Hours and Hours of Driving to End up in... Murdo, SD

We left our horrible hotel in Madison, Wisconsin as soon as we could this morning. It was not a good night. And we decided to try to drive as much as possible today to eat up some miles. Minnesota and South Dakota are great states, but they are full of farmland and miles and miles of nothingness. We stopped to get gas every time we saw a station because we literally didn't know when we would see another one!

By the way, the one cool thing about our last hotel was that Jackson got his own bed! He loved it and slept on it all night:

Anyway, we left Wisconsin around 8:30 a.m. and got out of the state pretty quick. We got into Minnesota and the sun came out and it turned out to be a great day. But Minnesota actually went by quick, because we never saw a sign, but all of a sudden we were in South Dakota!

Teepee sculpture at a rest stop.

Then, after about 10 hours on the road (Joe drove the whole way - I swear, I offered a lot!), we started looking for a hotel to stay at. As I mentioned, there really isn't much out here, so it was really hard to find a town big enough to even have a hotel, and then hard to find a good one (we didn't want to stay in another bad one, that's for sure!). We saw that there was a Days Inn and a Super 8 in a little town called Murdo, so we pulled in. We pulled up to the Super 8 and right when I was going to go in and reserve a room, my mom called. I had her quickly look up reviews for me, and thank goodness I did - it had terrible reviews!

So, I called the Days Inn and unfortunately, their pet policy is that pets must stay crated at all times, even if you are in the room with them! Not good for us, but when I told them that, they were nice enough to tell us about another hotel across the highway that was comparable in price and had a less strict pet policy. It was called the Landmark Country Inn. I had my mom look up reviews for that one, and they sounded good, so we headed over and checked in.

This place is so surreal. The guy who owns it (or maybe he's the manager, I don't know) stepped right out of the 70's, complete with terrible toupee and cut-off t-shirt. He took careful time with me explaining the room and amenities before checking us in.

We got to the room and couldn't stop laughing. Check out the decor in this room!

Silk bedspreads, tapestries on the walls...

Weird parlor-looking section with magazines and writing desk. Note the area rug and plastic ficus in the corner.

Again, with the tapestries and collection of plates on display.

It seems to be a really clean room, and a nice place. It's actually really awesome. Hilarious, but awesome. There is a cute little sitting area right outside our glass double doors, and our neighbors have been super friendly as they sit in their little sitting area.

I didn't get any sleep at all last night, so I think it's about bed time. Hopefully a good night's sleep is in my future. Please don't let anything ruin this place between now and tomorrow morning!

Made it to the Land of Cheese... and Storm Warnings

Well, we made it through our second day on the road. Joe didn't let me drive at all this leg (did I tell you he let me drive a whole two hours yesterday?) Something about me swerving on the road and a semi I almost hit, but whatever.

Anyway, we made it as far as Madison, Wisconsin today. We are staying at another Red Roof Inn, and although it's not a bad hotel room, our neighbors are seriously sketchy and in the 10 minutes I walked Jack tonight, I got 5 bug bites... ON MY FACE. What the hell, Wisconsin?? What did I ever do to you??

Also, there are severe weather warnings (tornados, thunder storms, and flooding) all over the state tonight and early tomorrow morning. It's looking pretty dark out right now, but we're in for the night, so I'm not too worried about it.

So, on to the photos of the day. Well, turns out they are all from Chicago, but it was a really fun stop today! We stopped around 1:00 p.m. for lunch. I really wanted to make a stop in downtown Chicago and get traditional Chicago pizza.

Chicago skyline.

Where we ate lunch - Pizzeria Uno, the first "Uno's Pizza". See Joe and Jackson?

While waiting for our pizza, we walked around downtown. It was HOT. We had to stop a lot to water the dogs.

Checking out the city.

Chicago city streets. It was really cool how the big skyscrapers were mixed in with super old buildings and churches.

There were a ton of people downtown, but not many other dogs. I was a little disappointed about that. But I really did love what I got to see of Chicago.

Yep, we devoured our pizzas before I took a picture. So, you get the box. But they were super deep dish pizzas. The crust was really buttery and thick. And the cheese was under the sauce. Definitely different. Joe loved it. I just thought it was so-so.

Both dogs had another great day. They are such great travelers!

Jackson all tuckered out.

It was a great day on the road. Tomorrow we are going to try to chew up some miles, since there isn't a whole lot to see between here and... well, probably Yellowstone. haha. We're going to try for 9 hours tomorrow and make it to around Vivien, South Dakota.

Last Night Out with Friends

Currently I am sitting at a Red Roof Inn in a little town in Ohio called Holland. We have successfully completed the first leg of our cross-country trip. We drove about 8 hours today, and arrived around 8:00 p.m. We got a little bit of a late start this morning, since we had some re-packing and cleaning up to do after our fun last night in Washington D.C.

