After a very nice family breakfast at Bob Evans we hit the road toward our destination for today, Wisconsin.

At breakfast though, Luke, my 4 year old cousin said the quote of the day…

I was playing with Isaac and telling Luke that the baby was mine now.. I was taking him with me. Luke got very upset and said,

“NO, You not the Baby Daddy.”

Everyone laughed which made Luke even more upset. Sorry Luke, but it was very funny!

It was a great end to a wonderful family visit.

The day was pretty uneventful, just lots of driving with a few stops for dog walking and stretching the legs of the humans onboard!

From Ohio to Indiana, to a quick 8 minute detour into Michigan, to Illinois and finally Wisconsin.

Of course we hit bumper to bumper traffic in Chicago and the Windy City was just that.. WINDY. A few times the RV felt like it was going to take off.

Now I am not a fan of Chicago but the worst part about driving in is the huge sign saying, “Welcome to Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel, Mayor”. Almost made me throw up in my mouth a little.

Tolls, Tolls and more Tolls:

Today was also, pay a toll every freaking 5 minute day… Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Turnpike, Chicago Skyway, Chicago Tollway, and my favorite, pay us to leave each state toll.

Toll Total: $52.20

Now, I understand paying tolls to keep the roads up, but everyone of these roads were in dismal conditions. So far, Indiana claims the prize for the WORST roads.

After making it through Chicago traffic we headed into Wisconsin ready to find some dinner and eat some cheese!

We stumbled upon a cool little place outside Madison called Reverend Jim’s Roadhouse. It is a biker bar / restaurant / wedding chapel.. yes, hence the name.

The food was very good and the atmosphere was quite cool. We found out that Rev Jim does about 35 Weddings a year and all the proceeds to go charity.

For dinner, we had to get some Wisconsin Cheese Curds as an appetizer and then some good burgers with fries.

Settled into the Truck Stop in Mauston, WI we are ready for bed so we can head to Minnesota and into South Dakota tomorrow!

The start to the trip was a quick swing by BWI to pickup Scott then back to the house to get the RV and head out about 9PM.

Well we ended up getting a VERY late start on Friday night.. Finally leaving Arnold, MD just before midnight the adventure began.. 3 humans, 3 cats, a dog and a goldfish. Yes, we are crazy.

So drove to Morgantown, WV but got there about 4:30AM instead of the midnight originally planned. After about 2 hours of sleep we hit the road again do we could make it to our first stop Findlay, OH.

Arriving at my Uncle John and Aunt Karen’s house about 5PM we parked the RV and headed over to my cousin Lisa’a house for dinner and an evening with the Abate Family.

It was great to see how much the kids had grown and to see the newest meet of the Abate clan, 6 month old Isaac.

After about 4 hours of eating, wrestling with the kids, playing a dice game called “Fill or Bust” and catching up we were exhausted and declared Day 1 done!

Off to bed we went and all three of us slept hard.

April 20th-29th, 2012

Arnold, MD  to Reno, NV

~3,100 Miles

Stops along the way!

——————————————————————-

A) Arnold, MD  - Friday, April 20th – Start of the Trip!

B) Findlay, OH  - Visiting The Abate’s (Eric’s Cousins)

C) Madison, WI – Say Cheese!

D) Sioux Falls, SD

E) Badlands National Park

F) Mt Rushmore

G) Deadwood, SD

H) Yellowstone National Park

I) Craters of the Moon National Monument

J) The Biggest Little City in the World!

15 of our close friends showed up to wish us well, have some beer, wings and lots of laugh!

[Show as slideshow]

The baby hummingbirds have finally hatched at our former home in San Jose. The new owners sent us an email with pictures today. As you can see, Mama Bird and babies are doing well and should be fluttering at a flower near you anyday now!

Today we rigged up a zip line across the yard and put harnesses on the cats so they could come out and enjoy the outdoors. Dixon was running around exploring everything, Jackson was a bit cautious because he has never been outside before and Mason just laid in the grass watching the birds.

Currently we have only a few pics on the photos page but will be adding more shortly!

Let us know what you think!! Comments are enabled!

-Eric & Kristie

April 16th, 2005

In the last 4 years we have made lots of new friends, visited some of the most beautiful places in the world, acquired 3 cats and then moved cross country. Can’t wait to see what the next 4 years has to come!

Love you baby!