Niagara and Hospitality

We have come to day 10 people! That means that there is only one more day until we have reached our final destination! We are so excited to be in Boston and just start trying to make a living. I already have two interviews lined up (at kids gyms no less) and am thrilled to see what happens with those. Prayers are much appreciated! :)

Today was a really phenomenal day. We woke up at our surprisingly nice hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Well, actually it was in Wickliffe, Ohio but Cleveland is close enough. I got up at 7:30 eastern time to go and swim in their pool. They had a lap swim pool that I saw the day before and couldn't wait to go swim in it this morning. Much to my surprise, I woke up a little before my alarm and was in the pool by 7:50am. It was weird to think that I was swimming on the east coast at 7:50 but all my friends and family were still sleeping on the west coast because it was only 4:50 there. Anyway, I swam for an hour and felt great. It had been a while since I worked out so this swim was long overdue. I finished at around 8:50 and headed back upstairs to shower and pack our things up. 

We were out the door by 10 and on our way to Niagara Falls. We got the opportunity to pass through two states today; Pennsylvania and New York. We were in Ohio for a few hours before entering the border to Pennsylvania. We said that if we had more time we would have loved to go to Scranton, Nashua, and Utica to visit the places that "The Office" always visit in their show. Overall, Pennsylvania was a really nice state. Right as we crossed over the state line the pavement got better and there was NO TOLLS. We were on a road that didn't make us pay so we automatically liked the state. Not only that but the state was beautiful. It had a lot of lovely trees and Lake Erie was alongside the highway. 

Pennsylvania was very short lived though because about 45 minutes later we entered into New York. New York is also very beautiful. Lake Erie continued to ride alongside the highway through a good chunk of our drive. We took a 1 lane highway again to avoid the tolls but this time I actually enjoyed it. We went through some really cute towns and even stopped in one to take some photos. There was a fun place to stop and look at the lake on our left so we took advantage of it and took some photos. We thought it was so weird because it looked like a beach with sand and people playing in it but it was only a lake and had no waves. 

We continued on our way and began to drive through Buffalo, NY. I was unaware of how large Buffalo was. I thought it was more of a small suburban town with a decent size population. Oh no, it is a huge city with skyscrapers and amazing old buildings. We took a wrong turn getting to Niagara but it actually turned out to be ok because it allowed us to drive through the city a little bit and get some cool photos. 

Teej and I finally made it to Niagara Falls State Park 3.5 hours later after leaving Cleveland. It was about 86 degrees out today which made it for the perfect day to see the falls. Our plan was to park and go do the "maid of the mist" tour. We got there and immediately got distracted by the outrageous rapids that led up to the giant falls. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. Those rapids were out of control and nothing that you would EVER want to float down. After staring at them for a while, we finally made our way over to the area where you bought your maid of the mist tickets. The boat took you out to the falls every 15 minutes so we headed down to where the boat was and made it on before they left. As we were getting on this girl hands us both a set of blue ponchos to wear during the tour. Boy were we glad that we had those on because the boat ride got you soaking wet. 

The tour was absolutely beautiful. There was not a cloud in the sky so you could see the falls as clear as day. The water was pounding so hard from the falls that it was creating so much mist that it felt like we were in a torrential downpour. It was also extremely windy on the boat from all the force from the falls that it was hard to stand up at times. I kept rocking back and forth and would occasionally lean on Teej for support. We saw two different falls and they were equally as stunning. It was amazing to see it person after seeing it on TV and the internet for years and years. The Lord is so amazing in how he has created his world. We are so blessed to have such incredible beauty to see and experience every day. 

The tour lasted for only 15 minutes but it was well worth it. By the time I got off I was soaked but because it was so hot out I dried out pretty quickly. After the boat ride we walked up the stairs to the observatory area and got to see the falls from the top view. We were able to get some cool photos there too but the wind was so strong and powerful that I was afraid that I was going to fall off the side at times. We didn't... obviously... but it was still pretty dang strong. We stayed a little bit longer and looked at the falls but it wasn't long because we decided we better leave before we hit the Buffalo traffic. 

Our next destination was in Webster, NY. We were fortunate enough to get to stay with a really awesome family; The Larson's. Chris Larson was my dad's best man in his wedding. They were college roommates for a year and a half and had a lot of great times together. My dad had contacted Chris earlier this week to see if it would be ok if we stayed with him and he was more than happy to host us for the night. I was really excited to get to meet my dad's really good friend from college because I had heard so much about him growing up. We made it to their house around dinner time. Chris and his lovely wife Cathy kindly invited us into their home and gave us water to drink and chips and salsa to eat. Their daughter Juliana, who is an 8th grader this year was also there to greet us and she was super sweet. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter, a senior in high school, wasn't home yet because she was at a lifeguard training session but met up with us later. She is also lovely. Oh, and they also have a fun little dog named cookie. I really liked the name ;)

Anyway, Chris, Cathy, Teej, and I all sat outside on their deck and chatted for a long time. They are so sweet and we are so thankful we were able to meet and talk with them. Chris told me many stories about my dad's crazy times in college which was fun to hear. They also told me how much they appreciated reading my dad's christmas letter every year. Apparently they really get a kick out of the Chausse family stories that happen every year. I'll save those for another time though ;) They made us hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner with potato salad and cucumber salad. Apparently these specific hot dogs are famous on the east coast so Chris made us try them. They are supposed to pop in your mouth. They absolutely did that! They tasted good too. 

