Woke up early in the Browske house so that I could spend as much time as possible with Dee and Ralph before hitting the road. Breakfast was already being made. Fruit, orange juice, coffee cake and this most wonderful egg/bread/syrup dish (kinda like a French toast casserole) that was very Yummy!
Our original plan was for Erica and I to leave Ohio and drive straight through to Connecticut (an 11-12 hour drive). But this was too ambitious for us. So we changed our stopping destination to Parsippany, NJ which would only be a 5 to 6 hour drive. This gave us more time to spend with Dee and Ralph. Even had time for Nancy’s brother, Jim, to stop over with his youngest daughter (Allison) and their Golden Retreiver (Bailey) to say hi. Was so nice talking and being part of their family…makes me miss my family, but Nancy said I could adopt her parents as mine ….so that’s what I’m gonna do! (I’m sure they need another daughter named Nancy like a hole in their head, but I like the idea of having them as my adoptive parents)!
By 11:00 a.m. we were in the car driving through Pennsylvania. No planned stops for this leg of the trip and it was somewhat of a boring drive. But the landscape of Pennsylvania was beautiful. Very green and hilly. In fact we saw a sign that stated we were at the Highest Point east of the Mississippi.
Erica was looking forward to getting to Parsippany because one of her good friends lives there and they were going to hook up and see each other. I got to met her friend, Allisa in the parking lot of our hotel and then they were off before I knew it.
So now, I’m sitting in the hotel room by myself (much needed alone time) writing my blog watching A Few Good Men for the 100th time totally enjoying this evening and this cross country trip.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Day 6 - Gurnee, IL to Aurora, OH
While I wasn't looking forward to leaving Chicago and Loren, I was looking forward to seeing Nancy's parents who live in suburb of Cleveland (Aurora). It was bittersweet to leave Loren's house (which is so comfortable and beautiful ....picture Pottery Barn and you'll have a good idea of what her home looks like). Because Loren had met us in Casper, WY her car was still at the airport. So we all left the house around 9:00 am and headed to O'Hare. When we arrived there (some 40 minutes later), we said our good byes and I was happy that we were on schedule to arrive in Aurora at a decent time.
I quickly learned that no matter what, you can't plan for everything....as I put the car in drive and watched Loren walk away, I quickly noticed that she turned around and was coming back to the car. I couldn't imagine what she forgot. I rolled down the window and she said "besides the parking ticket, what else does one need to get your car out the parking garage???" Car Keys!!!! Which she forgot at home! Oi "freakin" Vey!!! So back to the house to grab the keys, and back to the airport! I'm sure we'll laugh about this someday, but it’s still a little too fresh (only kidding..I already find it very humorous!)
So around 10:30 a.m. we we're on the road again. Drove through the city of Chicago and into Indiana. Quickly Erica and I decided we didn't like this State. Upon entering, we were introduced to Indiana's toll plazas. They don't have people manning the booths, instead they have machines that apparently old (I mean, old as dirt) people don't know how to use. There must have been at least 6 cars in every lane and it was taken forever for our turn. When finally the car in front us pulled up to the "machine', the poor old lady tried so hard to put her dollar in the slot...her hands were shaken so badly, and the wind from all the cars was blowing her dollar bill making it even harder for her. Then she had to line up her 2 quarters so they would fit into the coin slot. I know how bad this sounds, but Erica and I just started cracking up. Maybe its one of those "you had to be there things", but it was pretty funny.
Finally it was our turn, so I put the only cash I had in the slot - a $20 bill. And the next thing we noticed was the sound of the change being made. It sounded like a slot machine....$18.50 in Susan B. Anthony dollars and quarters! Who the heck uses dollar coins??? Only the Great State of Indiana!!!
We continued thru Indiana and discovered that Notre Dame was only a 10 minute diversion from the Interstate. So, in South Bend, IN we exited and went to the campus. Was a really nice campus with an amazing book store. Bought a couple of "Fighting Irish" mementos and hit the road again.
Our next stop was lunch in Amish country. Was delicious (Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, noodles and gravy (...can you say carbs?) along with what Erica stated was the Best Pie in the World (which it was). Because of the mishap this mooring and losing an hour because we crossed over into Eastern Time Zone, we didn't have a much time as we would have liked to shop in the adorable stores they had in this village. We managed to power shop and pick up a thing or two and return to the road in hopes to arrive in Aurora not too late.
We finally arrived at Nancy's parent’s house around 8:45 pm. Nancy's mom (Dee) and her Dad (Ralph) met us outside and the next thing I knew we were sitting at the dinner table eating Lasagna, Salad and Bread!! A very much needed home cooked meal. We had such a good time visiting with them. Their hospitality was amazing. They made us feel like family and I can say I didn't want to go sleep that night. I wanted to stay up and talk and laugh with them as long as possible. I can finally understand why Nancy and her kids stay in Ohio for 3 weeks!!
