Our cross country move to Michigan

It all started with an empty bed and a Skiphop fox backpack.  The day when we said "goodbye" to Washington and said "hello" to the road for 4 days.  What a 4 days it was.  Rolling hills, miles and miles of flat lands, breathtaking sunsets and sunrises, and an over-priced stay at Super 8.  After a couple 4AM wake-up times and 3,000 miles, we made it to the The Mitten.

Day 1 we drove through Washington, Idaho, and 100 miles into Montana.  Idaho was easily my favorite stop and state we saw throughout the trip.  The sunset, the hills, the water.  The scenery was stunning and peaceful.  We grabbed dinner dockside and dined with a view that made the 8 hours of driving worth it.  The post-dinner sugar high left us feeling a little ambitious and we made another 3 hour trek to Missoula, Montana where we stayed at a Motel 6 and all crashed around 2AM. 

After we woke up and (of course) made a Target run, we started day 2 and continued on to our our next stop, Billings, Montana, where we...went to Target.  (This should have been called our Tour of Targets Throughout the Country.)  As much as I'm always eager to run to any city's local Target, this stop was a run for diapers and diapers only.  The incredible heat and humidity made us want to run in and out and get back in our cars anyway.  Grabbed some Wendy's and bid farewell to Billings!  Next up?  Sheridan, Wyoming.

You know, casually modeling on the side of the road while standing in the car.  Clearly I missed my calling as a state brochure model.

One Wyoming sunset later, we were ready to find a place to stay and say "goodnight" to day 3.  We pulled off into a town called Sheridan and looked into 4 hotels all of which were completely booked.  Super 8 it was!  We paid way too much money for what we got, but Sheridan, Wyoming was apparently in high demand, so we paid our bill and crashed on the pillows.  A Wyoming sunrise later, we continued on.  Next up?  South Dakota.  Onto day 3.

If day 3 was a person, she'd say, are you sure you want to do this?  Day 3 was our ultra-ambitious day with a 14 hour day, 12.5 hours of driving time.  Impressively, our longest day was also the day we arrived at a hotel the earliest.  We ended day 3 with a glimpse of the Mississippi River, and we checked-in to this decked out Best Western (complete with a full water park) and ordered room service (which sounds a lot fancier than it actually was - no shade thrown at my greek salad).  The kids ran around, I watched a bit of the RNC convention (and promptly turned it off) and hit the hay.  Tomorrow would bring us day 4, and we needed all the sleep we could get but by the huge "Euchre sign up" sign, I knew we were getting closer.  Next up?  Michigan!

We woke up in La Crosse, Wisconsin, promptly got ready, and hit the road (but not before stopping at the local Starbucks).  On our day 4 itinerary was Indiana and Illinois.  The most exciting day, yes, but easily the hardest day of driving.  Indiana was Indiana and Illinois brought a lot of toll roads and Chicago, which felt like a mini LA.  It wasn't too long before we arrived at the Michigan Welcome Center.  Jumped out to take a picture and, in typical Michigan fashion, just barely beat the torrential downpours.  At this point, we had 3 more hours to go.  Some traffic and a few unexpected stops for the kids made the last few hours feel longer than they were, but my Tim Ferriss podcasts saw me through, and we made it to our destination around 7.  We were greeted with many friends who helped us unpack the entire U-Haul.  

And with one Michigan sunset later, our 4 day trek came to an end.