We then headed out to this new fro yo shop called "yo lickity" that had just opened in town. We met his eldest daughter there and we all talked and laughed for a while before heading back to the house. They are such a fun family to be around. I'm glad we were able to stay with them! 

Tomorrow? BOSTON!!! so excited. It's the home stretch. Thanks for all your prayers and love and support. We have really felt like you have all been on this journey with us and we feel so blessed to even able to have done this. 

Love to all! 

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Cedar Point Amusement Park

DAY 9! Teej and I were talking today and we said it seemed liked ages ago that we were staying in Park City with Lois and Bruce. Time really flies, especially on vacations. However, we are getting to the point now where I think we are more excited to get to Boston and see if we can make this work then we are to continue driving through the states. Good thing we only have two days left! 

Today, however, was a really great day. We woke up at the "Knights Inn" in Sandusky, Ohio. Remember the sketchy hotel I was talking about in yesterday's post? Yeah, it's that one. It doesn't look that sketchy from the outside but the town around it and the actual room wasn't the most luxurious. Our alarm was set for 8am but with the time change we experienced yesterday I didn't end up getting up until almost 9. Whoops! I was super tired and to be honest, still am. Anyway, we woke up and got our thing together and started packing up our car. The moment we stepped outside we knew we weren't in Oregon anymore. It was already hot and semi-humid and it was only 9 in the morning. At first, it was a good change because we were just thankful to have the heat (since I hear Oregon is raining right now) but as the day went on and all the sweating happened I started to re-think the if I was really thankful for it or not. :) 

Today was Cedar Point Amusement Park day. Teej did a great job finding a hotel that was only about 7 minutes from the park so we didn't have to drive very far to get there. It opened at 10am so we figured it would be the best idea to get there right when it opened so we could hopefully do some of the fun rides first before the crowds hit. Once we arrived, we parked and walked in to the guest services area to claim our ticket. The hotel we stayed at wouldn't let us use their computer to print off our tickets so we were lucky enough to have guest services do it for us. Ordering online ended up saving us like $20 in the end so thank goodness for guest services! 

The first thing we did once we got in the park was look at the map. We had no idea what to do or where we were going so having the map ended up being very helpful. Teej thought it was a good idea to start from the back of the park and work our way forward. He has done this a lot in Disneyland and he says that it has proven to be successful. So, that's what we did. We walked all the way to the back of the park and started riding the rides there. It was also kind of fun to do that because we got to see the whole park and what it has to offer. 

The first ride we decided to go on was called "The Iron Dragon." It was more of a tame roller coaster but had lots of loops and dips as well as a small drop that got my stomach going. We said it was a good "starter" roller coaster. 

We continued on our way and saw this red roller coaster off into the distance. It looked like a fun ride; not too scary and not too fast. We waited in line for probably about 30 minutes or so and got on the ride. The ride was anything but tame. It had a 95 degree drop and had lots of corkscrews. We both agreed that the "Maverick" was the scariest roller coaster we had ever been on. No wonder people were waiting in lines over 30 minutes long for this thing. It was a pretty fun ride but one that we agreed we would only do once today! 

Teej had really been desiring to ride on some of the wooden coasters so we decided to hit those up next. There were a couple in the back area that looked pretty fun. The first one we went on was called "Gemini" and the other was called "Mean Streak". The thing we realized about the wooden coasters is that a) they are a lot older and b) because they are a lot older, they were a lot more rickety. I felt like my body got rocked today by some of the wooden coasters but it still was really fun.

After the first couple rides had ended, I decided that going down the long drops were not my cup of tea. So, there was this ride that Teej really wanted to go on but I didn't so I stayed behind and let him go. In the process of trying to take a picture of him I dropped the stinkin' camera and part of the top of the camera broke. I am so clumsy!! It still worked but it became harder to actually take photos because you had to really hold down the button hard to take a good photo. BOO!! Teej wasn't upset with me, thank goodness, but then I realized that I was the one that bought him that camera like 3 years ago so after that I didn't feel that bad. Plus, it gives us an excuse to buy a new one in the near future... hopefully :) Anyway, he loved the roller coaster that he went on by himself. It was really high up with like a 200 foot drop but didn't have any loops (which he likes).  

Lunch was a good break. We decided to go to a sit down restaurant called "Game Day Grille" because we were SO THIRSTY and we just needed to sit down and rest our bodies for a while. The food was so great and actually very reasonable in price. Teej decided to order a burger and fries and I ordered a chicken burger and fries. Teej ate all his fries and MOST of mine. haha.. 

