Bowling in Effingham

I know where is Effingham well it's in IL to start with and it's about ten miles away from Aunt Karen's house. We took the kids for their first bowling trip ever. They had a blast throwing those balls down the lane, and as was becoming the norm for this trip the place was deserted.

Staying with Aunt Karen

Well we made it to Neoga, however this was not the end of our drive for the day we were actually staying with Erica's aunt Karen and Uncle Les. It was just a few miles down the road in Sigel.

Erica's grandma made it over and we got to visit as the kids played.

Almost to Neoga, IL

We left Lincoln and headed down some little two lane highways to get into Missouri. Well I got caught in a speed trap doing 70 in a 50mph zone. The ticket wasn't too bad, and there were at least 10 other people in the trap so at least I wasn't the only one.

We stopped in Hannibal, MO at the welcome center. Usually we try to find less touristy spots but this just seemed to work out. The lady there was very pleasant and let the kids have some maps and markers and the kids mapped our trip (or what they thought it should be). We got back on the road and made it into Neoga at 8pm.

Champions fun center in Lincoln

While in Lincoln we went to this place called Champions Fun Center. Seeing how it was night time and a little cold all the outdoor stuff was closed (go-carts, rock wall, soak zone). It forced us to stay inside. There was a really cool adult/kid jungle gym and an expensive arcade. The ball pit was the kids favorite.

Off To Lincoln, NE

We stayed in Cheyenne for the night and visited with Erica's parents.

When we left in the morning we added two people and a dog to the van; Erica's mom and brother. Now if you are keeping count that is 2 dogs, 3 children under 5 and 4 adults. It was absolutely amazing that we all had room and were even comfortable.

Our half way point for the day was in North Platte, NE. We stopped at Fort Cody, a little roadside attraction dedicated to Buffalo Bill Cody. The place was neat but we needed somewhere to run around. So we went across the highway to a veterans memorial and park. Set the kids free to burn themselves out and when they were nice and tired got back on the road to Lincoln.

To Cheyenne, WY

Grand Junction was nice we ended up eating dinner at the kids favorite restaurant, yep you guessed it Chuck-e-Cheese's. It was completely empty there was a family just leaving when we got there then we had the place all to ourselves, crazy for a Saturday night.

Easter morning we headed out for Cheyenne, at the half way point was Frisco, CO. It is a nice little mountain town and if you follow main street it will take you to Vail. Just by sheer chance we got there just before their Easter egg hunt. The kids had fun bounding through the snow banks finding eggs.

To Grand Junction, CO

After Barstow we stayed the night in Mesquite, NV. We visited with Erica's mom's best friend Maria and her family. The kids destroyed the play room and they had pizza waiting for us when we got there. Sorry no pictures just relaxing.

On our way to Grand Junction we stopped for our afternoon break in Ritchfield, UT. It was a nice little town and we ate at the Little Wonder Cafe. We had the place entirely to ourselves. We took a walk down main street to settle our food and stretch, then got back on the road.

Our 2011 Vacation

We took a 3 week cross country trip at the end of April to see Erica's Grandmother and extended family. Last year during our trip we drove 1500 miles in 23 1/2 hours. It was a nightmare to say the least. This year we decided to be a little more lax about it and stopped every 400 miles or so, to explore and rest. We even went so far as to take an hour long break in the middle of the 400 miles and our first break was in Barstow, CA.

We searched for a park for awhile and ended up at the historic train yard. Even though we didn't go in the museum, we had a nice picnic in the shade and walked around the building as the trains rolled by.

The Long Anticipated Return!

So what have we been up to. Everything! I am going to try to catch everyone up in the next few blogs. We have been extremely busy. Vacation, birthdays, trips and so on have kept me from posting for almost 6 months. Sorry and enjoy.