Road Trip!!

I was so excited about having gotten to Jen’s on Friday, I really didn't do a full post about the trip. Of course, with packing up the car, it was an ordeal trying to keep the pups in the house and get everything loaded without having the dogs grate on every nerve in my body with their crying and carrying on. They were actually very cute this time when I threw their cage/bed into the car without them in it. It threw their whole routine off! Needless to say, I still got their video.

I wanted to leave around 10 and we were out the door by 10:20. I had gotten gas on Thursday night so I only needed to stop for a cold beverage and we were on the highway by 10:30. They dogs were in their cage for the drive and were right behind the passenger seat so that they could see out and see me. They still panted, whined and cried for a bit, but after a few hours, I caught them sitting still and almost sleeping. We stopped at a rest area in Indiana and they were very excited to see grass and water.

Instead of driving straight through Chicago, I got a tip for a shop in Crown Point, Indiana and an alternate route to avoid most of the heavy, stop and go Chicago and construction traffic. I followed my TripTik directions to Bits ‘N Pieces and took my mini shopping break.



The dogs were not too thrilled about being left in the car, but I stopped anyway figuring that a 15 minute break wouldn’t kill them. The store was a very nice store, but I didn't see anything that jumped out at me. I felt bad just buying a couple of fat quarters so I looked at the patterns and found a really cute one from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. Jen and Cindy both really liked the pattern, too!



Once I paid, we were back on the road. I felt like I was driving through the Bible Belt – there were churches literally EVERYWHERE! Well, churches and KFC. If the building wasn’t red with the old man’s picture, there was some sort of steeple and stained glass or religious statue in front. There was even one building that I wasn’t sure about until I got right up on it and saw “JESUS” written on it. I got out of there quick! It did leave me wanting a bit of mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits though. Hmmm…

Back on the highway, there was a ton of traffic! And we started hitting the toll booths. I missed one toll and will have to go online to pay it. It was exhausting having to watch and make sure that I got in the right lane to pay and to make sure that I was still following the directions. And then the dogs would have to put their 2 cents in every time we stopped. They gave one toll booth operator a fright by barking at her! Maisy was just saying, “Thanks!” Or it might have been, “Let us through!” I couldn’t tell.

Eventually, the dogs were tired of being cooped up in the cage and started talking at me again. I was pretty low on gas and figured that we could stop for gas, a stretch and a bit of food for me since it was about 4. Instead of stopping at an Oasis to not totally get off the highway, I took an exit. Big mistake! Tons of traffic and construction! We found a gas station and then searched for a fast food joint. All that I could see was McDonald’s. Not my first choice, but that was all there was. I went through the whole process again of getting the dogs out of the car and getting water and a container for the water and baggies to pick up messes …. They didn’t do anything! They just needed a stretch. So back in the cage and car they went and I went into McDonald’s for the potty, chicken nuggets and a pop. I called Jen to let her know where I was and she gave me some reference points to mark the way and let me know how much longer it would be. Then, we were back on the road.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. There was Friday night rush hour traffic, but we made it to Jen’s house safely and the dogs were excited to smell the ‘used’ grass. Lots of Jen’s neighbors also have dogs so Max and Maisy got some full snouts that night. Well, all weekend, really.

Since you already know about the dinner and Lang’s, I will show you my Lang purchases. Some note pads that say Life is Crap and I Love my Therapist and some feline note cards. Oh, yeah, and a 2009 Folk Art calendar. Wonder who that is for...



Then, we headed back to Jen’s where Jen and Cindy sewed and I started unpacking and organizing my stuff and checked emails and posted about being there. We also laughed at the dogs a lot. Holly was very entertaining with the little dogs. And since I had driven all day and had the hour difference in time, I was pooped and headed to bed early. We also had a big day of shopping and sewing ahead of us. Oh, the fun we had!