Let's Start this Trip!

Posted by Liz June 10, 2018

Let's Start this Trip!

We have officially begun out Epic 35^th Anniversary Trip! We have had a couple of big days so far. On Friday, both R.J. and I went to work. It seems like ages ago. I taught one more day of Imagination Camp at the preschool, finishing up our space theme. I had a ton of fun, and then I had a lot of help cleaning up. On my way home, I picked up R.J. from IBM. He brought his laptop and worked from home until about 3:00. As we were packing up and getting ready to leave, our son Joe came over. He is taking the first shift of house sitting (and Rilla sitting).

The car is packed and we're ready to go!

Joe and Rilla

All smiles and ready to start the long drive!

Our trip began on June 8, 2018. June 8 is my parents’ anniversary. They were married in 1944 and celebrated 55 anniversaries together before my mom passed away. The last time we took our trip to Prince Edward Island, we also began the trip on my mom and dad’s anniversary. I think it is THE best day to start an adventure. They would definitely approve of all the joy ahead of us. If anyone knew how to embrace life, it was them. They taught us all well.

Audrey and Charlie Arnold, on their wedding day, excited for the days ahead with each other!

Grand marshals of the Fountain Trail Days Parade - 55 years later, and still enjoying the adventure!

R.J. and I headed out at about 3:30 in the afternoon. We got a few sprinkles along the way, but it was an otherwise beautiful day. We arrived at the Barneses’ lake house near Cambridge, WI, around 7:15 in the evening. We had a delightful time visiting with Dave and Donna. They made some fabulous gourmet popcorn for us, and we enjoyed our catching up.

Dave and Donna, our first host and hostess!

After a good night’s sleep, they fixed us an amazing breakfast this morning, on Day 2 of our trip. We headed out just after 8:30. Saturday, June 9, was a long day. We went through the heart of Chicago, which made for some tense driving, with so much traffic and some pretty crazy drivers. We made it through, though! As we got into Indiana, the rain started coming down hard. We drove through strong showers off and on for the rest of the day. Ohio was about the same. We were on the road for about 11 hours, but we stopped three or four times along the way, to fill the car with gas and to move our cramped bodies. We traveled to the Eastern Time Zone, so we are now an hour ahead of time from home. At the end of Day 2, we were 766.6 miles from home. We settled in to a very small room at a Quality Inn and Suites in North Lima, OH (the last exit before PA). We were exhausted and ready to sleep, and ready for more adventure in the morning!