Day 1 - Wednesday, July 28 - Kalamazoo, Michigan: We packed up and got ready to go. I had to go out and buy a new bag and then said a few goodbyes. Adrienne, Will, and Adelyn came over to say goodbye. We had lunch with MomMom and Grampa and then MomMom left for her hair appointment. Jacob and I left while she was gone. We headed over to Ottawa, Illinois to my mom's. I gave Jacob his surprise - Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 for the DS. Buying car silence for families on long car trips since 2010. I don't know much about the game, but as far as the car silence thing - well, I give it 12 stars. Out of 5.
Traffic isn't too bad since it's the middle of the day and a weekday. We get to Ottawa and head directly for Wal-Mart. Because we can. Jacob gets a watch and some sunglasses. Long trip necessities. As we leave, it starts pouring rain. We arrive at my mom's in a downpour and I send Jacob to the door to see if it's unlocked before I get out. Polite child that he is, he rings the doorbell and then stands there. Luckily the porch is covered, but I guess I need to further explain that you can just ring the doorbell and walk into houses where you are related to the inhabitants. Because all ringing the doorbell does at my mother's is trigger dog barking of epic proportions.
Kim is there and when my mom arrives home, we convince him to take us out to dinner. Not a particularly difficult task, but I think he appreciates the effort. Jacob and I sleep in the living room at my mom's.
Day 2 - Thursday, July 29 - Ottawa, Illinois: My mom and Kim leave for work and Jacob and I head out about 8:30. Our destination is the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, site of the movie by the same name. It takes us about 3-1/2 hours to arrive. The last half hour due to some joker at Garmin who thought it would be funny to send people to the Field of Dreams via some dirt road. I guess paved roads are optional. But we arrive and it's a beautiful day. That's been a major concern of mine since this trip was first conceived: that all our plans would be thwarted by inclement weather. So far so good.
There's a tour bus of older gentlemen at the Field of Dreams. They have organized a pick-up game on the Field and are gracious enough to pitch to any child that comes along until they get a hit. Jacob immediately takes a spot in the infield - 2nd base - and fields a few before going to bat. He impresses the gentlemen and has a few good hits. He then takes shortstop and plays for another hour. I take a million pictures and convince a lady to take a picture of Jacob and I in front of the sign by the house. Then because I am mean, I buy him some souvenirs and after nearly 2 hours, make him leave.
We have a lunch date with my sister Amanda in Cedar Rapids. It takes about an hour to reach her place, through an amazing amount of construction. It's been years since I was in CR, and probably even longer since I drove there, and I have to say, I don't recognize anything. It could be the changes, it could be my memory. Hard to say. We get to her house and meet her dogs, Jeter and Irwin, and her cats, um, I don't know, but there were 3. Her boyfriend, Adam, was not home, but I'm sure he would be impressed I remembered his name. We went to Applebee's for a late lunch and talked about all our relatives, specifically brothers, sisters and parents. (Ha ha, wouldn't you all like to know what we said?) Jacob again talked me into the 2 for $20 deal, which is way too much food.
We dropped Amanda back at her house and headed out. I talk to Trina on the phone and thank God for her or I'd probably still be driving around Iowa and Minnesota. I took her advice and stopped in Albert Lea, Minnesota to find a hotel. 3 hotels later and I was beginning to think we would be sleeping in the van with the hermit crab. (Did I mention we have the hermit crab and his tank with us? We do.) I finally found us a room at a Best Western. It was really nice - better than I would have expected from a Best Western. I guess they are redoing all of those like they've done with the Hampton Inns. Nice white sheets, huge plasma TV, fluffy white towels. We walked over to McDonald's for dinner and then swam in the pool.
While Jacob was swimming and I had already gotten out, he said, "See now here's when it would be good to have Sara here,"
I said, "Well, sorry bud, but I'm done,"
And he said, "That's okay Mom, you've done your part today,"
Guess I met his expectations on the early part of this trip.
More days to follow!
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