Yesterday was a great day. Stuart took the day off work to hang out with us. My friend Laura also took the day off, so I headed out to pick her and her boyfriend up in Maryland while Joe and Stuart played video games.

Note to all of you - don't try to drive anywhere in D.C. on a work day. It took me forever to get up there, and then after having lunch and stopping by my old work to say hello to my friends there, it took forever to get back to Stuart's. Luckily, we made it in time to have some drinks and head out to dinner. :)

Laura, Trey, Stuart, Me, and Joe in Chinatown

Stuart's 96 oz beer at dinner. Crazy, right?

At dinner.

Drinks in downtown D.C.

Stuart put chopsticks in my hair. They were my 'weapons' for the night.

My friend Claudia came and met us out after work!

Laura and Trey (her boyfriend, the rock star)

Trey's 'scary rocker' look.

Trey said, "I'm not a rock star, THIS guy is!"

Since we were being papparazzi, I had to have my picture taken as well.

I was so happy to be able to spend my last night in D.C. with all my friends. It was really a ton of fun, even though we totally got lost at one point.

Walking the Dogs on the National Mall

I know it's kind of random, but one thing that has been on my life list since we moved to the East Coast was to walk our dogs on the National Mall in Washington D.C. I don't know why - I just thought it was such a cool idea. It's like how I really want to take Ava to New York City or Paris - I just think it's fitting somehow.

You would think we would have had plenty of opportunity to take the dogs to D.C. since we lived in MD for a year, but we never drove down to the city - we always took the Metro. And dogs are not allowed on the Metro. So, I got to check the National Mall off my list this weekend.

It was so much fun! And Stuart got some great "family" shots.

And then I wanted to have my picture taken with Stuart, and he posed like this. haha

It was such a great experience and a fantastic evening for a walk. Loved every minute of it. It's funny - when we were thinking of moving out here, I totally veto'd D.C. I thought it was dirty and crime-filled and I didn't want to live there. But this is such a beautiful city with so much to offer and I loved every minute we spent walking around and being in the midst off all that history. I love sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and knowing many important people with important messages have stood right there - history was changed right where I sit. It's a very cool feeling. I'll definitely miss it.

Moving Out of Connecticut

Well, we are officially moved out of Connecticut. The movers dropped the moving truck off on Friday around 12:30 p.m. Poor Joe loaded 98% of the truck by himself since I was at work still, and when I came home, I helped him load the big stuff and then started cleaning. It was a long day, but we got it all done.

Jackson was a little anxious, and kept reminding us not to forget him.

Ava supervised from a constant state of sleepiness.

Our landlord came Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. to conduct the walk-through with us. We woke up super early that day to clean a bit more and pack the car. We really felt like it looked better than when we moved in. Our landlord must have agreed, because she gave us our full refund back, on the spot. It's so nice to have that money to help with expenses on the trip back.

I admit, it was hard for me to leave. Of all the apartments I've lived in, that place actually felt like home. Plus, a lot happened to us during the time we lived here - a lot of great memories and a lot of great adventures.

But I know we are on to a new and even better chapter to our lives, and I'm definitely looking forward to that!

Now we are back in Washington D.C., hanging out with Stuart and soaking up as much of the city as possible before heading west. Tomorrow starts our cross-country adventure, so stay tuned!

Saying Goodbye to Friends

Last weekend Joe and I went to a BBQ with our friends Adam and Kanani - our last hurrah with friends before the big move. We met up at the dog park so the dogs could get some playtime first.

How cute is their dog, Emcee?

Jack and Emcee exploring the park.

Ava even got into it!

Once the dogs were worn out, we headed over to Adam and Kanani's house. They grow fresh veggies and grilled veggies and burgers for us. It was fantastic.

I love this picture. Ava was sharing her blanket with Emcee and Emcee looks so happy. :)

It was so fun to hang out with them one last time. It's weird to think we won't be in Connecticut anymore.

Checking Things Off the List

Since we finally secured our rental in Bellevue, we were able to start making solid moving plans. (Nothing like the last minute, huh?) Joe interviewed a bunch of moving companies and picked the one he felt most comfortable with. They are picking up our stuff on the 9th, and dropping it off at our new place on the 19th. We have spent the whole weekend packing up our place - it looks so bare now and the dogs are totally freaking out. You know, you would think they would finally understand that when we pack like this, they ARE coming with us! Silly puppies.

Our plan at this point is to get everything packed into the moving truck on the 9th, clean our little hearts out the night of the 9th and the morning of the 10th, pick up my wedding dress the afternoon of the 10th, drive to D.C. the night of the 10th, spend the nights of the 10th, 11th, and 12th in D.C., and head cross-country on the 13th. Hopefully it will work out like we hope, but who knows!

Just wanted to give everyone an update. Hope you all are having a fun 4th of July!