Yesterday was long. I mean REALLY long. Luckily it was also really fun. While we didn’t go incredibly far mileage wise, we did see and experience an amazing number of fantastic sights. By the time I got the kids tucked in bed and wrote my post for the day, it was nearly 2AM!
I am a woman who needs her sleep. Six hours does not cut it for me so when 8AM reared her ugly head, I became an alarm snoozing machine. Finally, around nine, I was convinced to drag myself into the shower. Luckily, the Country Inn in Naperville had a wonderful breakfast which tempted me out of my slumber and into the dining area. The kids seemed incredibly refreshed even though they went to bed near 11 at night (bad Mommy. A slap on the wrist for me). It was drizzly outside but we were anxious to hit the road and get our first clue (which you can see here).
Our first stop was at the clock tower in Fredenhagen Park, which is along the riverwalk in beautiful downtown Naperville, IL. Unfortunately it was raining, so I volunteered to quickly hop out of the car and snap a picture. I wish the weather had been better and we had more time, because the riverwalk certainly looked like something worth sticking around for.
Our second clue (here) told us to go to the town of Joliet, Il, which had a historical museum that revolved around Route 66. We literally only had time to take a potty break and snap a couple pictures which was a bummer because the museum looked like so much fun. I have always had a fascination with old travel routes and Route 66 is probably the most famous of them all. As sad as we were to have to leave the Route 66 museum without getting a chance to explore it, we were happy to discover our entire day’s travels were Route 66 themed.
Our third clue (here) told us we were going to Atlanta….. Illinois. First of all, I had no clue that there was an Atlanta outside of
Georgia. Second of all, where the heck is Atlanta, Il? Well, we quickly found out it is on Route 66 in Central Illinois and it is home to a large beardless Paul Bunyan holding a hot dog. If you are ever in the area I insist that you pull off the interstate and take a picture of your brood with the Beardless Paul Bunyan. I also insist that you head across the street and have lunch at the Palms Grill Cafe (clue number four). Eating at the Palms Grill is like stepping back in time. The old time cash register and old time Coke machine left me in antique envy, and the Ponyshoe (bread topped with turkey,fries, and cheese sauce) was unlike anything I had tried before. All three Country Inns families dined together and we all enjoyed both our meals and each other’s company. It was a highlight of the day.
After lunch we hopped back in our Ford Focus and listened to our fifth clue (here). This time were headed to Mt Olive, Il, and the Soulsby Gas Station on old Route 66. While our time at the gas station was nothing more than a pit stop, it was also a delightful step back in time. The station was no longer operable but it had beautiful Shell gas pumps that were perfect for photo ops.
After our short time in Mt Olive, we got our final clue of the day (here). We were headed across the Mississippi River and in to St Charles, MO. I was aboslutely thrilled. I have been to most of the 50 states, but Missouri had evaded me up until today. We pulled up to the Country Inns and Suites in St Charles and wiped the drool from our chins. The property here is GORGEOUS. The exterior is beautiful red brick and the hotel is only a block from the Missouri River.
After a quick check in, we decided to head down South Main Street and eat dinner at the Old Mill Stream Inn Restaurant. The patio dining along the tree canopied creek was a perfect way to wind down after a long day in the car. Tomorrow, we are planning on getting an early start so we can fully enjoy all the Suite Stops that Country Inns and Suites have planned for us. While I don’t know exactly where we are going, I have a feeling that a famous arch may be in our future!
I hope this post has inspired you to take your own Road Trip Adventure. For more information on how to create your own trip to remember check out http://www.countryinns.com/1kcountry.
Want to follow us on the adventure as it happens? Be sure to follow @doubleadventure on Twitter and the hastag #CIS1K to see what all the families are up to every day of the Country Inns and Suites 1K!
Disclosure: A significant portion of the costs and resources for our family’s participation in the 1K Country Adventure was provided by Country Inns & Suites By Carlson.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Day 2 of the Country Inns and Suites 1K Adventure started off with a breakfast at the CIS Madison- West before we listened to our first video clue of the day (you can watch it here) and hit the road. Little did I know, Madison, WI is the only US capital city that is located on an isthmus and it was our goal to visit both Lake Mendota and Monona before we could get our next Suite Stop clue. We stopped at a park on the shore of Lake Mendota and let the kids run off some energy. While I was taking in the view from the shore, a family of ducks came by and paid me a visit. I called my ducklings over to visit with the mallard’s ducklings and we all had an enjoyable morning at Lake Mendota.
