Day 37 – Home Sweet Home

Our morning started with a wonderful country breakfast made by Chef Greg (there is nothing better than a home cooked meal). It was a terrific beginning to our last day on the road.

We were only on the road for 6 miles when we hit 8,000 miles on the odometer. What a huge milestone. It would be the last time we would sing “V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, it’s vacation time.” With a 4 hour drive ahead of us, the girls didn’t even flinch.
The Dienst family waved the checkered flag and we hung a left into the driveway. Welcome home signs hung on our front door and balloons were a welcoming sight. The old saying “there is no place better than home” rang true today.

The drive home was a time to reflect on all the wonderful experiences. This trip exceeded our expectations in so many ways. We used this drive to relive the memories and collect certain stats, which included:

1. We passed through 22 states and 2 countries
2. We drove 8,210 miles in 37 days
3. We went out to breakfast/lunch/dinner 99 times (uuggghhh!!)
4. The highest gas price was at $3.17 in Woodland Hills, CA and the lowest price was $2.20 in Frankfort, KY.
5. We visited with 43 family members and friends
6. We experienced only one traffic delay – 30 minutes on the Pennsylvania Turnpike -Day 1

We want to thank everyone who joined us on this wonderful trip (Caser – you can let go of the axle now). We enjoyed sharing each day’s experience with you just as much as you’ve enjoyed reading about it.

We hope our journey has inspired many of you to pack your bags and enjoy the beautiful U.S. of A. You won’t be disappointed.

Fellow travelers,
Chris, Debbi, Torey, Lea and Erin

Day 36 – New York, New York!

The plan was to get an early start out of Niagara, Ontario on our way to Ithaca, NY where we would spend the day/night with Chris’ sister, Kate, and her family. The old motto, “No plan is a final plan” came into play. The girls decided that they couldn’t leave the hotel without another ride down the corkscrew water slide. Chris and I rolled our eyes, took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go to the pool.”

Once in the car, we headed over Rainbow Bridge on our way to the United States. This bridge gave you an exquisite view of all the Falls. What a great memory. The border patrol going into the states was much tougher. The officer wanted to see each of the girls and asked if there were any more in the car. Was he kidding! Didn’t he see that the car was bursting at the seams?!

We proceeded into New York State with a car full of cheers. The drive to Ithaca was uneventful, however there is beautiful farmland in this neck of the state. We arrived in Ithaca and were greeted with hugs from Kate, her husband Greg and their boys, Zach, Sean and Ryan. The girls enjoyed the day playing with the boys, I took advantage of Kate’s laundry room and was determined to arrive home with only clean clothes and Chris enjoyed an afternoon watching sports on TV with Greg. We were spoiled rotten with fabulous food and drinks! Thanks guys!

We can’t believe that the home stretch has arrive!

Thanks for traveling with us,
Debbi

Day 35 – The Falls

Today was amazing! Our day started when we left London, Ontario and started our two hour drive to Niagara Falls. Once we arrived at the Hilton hotel we went to lunch at the Macaroni Grill. It was a very nice meal. Finally we started our walk to the Falls. Even across the street from the railings you could feel the mist. It felt so good because it was so humid. We got in line for the maid of the mist tour. They gave us these blue plastic rain coats and then we stood in line. Since it was so humid the rain coats stunk to you and made you feel so gross. After standing in line we got on the boat in the spot that we wanted. We were in the front on the top. They were the best spots.

