Our family reunion started off with a very long drive to get us from New Mexico to Michigan. We decided to take it a little slow and try to make the traveling enjoyable along with the visit in the middle. We also wanted to try and find ways of not eating out so much while we were traveling. So we brought along our camping stove and some meals to make at rest stops. At our first rest stop we found it was also a "horse stop". We spoke with their caretakers and they were race horses on the way to a race. It made the stop extra special for the girls to be able to pet horses while we were there.
Our next stop was in Groom, TX. We planned this one because we caught sight of the cross on a cross-country drive before. We did a little research and found it was built by a man wanting to combat all of the billboards advertising adult stores. He thought at first about putting a scripture on a billboard, but ended up building this cross instead. It is the largest cross in the Northern Hemisphere, and I love that it was built to combat evil. At the base they've added life-sized statues of the 14 stations of the cross (a common theme of churches or cathedrals).
Our last stop was at a rest stop in Texas. This one was a wonderful stop since it had a giant playground, picnic areas with grills, and a giant map of route 66, which happened to be nearly our entire route.
On our second day of driving was extra fun for me since I was able to see my college roommate, Kerri! We met for lunch at an Auduban Park that had a children's exploratory area that the kids loved.
That evening we made it to St. Louis and we had to stop at the arch. We wanted to ride the tram up but the tickets were already sold out. So we went on a carriage ride around the city instead. I think the girls really liked that turn of events.
Sunday we stopped in Indiana and had a picnic with my Dad's side of the family. It was some yummy food, and very good to see in person the people I talk to online mostly now.
Sunday evening we made it to our destination, a little church camp on Lake Michigan. Hooray, the driving was over! But we did our best to have a fun drive, and not just a fun stay.
1 comment:
It looks like you did a lot of fun things along the way. I bet it made it more enjoyable for all of you and not just keeping the girls entertained. I really like the Texas-shaped grill!
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