Well, hello. We have been partying through the country like its our job. I haven’t been able to blog really because we can’t get internet access everywhere and often when I do get a chance I’m either sleep walking or having too much fun. Write now I’m typing this so this huge blog will be manageable later from the road… in the middle of nowhere, south Dakota. But I will try to catch you up. While I can’t recount everything, here is some good stuff. Hold on, this is going to be a long one.
SEATTLE
So we landed in seattle, regrouped for a little, then found another hotel downtown and did some touring.
Observation: if you get coffee anywhere in seattle, its like mud, but then just outside the area its like water.
Then we said goodbye to the pacific ocean.
i dont know why i put this picture up-- i think cause i think its pretty cute.
walking and clicking around downtown seattle
"bubs" and her dad
we sneak in rest whenever we can
the beginning of the pike place market pics
Naia loves mylar balloons and her mama loves this picture..
this was harder than it looked-- she's in the carrier =)
LOTS of gorgeous flowers
we love hotels and we LOVE hotel photo shoots. weird how they always hapen
she's always ready to pose though...
MARBLEMOUNT, WA
We drove a little out of the way through the north cascades. It was beautiful and we found some very small little towns with some very unique characters and stayed in one named marblemount.
where we stayed.
we found a swingset...
..and this place. can you tell from brooks' posture how excited he was that i made him take this picture?
one of naia's first high chair experiences. it went well.
This is just a little diner we found in a town we walked around in. Girlfriend needs a spoon and her dad and she’s set. I have pictures from almost every place we’ve eaten (I’ll spare you) and 95% of them involve a spoon =).
i'm so lucky...
"road trips are fun!!"
NORTHERN IDAHO
Next came Idaho. We stayed with some friends near sandpoint for a couple nights and got to see some pretty rivers and such.
visiting "maui friends" in idaho...kindof funny
the group
=)
behind her is the "welcome to idaho" sign (i swear) . Never wake a sleeping baby-- words to live by.
MONTANA
We drove through Montana, at this point our favorite state on the trip. The main highway is more gorgeous than some of the small little roads we’ve gone out of our way, and time, to see so far. We stopped for a while in Missoula, ate, saw a friend, and walked around a little. After that, Naia had had enough of the car so we stopped in butte, mt, of course pronouncing it in the mature way you might expect from us. We didn’t really like it there. It was named well. That night we got to Bozeman, where we stayed and decided that ‘no, they don’t like us here. They LOVE us here”. we got some much needed rest and naia got some much needed “let loose” time. Naia has never been a baby to enjoy, or even tolerate sitting still. Even when she’s mellow, she’s busy. So, we’ve had some moments during this trip but we can’t believe what a trooper she is. Plus, her eating, sleeping, and partying schedule has gone extremely haywire, but she still smiles more than she cries. The hardest part with her is just that she wants to be active. Here’s what I want someone to invent: at rest stops or tourist area, why not have a big air conditioned room with carpet and nothing else. Charge whatever for a certain amount of time and let the kids go nuts…. Cause I don’t think naia is going to grow out of her energy anytime soon. Anyway, something like that would be nice. It probably doesn’t exist, but I’m still keeping my eyes open.
AND
DRIVING
We drove through billings then cut down to Wyoming and made it to rapid city (that goal I set was, I thought, unrealistic—but we did it!!). The driving has been great. We’ve seen so many great landscapes and though they don’t translate well, we took a lot of ‘car pictures’
we have lots of pictures that look like this...eh? its always SO much better in person
pilot and co-pilot
river in missoula
best highchair of the trip so far (also in missoula)
"welcome to montana" sign
MT RUSHMORE
Definitely one of the biggest highlights. It was great. I think also, we said from the beginning of the planning of this adventure that we wanted to stop and see the old ‘dents, so when we finally got there, it felt great. The little museum info stuff was interesting, the place was really well maintained and naia even blessed it with a blowout in the parking lot. Her form of a salute. That, and its just cool.
=)
i tried to plan this out and it was pretty hard. proportions and stuff... i was going fo rjust heads but beggars cant be choosers
we'll always remind naia of where she's from =)
another attempt
"whoa"
a little rest with dad
the impressive mugs
RAPID CITY
Ok, so we stayed here because of the proximity to mt rushmore.
Our observations: the whole place seems to smell like a wet ashtray, even mysteriously when you go outside. The people weren’t very friendly. We paid a lot for a hotel that was “eh” at best cause it was our only choice. The food: lame… you catch my drift? And we just plain got out of bed on the wrong side and we think they can keep their rapid city.
the only picture i took in rapid city. spoons are the same everywhere, thank goodness.
So i prepped all this in the car, ready to "upload it" and then a bunch of time went by. Right now we are in Danville, IL, about 2 miles away from indiana and our new time zone. Since the last picture, we've seen and done A LOT and at some point i'll take another hour of time to show you =).
This is just a little diner we found in a town we walked around in. Girlfriend needs a spoon and her dad and she’s set. I have pictures from almost every place we’ve eaten (I’ll spare you) and 95% of them involve a spoon =).
