Iowa and Illinois....marked.

Today we drove from Des Moines, Iowa to Chicago, Illinois. It was only about a five hour drive. So our easiest day so far. We saw a whole lot of corn. It was terribly humid and hot. We were both surprised at how green and lush it was. I guess that we expected it to be drier or something. There were more trees than I expected.

This is a corn field with trees. It reminded me of Field of Dreams and Signs.



This is more corn fields, except with a cute farm house.



This is the Mississippi River. It is HUGE! It made me think of the books Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. I can't imagine trying to go up the river against the current.



This is the official border in the middle of the bridge on the Mississippi River.



Another picture of the Mississippi.



Brady peeing at the border of Illinois.



This is the official sign. This is as close as we could get.



This is me with the road and river in the background.



This is me again with a cool sign of a man with a dog on a leash.



We thought that this sign was funny... And has a really good message.



This is as we were driving into Chicago. We were pulling in around five. We expected heavy traffic. It wasn't bad at all because we were going against traffic.



This is the White Sox stadium as we drove by. I am really good at getting drive by pictures.



Again this is Chicago as we entered from the south.



This is Sears Tower. The tallest building in the United States.



We were lucky that we found a hotel in downtown Chicago that allowed dogs. We are especially lucky to have found such a nice hotel. It is called Hotel Indigo. It is really modern, stylish and has personality. Plus, the rooms have hard wood floors (which is great in case there is an accident). We thought that it was so cute that we took pictures of our room. We were on the 12th floor and have a great view of the city.

This is the desk and entry area.



This is the bedroom. They didn't have anymore king bed rooms, so we stayed with two queen beds, which is just fine with us. Isn't it cute?!




After settling in, we went to Wrigley Field for a Chicago Cubs baseball game. It was a dream come true. It was really awesome! This is a cool field. I recommend that everyone go at least once in their life. It is really old, but classic. I just love it.



Here we are out front. Spencer and I have a thing where we want to go to all of the baseball stadiums throughout our life together. This is just another one that we can check off of our list.



This is the field. You can see the ivy along the fence (Wrigley Field is famous for this). You can also see how full it is. Even the outfield seats are full. We took the subway from our hotel down to the stadium. It was packed! We were stuffed into the subway like sardines. It was really hot and humid and miserable on the subway. And I kept thinking about While You Were Sleeping. The game was sold out, and it is a weekday. I love the energy and enthusiasm that the people of Chicago have for this team. We got tickets from a scalper. They were great seats and we just loved watching all of the people that came out to support the Cubbies and hand out and drink. Some people even stood up the whole game along the wall.



Here is the infield with Ryan Dempster pitching (he's on Spencer's fantasy baseball team). He had a good game for the most part.



This is the scoreboard. It is old school. We loved it! My dad told me just last week that he used to go to the Chuckar's baseball games and help do the scoreboard that was like this one. He said that he used to watch out of the open holes. It was really cool to watch the mysterious person behind the scoreboard change the numbers. They also had scores of other teams playing at the same time. This shows that Ken Griffey, Jr. was up to bat.



This is me with my Chicago dog. Yum.



Spencer and his new hat and souvenir cup.



This is Spencer with the Harry Caray statue.



After the game we checked on the dogs (whom we drugged with Benedryl before we left for the game) and then met up with our friend from high school, Areefa. We walked around downtown, ate smoothies, and talked. It was great to catch up. She looked great and seemed really happy. I am so glad that we got to meet up. She is a great friend and awesome person.




The dogs were really good while we were gone. I am so proud of them. No accidents and no getting into trouble. They have been such good dogs with this whole traveling thing.

Day Three

Best Part of the Day
Beej: Seeing Areefa. It is so nice that when good friends get back together, it's like they have never been apart. I haven't seen her in about four years, but it's like we've never been apart. I am so grateful to have had her as a friend. And I am so glad that I had this opportunity to see her and catch up. I hope that we can stay closer and visit more often. I'm proud of her and all that she has done. I love you Areefa!
Spence: Wrigley Field. It was awesome seeing how many people showed up on Tuesday night. The atmosphere was amazing. It was great to see and experience the history and tradition of Wrigley Field. (Bri liked the authentic organ.)
Brady: Driving into Chicago with the window down and saying hi to everybody.
Mia: Taking a drug induced nap on the cold, hard-wood floor.

Scariest
Beej: Worrying that we would come back to the hotel room and find the dogs dead from giving them too much sleeping medicine.
Spence: Afraid of getting pulled over by the police when I flew by a patrolman going 20 miles over the speed limit.
Brady: I'm always scared that I am going to be left behind or left out of something fun.
Mia: The elevator. Elevators are very scary. I am just not sure about the small space and the footing doesn't feel right. And we were staying on the 12th floor!

Favorite Part of the Game
Beej: The home run by Mike Fontenot. He's just a little guy, but he can hit!
Spence: Jim Edmond's diving catch in center field during the first inning. It was number four on ESPN's top ten.
Brady: I didn't get to go... :(
Mia: Me either. :(

Favorite Food
Beej: Chicago Dog
Spence: Ranalli's thin crust cheese pizza.
Brady: Umm...my dog food?
Mia: Yeah. I guess my dog food.

Worst
Beej: The freakin' heat and humidity. And feeling fat in all of my pictures. Saying goodbye to everyone has made me gain at least ten pounds, if not twenty.
Spence: The humidity. I didn't think it was this humid here in the Midwest, but it is extremely humid well into the night. I am wet and feel sweaty all of the time.
Brady: The heat and being in the car.
Mia: Mom squishing me with her car seat when she wanted to lean it back.

