Blogs from Troy, Michigan, United States, North America

Well, when you take the time to look back and tally things up, you realize... It's All Numbers 14 States 3 New States 5382 miles (approx) 104 hours in the car 366 gallons of gas 8 Marriotts 1 House/cabin 7 friends and family 1 Univeristies 15 attractions 16 restaurants 4 Nationalities of foods 82 bottles of water 2 frozen desserts 5 Starbucks 10 pink jeeps 4 parking fees 8 big cities (with high rises) 1 movies 6 bodies of water (including rivers, lakes, oceans) 6 pizzas 1 boat 2 beach 1 pools (they swam in) 3 toll roads 6 capitals 9 different beds 20 sharks 4 starfish 6 bags of chips 7 phone cords 3 surface pros 5 iPhones 1 oil change 3 national parks We didn't keep track of our spending like past years and ... read more

This week has been a crazy one as we head into our next road trip adventure. My dad has been in and out of the hospital and is currently in. We don’t know what is wrong exactly. Ben has had his drivers test (he is an official driver now). Well, he still has to go to the Secretary of State but we don’t have time now. The other two have had drama and baseball after school. Ben has had some AP History test practices in the evenings. I am trying to wrap my mind around this trip and packing. Months ago, I booked all of our hotels being that it is spring break for many. I booked some of our activities like Alcatraz, Warner Brothers and the Pink Jeep tours. We have a house rented near ... read more

Geo: 42.5624, -83.1545Here it is in numbers. Pretty neat to look at. 16 days4162 miles78 hours 55 minutes in the car9 new states12 states total9 Big Cities6 State Capitals1 pueblo13 or more different attractions (historic, natural or amusement) 17 plus different restaurants.5 picnics7 Llamas100 fruit flies in the car 269 gallons of gas. 10 different beds per persons8 Marriotts1 Uncle Stone5 ducks1 duck master3 honorary duck masters1 pueblo style house1 resort3 entertainment (sanity) movies5 states videos1 King of Rock n Rolll11 locks1 escape room243 Oaklahoma City pamphlets7 Rivers92 bottles of water399...400...401 bug guts 2 river horse flies6 storms missed2 rainy drives1 zoos/aquariums 2 pizzas 30 pairs of dirty underwear 1 raft 20 wild strawberries 5 wet bathing suits 20 glasses wine or other sanity beverages 6 pools1 fountain 4 acce... read more

Geo: 42.5624, -83.1545Here I sit on the precipice of our third family adventure. Underwear, socks, movies, snacks, Twas the night before travel and all through house not a creature was helping. Not even my spouse (just kidding. it rhymes). .The socks were being laundered with care,In hopes that I finish the laundry in there.The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of travel danced in their heads.And mamma was planning, and dad took a nap.I booked all the hotels and activities and crap.When out on the driveway there arose such a clatter,I ran right outside to see what was the matter.Away to the van I flew like a flash,Opened the garage, what made the crash.I didn't see anything, I still didn't know,I looked all around. I looked high. I looked low.When, what to my ... read more

Geo: 42.6056, -83.1499On Saturday the 26th, we left Ottawa and headed for Huntsville, for a visit with friends. It was a beautiful drive through farm country with fields of golden wheat, fields of young corn stalks, fields where seed cast a golden haze over the tall green shoots of grass, and fields where it had been harvested and large round bales of hay lay drying under the not-so-sunny skies. And fields of neon yellow, where mustard was growing, were almost blinding to the eye. Black and silver silos adorned the white farmhouses and red barns and cows grazed in some of the fields on dairy farms. And where there were no farms, there was dense foliage like that found in New England…pine and spruce and maple in various shades of green broken by spears of white ... read more