After a good energy burning session, we headed over to the shore of Lake Monona where Paul and I swooned over the picture perfect view of downtown Madison. The kids were less impressed with the view and more impressed with a dead fish that had washed up on shore. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right?
Before we left Madison, we stopped at Michael’s Frozen Custard for some chocolate frozen custard cones and cheese curds. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their very first frozen custard experience and I loved the cheese curds. If you haven’t had the chance to try these regional treats, be sure to add them to your menu the next time you are in the area!
Our second clue (here) took us to Milwaukee, specifically the North Point Lighthouse in Lake Park. I had always imagined Milwaukee to be a gritty, industrial, beer making town but today we got to see its incredible beauty. The neighborhood along the shore of Lake Michigan around the lighthouse could not have been more gorgeous. Our jaws dropped when we saw the tree lined streets dotted with some of the most beautiful homes we have ever seen. I think if I lived in that neighborhood I may be able to deal with those harsh Midwestern winters! Luckily today the chill was long gone and the weather was perfect. We arrived at the lighthouse at the same time as the Williams family and enjoyed exploring the park near the lighthouse with them. We found a forested trail that led us down the bluff and to the shores of Lake Michigan. The entire area could not have been more beautiful. We could have stayed in Milwaukee all day but our next clue (here) told us that the Windy City was waiting!
We were so excited when we got the clue telling us that we were heading to Cloud Gate in downtown Chicago. I had seen so many photos of this iconic mirrored bean and I was thrilled to be finally be able to see it for myself. We hopped in the car and headed on down the road full of energy and excitement. That energy quickly drained when we slammed directly into Chicago rush hour traffic. I live in Southern California so I am no stranger to the nightmare that is rush hour, but Chicago certainly can give Los Angeles a run for its money. It was awful. There was much more stopping than going, that’s for sure. What I found particularly demoralizing was the fact that there was no carpool lane which we had grown to rely on back home. So we sat and endured the tie up along with the rest of Northern Illinois. After what seemed like an eternity, we rounded a corner and the Chicago skyline came into view! We let out cheers as the energy came surging back and our spirits were once again soaring. We parked below Milennium Park and joined the masses. Evidently, every Monday there are free concerts in the park and half of Chicago had come out to enjoy the music.
We made our way through the crowd and over Cloud Gate. I screamed with joy. We had finally made it to that precious bean! We took our pictures and strolled around the park for a bit before deciding that we had to leave Chicago and make it to our final destination for the night, the Country Inn and Suites in Naperville. It was so hard to leave the city that we had spent so long trying to get to but we knew that if we wanted our kids in bed before midnight, it was what we had to do. Don’t worry Chicago, the Earnshaw’s will be back!
I hope this post has inspired you to take your own Road Trip Adventure. For more information on how to create your own trip to remember check out http://www.countryinns.com/1kcountry.
Want to follow us on the adventure as it happens? Be sure to follow @doubleadventure on Twitter and the hastag #CIS1K to see what all the families are up to every day of the Country Inns and Suites 1K!
Disclosure: A significant portion of the costs and resources for our family’s participation in the 1K Country Adventure was provided by Country Inns & Suites By Carlson.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
I have to pinch myself to make sure this is all real. We are actually on a cross country mystery road trip with Country Inns and Suites by Carlson! The past 48 hours have been a crazy but incredibly fun blur. It all started with a 10AM flight out of Orange County, CA and into Minneapolis. My kids did incredibly well on the flight and seemed to really enjoy the entire flying experience. I think having their very own carry on suitcases that they packed entirely by themselves (full of Barbie dolls and Batman figurines no less) really helped get them excited about the entire event. They may only be three years old, but they knew they were responsible for their belongings and it showed.