Then we started to go! Yeah! We started to head into the Falls. As we felt mist coming at us it got stronger and we got wetter and wetter! It was crazy! We first passed the American Falls which had large boulders at the bottom caused by and avalanche. We continued to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, Commonly known as Niagara Falls. Can you believe people go down the Falls in barrels. When we got the farthest in we could not even open our eyes. When we started to head out we noticed that we weren’t as fare in as we thought. But we still got soaked. It was phenomenal. When we just got on the boat we were so hot but when we came off we were so cold. We slowly went back. It was more interesting going into the falls. Then the boat turned to park for the next crew. We started to get of the boat. Finally we started to head to the wax museum.
The wax museum was on a street called Clifton Hill where all the fun and games are. On Clifton Hill you can go on rides, go to funny museums, and other types of souvenirs. The wax museum was called The Wax Museum of Stars. It was all celebrities. When we first walked in we were amazed. Lea’s favorite was Reece Witherspoon. Erin’s was Shania Twain. Torey’s was Madonna because her eyes looked so real. Mom’s was also Shania Twain. Dad’s was Bob Hope.. There was a person we didn’t know if he was real or wax. When you stepped in front of him a flash went off. (he was holding a camera) It made you think you were standing in front of his picture. Before, Erin realize the camera guy was made out of wax, Erin saw people walk in front when he was taking a picture and thought that those people were really rude to do that.

Then we went back to the hotel to go swimming in the pool. As we walked in we were almost running to get to the water slide. It was twisty and 3 stories high. The first part was in complete darkness. Then the rest was in the light. Torey went first, Lea next, Erin Last. We had a blast. Then Daddy went to the Casino and the girls went out to shop. We decided to go back to Clifton Hill to get wax hands. This was a very fun activity. You dip your hand in hot wax many times until it molds to the shape of your fingers. We all picked different colors. This was a perfect place to hang out while a HUGE thunder/lightning storm passed over us. After a quick dinner, we were able to grab a cab and return to the hotel for a good sleep in our last hotel.

We’re almost home!
Lea and Erin

Day 34 - A Perfect Summer Day/ Canada here we come!

Ludington, Michigan is the perfect beach town,. with ice cream shops on every corner and a bunch of different boutiques. The day didn’t start out that well.It was full of yelling (mostly because of the blog - it’s starting to control our lives.) but we got through it.
On a brighter note, it was time for the beach!!!! We only had to drive about 5 miles to the perfect beach.. You were surrounded by sand dunes… it was beautiful. As we were walking to the beach, we ran down the sand dunes and slid, and it didn’t even hurt. The beach was a sight to see… seagulls were resting on the shore, there was NO seaweed, and nobody around you. We played football in the water and swam around. We played on the sand, and had tons of fun. When I lied on the sand and closed your eyes, I could have sworn I was in OBX. I loved it.
After hanging out at the beach, we went to the HOUSE OF FLAVORS!!!! It is the BEST ice cream shop ever!!! (Thanks for the recommendation Monica) There were 36 different flavors!! Mom and I had Tennesse Toffee which had toffee, heath bars, and whiskey in it, ( Don’t worry, we didn’t get drunk), Lea and Erin had Bubble Gum which had bubble gum pieces in it, and Dad had Mint Chocolate Chip. They were delicious. We walked around and then we were off.
The drive to Canada was a 6 hour drive. The beginning of the trip we played with rocks. (What can I say - we got bored with Barbies). We had Subway for lunch and watched a movie. The most eventful part of the trip was crossing into Canada. We went over the ‘Bridge to Canada’ and then we were asked a bunch of questions. They didn’t even stamp our passports!!!! Fact of the day: In Canada, your passport is only stamped when you fly into the country. The stamp implies a 6 month visitation visa. I was bummed! We drove about another hour to get to London, Ontario. We had A LOT of problems getting to the hotel ( I think we turned around about 4 times). We finally arrived and had a good night sleep.

