USA Road Trip 2008 Part I

During July and August 2008 we decided to take a road trip throughout the United States.  The following is an essay Matt wrote in a writing workshop about this trip.

How to Go Crazy in 30 Days or Less, Part I

It all started with an innocent conversation.  I had no idea what would take place over the next couple of weeks.  While eating hamburgers and hot dogs before the big Fourth of July fireworks show in Long Beach, Washington, my wife’s cousin Russell inquired as to where our family would be traveling this summer (since we always plan some sort of adventure).  I replied that we were looking at doing a circular route through the Dakotas and then through Wyoming and Montana.  Then, without thinking, I said, “We could drive out and visit you?”   Russell replied, “Seriously?  You do know that I live in Washington D.C.?”  I answered that I did and thought it might be a fun drive.  Russell thought we would be crazy to drive across the country with three little kids just to come visit him.  I took his words as a challenge. 

            So, two weeks later, my wife Becky and I loaded up our minivan with everything we would need for the next four weeks or so.  We also somehow managed to squeeze our three kids in the van as well: Jacob, four and a half years old and a well seasoned traveler; Marcus, two years old and also a well seasoned (but not necessarily a very well-mannered) traveler; and Siena, at five months old the youngest adventurer.  So far, so good.  Now, let me explain how you can go crazy in 30 days or less.

            Day One:  We drove eleven hours today, just enough to make it half way across Montana.  We decide to stay at a “free” campground right along a river.  As we admired a beautiful sunset, we realized why the campground was free.  Swarms of mosquitoes invaded our site, biting every living thing in their path, which included our children.  Marcus seemed to get the worst of it, of course, and since he is mildly allergic to mosquitoes, ended up with giant welts in the morning. 



Corn Palace...lots o corn

            Day Two: Drive another twelve hours or so.  We decide to go to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota before eating dinner.  We end up dragging three starving and tired children around the street. 

 

            Day Three: We have to make it past Chicago, I keep telling myself.  We do make it, barely.  After ten hours in the car, the kids are ready to get out and run around.  Too bad we’re on the expressway in downtown Chicago.  There’s nothing like driving through heavy traffic with screaming kids in the backseat. 

I had time to take a picture while weaving through traffic

Who knew it was so hot at Notre Dame?

            Day Four: We decide to take a nice, relaxing walk around the campus of Notre Dame.  Bad idea.  First off, it was about 90 degrees and 85 percent humidity.  Second, the campus was a lot larger than my wife and I imagined.  I ended up carrying Siena on my back in a backpack and carrying Marcus in my arms.  If I wanted to sweat a gallon, then mission accomplished.  My wife ended up dragging Jacob, since his legs somehow quit working.

           

 

 

 

 

 Days Five through Seven: More driving and sight seeing in the humidity.

Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

Palmyra, New York

Having a blast at Fort Stanwix



Caught in a downpour in Concord, Mass.

 

           











Day
Eight: Never, ever try to drive in Salem, Massachusetts.  There are no street signs.  There are no straight streets.  All we wanted was to buy a loaf of bread.  I guess they don’t eat in Salem, since there are no stores either (at least we couldn’t find any).  We end up driving around for an hour with no luck.  We end up paying five dollars for a dinky loaf of spongy bread at the only convenience store we could find.  All the while our three children are starving to death in the back seat and are very vocal about it.  Somehow we find our way out of Salem and drive to Maine, just so we can say we’ve been there.

Salem, Mass.  Note the beloved "Baby" Care Bear.  It was still somewhat clean.

Rebecca Nurse House, Salem Witch Trials



Kennebunkport, Maine, The farthest north we'd go on this trip.



Maine

Day Nine:  We learned two important lessons today: first, you shouldn’t visit Hersey, Pennsylvania with three little children before dinnertime.  Unless you love dealing with crying children begging for more chocolate, I would not recommend this experience.  Second, thunderstorm has a different meaning on the East Coast than the West Coast.  When we pulled into our campground outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the weather seemed to be calm and tranquil.  That all changed by about 10 pm.  The rained poured down on our tent.  Lightning bolts tore through the trees around us.  For about ten minutes, the thunder and lightning were so loud and bright, it was as if we were somehow transported back in time onto the battlefields of Gettysburg.   I’ll admit, I was more than a bit scared.  Needless to say, our three kids slept right through the whole ordeal.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Add caption

Gettysburg, PA

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

 

            Days Eleven and Twelve: Fortunately, the weather is on our side as we take on Washington D.C.  The weather is a pleasant 80 degrees with low humidity (i.e. we won’t be too drenched in sweat).  Since the best way to tackle our nation’s Capital is by foot, that is what we decided to do.  My wife carried Siena on her back, while I had Marcus on mine.  Jacob alternated between walking and getting a ride in a stroller.  Most people looked at us as if we were out of our minds.  We rendezvous with my wife’s cousin Russell at the feet of Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial, with the feeling of accomplishment.  By this time, though it was four in the afternoon and our children were exhausted.  Jacob resorted to whining about how tired he was and Marcus decided that the floor of the Lincoln Memorial is as great as place as any to lie down and roll around.  Though we had come through with our challenge of meeting Russell in Washington D.C., our trip was far from over.

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, Washington D.C.

Met up with Russell at the Lincoln Memorial, right on time.



Why not take a nap at Lincoln's feet?