I quickly learned that no matter what, you can't plan for everything....as I put the car in drive and watched Loren walk away, I quickly noticed that she turned around and was coming back to the car. I couldn't imagine what she forgot. I rolled down the window and she said "besides the parking ticket, what else does one need to get your car out the parking garage???" Car Keys!!!! Which she forgot at home! Oi "freakin" Vey!!! So back to the house to grab the keys, and back to the airport! I'm sure we'll laugh about this someday, but it’s still a little too fresh (only kidding..I already find it very humorous!)
So around 10:30 a.m. we we're on the road again. Drove through the city of Chicago and into Indiana. Quickly Erica and I decided we didn't like this State. Upon entering, we were introduced to Indiana's toll plazas. They don't have people manning the booths, instead they have machines that apparently old (I mean, old as dirt) people don't know how to use. There must have been at least 6 cars in every lane and it was taken forever for our turn. When finally the car in front us pulled up to the "machine', the poor old lady tried so hard to put her dollar in the slot...her hands were shaken so badly, and the wind from all the cars was blowing her dollar bill making it even harder for her. Then she had to line up her 2 quarters so they would fit into the coin slot. I know how bad this sounds, but Erica and I just started cracking up. Maybe its one of those "you had to be there things", but it was pretty funny.
Finally it was our turn, so I put the only cash I had in the slot - a $20 bill. And the next thing we noticed was the sound of the change being made. It sounded like a slot machine....$18.50 in Susan B. Anthony dollars and quarters! Who the heck uses dollar coins??? Only the Great State of Indiana!!!
We continued thru Indiana and discovered that Notre Dame was only a 10 minute diversion from the Interstate. So, in South Bend, IN we exited and went to the campus. Was a really nice campus with an amazing book store. Bought a couple of "Fighting Irish" mementos and hit the road again.
Our next stop was lunch in Amish country. Was delicious (Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, noodles and gravy (...can you say carbs?) along with what Erica stated was the Best Pie in the World (which it was). Because of the mishap this mooring and losing an hour because we crossed over into Eastern Time Zone, we didn't have a much time as we would have liked to shop in the adorable stores they had in this village. We managed to power shop and pick up a thing or two and return to the road in hopes to arrive in Aurora not too late.
We finally arrived at Nancy's parent’s house around 8:45 pm. Nancy's mom (Dee) and her Dad (Ralph) met us outside and the next thing I knew we were sitting at the dinner table eating Lasagna, Salad and Bread!! A very much needed home cooked meal. We had such a good time visiting with them. Their hospitality was amazing. They made us feel like family and I can say I didn't want to go sleep that night. I wanted to stay up and talk and laugh with them as long as possible. I can finally understand why Nancy and her kids stay in Ohio for 3 weeks!!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day 5 - Gurnee, IL
Day 5 - Finally a much needed day of rest. This was a planned day originally to enjoy a day in Chicago, but instead we both decided to make this an easy day. We slept as late as we wanted and woke up refreshed and able to enjoy the day with Loren's niece (Kristi) and her children (Tyler (6), Logan (2) and Caden (3 months).
We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, played a game a Mad Libs which was hysterical, went to the Bass Pro Shop to see the fish (biggest fish tank I've seen in a store...really could have been in an Aquarium), let the boys ride the "horsey" on the Merry Go Round and said our good byes a couple hours after they had arrived. These boys are adorable....I really enjoyed my time with all them. And felt very honored that the baby actually fell asleep while I was holding him.
After the mall, we returned to Loren's house for some relaxation before heading to the Tower's house for "game night".
Played Banagrams and Catch Phrase and had the best homemade pumpkin cupcakes ever! Love hanging out with Chris, Christine and Brandon. Just the nicest people who always make us feel so welcome. I look forward to seeing them soon, though I don't know that will be.
Was a really nice, mellow day and tomorrow we're off on the road again (sounds like a country western song..doesn't it.) hehe. Next stop Cleveland. Looking forward to it as we will be visiting with Nancy's parents who live in a suburb outside of Cleveland. Anticipate the drive time from Chicago to Cleveland to be about 7 hours.
Going to bed now. Will write again tomorrow.
We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, played a game a Mad Libs which was hysterical, went to the Bass Pro Shop to see the fish (biggest fish tank I've seen in a store...really could have been in an Aquarium), let the boys ride the "horsey" on the Merry Go Round and said our good byes a couple hours after they had arrived. These boys are adorable....I really enjoyed my time with all them. And felt very honored that the baby actually fell asleep while I was holding him.
After the mall, we returned to Loren's house for some relaxation before heading to the Tower's house for "game night".
Played Banagrams and Catch Phrase and had the best homemade pumpkin cupcakes ever! Love hanging out with Chris, Christine and Brandon. Just the nicest people who always make us feel so welcome. I look forward to seeing them soon, though I don't know that will be.
