Adventures

My friends who have known me a long time know that I have an adventurous side, something that makes me do crazy things sometimes.  I called up my friend Caitlin and asked what she was doing Monday, and since she was free, I asked if she wanted to fly from Seattle to Miami and drive cross country with me back to Seattle.  She eagerly agreed, and the adventure began.

Casey's donuts are the best. Period.  Best part of driving in the Midwest.

It should be noted that the trip she agreed to included my Prius C, 3 year old, 18 month old, and 20 pound dog. Needless to say she's more family than friend.   We took a few detours, but made our way across the country going through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and finally, Washington.

Driving 3,600 miles in 5 days, we had a great trip with perfectly behaved children.

Big Shoals trail head, everyone happy to be out of the car!

Our first stop was just south of the Georgia border, at Big Shoals State Park.  We took the wrong entrance, which wove us through a thirty minute one lane gravel road, but we finally found the trail head and took our 2.5 mile hike to the falls. 

The water looked like coffee!

My girls love Caitlin, they miss her terribly!

I mapped out good placed to stop for playtime before we left, and that paid off! This scenic spot is in Georgia Veterans State Park.

Tennessee/Kentucky: This was a great spot, in the Land Between the Lakes Park.

The amazing Prius C.

We skipped rocks, and the little ones just threw rocks.

Our next stop was Sioux Falls, SD. Caitlin suggested checking out the falls the city was named after, and it was a great stop!

 Without a doubt, Sadie is the world's best dog.  She loved every minute of the trip (most of it spent on Caitlin's lap) and is just such a happy and obedient animal.

Caitlin is the best. Just ask my little Emma.

View from the observation tower.

Girls and I take a break in the beautiful grass.

 After South Dakota, we made our way to Mount Rushmore before crossing into Wyoming.

Rylie loves pine cones, and wanted to show us every. Single. One.

 The girls got souvenirs in the form of awesome cups.

 Wyoming! One of the most beautiful places, I think west Texas is the only place that is more desolate in the lower 48.

 Snow covered passes in April, yes.

 Montana! Big Sky area

Sadie loves going for drives.

One nap a day, and happy kids!

 Washington, FINALLY!

My parent's front yard, finally!

 It was an amazing trip, with memories I'll cherish forever.

The next three weeks included me remodeling my parent's kitchen, dogs playing,

 playing in Seattle,

A Mother's Day celebration with four generations present,

Sailing,

 And another amazing friend, Sarah, who drove with me all the way back to Miami! (more to come later)

That pretty much sums up the last five weeks of my life, which have been pretty great.  Now for the bit of tack making goodness.  I finished these for the Jennifer Show:

For those wondering, they are carved, tooled, and hand painted letters.