Our Oregon Trail - Part 1

So, our trip! 

I kept a journal the first few days, then was too tired to the last few days of the journey, so I have journal entries and photos for the first few days, then I will have brief captions and photos for the rest. I'm just posting the start of the trip for now.

First, we left Holland on Saturday, February 25 around 8am for West Bloomfield. Mark's parents threw us a goodbye luncheon, and my mom & her boyfriend came to it! It was great. Here's us and our parents:

L to R: My mom Marybeth, Mark, me, Mark's dad Greg, and Mark's mom Geneva.

Mom & her boyfriend Duce - such a great guy!

The night before we left West Bloomfield :)

Monday 2-27-12

“Left Mom & Dad Karlichek’s house in West Bloomfield at 6:30am. Geneva was a mess, cry so hard! We gassed up & hit the road by 6:45am. By 10:30am local time we were in Chicago! We made great time - the weather was beautiful & we had no traffic problems - but we got to our intended Chiacgo-style-pizza-joint, Lou Malnati’s, before they opened! :( But, we had an Arch Card for $10 to McDonald’s from a lady I worked with at HPS, so we stopped at the Oasis rest stop on the west side of Chicago, & then got on our way.

We headed for Minnesota at 11:45am, & with a TON of gas stops (for Mark) & rest stops (for me), we arrived in White Bear Lake, MN around 6:30pm, just in time to get dinner at Applebee’s with Jake & Nick! Both of us are so exhausted from the drive & the weeks of preparation, but we’re having fun. The walkie talkies are a blast! :) Drake & Isis are traveling well & are enjoying the break here at the Love’s. A storm is brewing for tomorrow though... Could get 8 to 12 inches of snow?!?”

Hitting the road!

No pizza for us :(

McDonald's will have to do!

We took a short walk at a rest stop with hiking trails. Handsome boy!

Sitting pretty in his co-pilot seat.

Sun setting as we enter MN. 

Tuesday 2-28-12

“Woke up around 7:15am - cuddled with Mark & Drake until about 8. There is snow outside, but not a lot; the big storm is supposed to really hit later today. Drake & Isis are doing well; I don’t think Isis has eaten or pooped since we left, but Drake is doing enough of that for both of them. :) She is sleeping in her pet carrier and being very lovey - these are very good signs!

The pups playing - Bailey & Drake

Bailey Bop!

Latin Kisses ( bacon-wrapped jalepeno popper) and Spam Bites

We’ve decided to stay another night here - the storm, a free stay, and cutting time off our drive made it tough not to - & Jake took the day off today to hang out with us. Nick will be home from school on his lunch break soon. :)

10pm- Jake, Mark & I went to lunch in St. Paul at the Blue Door Pub, a hole-in-the-wall with great microbrews and amazing “trash” food. :) We hadtheir famous Blucy, a burger with a bun as usual, but with 2 patties made into a pocket filled with the toppings! I had the Merriam Park (for the neighborhood in St. Paul where the pub is), Mark had the Frenchie (a French Dip, essentially), and Jake had the Cajun. We all got tots - the boys, cajun - & had Spam Bites & Latin Kisses as appetizers. 

Mark thoroughly enjoying his Blucy!

My Blucy & tots!

We went to the Mall of America - Jake, Mark & I - & saw the Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium, which was awesome! Mark especially had a blast. He got to pet a sea urchin & a chocolate chip starfish! :) Then the 3 of us walked a loop of the mall and window shopped. We headed home after about 2  hours.

Mark petting the urchins!

Jellies!

Near the amusement park in the mall

The Lego Store

The Lego Store

Horsing around before heading to dinner.

Then, for dinner, the 4 of us went to Osaka for hibachi! It was so much fun! The chef squirted sake into our mouths from a squirt bottle at the table, and did amazing stunts with the food & utensils. He was super funny, making dirty jokes & mocking me (which the boys enjoyed). 

Osaka Hibachi Dinner

We were all full & tired when we got home, so we crashed early-ish.” 

Wednesday 2-29-12

“Got up at 7:15am, packed up, gave the boys some love, & headed out in the slush and ice. We didn’t quite get the 8 to 12 inches, but it still wasn’t a fun drive. We had to go really slow until we got outside the Twin Cities/Suburbs, & even then, the roads were an awful combination of wet, dry, icy (like rumble strips, chunks of ice), & slushy patches.

Took the highway into southern MN - aka purgatory - for a couple hours, then turned west onto I-90. Took us a couple more hours to reach South Dakota, but we made it, & had an indoor picnic at a rest area in Aurora, SD around 3:15pm Central time.

Lunch time!

We had fun going back & forth  on the walkies - the billboards were funny. :) We pulled off at a scenic overlook and took a few photos as the sun was setting. Driving west feels like a mad dash to chase the sun.

Chasing the sun.

We hit Rapid City, SD as it got really dark - the Black Hills look amazing at night, so we can’t wait to see them with the sun up tomorrow!

Hill City is very appropriately named. Mark loved the up & down, twisting mountain drive in the dark. I was freaked out, as I’ve been driving point & navigating the entire trip. We got to the Super 8 Hill City around 8pm Mountain time, which means we drove about 11 hours today. Man oh man, are we feeling it too!

We made it to the first checkpoint!

We went for a swim & sat in the hot tub, took showers, & are now relaxing in our hotel room. Drake is out like a light, even though he slept almost the entire ride in the TA! But, the roads were terribly bumpy & you feel everything in that car, so I think it took a lot out of both of my boys.

Tomorrow: Continental breakfast, Mount Rushmore, & Deadwood!”

. . . to be continued . . .