Lunch near the Capitol Building (yes, the baby in the grass is alive)

  

USA Road Trip, Part II

During July and August 2008 we decided to take a road trip throughout the United States.  The following is an essay Matt wrote in a writing workshop about this trip.

How to Go Crazy in 30 Days or Less, Part II

Day 16: After spending a couple of relaxing days in North Carolina with family, we decided that we just hadn’t driven enough on this trip.  Since we had already been to the coast of Washington state at the beginning of July and we had visited the coast of Maine a week prior, there was only one logical place for us to go: the Florida Keys.  So we turned south in Murtle Beach, South Carolina and drove eleven hours down the East coast of Florida.

Visiting Matt's grandma Catherine

Fort Macon, North Carolina

 

Siena with Great Grandma Catherine

            Day 17: I’m not sure why anybody really wants to live in south Florida.  Saying it is humid is an understatement; you never really stop sweating.  We decide to camp on Key Largo in the Florida Keys.  After a day of swimming and snorkeling in hot tub like water we finally make our way to our campsite.  Now, we thought the mosquitoes were bad in the Midwest, but nothing prepared us for the behemoths in the Keys.  In order to save the kids, we rushed them inside the tent and gave them cold hot dogs to eat (the mosquitoes were so bad we couldn’t even stay outside a few minutes to eat).  Once we were inside the tent we were safe from the mosquitoes, but not from the heat.  It never got below 85 degrees that night, and the humidity seemed to get worse as the night wore on.  To make matters worse, our campsite was right at the edge of a mangrove swamp that reeked like sulfur.  In essence, with the heat and sulfur smell, we figured we had spent the night in Hell.

Key Largo, Florida

Dinner in bed...cold hot dogs served with sweat

Florida Keys

 

All covered in sun block

 Day 18:We finally make it to the farthest point south you can drive in the continental United States.  We are only 90 miles from Cuba.  We enjoy ourselves too much on the beach and lose track of time.  And since our camping experience the night before was less than pleasant, we concurred that a hotel would be a better option.  The only problem was that all of the hotels in the keys were closed by 7pm.  We end up driving until eleven at night so we can make it back to mainland Florida.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t fall asleep while driving; although I really don’t remember most of the drive that night.

Bahia Honda, Florida Keys

We've arrived...Key West, Florida!

            Day 19: By far, the longest day of the trip.  We start out in the balmy locale of Florida City, Florida, south of Miami.  The humidity this morning is ridiculous.  Every time I take a load out to the car, I have to come back in and wipe the sweat off of my face.  And it’s only seven in the morning!  We make our way through the Everglades and up the west coast of Florida.  By seven in the evening, our kids our becoming punchy.  Jacob and Marcus have resorted to having a contest to see who can say poop and pee the most.  This was the breaking point for me and my wife.  But we were still five hours from our destination.  Luckily, the boys’ mouths finally turned off.  After midnight, we rolled into Panama City, Florida, after having driven the entire length of Florida (including most of the panhandle) in 16 hours.

Everglades National Park, Florida

            Day 20: We meet up with my wife’s friend in Birmingham, Alabama.  She decides to take us to a place called Dreamland Barbeque.  The tables are covered in newsprint so you can be as messy with the ribs and sauce as you want.  This turns out to be a wonderful idea for our kids.  I eat my fair share of ribs and cornbread.

            Day 22: We make our way up to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.  By now my wife and I are exhausted and are looking forward to a good night’s sleep.  Somehow in the middle of the night our air mattress sprung a leak.  We wake up lying sunken in the middle of the slowly deflating mattress, with a very uncomfortable and sleepless night behind us.  We join one of the cave tours that does not allow backpacks or strollers, requiring more kid carrying.  Exhausted as my wife and I are at the end of the tour, our kids are excited and animated and love it.  Maybe, just maybe this whole trip was worth it.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

 

            Days 23-25: As we drive through the Midwest, hours turn into days in the car.  The monotony of the scenery is relentless.  By now, I am ready to go home and sleep in my own bed.  We decided to stay in a hotel in North Platte, Nebraska that looked as though it hadn’t been remodeled since 1964.  The kids didn’t care; they jumped on the bed and were ecstatic that there was a free popcorn machine in the lobby.  They could eat all the popcorn they wanted.  Sometimes it would be nice to have the innocence of children, to be excited about the simple things in life.  Though I didn’t jump on the bed, I was excited to have a bed to sleep on instead of a deflated mattress.  The popcorn wasn’t too bad either.

Nauvoo, Illinois

Winter Quarters, Nebraska

Ah, the joys of a cheap hotel and all you can eat free popcorn...

            Day 26: The last day of our adventure.  As we drive through the Yakima Valley, the last month seems a blur, a long-lost dream.  Had we really driven all the way to Maine?  To the Florida Keys?  Our odometer didn’t lie: 9,950 miles in three and a half weeks.  165 hours in the car.  Three children under the age of five, still alive, still excited to go and see and do. 

            We met our challenge of driving to Washington D.C. and went even further.  I learned that taking a deep breathe and counting to ten is a great way to deal with screaming kids in the car.  I gained confidence in my belief that you can still travel after you have children.  Most importantly, I learned that the best things in life are the memories we have with our children and the memories that we help our children create.  Even if you do lose some of your sanity along the way.