To see the country and make memories with my spouse and children is such a gift.  We had the pleasure of driving through 14 states in the last two weeks.  We started in our home in ND, and took a road trip to Washington DC for National History Day.  This is a great competition for children from 6^th -12^th grade which gets them excited about history through projects.  If you are curious or want more info, here is the official website:  https://www.nhd.org/

It is such a beautiful, but such a long drive from ND, and therefore we usually split the trip into three days.  However, seeing sights and research make me want to give out some travel tips if you are ever in the area.

ND- I will start with Fargo.  Being from ND, we go there from time to time, and although we didn’t stop there on this trip, I have some tips.  There is an awesome hotel there called The Element.  It is not only beautiful, but they give you free appetizers and drinks during the evening.  The breakfast at this hotel is original and hot, and they even have veggie options.  As for restaruants, Rhombus Guys has extraordinary pizza, and I have heard and wanted to try a place called Vinyl Taco.  Fargo has many festivals, including a Dylan festival in April and many others. 

MN-When driving through Minnesota, I always want to stop in Fergus Falls and visit the old state hospital building.  It looks like something out of a ghost hunting episode.  It would probably be so formidable to see in real life, but I have only seen the top of the tower from the highway while whizzing by.  The rest stops in Minnesota are just gorgeous and covered in trees.

                                                    Old State Hospital, Fergus Falls 

WI-Entering Wisconsin, we always pass Wisconsin Dells.  They have multiple water park hotels, and even a spooky water feature called Witches Gulch.  You can take boat rides through it.  We always stay in Madison.  What I love about Madison is the University.  I also love to stay at the Hampton Inn across from the East Mall area.  It is a great hotel.  Madison has a children’s museum which is also a school.  I hope this type of learning environment catches on throughout the country.

IL-The next day, we usually head through Chicago, Illinois pretty early, but last year we did spend the night there on our return home and get the best Chicago Style Pizza.  I’m telling you what…my daughter usually likes thin crust, but even she devoured it and talks about it to this day.  We purchased it from Rosati’s.  Unfortunately, when headed east, Illinois is where the toll roads start, so be prepared to stop and pay tolls throughout Illinois.

IN-After passing through Illinois and entering Indiana, you just take a ticket and pay at the end of the state or wherever you exit, so the toll stops aren’t as bad.  We didn’t stop much in the Hoosier State, but we did laugh when passing through Gary Indiana thinking of the song from the music man.  Also, this was where Michael Jackson lived as a kid.  We also passed through South Bend, the home of Notre Dame University.

OH-Next, we came upon Ohio.  I always hear crazy crime stories that happen in Ohio, but passing through it was picturesque farms.   There were many classic red barns. 

PA-We usually save our next stop for Pittsburgh.  This city is so vibrant and beautiful, with large bridges covering the large rivers.   My father in law asked my husband on the phone if he could name the three rivers which run through Pittsburgh.  For those who don’t know, they are the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers.  I always want to catch a Pirates Baseball game while there, but the timing never works out.  This year, we stayed at a new hotel, The Drury, which used to be an old Bank.  It was very nice, which means you must be ready to tip.  Everyone expects a tip, and I accidentally didn’t tip the clerk who checked us in.  I think he may have been offended, so I sent my son with a tip to give him after realizing this was a common practice in bigger cities-especially at more expensive venues.  The good news is this hotel serves a free hot dinner, and you even get a free drink.  They also had a good, hot breakfast.  So unfortunately, I have no good restaurant stories from Pittsburgh, but I was planning on going to Sienna Mercato before we realized we had a free dinner at the hotel.  In the morning, our drive turned quite picturesque while driving through the Appalachian Mountains into West Virginia.

The kids and I walking in Pittsburgh

Dan and the kids in Pittsburgh

DC was our destination as in years past.  The nice thing about DC is most of the touristy sites are free, but DC can be hot and humid, so be prepared.  If you ever want to tour the white house, make sure to request a tour three months in advance or you won’t get in.  We did the touristy sites last year, but I believe the Lincoln Memorial was the most memorable.  Beware of hotels looking better online than they actually are in this area. I have stayed at some pretty gross ones (the screen fell off onto my son’s head while he was using the restroom in the gross yellow bathroom that hadn’t been updated since the 60’s). 

The competition was in College Park, Maryland, at University of Maryland.  This is such a gorgeous campus with huge buildings all with grand white columns.  There is much foliage, and I have a feeling it is simply amazing in the Fall.

