We arrived in town the night before Isaiah's Aunt turned 60. Knowing that there was a surprise party planned we were up early the next morning putting together our elaborate surprise.
Taking a picture of us with that day's newspaper we were able to sneak this into a photo frame which was a gift for Isaiah's Aunt. In disguise we hid for hours in the bushes surrounding the picnic site until it at last came time for the big reveal. Stumbling from the bushes we almost gave Aunt Barb a heart attack, as well as everyone else.
However in retrospect our disguises might have been a little too well done as police circled looking for us well after the costumes were off.
All in all it was well worth the worst week of the trip to make it for the surprise.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Days 366 - 374 (Mon 7/22/13 - Tue 7/30/13)- The Road Back Home
By this point in the trip we had decided that we were close enough to the end of our adventure that we would try to get home by the end of the month when Isaiah's aunt would be having her 60th birthday surprise party. Having a flair for the dramatic we agreed not to tell anyone we were coming, thus upping the surprise element. Unfortunately for us it proved to be easier said than done.
Believing the van to be running a little rough but otherwise in good health we drove through most of Iowa before arriving in the town of Mt. Pleasant.
At a stop sign our drive shaft fell out...
Believing the van to be running a little rough but otherwise in good health we drove through most of Iowa before arriving in the town of Mt. Pleasant.
At a stop sign our drive shaft fell out...
In sheer panic with no idea how to remedy this we couldn't have been more relived to learn that we had broken down in the best spot in the entire country.
A man took pity on us and towed us to a spot out of traffic where we proceeded to wait for a tow truck. A second man approached to see if he could help. After a quick assessment and making a deal with the tow truck driver (who he knew from high school), Tehrant aka Turtle had the van brought to his yard across the street where he and his neighbor worked on the drive shaft for 4 hours. Working with limited parts and an approaching lightening storm they ended up welding our drive shaft thus allowing us to (mostly) make it home.
After spending hours in their yard talking with their lovely wives we were treated like family, invited in, offered food, showers, you name it. We could not have been more touched. This was clearly not the first time they had offered help to someone in need. We traveled 46 states and can confirm the nicest people in the entire country reside in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
Tehrant if you are reading this we cannot thank you enough for your generosity. May you be blessed in your life as you have been a blessing in ours and many others.
The next day we managed to make it through Iowa and most of Nebraska before a tire blew out on the freeway. Luckily we made it safely to the side of the road but that is where our luck ended. We quickly found out we had broken down in the worst place in the country. It took 2 hours to get help from AAA (we didn't have the right equipment to do it ourselves) and even though we were clearly in distress not only did no one stop but several people honked. We eventually got back on the road and after getting the spare changed out for a new tire we made it through the rest of Nebraska and Wyoming before running into trouble again in Utah.
Driving 45 mph in a 75 we limped along as long as possible before getting towed 100 miles. The amazing tow truck driver couldn't have been nicer and got us as far west as he could go. Using tears to work around AAA's limit on multiple tows we got towed the rest of the way to Emmett, ID.
We recouped over the weekend at my Uncle's as he replaced the van's yoke which allowed us to get home safely.
What we learned from this experience is that the limit for a U.S. trip is 365 days, not a day over or else the drive shaft will fall out of your van.
Day 365 (Sunday 7/21/13)- The Twin Cities, MN
Having not just one big city to explore but two we went through the Minneapolis Museum of Art at a break neck pace before heading to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. Connected to a large and lovely conservatory, the zoo held lots of cool things to see including an incredibly active polar bear.
At the Mall of America we were overwhelmed just in trying to find the fourth floor. We eventually did but had to stop for chocolate cheese at the Wisconsin store to get our strength up. Though certainly unique in scope the mall can be best described as a very, very big mall. Picture all the annoyances of a normal sized malls but times that by ten.
At the Mall of America we were overwhelmed just in trying to find the fourth floor. We eventually did but had to stop for chocolate cheese at the Wisconsin store to get our strength up. Though certainly unique in scope the mall can be best described as a very, very big mall. Picture all the annoyances of a normal sized malls but times that by ten.
Duluth
A polar bear playing like a puppy
Lego Store at the Mall of America
Days 363 & 364 (Fri 7/19/13 & Sat 7/20/13)- Buhl, MN
Arriving in the tiny town of Buhl we were greeted with two things; one good, one bad. My friend Alyssa, her boyfriend Jesse and their two-year-old Beckham welcomed us warmly into their home and when driving there the van began to sound like a semi-truck.
Right outside the town of Buhl lies one of the world's largest mining pits and this is where Alyssa took us in the afternoon. We loved that it stretched beyond where the eye could see and Beckham loved the dump trucks. Maybe even more of a highlight was Alyssa making us a fantastic dinner and drinking apple beers with Jesse.
Saturday we awoke from a comfortable bed and eventually decided to get out of it and even later yet left. Stopping in Duluth before reaching the Twin Cities for the night we saw some panoramic views of this lovely city but not much else thanks to a concert taking every downtown parking spot.
Right outside the town of Buhl lies one of the world's largest mining pits and this is where Alyssa took us in the afternoon. We loved that it stretched beyond where the eye could see and Beckham loved the dump trucks. Maybe even more of a highlight was Alyssa making us a fantastic dinner and drinking apple beers with Jesse.
