunderstorm, and it was really cool.  And it was raining and hailing and I was even in the rain.  

I have a blister on my hand and I don’t know where it came from.  It’s just interesting.  And I have a blister on my foot.  It’s cool too, and the blister on my foot is bigger than the blister on my hand.

I had a cinnamon roll for breakfast, but it wasn’t as good as Barry’s ‘cause it was hot and the stuff kept hurting my hand when I tried to eat it.  

Evan 6/22/08

I am playing with legos. I have already made two cars with my legos and I’m on my  third. This car trip is really fun, but I really have to go pee. Allison is typing for me, I am going to billings tonight because in the last town all the hotels that  allow dogs are booked. We have to drive in the dark and the only  we can do is type. My favorite things we did today was a thunder storm, and some boiling mud in Yellowstone. 

Emily, June 21

It has been fun.  We get to play on the playground in Bend and in Mountain Home, Idaho.  THe most interesting thing I saw was an island in the Ochoco Reservoir.  It was interesting because it was very tiny with one tree on it.  Um.  My mom took a pretty picture of the um of the sunset!  Or it might have been Evan.  [insert photo here]  And this is what it looked like.  

And also I put make-up on at my friends house.  With my sister.  And the grownups laughed.  It was Hannah’s house.  It looked like this.  

And I played on my Tamagothci for a little bit.  And I sat in the car for a  long long time.  And I counted how many cars were on a train once.  On a different trip.

Evan 6.21.08

I WAS IN A TORNADO 

for only one minute.  But it really wasn’t a tornado, but it had a lot of wind.

I borrowed a game-boy from Quinten where we stayed the night last night.  And I played Scooby-doo and Gumby.  Gumby is hard.  you’ve got to jump on monsters until they stop.  Well, really they’re just astrobots.  But scooby doo is fun - you get to walk around and hide from ghosts in a science guy’s museum.  

Yesterday we all went to a park.  The park was big with a very very steep slide.  Today we saw cows cows cows and more cows.  And a lot of hay.  When we see hay we scream ‘HEY!”  We stayed in the desert half the day.  It had red rocks, deer, antelope and all kinds of animals.  Especially ground squirrels.  But we didn’t see any antelope.  If we did, Dad would give us a dollar.

We made it to Pocatello tonight.  It felt like too much driving.  I will write captions for the pictures.  

Almost Time to Leave!

So we have been packing and shopping and planning...not in that order. In planning this trip, we have spent HOURS poring over maps, weighing carefully one route over another, analyzing possibilities and loading routes on AAA's Triptik website. Getting around Chicago and those damned Great Lakes has proved to be a challenge. We want to avoid the traffic of the windy city while at the same time get across in reasonable time. There are many wants and needs in the pursuit of a happy road trip. We have tooled around, gone online and called around. Among our purchases are a laptop computer, Thule roof racks, a dog seatbelt thing, car wax, notebooks, games, dog tent, various electronic chargers, first aid supplies for man & beast, candy, gum, birth certificates, doggie health certificates and I am sure there is more. We have borrowed a voluminous Yakima box and bike rack, car booster seat and a big-assed tent. We got the van a 'needed' 40k service and new wipers all around. Now with a few days until we leave, the house is riddled with piles of all that needs to somehow be organized and settled in our van. That is the hard part! I am ready to throw it all in wherever it can and go. Whatever we forget we can buy on the road somewhere. Of course I hate when items are forgotten and wonder how could this happen??? The old lady is much better in this regard. She has lists all over and piles all over. We leave Eugene Friday afternoon and I imagine we will be jamming it all in beginning Friday morning.