State #15 Kansas and back home Friday

We rolled out of Oma and Papa's by 8:00 (Central). Quick visit:-( We made Thursday a long leg (about 9 hours up Missouri and into Kansas). We made a quick stop for some fireworks:

This is Henryk crying for another rocket, aka I need a nap:

The KOA in Goodland, KS isn't bad. We played some mini golf:


They had a nice playground and a solar-heated pool.

We are driving in Eastern Colorado now and should be home by 1130a!

15 states, 4,000 miles, 60 hours in the truck, 3 weeks, around $900 in fuel but savings of $600 in daycare, average gas mileage about 10 mpg, able to see LOTS of family and friends, countless bugs killed on the front of the camper, no one injured and everyone had fun. Every time we leave a place, Henryk asks for a couple of hours afterward "where is ____" (insert the person we just left). He doesn't get how fortunate he is that his parents have the time to do such a great trip. Hopefully we can do something similar again!

Thanks for reading.

-erika and mark and henryk and kennedy

Accomplishments in Springfield 6/10 Thursday

Kennedy chews on everything. Teething? Probably.


Henryk learns to wink:
Lots of love from Oma and PaPa!

We're on our way to Kansas (state #15 and our final one). We should be home by noon on Friday.
-erika

Bass Pro

No trip to Springfield, MO is complete without a stop in the Bass Pro flagship store, even though we have one in Denver. It's not as fun as this one!



Someone did not want to leave, aka needs a nap!

State #14--MO and Oma&PaPa's House

We were on the road pretty early for once; gaining an hour and the nothing special KOA both contributing. We crossed into Missouri right where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers join. Two kids slept through it:

We saw a deer cross the road, as well as tractors and Amish horse-drawn wagons:

We made it to Oma and Papa's before 4p, an hour ahead of our ETA!

Leaving GA for Paducah KY

We got in one last swim at the pool. He is getting really good putting his head under water and actually swimming. I got him a small kickboard and he didn't want to get out.


He's becoming an expert at roasting a marshmallow anytime there is a fire.

Henryk must have been a tired camper the last night in GA because he managed to leave his bed on the floor and somehow traveled 10' to the back of the camper, behind and almost under Kennedy's crib. Earlier that night he sung Kennedy songs to help her get to sleep. He even crawled into her crib to tell her he loved her.


We drove about 4 hours to a KOA near Paducah KY. Clean Kampground, but older and a bit tired looking. We swam a little bit because they did have a pool, and then decided to give fishing a shot in their pond. It was more of a shallow cesspool. It did yield a couple of fish caught on Henryk's pole though. That was enough excitement for him, he gave up in favor of helping Mom with dinner.


Erika found a tick (EEEK) on her head, probably came from our camp in GA, we saw them all over the place there. She checked me (none found), and then Henryk. He had one on his head, buried in his scalp. We soaped it, and tried to burn it, finally it came out after a ton of pulling on it. I'm so glad we don't have to deal with this in Colorado! After a couple of well deserved baths, we now have two clean kids.



-Mark

Rock City, TN

You can't help but notice the See Rock City signs all over TN and GA as you are driving near Chattanooga. We did what they told us to do and went to Rock City. Our friend Lori drove up from ATL to experience the Ruby Falls (a cave with 140' water fall). We walked through a tight cave with various formations to get to the falls. It was about an hour and a half of being dazzled.




-erika

Jumping Beans. KOA's are a riot!