Saturday we awoke from a comfortable bed and eventually decided to get out of it and even later yet left. Stopping in Duluth before reaching the Twin Cities for the night we saw some panoramic views of this lovely city but not much else thanks to a concert taking every downtown parking spot.
Pretty good picture for a 2-yeard-old, right?
Day 362 (Thursday 7/18/13)- Madison, WI
Starting our day at the free zoo in Madison we were awed to see an unbelievably cool collection of animals. Spending a half hour of so talking with a zoo keeper who has 30 years of experience under her belt we learned much about the complicated world of Chimpanzees.
Clearly bitter from years of watching zoo visitors unwittingly interact stupidly with the chimps we got to hear this zoo keeper make loud and sarcastic comments like "yeah the chimpanzee is just coming to say hi (apparently they come to glass to investigate why a bunch of idiots are making threatening waving gestures at them)." Getting a glimpse into the sweet side of these amazing creatures was a treat but we probably could have done without the rant about how much paperwork a zoo keeper has to do.
Clearly bitter from years of watching zoo visitors unwittingly interact stupidly with the chimps we got to hear this zoo keeper make loud and sarcastic comments like "yeah the chimpanzee is just coming to say hi (apparently they come to glass to investigate why a bunch of idiots are making threatening waving gestures at them)." Getting a glimpse into the sweet side of these amazing creatures was a treat but we probably could have done without the rant about how much paperwork a zoo keeper has to do.
Day 361 (Wednesday 7/17/13)- Milwaukee, WI
At possibly our favorite cathedral in the nation we spent some time ogling the magnificent St. Josephat and learned we were in good company. This was one of only three cathedrals the pope has visited in the US.
What better way to cap off a church visit than to drink some beer? We took the Miller factory tour and met a lovely young couple from Australia. Spending most of the afternoon talking we made fast friends and learned that kangaroos are like deer in Australia and Foster's are just for the tourists. After almost a year on the road, meeting people everywhere we went this was the first time we had met someone doing anything near our adventure. In fact they were doing it in a mini van...now that's bad ass!
What better way to cap off a church visit than to drink some beer? We took the Miller factory tour and met a lovely young couple from Australia. Spending most of the afternoon talking we made fast friends and learned that kangaroos are like deer in Australia and Foster's are just for the tourists. After almost a year on the road, meeting people everywhere we went this was the first time we had met someone doing anything near our adventure. In fact they were doing it in a mini van...now that's bad ass!
Day 360 (Tuesday 7/16/13)- Chicago, IL
We would be hard pressed to pick our favorite city, however Chicago would be a contender for sure. Though an amazing experience overall it didn't start off that way.
In an effort to cut costs we ended up at a park-and-ride in one of the worst parts of Chicago. Now you know it is bad when we are worried about our van getting stolen (see picture below). Thankfully the train ride was uneventful.
Relying on crappy Mapquest directions (really inconvenient time for our GPS to fail) we ended up costing ourselves an extra mile detour by starting off walking in the wrong direction. We were able to correct our mistake and got to see Wrigley Field before another several mile hike to the waterfront.
Starting with a lush city park the scenery changed as we walked along Lake Michigan and eventually morphed into a sandy beach with such beautifully colored water it was as close to the Florida Keys as we saw.
At Lincoln Park we spent hours exploring this completely free zoo located right off of the waterfront. Here we saw all kinds of things including a monkey holding her 3-day old baby, an aardvark and even a beaver and a duck sharing the same tank (though they were a little camera shy). A unique feature was how nonrestrictive their enclosures were and that the animals actually seemed pretty happy.
Right next door and also free the Conservatory in Chicago is the best we have seen and boasts 5 different rooms full of all kinds of exotic plants.
Exploring the rest of Chicago we came upon some incredible sites including a museum devoted to stained glass, the Chicago Bean, a Picasso statue, Frank Gehry architecture and saw a huge group of women dressed up as zombie brides.
And the icing on the cake? Our van was still there when we got back to the parking garage.
In an effort to cut costs we ended up at a park-and-ride in one of the worst parts of Chicago. Now you know it is bad when we are worried about our van getting stolen (see picture below). Thankfully the train ride was uneventful.
Relying on crappy Mapquest directions (really inconvenient time for our GPS to fail) we ended up costing ourselves an extra mile detour by starting off walking in the wrong direction. We were able to correct our mistake and got to see Wrigley Field before another several mile hike to the waterfront.
Starting with a lush city park the scenery changed as we walked along Lake Michigan and eventually morphed into a sandy beach with such beautifully colored water it was as close to the Florida Keys as we saw.
At Lincoln Park we spent hours exploring this completely free zoo located right off of the waterfront. Here we saw all kinds of things including a monkey holding her 3-day old baby, an aardvark and even a beaver and a duck sharing the same tank (though they were a little camera shy). A unique feature was how nonrestrictive their enclosures were and that the animals actually seemed pretty happy.
Right next door and also free the Conservatory in Chicago is the best we have seen and boasts 5 different rooms full of all kinds of exotic plants.
Exploring the rest of Chicago we came upon some incredible sites including a museum devoted to stained glass, the Chicago Bean, a Picasso statue, Frank Gehry architecture and saw a huge group of women dressed up as zombie brides.
And the icing on the cake? Our van was still there when we got back to the parking garage.
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