We are almost home!!!!!
Torey

Day 33 - Anchors Away on the S.S. Badger

Rise and shine mates we got places to go and people to see. We left our bunk in Minneapolis early and were off towards Wisconsin by 6:15 AM. We had 300+ miles to cover to get to Manitowoc to the catch car ferry across Lake Michigan. The countryside across the cheese state was flat and boring and the major routes were noted in letters – like X or J – as opposed to numbers. We moved along fine and were on schedule until we got to Green Bay.
My dad had always wanted to see Lambeau Field. As we got close, he decided a detour was in order. He steered the car off the exit to a small town similar to where my Pa Pa lives in Virginia. While doing so, he broke out silly Fordham trivia questions. I learned Fordham’s football team is the pits now but was top of the heap many moons ago. Vince Lombardi played for Fordham in the Sugar Bowl and was one of the famed “seven blocks of granite”. The stadium was in a neighborhood with small homes and a drug store across the street. My dad began to talk in his lowest voice...” welcome to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field home of the Green Bay Packers and legendary coach Vince Lombardi”. Flash Mom quickly grabbed her camera and clicked away while dad stared on with a silly look.
Soon we moved on as we were behind schedule and we doubted the boat would wait for us. We arrived at the boat dock and my dad tried to joke with the attendant who greeted us. She was all business and didn’t crack a smile. No worries, however, we were on the boat called the S.S. Badger and ready for a 4 hour cruise across the 60 mile wide lake. Fact of the Day; depths of water are measured in phathoms and not feet. One phathom equals six feet and the deepest part of Lake Michigan is 160 phathoms.
The ship was big and so cool. It had a museum and quiet room, kid’s play area, arcade, movie theater, gift shop, two decks with restaurants and many old lounge chairs to lie on to relax. Me and Lea were not in the relaxing mood so we bounced around checking things out. Some passengers even had their own private rooms. We met the cruise director and she set us up at bingo with Harry who told jokes and Michigan trivia. We were hoping to win Bingo because the prizes were in “Badger Bucks”. The whole family played with many other older passengers but we couldn’t get Bingo fast enough. We did laugh a lot though to help us get over our misery. After Bingo, they had “Badger Idol”. You had to be 16 to enter and get up sing in front of everyone. Most contestants shouldn’t quit their day jobs but the last guy belted out some love song and every old lady seemed to melt right in his hands. He was an easy winner.
The water was calm today and we arrived in Ludington, Michigan as the sun set. When we just got to the dock all of a sudden Torey dropped her sun glasses. They almost hit somebody’s head on the lower deck but it missed. Thank goodness!! We are here for the night and ready for the beach and the chance to swim in the lake tomorrow. We stayed at a bed and breakfast just down from the dock, had dinner and settled in for the night.

Thanks for sailing with us mates,
Erin & Chris

Day 31 & 32- Minneapolis – Shop till you Drop

We got up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and left Rapid City for Minneapolis. This was our longest drive of the trip with 600 miles to cover. The Midwest is the Midwest – “nough’said. The only highlight was when we passed the blimp where the PGA Championship was being played. Tiger was being slayed by a terrific Asian golfer who was calm and in balance like ying yang. We passed Hazeltine CC outside Minneapolis while they were on the 16th hole. Dad desperately wanted us to sneak onto the golf course to see the last two holes. We said NO!!

The next day we got to do something that I have missed… SHOPPING!!!! But not just any shopping… shopping at the Mall of America. We started off the day with a scooter ride to the sculpture garden in Loring Park. It featured the famous, oversized Clay Oldenburg ‘Cherry on a Spoon’ sculpture. It was really big and looked juicy. While we were there we saw a bunch of different other sculptures. When we got back to the hotel, we met Dad; he had 2 business meetings that morning and we informed him that we had to switch rooms. We moved every bag to another room (Ugghh), and then finally, we got to the good part… SHOPPING! We had some troubles getting to the mall but we pretended that never happened. The one bad part about being on a trip and going to the mall is having the thule on top. It was almost impossible to find a parking spot because of our giraffe like height. Finally, we found one and we were off to the shopping mecca. When we walked into the mall, you wouldn’t have ever noticed that there was an amusement park in it. The park was ginormous with plenty of rides. Although the park was in the middle it was secluded from the shops which circled the fun and games. We started out our venture with some food and then shopping. The shops were nice but no different then what we have in New York. The only difference was that sometimes there were two of them – 2 Abercrombies, 2 Aeropastales, 2 Justices and so on….After some serious back to school shopping, we got to go to the amusement park. There were so many rides - 5 different rollercoasters, a flume, ferris wheel, swings, and so many other rides. We started off the rides by all going on the flume, It was fun and although we didn’t get wet we got a photo of our teeth and excitement. Next, Lea and Erin went on the swings, while Dad and I went on the Pepsi Orange Streak Roller Coaster that traversed around the entire park. It was really cool. We didn’t have much time left, so we grabbed something to eat and headed off back to the hotel. If you saw the car today, it would look more like a blimp than a suburban. It’s stuffed with so much, it could explode. When we got back, everyone was tired. We relaxed than fell asleep. Another great day for me and my sissies. Let’s keep it going.

