I truly am surprised at how well the boys have handled this long trip. They were amazing and patient in the car with hardly any squirming or crying. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I rode the whole way in the back sitting right in between them so that they could hold my hand and I could get them anything they needed without stopping the car. It worked really well. Of course, that left Bill to do 100% of the driving. He did a great job too, and we arrived right on time!

There isn’t much to see through southern Illinois except for corn. The only stops we made were for gas and diaper changes. This could be Anywhere, USA at a gas station. It is like every one we stopped at along the way.
The boys stretched, walked around, and played with their trucks for short stops.

We had some PB&J and Cheetos and some more play time.

We hit just a minor delay for construction on the Des Plaines river bridge and a very short burst of traffic, but otherwise we made perfect time. We got set up in the RV park just in time for about 25 minutes of hard rain. This is called a “camping resort” but there are mostly permanant neighbors.

We suffered about 40 minutes of epic meltdown from tired boys again, but it is a small price to pay for such a great driving day. Now that we can get settled and they can play with cousins all day, bedtimes should get better!

Wi-fi available at this RV park means that there is a painfully slow connection only available in the public area by the pool and pavilion. I am sitting under the pavilion now getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and enjoying the burbling sounds of a steaming hot tub that is closed for the night.

We can’t wait to see everyone in the morning!

I have trouble coming up with the right words for days like today. I will start with the positive things.

Our good friends moved from the Denver area and bought a beautiful country home right on our trip’s path. It was like they planned it that way, the perfect stop for a break in the travels.

The boys were thrilled to be able to play hard and not spend time strapped in to a seat. They got to giggle wildly at the cutest puppies.

Brendan was figuring out how to drive a quad

He decided to upgrade.

They were going to play tug-o-war over who got the Jeep

Little drivers

Trevor is saying, “Brendan doesn’t fit. He needs to go in the back”

There is the house overlooking their own private pond

The second pond

Our “spot” for the day

The boys got a tour of the property in the back of the Jeep.

Swinging the Brendan

Trevor loved the big porches

Worn out Brendan gets the whole bed to himself

These geese were cared for like pets by the previous owners. They came with the property. They hang around and beg all the time.

The puppies keep them in check

Trevor watched Susan scare away a goose with a stick, so he waved it around and said, “You go away gooses”

We ran around and caught fireflies and we launched some fireworks by the pond. The boys were exhausted. They have been staying up late and getting up early, I hope that they spend some time sleeping in the car tomorrow.

We are very concerned for Great-Grandma and hope that she gets some answers tomorrow and sees some improvement.

We also received some tragic news today about the passing of a family member and a very loyal blog follower, Glenna Kleinsmith. She was on our list of people to see while we were in Illinois. Our hearts are with all of her loved ones tonight, we are glad that we will be able to deliver some hugs in person.

We got a small taste of the, “Oh man, what were we thinking!?” today. It was a LONG day in the car but we covered about 680 miles.

The boys slept pretty well in the trailer, and we were on the road at 7:30am. We lost yet another hour to time zone/DST and so the day was shorter. We didn’t stop for the day until just after 9:00PM. The issue with this is the hustle to get setup and get the boys cleaned and ready for bed. The seat time has been long and they have not had as much time as we would like for them to run and play.

Overall the boys have been amazingly patient and well behaved. The meltdowns tonight at bedtime were epic, but they were beyond tired.

They each took a short nap in the car at different times. Trevor fell asleep first:

Brendan had to wear his headphones so as not to wake Trevor.

Oops, he has seen this movie too many times.

We are staying with friends tonight in Missouri and then spending the day with them tomorrow. It is a beautiful place for the boys to run and play hard all day before the last leg of the driving adventure.