When we touched down in Minneapolis, we quickly hopped on a shuttle over to the Country Inns and Suites Mall of America property. This was our first experience at a Country Inn and I have to say I really enjoyed how quaint and cozy it felt to stay there. The full breakfast was a huge perk and the location was perfect; directly across the street from the Mall of America.
We only had about 15 minutes to get downstairs and meet the fabulous people who put this all together, along with the other families we are traveling with, the Williams and the Svebacks. It was so great to meet everyone in person, collect all of our loot (including a JVC camcorder; Samsung Moment smart phone; Duracell instant charger; plenty of goodies for the kids in their Travel Kiddy; and our sweet ride rented through Avis, the Ford Flex) and get pumped up about the journey we were about to embark on the next day.
Mari loving her Travel Kiddy
That first night we let the kids stay up way too late so we could head to the Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America and meet up with some good friends who lived in the area. It was great to step inside the world famous mall and get excited for what was about to come. Little did we know, we would be back at the mall the next morning.
In the morning we got our first video clue (you can listen to it here). We were heading back to the Mall of America! I was thrilled to actually be taking the kids back during the day so they could check out Nickelodeon Universe (which is so cool!) and enjoy the massive mall a bit more.
Once we took a picture out front, we got our second video clue (here). Little did I know, the Mall of America was built on top of the former home to the Minnesota Vikings and Twins, Metropolitan Stadium. Our next quest was to take a picture
at the plaque where home plate once stood. Home plate just happened to be in the middle of Nickelodeon Universe, so sometime in between a ride on the carousel and a go around on the bumper cars, we snapped our photo and got our next clue. Ben was not thrilled about having to leave the Mall of America. He had discovered the car ramp at the LEGO store and made up his mind to reside on the property permanently. It took alot of kicking, screaming, and dragging (from all parties involved) to get him out of there but we had to move on, our day had just begun!
Video clue number three (see it here) led us to Target Field, the current home of the Minnesota Twins. It is located in downtown Minneapolis and is an absolutely beautiful park. We had a blast taking pictures in the giant gold glove and posing with a bronzed version of Kirby Puckett. Unfortunately, there were no games going on that day (not that we had time to kill) so we hopped back in the car and listened to our next clue.
Clue number four (here) led us across Minnesota state lines and into Wisconsin. Once we tweeted our arrival in the Badger State, we received video clue number five (here). I was absolutely thrilled to head to the Cady Cheese Factory to sample some cheese!!!! Their Colby was fantastic (and thats saying alot coming from a California cheese girl like me) and after nibbling on some free samples we decided to hit the road with some sausage (which is very different, but good. Nothing like the sausage we get in California) and string cheese for lunch. Just as we got back in the car, the skies opened up on us and we drove through the pouring rain towards the east.
Clue number six (here) let us know we were heading to Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We had escaped the rain for now. The drive there was stunning. The last time I drove through Wisconsin it was during the dead of night ten years ago. This time we enjoyed views of green hills and beautiful forests. Red barns dot the landscape and the dairy cows look just as happy in Wisconsin as those famous cows in the California Cheese commercials. Carson Park is home to the ballfield where Hank Aaron made his professional baseball debut. It is also home to beautiful fishing ponds, a railroad, and incredible scenery. We had hoped to explore the park further but just as we took our picture with the Hank Aaron statue, the sky opened up and it started pouring on us once again. We ran to the car to avoid damaging our precious electronics and pouted about having to leave that beautiful park so soon. We huddled around the smart phone and listened to video clue number seven (here). We were off to find a giant orange moose!
When I started this journey, one thing I had absolutely no thought of ever seeing was an enormous orange moose in the middle of Wisconsin. Little did I know that in Black River Falls, there was a moose waiting for our arrival. The car dealership he was once a mascot for is long gone, but a little pond and a view of the interstate are still keeping him company. We gave the moose our love and then hopped back in the car because once again the rain was catching up to us. We were tired and happy to hear our final destination of the day (watch the video here) was the Country Inn and Suites in Middleton, WI which is just west of Madison.