Was a really nice, mellow day and tomorrow we're off on the road again (sounds like a country western song..doesn't it.) hehe. Next stop Cleveland. Looking forward to it as we will be visiting with Nancy's parents who live in a suburb outside of Cleveland. Anticipate the drive time from Chicago to Cleveland to be about 7 hours.
Going to bed now. Will write again tomorrow.
Day 4 - Mitchell, SD to Gurnee, IL
Day 4 - Another aggressive drive planned for the day. Mitchell, SD to Gurnee, IL is another 10 hour drive. No big plans for the day. Stopping at Corn Palace which I have no idea what it is...one of my DSMs (for those of you who don't know, that's a District Sales Manager) mentioned we should stop there since our hotel is 1 mile away from it. And then we're gonna stop at the site where the Jolly Green Giant was founded to witness what a 60' Jolly Green Giant statue looks like.
Ok...Corn Palace - a place once can't really describe. Its basically a Movie theater, High School Gym, Flea Market that looks like something out of the Red Square in Russia - but everything, all the pictures, decorations, stucco is made out of corn cobs. (Did you know there are 12 different colors of corn)! This place is the highlight of the town and is the MOST corny (no pun intended) place I've ever been. Don't know what would be better...this place or the largest ball of twine!
After Corn Palace we hit the road again to discover that the landmark statue of the Jolly Green Giant was only about 1 mile off the Interstate in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Ok...so the second most corniest place of the trip! Have no words to say about this....you just have to look at the picture below!
So after spending 2 minutes looking at the biggest, green statue we hit the road again. While looking at the map, Loren discovered that the birthplace of her husband Rick was literally 10 miles off the freeway...so we planned another stop to Spirit Lake, Iowa. We stopped and drove thru the town, went to the Wal-Mart in Iowa and continued the drive to Illionois.
After crossing the Mississippi River (very cool) we continued straight thru til we reached Loren's home. A welcome sight for us weary travelers. Had an excellent, much need good night sleep....
More to come....
Day 3 - Casper, Wy - Mitchell, SD
Day 3....started out like any road trip day - woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast and hit the road. The girls (Erica and Loren) somehow got the car packed (Tetris skills came in handy positioning luggage into the trunk)!
The plan for this day was an aggressive one....Casper to Mt Rushmore, Mt Rushmore to Mitchell, SD (10 hours of driving time alone)!
Should mention at this point the Sturgis event. Sturgis is a motorcycle run that occurs once a year and this year is the 70th anniversary of the event. There were 1,000's (no exaggeration) of bikes in the town (Custer) near Mt Rushmore. Was quite a sight! Really cool! Must be so much fun if you're into it. The town welcomes all these people and the bikers are all so friendly. Was fun asking people where they were from and starting a conversation about their trip, etc.
Mt. Rushmore was incredible! It’s always so amazing to me when you finally get to see something in person that is so familiar to you. Spent an hour or two touring the site and then had to hit the road again for the remaining 6 hour drive of the day.
As we exited the area we came upon a place called Bear Country USA. We quickly hung a u-turn and went in. What a fun place! It’s basically a drive thru zoo. We saw arctic wolves, buffalo, goats (and baby goats), rams, and lots of Bears! Was so cool. And then there was Babyland...were all the baby animals are kept. So freakin cute (look at Erica's blog for pictures). So after spending 2 hours of unplanned time in Bear Country we hit the road again. This is were it gets dicey.....
...with a 6 hour drive ahead of us and its around 6:30 pm and we're just heading out...the prospect of the next leg of the trip got to us. Now I should interject here that I don't love the Garmin navigation device- especially when it guides you incorrectly and I was driving and getting lost and getting very, very frustrated. Ding! Round 1 of the day! Rocco vs. Rocco is never pretty. With curt tones flying back and forth and decibels levels higher than should be the round ended with one "you're a bitch" and the return of "F U Mom" (note...FU was not used (insert actual words here)!
30 minutes later, and 2 I'm sorry's the trip was back on course again. Driving along we came upon Wall Drug. Now, for the life of me I had no idea what this was, but let me tell you there are mile marks every mile announcing the destination mile marker to Wall Drug. When we finally got there, it was basically an old west, village filled with chotskies that no one needs. So, another 1.5 hour spent at Wall Drug and dinner at Dairy Queen and we're on the road again. Driving at night (not my fav) and thru the Badlands we still have another 3 hours to go...should arrive at 12:30 am!
Finally, we arrive in Mitchell, SD at the Ramada Inn. We're freakin' tired and cranky. Ding! Round 2. Trying to get all correct luggage out of the car triggers Rocco vs Rocco again! Picture a dark, hotel parking lot filled with hundreds of chirping crickets and all our luggage all over the parking lot!!! (See below picture just imagine it at night)
So that was Day 3! Truthfully we had a really good time and I know this blog emphasized the "rougher" parts of the trip, but the 3 of us are getting along well and while Loren's been exposed to some of the "darker" sides of the Rocco girls...it isn't the first time (and for sure won't be the last).