Favorite Site
Beej: Downtown Chicago in general.
Spence: Wrigley Field.
Brady: The World's Largest Truck Stop on Iowa 80 or else the Mississippi River.
Mia: Sleepy Hollow. There is actually a place called Sleepy Hollow!


We love Chicago!! We are glad that we stopped here. What an awesome city! Thanks again, Areefa, for meeting with us and showing us around. We had a great time.

Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa...Marked.

I spent an hour and a half adding information to this post and it disappeared. So I will up-date it later. We don't have time....




























































































We decided to let the dogs join in on the thing were we have categories about the day.

Day Two

Saddest
Bri: Brady having an anxiety attack in the car this morning.
Moose: As we were passing through Omaha we thought about Dave and Brooke (because they are moving here for law school this fall). It made me miss Dave and it was sad to know that we wouldn't be able to hang out for a while.
Brady: Not being able to pee on the Welcome to Iowa sign.
Mia: Not getting the cow. And getting faked out by dad.

Favorite Site
Bri: Big Springs. It's like on Oregon Trail!
Moose: The College World Series Stadium in Omaha.
Brady: Cabella's headquarters.
Mia: Buffalo Bill Ranch. There were lots of cows...

Best
Bri: Not driving and not having to feel guilty because Spencer actually would RATHER drive.
Moose: The drive not seeming long. I was dreading this drive and expected it to be terrible. But I was surprised. It has actually been very pleasant and fun. It went really quick and we covered a lot of ground.
Brady: The intermittent "blowouts" when we put all of the windows down in order to blow out all of my shedding hair. I love when the windows are down. It helps with my anxiety. And it feels good in my face.
Mia: Being spoiled by dad. He lets me put my head up in the front and he won't let Brady. I love being daddy's little girl.

Scariest
Bri: When we had to pull back on the freeway after stopping to take a picture on the border. I call it "the suicide on-ramp."
Moose: The huge Jesus statue. Or else the purple mist.
Brady: The storm and possible tornado.
Mia: The firecrackers that someone set off at a gas station.

Worst
Bri: Spencer being grouchy about the dogs freaking out.
Moose: Picking up my phone and finding it covered in dog slobber.
Brady: The heat, being in the car all day, and my severe anxiety attack.
Mia: The humidity.

Funniest
Bri: What Spencer called the part of Nebraska that sticks out on the west side.
Moose: Me mooing and making Mia freak out.
Brady: "My exit."
Mia: Brady being high from the drugs mom gave him.

Consider Wyoming Marked

One of the sites that we saw on day one was Green River. This is a postcard of it. It was nighttime when we drove through it, but I was still excited. I played a game called Oregon Trail when I was little (as I am sure that many of you did). I liked the old version so much that my parents got me a new version when I was older (Lex, you know what I'm talkin' about). Anyways, as we have been driving, I keep seeing some of the stops that was on Oregon trail. It's like we are playing the game in reverse! Except we don't get to do the hunting game. I will keep mentioning this throughout this trip. So...

On Day One: We saw Soda Springs, Green River and Fort Laramie.



Yesterday, after saying our goodbyes, we started our journey together across the country. We didn't leave until 6 pm, but we made it pretty far. We made our way across Wyoming. We stopped in Rawlins.

Here are some pictures on the road.





Here is Mia. She likes to lay on the floor of the back seat and put her head on the elbow rest.



There was some road construction (of course) along the way. There was one place that we had to wait for a "pilot car" to guide us around the construction site. This isn't a very good picture, but we thought that it was funny.




This is where we drove today...through the plains of Wyoming.




Here is Brady marking his territory.



Still marking...and able to look around at the same time!




At one of the stops we saw a baby red hawk. The guy who worked at the stop said that the mother hawk was still feeding it. He said that if it didn't take flight soon, that he would call the wildlife people. So I quit worrying.



Spencer hit a bird while we were driving! It made me really sad. I have never hit an animal before. In fact, I once swerved to avoid hitting a rattle snake. I have a tender heart...

Several years ago, the girls in my family went on a trip with Cheryl and her daughter to California. It was fun, but stressful because my mom had to leave early to be with my grandma. She started the tradition of making categories of things that everyone responds to. It helps add to the journaling of the trip. We have since continued this tradition. So Here It Goes!!

Day One:

Worst
Spencer: Bug bites when we got out of the car to take pictures.
Brianna: Freezing in the car. We had to keep it super cold to keep the dogs from freaking out. Therefore, I was freezing.

Saddest
Spencer: Saying goodbye to my family.
Brianna: Saying goodbyes, having anxiety about moving, and not being able to say goodbye to my grandpa. I love him dearly and I missed him at the luncheon.

Best
Spencer: Soft bed at Holiday Inn
Brianna: The warm bath at Holiday Inn after freezing to death in the car. Also, having a nice place to stay that allows dogs.

Favorite City
Spencer: Lava Hot Springs
Brianna: Green River with the big tall rocky thing and the tunnel you drive through

Scariest
Spencer: Driving on the curvy highway in the dark.
Brianna: Being afraid of being shot when we stopped at a shady place with board on the windows because I had to pee.

Something else that was funny was that when we stopped once there were some horses and cows. Mia hates livestock. I mean, they make her go crazy. She just barks and barks and wants to chase them. So it was funny to see her freak out at them. It was not so funny when she ruined Spencer's car door to try to get at them once, though.

Baloo grown up

Here is a picture that Baloo's owner just emailed us. Baloo was one of our eight puppies. He looks a lot like Brady. He's really big.