Can’t wait to see everyone back home,
Torey

Day 30 - Crazy Day to Crazy Horse

Today started out like any other day. We packed up our bags, repacked the car, put ice in our cooler, grabbed some breakfast treats and prepared for a 6 hour drive to our points of interest – Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The only difference was that the morning temperature was 53 degrees.

We continued to enjoy the beauty of Wyoming as we passed through more national forests. We have had spectacular weather on this entire adventure. However, today it was eerily cloudy with the clouds hanging lowly on the mountain ranges. As we progressed through the ranges and ascended up the mountain, the early rain has changed to sleet and the temperature dropped to 38 degrees. Shortly thereafter, the trees were covered with snow – it was now 32 degrees, we were at a 9,900 elevation and it was snowing in August! The girls were having a blast with the realization that it was actually snowing outside. The roads were covered and the many motorcyclists that we saw were having a tough time of it. We pulled over to assist a cyclist and Chris used this time to make a snowball to throw at the car and for the girls to enjoy. Within 10 minutes the snow disappeared, our ears were popping and the temperature had risen to 43 degrees. We continued to enjoy the beauty surrounding us as the rain gave us a much needed carwash. It also washed away all the bugs we smashed along the way – like hundreds.

In Wyoming and South Dakota, the girls witnessed that railways are used to transport coal and other goods across our country. Everywhere we looked there was another engine pulling an endless number of cargo cars. This became a game where each of us tried to count the number of cars being pulled by a single engine. Sometime after 150 + we all got confused and began to argue. Yes, this family has had a low point or two along the way but they have been outscored by at least 100 so far on our journey. The Black Hills were so unusual as rock croppings and cliffs seemed to come out of no where. They were by far the best landscape that South Dakota had to offer.

When we arrived at the Crazy Horse Memorial, we had little knowledge about Crazy Horse and what was being built. We watched a 20 minute movie which gave us the history of Crazy Horse, who the sculptor was (Korczak Ziolkowski) and the future of the memorial. The Indians asked Korczak to build it to reflect their heritage and also to represent Native American’s founding fathers like Mount Rushmore. We were utterly impressed by the size of the memorial. At the present time, only Crazy Horse’s face is carved and the workers are blocking out the 22 story high horse’s head. The painted outline shows the 45 foot ear and the 16 foot wide eye, some 260 feet below the head of Crazy Horse. The initial blast occurred in 1948 and work has continued with the help of private funding and donations. Korczak began the work by himself and had a 12 pack to prove. Upon his death in the eighties, his wife and 7 of his 10 children have taken up the task. To better understand the enormity of this memorial - the entire Mt. Rushmore monument fits in the head of Crazy Horse alone. As Chris kept saying, “Why did Korczak feel that it needed to be built this big?”

Only ½ hour away, we traveled to a major highlight of this entire trip. Ever since Lea has been in 2nd grade and learned about Mount Rushmore, she has dreamed of seeing it. Her dream was coming true and she was extremely excited. Mt. Rushmore is a memorial to the birth, growth and preservation of the USA. The presidents also represent the initial 150 years of American history. As we neared the monument around 7:00 PM, the clouds continued to roll in and we were not sure we would even be able to see the monument. Our good fortune continued and the fog lifted as we arrived. Lea got her first glance at Mount Rushmore. It was another phenomenal rock sculpture. We visited the museum and learned about the history of the monument and how the sculptor made the eyes look so real-like. There is also a secret record room to the right of Jefferson that stores old records and documents. As we were leaving, patriotic songs were playing and were pulling at our heart strings.

A quick night in Rapid City, South Dakota and we’ll be on our way to Minneapolis.

Thanks for travelin’ with us,

Debbi