Carter is ready to party a bit before 7 a.m. He missed the memo about us being on vacation, I guess. We lounge around a bit, mainly because no one wants to say good-bye, but finally head out at noon. Our goal was to leave at 10, so that’s about par for us! Today is a trek that will take us through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and on to Wisconsin.
Hours later…we find ourselves in Delavan, WI. We truly are in the middle of nowhere. We made good time all the way up to Chicago today. Our plan was to slip thru Chicago on a Saturday afternoon, but traffic did not comply. We spent about an extra hour parked on the freeways around the Windy City. We had sandwiches for lunch en route- Miracle Whip for half of us and Mayo for the other half. Talk about a house divided. I’m just not sure where I went wrong with Hannah and the whole Miracle Whip thing? She slipped over to Dave and the Dark Side. Gross.
We stopped somewhere to the Northwest of Chicago at a Barnes and Noble to pick up a Campground Guide so we knew what our options were. Our goal was to make it to the Wisconsin Dells, but it wasn’t looking like it was going to happen. After a yummy stop at Jamba Juice (Talk about roughing it), Dave told me to pull out the handy dandy campground guide and just find somewhere about 2 hours away- which I did. Delavan fit the bill. Mind you, we’ve already gotten pretty far off the beaten path with the B and N stop. We’re driving thru rural WI, noticing there are motorcycle groups out for a ride everywhere. We settled in behind a group of about 20 Ducatis- one of which had a large stuffed pig on the back wearing undies that said “Spank Me”. Try to explain that one to the kids.
So I start reading the directions to Dave from my Woodall’s Guide and it seems like what they call ¼ of a mile keeps turning out to be like 3 miles. Imagine Dave’s glee when I read on that the next part says 7-1/2 miles to the next turn. We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so now we’re committed. But I’m of the belief that we’re here because we’re meant to be here and am feeling quite adventurous. Then Jack is hitting Tatum, Carter won’t stop screaming and I look up and the road “T’s” into what is a dead end, or a road back to where we started. After two loops ending in the same wild goose chase, I call the park and they get us there. She says, “Just make a left, park and come on into the bar”. Now that sounds like a plan.
I walk into the bar, yes bar, to fill out the paperwork- Hannah by my side and Carter on my hip. There’s a Pabst Blue Ribbon Sign out front. Must be the place. Smoke hangs in the air. Everyone is quiet and staring at us. She gives me a map and I realize the tiny road that makes a hard right down the hill is where we’re headed in this beast. Campers are coming out of their tents and trailers to watch us maneuver our way in. Dave whips in like he’s parking a Honda Civic. The guy a few campsites down tells him, “You really can handle that thing!” I think what a stud I married. 13 years of marriage redefines what is studly and the fact that we aren’t teetering over the edge of the lake certainly qualifies.
Dave and the girls move into action setting up the campsite. Carter sits outside and tries to climb up the huge tire of the RV getting dirty and greasy. Jack rolls down and runs back up the steep grassy hill of our campsite. I see his eyes swelling and skin welting from the two feet of grass. A gentle breeze rolls off the lake and I think…this is awesome! By the time I get the kitchen up and running, we’re eating homemade Spaghetti at a quarter til 9. The girls kept laughing that people probably think we’re nuts for eating so late. I figure they’re wondering who in their right mind would take 4 children on a RV trip!
We put our dirty children in jammies and tuck them into their beds. We can hear the sounds of the birds and lake critters calling out to one another across the water as we drift off to sleep.
Hours later…we find ourselves in Delavan, WI. We truly are in the middle of nowhere. We made good time all the way up to Chicago today. Our plan was to slip thru Chicago on a Saturday afternoon, but traffic did not comply. We spent about an extra hour parked on the freeways around the Windy City. We had sandwiches for lunch en route- Miracle Whip for half of us and Mayo for the other half. Talk about a house divided. I’m just not sure where I went wrong with Hannah and the whole Miracle Whip thing? She slipped over to Dave and the Dark Side. Gross.
