Illinois, Indiana, Ohio...also marked by Brady.

Today we drove from Chicago, Illinois to Sandusky, Ohio. The day started out pretty crappy. We woke up late and I was supposed to take some tests on-line for my new job and I couldn't get it to work. And I needed to get it done today so I could still start on Monday. It was frustrating. Then I spent over an hour to add information to the blog and it disappeared! I thought that everything was supposed to be saved. I was extremely frustrated. Then I forgot to give Brady his anti-anxiety medications an hour or so before we left, so he was going nuts. Needless to say, I was very stressed and very grumpy.

So we got in the car and made our way out of the Windy City. We had to pay toll booths, which I think is really dumb. We had to do it multiple times. We spent our time driving working on little things like starting electricity in our new apartment and working on other paperwork to start my job. We only drove about 5 hours, though.

We drove to Sandusky, Ohio. I have always wanted to go there because it has the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, Cedar Point. I wanted to go there even more after I heard about it from my friend at work, Melissa. She went there on her honeymoon. (How cool is that?!) So I talked Spencer into it.

Sandusky is a cute little town, but without the amusement park, I'm not sure that anyone would go there. The park is set on a peninsula that stretches out into Lake Eerie. It has some crazy rides. They are seriously insane. You can look them up on Cedar Point's website. We left the dogs at the hotel. And we went for a few hours during the evening.

After that we went back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool for a little while. It was warm and was open late. We pretended to UFC fight in the pool. It was fun, except when Spencer nearly drown me when he couldn't tell that I had tapped. (Yes, we watch UFC. We're white-trash and proud of it!)

After that, we made a bubble-bath in our huge jacuzzi style bathtub. And then we fell asleep fast after a busy day.

This is one of the roller coasters we went on.



We liked it so much and had such funny pictures, that we bought them. I love Spencer's face. He made this face on most of the rides. I think that I might still be a five year old because I love amusement parks. Here we are:




This is a bridge across a canal on the way out of Chicago. Their canals are a lot bigger than the ones that I grew up with.




This is lake Eerie.



Here we are crossing into Indiana.



Here is the sign for the College Football Hall of Fame. I rock at drive-by picture taking.



And here is the sign for South Bend, where Notre Dame is. Go Irish!



Here is Brady in the mirror. Every time I would turn around to take a picture of him sticking his head out the window, he would pull it in to look at me. So I took a picture of the mirror. You can see the part on the bottom that is very true "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear." He is such a typical dog. He just loves to stick his head out the window. It was the only thing that would calm him down.



Interstate 69.



This is the border as we went into Ohio. I'll admit it. It is definitely not my best drive-by picture. We could have stopped here, but I didn't want to get Brady all worked up again. He had just finally calmed down.



We saw a whole bunch of these funny buildings along the Ohio Turnpike. The Ohio Turnpike is the freeway that you have to pay toll fees to use. Not that cool...



This is in Sandusky. It's a neat bulb thing that says Eerie County. I don't know. I just thought it was neat.



This the the shore next to Cedar Point on Lake Eerie. There were a lot of seagulls.




This is the first ride that we went on. There are two of these towers and you go back and forth and spin. So on one side you go forward and on the other you go backward. There is a lot of free-falling. It was intense, especially for the first ride.



You can see people passing on the ride here.



This is one of the rollercoasters at sunset. This picture does not do it justice. It is so tall! You can't even imagine.



Here is another ride that we didn't get to before it closed. Again, the picture doesn't do it justice. It is really tall and really steep. You go up one side and down the other. Yeah. Nuts.




It was a fun day. Something made my ankle hurt, though. And Cedar Point is huge. I guess that we needed the walking, though.


Day Four: Illinois/Indiana/Ohio


Best
Beej: Cedar Point, baby!
Spencer: Jacuzzi bath tub in our room with bubble bath at the end of the day.
Brady: Having the window down for the majority of the drive today.
Mia: Having grass to go to the bathroom on.

Worst
Beej: Working on the blog for a freakin' hour and a half and then losing it! I am still very upset about it. It was a stressful day in general for me and I was grumpy until we got to Cedar Point.
Spencer: Semi's passing semi's and taking up the whole road going slow.
Brady: Driving in the car and having major anxiety. Mom forgot to give me my medicine early enough.
Mia: Having to go to the bathroom in public. It's so embarrassing.

Favorite Ride
Beej: I liked most of the rollercoasters, but the Maverick was the best. It was crazy and had a lot of corkscrew motions. It was especially intense in the dark. We didn't know what was coming.
Spencer: The Maverick.
Brady: I hate rides. They give me anxiety. So none of them. And technically I only went on the "car ride."
Mia: Riding in the car. I actually really like it. Something about it just makes me pass out. Mom doesn't even drug me. I just get in my spot and fall asleep and before I know it, we are there.

Favorite Site
Beej: College Football Hall of Fame, or else Gary, Indiana (think of the song from the Music Man...Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana...).
Spencer: South Bend with Notre Dame. It reminded me of the time that I went there with BYU. It was a really great experience and the people there were very hospitable.
Brady: The great lakes. They are huge! It's like looking at the ocean!
Mia: Jellystone Park. Yes there actually is a Jellystone Park. We didn't see Yogi or Boo boo, though. And no pic-a-nic baskets.

Random Things
Beej: There was a McDonald's restaurant in the middle of the freeway next to the toll booths.
Spencer: Lightning bugs. I have never seen them before. It was really cool to see them light up different colors at night.
Brady: No one has asked me my favorite place to pee...
Mia: We used the jacuzzi while mom and dad were at the amusement park. Ha, ha!

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.