Days 2-5 Chicago and Travel Days

 We drove to Chicago and had hoped to stop at Indiana Dunes for a couple of hours in the afternoon for some beach and swim time, but instead got there just as the sun set for a quick stop to run up the dunes.  In Chicago, we parked the travel trailer in a lot and headed to my aunt’s house around 11.  We were sad to have missed dinner with our family there, but very fortunate to have such a wonderful place to land after a long travel day.  

Our full day in Chicago was absolutely perfect.  My cousin’s family joined us for a huge breakfast and our kids were able to play.  Then, they took us on the L to explore a little bit of the city.  We happened upon a little street fair and did some tie-dye, got to see the Bean and the fountains that squirt water out their mouths, ate food truck food, went to a great park, we enjoyed ice cream from one of their favorite spots, and then hung out at their home for a bit.  My dad spent the day with his sister and hopefully got a nice break from the typical noise level of our crew.  We then all had dinner together followed by the 5 big cousins having a sleepover and the parents and 2 littlest walking back to my cousin’s for the night.  

Oftentimes, the more thought you put into something, it feels as though the more likely it is for something to come in and change those plans.  We had discussed and analyzed the best time to leave - we wanted to get an early start, but didn’t want to be stuck in traffic that would take away from our early start.  So, we decided to stay and enjoy a little longer to beat the rush-hour Chicago traffic.  Well, we made it to the alley and then got stuck behind the garbage truck for 20+ minutes because a truck at the end of the alley made it impossible for the truck to get by (though it sure did try!).  It was early in our long travel day, so we were able to laugh about it then - plans rarely work out!  

We arrived shortly before sundown in Ashland, Nebraska after driving through the entire state of Iowa.  The state park (Eugene T. Mahoney) was nice and it was probably a shame that it was just a stopover.  We picked up a great meal from the local barbecue place for a late, but easy dinner.  The kids had done well most of the drive, though the last hour brought out some whining and bothering each other, though as soon as they hit the playground, they were back to getting along.  It’s amazing how quickly that switch can be turned.  We saw lots of fireflies and bats before settling in for the night.

Day 4 was one of those days that makes you wonder if this whole thing was a great idea.  The kids did pretty well for a long while - we went 6.5 hours before even busting out the screens, which felt pretty good!  The day was long though - about 12 hours of travel time and I ended up driving through some towns, which made me anxious (I only like driving the trailer on big, open roads).  Our collective grace and patience seemed to fade as the hours dragged on and we had promised the kids a fire that night (and used that to help get them through the last couple of hours), so we were rushing to accomplish that upon our arrival.  It was one of those evenings where I went to bed feeling awful about how I had handled the kids and waking up at 4am eaten up with guilt.  

On a funny note, here are some lessons gained for those who plan on camping at high altitudes (our campground was about 8,400 feet):

1. If you open mustard, it will squirt out uncontrollably all over the camper.  My dad went to put mustard on a hot dog for one of the kids and it was quickly covering cabinets, the sink, the carpet, and people.  

2. It’s not just mustard… I actually hadn’t seen my dad open the mustard and falsely assumed he was just old and not paying attention, so then when I went to put the ketchup on the hot dog, we had a ketchup explosion all over the camper as well (which I had just mostly cleaned up from the mustard).  It was pretty hilarious and actually some welcome humor after a tense day driving.

3. Don’t bring unopened items that are full, such as a bottle of olive oil.  Especially don’t have that bottle in a drawer with a bunch of other kitchen items - the pressure will force it through the sealed top and cover everything in oil.  Greasy good times.  

4. You will eventually learn, and when climbing to 12,000 feet with an unopened bag of chips (which looks ready to burst), you will open it *before* you leave the campground so it doesn’t blow up in a chip explosion all over your car.