We stopped somewhere to the Northwest of Chicago at a Barnes and Noble to pick up a Campground Guide so we knew what our options were. Our goal was to make it to the Wisconsin Dells, but it wasn’t looking like it was going to happen. After a yummy stop at Jamba Juice (Talk about roughing it), Dave told me to pull out the handy dandy campground guide and just find somewhere about 2 hours away- which I did. Delavan fit the bill. Mind you, we’ve already gotten pretty far off the beaten path with the B and N stop. We’re driving thru rural WI, noticing there are motorcycle groups out for a ride everywhere. We settled in behind a group of about 20 Ducatis- one of which had a large stuffed pig on the back wearing undies that said “Spank Me”. Try to explain that one to the kids.
So I start reading the directions to Dave from my Woodall’s Guide and it seems like what they call ¼ of a mile keeps turning out to be like 3 miles. Imagine Dave’s glee when I read on that the next part says 7-1/2 miles to the next turn. We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so now we’re committed. But I’m of the belief that we’re here because we’re meant to be here and am feeling quite adventurous. Then Jack is hitting Tatum, Carter won’t stop screaming and I look up and the road “T’s” into what is a dead end, or a road back to where we started. After two loops ending in the same wild goose chase, I call the park and they get us there. She says, “Just make a left, park and come on into the bar”. Now that sounds like a plan.
I walk into the bar, yes bar, to fill out the paperwork- Hannah by my side and Carter on my hip. There’s a Pabst Blue Ribbon Sign out front. Must be the place. Smoke hangs in the air. Everyone is quiet and staring at us. She gives me a map and I realize the tiny road that makes a hard right down the hill is where we’re headed in this beast. Campers are coming out of their tents and trailers to watch us maneuver our way in. Dave whips in like he’s parking a Honda Civic. The guy a few campsites down tells him, “You really can handle that thing!” I think what a stud I married. 13 years of marriage redefines what is studly and the fact that we aren’t teetering over the edge of the lake certainly qualifies.
Dave and the girls move into action setting up the campsite. Carter sits outside and tries to climb up the huge tire of the RV getting dirty and greasy. Jack rolls down and runs back up the steep grassy hill of our campsite. I see his eyes swelling and skin welting from the two feet of grass. A gentle breeze rolls off the lake and I think…this is awesome! By the time I get the kitchen up and running, we’re eating homemade Spaghetti at a quarter til 9. The girls kept laughing that people probably think we’re nuts for eating so late. I figure they’re wondering who in their right mind would take 4 children on a RV trip!
We put our dirty children in jammies and tuck them into their beds. We can hear the sounds of the birds and lake critters calling out to one another across the water as we drift off to sleep.
3 comments:
Glad you made it safely through Chicago! You always get stuck somewhere for at least an hour.
We really enjoyed your visit. Tanner had such a good time with Hannah and Tate and was really missing them yesterday. Today is better with activities going on.
Have a fun and enjoyable trip. I am sure it will be eventful : )
We are off to have family pictures taken at a local park which should be an event for our own family. I am sure there will be grass stains in the pictures.
All our love and wishes for a safe trip.
The Browns
p.s. you can shower downstairs now.......
Hello Team Skogebo! I have been checking your blog daily now for the past week and was getting worried until I woke up this morning and finally saw some posts! I was so excited. Wow, what a trip you have had so far. I am sure starting off with the stomach flu will make everything else seem like a piece of cake. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. I love reading about it, I feel like I am there in a way but am happy to report I am home with my little munchkins running around like crazy kids and my husband peering over my shoulder reading as I type. As we get on each others nerves, we can simply walk to a different room. Something I am sure you will be ready to do after several days in an rv together. Really though, it sounds like you are having a blast and seeing so many great things. Keep the posts coming. We will stay tuned.
Love you guys,
Korri and Michael who is still peering over my shoulder.
I'm so glad you guys are checking in! We were so busy the first few days that we didn't blog much. And I realized it is much wiser to write in Word and then copy when your internet coverage is spotty. I typed up a novel on our first day and then lost it all.
Browns- the girls are lost without ya! They're having to play together- eewwwh.
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