Day 4: Kearny, NE to Snowmass, CO: 565 miles

We have arrived! 

Bobby and Lauren had dinner waiting for us at 7 when we arrived.  John and Shannon’s house is just amazing.  They have made us feel at home each time we have visited.  For this visit, we have 14 people here: Meg and Jim’s family, Bobby and Lauren, and our crew (plus Marta). 

Tomorrow will be nice to not sit in the truck!

Heard from the back seat:

Getting into the head of a 10 year boy can be a strange place to be.  Several times the intersection of reality and fantasy come to fruition.  Jen and I find ourselves responding questions like: “What happens if the rocks on the side of the highway fall into the road?” or, “If sasquatch jumps into our hiking path, what will happen.”  After he asked the question about a dragon appearing in front of a car Molly simply responded, we will sacrifice Liam.  So we now have a standard response for any crazy Liam questions: “we will sacrifice Liam!”

Happy Father's Day to all who fill the role of paternal responsibilities.

Day 3: Chicago, IL to Kearny, NE:675 miles

Door to door was 11 hours.  We slept well at Megan’s house.  She had breakfast ready for us and we ate well.  The kids all slept in the same room; They all said Marta was first to sleep.  As for the drive, the kids did great.  Uncle Jim gave us his famous Meltaways that were welcomed as an afternoon snack.

Dinner was the highlight of today.  Jen hit the store 3 hours out of Kearny, Nebraska and built a dinner of roasted chicken, pasta, salad, along with hard salami and cheese.  Meg had offered the homemade salsa, homemade bread and homemade cookies.  We setup one of the hotel rooms as the restaurant; we ate well!

The kids had some well-earned pool time while the adults were watching the Bruins/Hawks game on iPad screens.  THANK NBC FOR PUTTING THE GAMES ON A HARD TO FIND CHANNEL!

Tomorrow we will meet Bobby and Lauren in Snowmass.

Day 2: Cleveland, OH to Chicago: 375 miles

Goals for the day:

Leave leisurely:                                 Check

Meet a stranger from the Internet who donated to E. Schickel:  Check

Shout “GO BRUINS” in Chicago: Check

Meet up with Kevin Welch and family:   Check

Meet up with Uncle Jim:               Check

Stay with Megan, Andrew and the boys:                               Check

Have quality Hirsch Time:             Check

Welcome Jim to the trip after he flew in from Boston:    Check

Allow Meg to have Notre Dame time:    Check (sorry I missed it, maybe next time….)

Visit with Huntington’s:                                 Open (but there is always the return portion!)

Basically, we could head home and the trip would be a success.

There were 3 tenants to planning this vacation:

1.       Starting the trip right after the girls finished school so Marta could join us.

2.       Finishing before July 4.

3.       Spending Chicago time on a weekend night so we could spend quality time with family and friends.

There were over 30 kids at Tim’s house; most under 16.  The teens and tweens had time engaging in conversation and not txting!  The younger ones bounced on the trampoline for hours.  We consumed over 10 pizzas and had a great time lamenting politics (Chicago is so corrupt), comparing family stories, and just laughing.   Telling stories about Uncle Joe, West Coast Bowman’s, and family roots left us wanting more time on the clock.

No celebration is complete without fireworks.  The kids were treated to a fun bottle rocket show.

Jen and I are truly thankful for having such a great extended family in Chicago.  While there, Samantha picked up some applications to her grandfather’s alma mater: Northwestern.

Finally, Megan and Andrew are just awesome.  PERIOD!

Final thought of the day: Gregory loves Gary, Indiana because it smells like farts!  His new name is GreGary.  He giggled all the way through the armpit of America.

What does....

.....Chicken, bathing suits, and gifts have in common?


If you guess: all forgotten @home...you win.

Day 1: Framingham, MA to Cleveland, OH: 625 miles

The first day was successful!  We had rain for all but 3 hours today but it was a very manageable drive.  Greg had several attempts at humor; each failed.

The news of the day was definitely the shower in the hotel.  As expected, the shower is in the bathroom…kinda of!  The shower has 2 shower curtains, one for the bathroom, one for the living room.  Yup, a shower that looks into the living room.  As one of the girls noted, the bathroom door has a lock, but I could go into the bathroom through the living room and over the tub.    Thankfully the girls have their own, normal room; so it is just Jen and the boys (she might want to go with the girls in a normal room).

We will do breakfast then head to Chicago and support the Bruins in the

windy city.

Go time!

Thanks to an amazing hockey game, we left at 6:45. Jen and I hit the lights after 1am. Our pre-departure team did great to get us out. Mark Chalmers gets the early star for helping to get the pod up. I was trying to maximize time by putting the pod on while Liam was at soccer tryouts. A veteran of road trips, he engineered the assembly in record time and gave me enough time to actually watch Liam play.
Marilyn was on point as the official photographer to meet us before push back.
Meg and crew (minus Jim) arrived and we were rolling by 7!
Day 1 should be full of rain. Clouds are heavy; first drop was 1 hour out.

Welcome to the 2013 Road Trip

We are in the final stages of planning for our trip to the Rockies.  This year Marta will join us.  A road trip would not be complete without Meg, Jim, and the kids.  We will arrive in Snowmass then head to Moab, Yellowstone and the Badlands.  Join us for regular updates before, during and after the trip.