 The library at University of Maryland with its grand columns

This gorgeous church at University of Maryland

Outside of DC, we visited a must see, which is Harper’s Ferry.  While driving on the tree shaded road to the destination, you actually cross from Maryland to Virginia and then into West Virginia in what seems like one short mile, including crossing over the grand Potomac.  Harper’s Ferry is such a cute old town, on quite a steep hill.  We ate at the Potomac Grille, and all I can say is the indoors perfectly matched the old town, minus a welcome air conditioner (outside was so hot and humid).  The food and service were both equisite.  There was an old church which has ghost tours at 8pm.  I was sad we wouldn’t be there for the tour.  When we got to the bottom of the hill, the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers met in grand fashion, and we just chilled on the banks and enjoyed the view.  We walked barefoot where W.E.B Du Bois walked along the trail to John Brown’s.  The John Brown Museum brings tears to my eyes when seeing how the slaves were treated.  

 The cool church

 You can see the cute buildings in the background

 These were so sad, but it must not be forgotten how we treated our fellow humans

 My love and I in front of the Potomac

 What a view

 This beautiful ruin reminded me of something from a movie

A dad and his son walking and talking and bonding

I have rattled on an on, and think this must come to a close.  When I blog again, we will visit Antietam, Monticello, and the states returning to ND including WV, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.

*All of this vacation was paid for by myself, and none of the businesses or sites gave me compensation to talk about them.

Picnic in the Park vs Picnic in the Yard....

This was our setup under the shade tree in our yard today.

At storytime this week, the kids heard it was National Picnic Day.  They rushed home to tell me, and asked if we could have a picnic.  I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea.  It didn't turn out so brilliant.  We brought our picnic basket, but drove through KFC to get our food (I was feeling blissfully lazy).  We got to the park, laid out our blanket and basket, applied bug spray, and took out our food.  So much food was missing from our order.  Being the hungry bear I was, I grouched at the kids for starting to eat without me and grouched at them to get in the car asap.  I later apologized for aforementioned grouching.  We had to drive back to KFC, and they gave us our missing food, but didn't say sorry or offer any discounts.  Well, at least we had our food.  Then we drove back and relaid our blanket, and resumed our picnic.  It was one o'clock by the time we finally ate, and you have never seen anyone eat so quickly as we did.  Then, I come to find out after searching the internet, National Picnic Day is actually April 23rd.  

Now, for the perfect picnic story which happened today...

It doesn't have to be National Picnic Day to have a picnic.  Every day can be a picnic day.  I have even been known to set a blanket on our living room floor in the dead of winter to have a picnic.  There is just something so unconventional about sitting on the floor or ground, eating out of a cute little basket.  Today, while enjoying the beautiful weather, I was inspired to make a picnic lunch.  It is so easy to pull together yourself as long as you have the fixings for a sandwich and some easy sides.  Or, you could do something simple like crusty bread and jams and cheeses.  Today, I decided on pasta salad and BLT's.  

 Nothing special, just from a box...

I was getting hungry while making these beauties.

In order to make it special, I did gussy up the sandwiches by wrapping them in wax paper, and tying curling gift ribbon around the paper.  Then I curled it with the scissors.  I also cut some wild roses from a nearby bush, and put them in a vase to add a touch of glamour to our picnic.

 Our spoils look pretty and yummy

 My boys are eagerly awaiting their food.

Remnants of a well had picnic...my husband and kids even took the dishes in the house for me.

In this round, the yard picnic definitly won.  It is kind of nice proximity if you forget anything.  However, I will still attempt the park picnic again.  I'll just make sure to check the contents of the food bag next time.  Better yet, maybe I will pack my own.  Have a picnic today with someone special.  It really is a fun way to brighten your day.  Also, please let me know any fun picnic stories or suggestions in the comments.  Linda

Grandma Lou

I was so proud of my grandma Lou.  She was the grandma you pictured when you thought of a grandma.  She had curly white hair, and she always had it fixed.  She wore polyester pants, cute little shirts with birds on them, and matching necklaces and earrings.  Her house was also the quintessential grandmother’s house.  It was yellow with cute black shutters and a perfectly cared for yard with little cement animals.  I had so many adventures in her yard and ate her tart green apples right off the tree.  Grandma’s oven always had treats inside, although not fresh cookies like you might think.  Better yet, there were individually wrapped Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls and Star Crunches.  She  made Spaghettios piping hot, and let us watch The Price Is Right and The Young And The Restless with her.  She said phrases like “For Pete’s Sake” and “I do declare”.  There was never a holiday dinner, birthday dinner, or family reunion that she missed.  At Halloween, we went to her house and she gave us a special ziplock bag filled with several kinds of candy and a dollar.   However, none of these things compared with the way she paid attention to me.  She listened intently to stories I told her like I was the only one in the room.  And I have a feeling she was the same way with all seven of her grandchildren, because family meant so much to her.   She passed away the other day, and I was quite surprised to see that she was not always my grandma.  She used to be that beautiful young thing pictured above.  It is so easy to think that she was just mine, but she wore many hats throughout her life.  I sometimes wish I could travel back in time and be her friend.  I love her and miss her, and will try to keep her memory alive by sharing her wonderful grandmother qualities with  those who weren’t fortunate enough to have my grandma Lou for themselves.