Having fun and will post more tomorrow.
Love ya all...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day 2 - SLC to Casper, WY
Day 2: Motivation sill high. Started the day touring Temple Square in SLC and will be driving thru Utah and Wyoming and will be picking up Loren today. She flew into Denver yesterday and is driving to Casper today to meet us and will be continuing this journey with us hopefully til Connecticut.
Today was a good day...and for those betting when our first fight would occur it happened in Rawlins, WY some 1,000 miles into our trip. Was a short disagreement and we got over it quickly. Now on to the fun stuff... We traveled from Salt Lake to Casper, WY. Must say Wyoming is beautiful. Our mission today was to find Devil's Gate and Independence Rock. Both of these sites are where the pioneers travelled to. Devil's Gate is basically a break in the moutain ridge where they could pass through so not to have to travel around the whole range. Many of them carved their names in this pass.
Independence Rock is a "landmark" where the pioneers would stop and access where to go. They would climb to the top and could the panaromic view would help guide them where they should travel to next. There too they carved their names into the rock. Was very cool. Amazing how these people found each other once they left their original home. So much open, beautiful land. Saw antelope, bunnies, horses and cows along the way.
400+ miles later we picked up Loren at the Casper Airport. There we stuffed the car with her luggage, our luggage, the cooler, snacks, etc....and almost left her red purse on the bench! Comedy at its best!
Really looking forward to tomorrow - Mt Rushmore! Will be a long driving day, but worth it I'm sure. I let you know tomorrow.
Today was a good day...and for those betting when our first fight would occur it happened in Rawlins, WY some 1,000 miles into our trip. Was a short disagreement and we got over it quickly. Now on to the fun stuff... We traveled from Salt Lake to Casper, WY. Must say Wyoming is beautiful. Our mission today was to find Devil's Gate and Independence Rock. Both of these sites are where the pioneers travelled to. Devil's Gate is basically a break in the moutain ridge where they could pass through so not to have to travel around the whole range. Many of them carved their names in this pass.
Independence Rock is a "landmark" where the pioneers would stop and access where to go. They would climb to the top and could the panaromic view would help guide them where they should travel to next. There too they carved their names into the rock. Was very cool. Amazing how these people found each other once they left their original home. So much open, beautiful land. Saw antelope, bunnies, horses and cows along the way.
400+ miles later we picked up Loren at the Casper Airport. There we stuffed the car with her luggage, our luggage, the cooler, snacks, etc....and almost left her red purse on the bench! Comedy at its best!
Really looking forward to tomorrow - Mt Rushmore! Will be a long driving day, but worth it I'm sure. I let you know tomorrow.
Day 1 - Sacramento-Salt Lake City, UT
So, yesterday we headed out of Sacramento around 8:00 am and arrived in Salt Lake City 11 hours later. But believe it not, the day flew by. No drama, no fighting, we had a really good time. Created a couple of games, listen to some really good music and laughed alot. Must say its really nice traveling with a tech head who can figure out how to play Pandora thru her phone, get the internet, and other amazing things that I am just not capable of doing.
We stopped at several places, Reno (where Erica played her first slot machine), Imlay NV were we saw the weirdest "shrine" ever....Thunder Mtn (google it. I can't explain what the heck is/was and I was there!), the Bonnieville Salt Flats and finally arrived at Salt Lake City.
Never really thought I'd be doing this kind of trip but our motivation is high (kinda like the first day of diet) and we both enjoyed passing thru the different terrains as we passed thru California, Nevada (ugly), and Utah.
Ok...so I can admit that when we arrived at the hotel we we're done! Tired and hungry...not a good combination for us. But we got ourselves together, headed out to the Olive Garden for dinner and then returned for a good night sleep (which unfortantely Erica did not get, but if you know me, you know I slept well!)
Next stop...Casper, WY
We stopped at several places, Reno (where Erica played her first slot machine), Imlay NV were we saw the weirdest "shrine" ever....Thunder Mtn (google it. I can't explain what the heck is/was and I was there!), the Bonnieville Salt Flats and finally arrived at Salt Lake City.
Never really thought I'd be doing this kind of trip but our motivation is high (kinda like the first day of diet) and we both enjoyed passing thru the different terrains as we passed thru California, Nevada (ugly), and Utah.
Ok...so I can admit that when we arrived at the hotel we we're done! Tired and hungry...not a good combination for us. But we got ourselves together, headed out to the Olive Garden for dinner and then returned for a good night sleep (which unfortantely Erica did not get, but if you know me, you know I slept well!)
Next stop...Casper, WY
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