Dan at the front desk couldn’t have been nicer. He gave us the keys to our suite and told us there would be goodies inside. Goodies indeed! There was a six pack of local beer and cheese gift basket waiting for us along with a gift card to the Quaker Steak and Lube which is a fun race car themed restaurant that specializes in chicken wings. The food was good and the atmosphere was very family friendly. It was a great way to end a great day. Now I sit here sipping my Capital Brewery Rustic Ale and wondering where on earth we are going to head tomorrow. My guess is Chicago but what do I know? I am just along for the ride!
I hope this post has inspired you to take your own Road Trip Adventure. For more information on how to create your own trip to remember check out http://www.countryinns.com/1kcountry.
Want to follow us on the adventure as it happens? Be sure to follow @doubleadventure on Twitter and the hastag #CIS1K to see what all the families are up to every day of the Country Inns and Suites 1K!
Disclosure: A significant portion of the costs and resources for our family’s participation in the 1K Country Adventure was provided by Country Inns & Suites By Carlson.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Imagine your family waking up, hopping on a plane to Minneapolis, and then getting up the next morning to begin driving 1000 miles through 7 states for the next seven days. Sounds like fun, right? But there’s a catch. You won’t know which direction you are heading or which states you will be visiting. As a matter of fact, you won’t even know where you are going each day until you received a message on your smart phone giving you new instructions! Sounds like a blast doesn’t it? Well, that is exactly what my family will be doing from June 5th-13th while we participate in the Country Inns and Suites 1K Adventure!!!!
Lately we haven’t exactly been the most spontaneous travelers. I love to research, plot out, and organize every last detail of our vacations. On this trip however, I have to hand the torch over to Country Inns and Suites by Carlson and trust them to do the planning. While I am confident that they have plotted a fantastic course for us, I am still experiencing a bit of anxiety about the unknown. I will probably be bringing along multiple travel guides so I can blurt out random facts about each location we visit and I have a feeling my road atlas will be attached to my right arm (I know we will have a GPS, but I am old school), but my excitement over this journey far overshadows those little anxious gremlins in the back of my mind.
Here is what I do know: We will be driving an Avis Rental Car, equipped with a GPS, be given a Sprint smart phone (the Samsung Moment to be exact), some Dining Cash gift cards, and a JVC Camcorder. Each day, we will get messages on our Smart Phones regarding our next “Suite Stop”. In those messages we will be given directions and the information that we need to navigate to our next destination. We will have a task to complete at each “Suite Stop” and it will be up to us to determine how we spent the remainder of our time during the day. Every night, we will be sleeping soundly at one of many different Country Inns and Suites throughout the country. Its nice to know that at the end of the day, we will be in a clean, comfortable bed with plenty of room for the four of us to spread out!
My family is not going on this journey alone. We are heading down the road with two other families. The first is the Williams Family of Colorado. Kara (aka Colorado Gal), the family matriarch, is also a fantastic travel writer and one of the women behind Vacation Gals. The second is the Sveback Family. Ross Sveback is a widely recognized Twin Cities lifestyle expert (I am really looking forward to all of his tips!) who can be found on Kon-Tent. Part of my excitement about this journey is being able to meet these two families and share our experiences with each other. I can’t wait to read their blog posts, tweets, and Facebook updates to see how their experiences differ from ours even though we are all traveling the same stretch of highway.
I would love nothing more than to have you all follow along with us as we take this trip and explore America. Make sure to bookmark the Country Inns and Suites 1K page so you can follow our three families as we roadtrip across the country. Each day, I will be writing a post here at the Trekaroo blog, recapping our day and giving you the highlights of our journey. We will also be videotaping portions of our trip so be sure to check out the clips I post to see yours truly making a complete fool of herself on camera. I will also be updating the Trekaroo Facebook page and my personal Facebook page. Finally, I will be tweeting up a storm on both @trekaroo and @doubleadventure. Make sure and follow the hashtag #CIS1K so you don’t miss a moment of the adventure!
There you have it- the details (or lack thereof) of our upcoming journey. Now I would love to hear from you! Where do you think we will be heading? What places do you hope we see along the way? Any tips for venturing out into the great unknown? I am looking forward to hearing what Trekaroo readers have to say!
Disclosure: A significant portion of the costs and resources for our family’s participation in the 1K Country Adventure was provided by Country Inns & Suites By Carlson.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
