The Chronicles of Nebraska

It's that time of year again--summer and that means it's time for a...road trip. Is there anything better than traveling with 2 young children for 17 hours confined in a vehicle?! Yes, there is and it includes a beach, a blended beverage and neither of the aforementioned. But enough day dreaming already.

Our journey takes us to the great state of Nebraska. What's in Nebraska you ask?! What isn't in Nebraska I say! Corn, endless amounts of farmland, 2 large cities, a big ol river and of course, the Cornhuskers! MY cornhuskers. My mom's family and my dad's family that is. My mom grew up in Omaha and Lincoln and my dad grew up in Gothenburg. As I get older I find that exotic vacations are nice, but family brings fulfillment and ultimate happiness to me. I adore my family. We live so far apart but when we are together we are thick as thieves. My heart is full when I am with them.

So off we go. First stop - Gothenburg to the family farm. Well, technically, Wichita, KS. The first day of traveling was very much a success. It went quickly with only 2 stops, or maybe 3. There was a brief incident of vomit so I guess it could have gone better but luckily the vomit was in a restaurant and not in the car. Hallelujah for that. We think it was just a bought of car sickness. I took the girls to the bathroom before we ordered and I noticed that Avery kept walking a little crooked. No really - she kept walking diagonally but I didn't really think anything of it. Then we ordered and got our drinks. I took the girls to the table and then got halfway to the salad bar before I heard "Moooommyyyy!!! Avery just threw up!"

Yeah. Every mom loves hearing that. My kids puke about as much as they poop these days it seems. Just ask my best friend - she agrees. Luckily it wasn't too much and it only happened once. She freaked out but we got her cleaned up and then she started to stuff her face with food. I looked at Mike with panic and could tell we were both thinking "do we let her stuff her face and possibly get projectile vomited on at the table?!" Too late. We just set an empty bowl to the side, crossed our fingers. By that time I'd lost my appetite.

After dinner we went directly to the gas station across the street and got trash bags and paper towels "just in case" and for the next 2 hours every time Avery burped, farted, coughed and cried I spun around in my seat so fast I'm surprised the car didn't veer off the road. I wouldn't have been shocked to hear Avery spout out "duuuude. mom I'm NOT going to throw up. SIT DOWN already" because that's exactly what her face said. I think I asked her at least 30 times "Does your tummy hurt? Are you going to throw up?" Eventually she just gave me those blank teenage stares that I know are coming all too soon as she tried to drown out my repetitive questioning with TV.

Luckily there were no more puking incidents but don't think I wasn't ready for it.

We pulled into Wichita around 10:30 pm (we'd left Houston about 10:30 am). So the timing wasn't bad. We stayed at the awesome Hotel at Old Town. Mike found it years ago when we were first married. Actually, I think he may have stayed there once when we were dating and he had driven up to Nebraska to visit my family. You know that boys was smitten if he did that drive and he didn't have too. There was no family obligation! We always try to stay there now.

So this is our spot and every time we go we swear that we are going to someday spend an extra day because it is in a great spot with lots to do around it. But really, who plans to spend a family getaway in Wichita, KS? The manager of the hotel said they have a really great zoo and botanical gardens though. Who woulda thunk? Next time! Next time.

So that's day one. This picture was an absolute FAIL by the way. We walked out and it was a bit chilly! I had to get a picture of the sign though. And I need to see if I can find the old one of Mike and I when we were young and newly married.