To wait for our food settle, we walked around for a bit and then took the train (that took you around the park) to the area where the WATER rides were. However, we walked to all 3 of the water rides and they were either closed for the day or currently unavailable. The one that was currently unavailable became that way just as we started taking our shoes off to prepare for the ride. I was so mad because I had literally just taken my shoes off but I got over it. Why? Because we came back later and it was working again and so we did get to eventually experience the ride. All the water rides at disneyland are a lot better but this one was fun because it got you SOAKING WET. It was so refreshing though after we had finished because it was so hot and humid outside. 

The rest of the day was pretty low key. We watched the craziest ride on the whole park take place several times. It was called the "Top Thrill Dragster." IT IS NUTTY. It literally straight up and straight back down. It goes 120mph at 420 feet high. That is 42 stories high. It is only a 17 second ride but the thrill I'm sure lasts longer then that.  Right as we began watching it, however, a malfunction with the ride occurred. The malfunction happened on this ride when one car of people shot off at 120mph but didn't make it to the top and instead came back down. IT WAS SO SCARY TO WATCH. Everyone ended up being fine because they had emergency breaks but they all had to wait in the car until the mechanic fixed it. They were probably sitting there for close to a half hour. We felt bad for them. I told Teej that if it was me there is no way that I would go on that ride after having seen that it didn't work properly. 

We ended up leaving at around 6 after having been at the park for about 8 hours. Our next destination was to go to a hotel in East Cleveland, which was about an hour and a half away. Staying in Cleveland made us a little nervous since we had heard such awful things about it from friends and family but decided to take our chances and try it out. Surprisingly, our hotel and the area around the hotel is pretty nice and feels very safe. We arrived at the hotel in Cleveland at around 7:30 and went directly into the hotel pool. It felt so good to just relax after a long day! We finished the day off at Red Robin for dinner. Teej wanted french fries... again, so we apparently had to go somewhere that had fries. He is a goon sometimes.. but gotta love him! 

downtown Cleveland-we drove through it to get to our hotel

Tomorrow? Niagara Falls! Pray that my camera holds up so that I can still take some great photos of the falls. We are so excited to go on the mist tour! :) 

Love to all and thanks for reading. 

"Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more." Prov. 9:9

Toll Roads, Toll Roads, and More Toll Roads

It is day 8 and it looks like we only have about 4 days left of our adventure. It has gone by so fast and we can’t believe we have already been through 9 states and driven around 2700 miles. Not to mention we have also seen a ridiculous amount of scenery and are not even at our final destination yet. The United States is BIG!!!

Anyway, today we woke up at the home of Linda and Norm Vissering again. This was our second night staying with them and we were so thankful that they were willing and able to house us for those two nights. We were so exhausted from walking all over the city the day before that we decided to sleep in a bit and kind of take our time getting ready for the day. Teej and I had decided to instead of spend all day in Chicago like we had originally planned, spend a little bit of time in Chicago and then drive to Sandusky Ohio that evening and spend the night in a hotel near the Amusement Park (where we are going tomorrow). At first, I was hesitant because I really wanted to spend a whole extra day in the windy city but after talking it over with Teej it made more sense to just spend half a day there instead of a whole day. 

So, we decided to pack up all our belongings from Linda and Norm’s house and we were out the door by 10:30am. We were ultimately going to have to drive through the city to get to our next destination anyway so we make the choice to drive to Wrigley Field, first, and then to downtown to see some more of the sights. By 10:30am, we were hoping that the traffic was a lot lighter and it would be easy getting into town. Boy, were we WRONG! My GPS said that it was only 36 miles away from their house but it ended up taking us about an hour and a half to drive to Wrigley Field. I think it took us a long time because of the traffic (obviously) and the fact that we had to drive through a bunch of smaller towns outside of Chicago with all these stop lights and stop signs. I think we experienced a little culture shock driving through some of those cities because they were a lot dirtier then we had ever seen before. The houses were all really run down and people were begging for money at what looked like every street corner. We were sitting at one stop light and this one man just started washing our window for us. Teej and I were so grateful but we didn’t have any money to give him. He was kind to us but we definitely felt bad. I think it was a good experience for us though because it allowed us to really open up our eyes and see how people are living and the struggles that they go through everyday. A lot of the time I get so involved in my own little world and the problems that I have that I forget about the people around me and the real issues that they face daily. It was just a good reminder to count my blessings and be thankful for what I have. 

Anyway, we finally made it to Wrigley Field at around 12pm. Teej was so excited to be there. He immediately got out of the car and started walking toward the stadium. He told me he had been waiting his whole life to see this stadium! I started snapping all these photos of our surroundings including the apartments right next to the stadium that had chairs put in at the top so that the people who lived there could watch the games. We walked all the way around the facility and took lots of pictures. It was really fun to see how old the building was by looking at the neighborhoods surrounding it. The town was really fun and looked like it had a lot of life to it. I wish we could have been there to see what the atmosphere was like on a game day but I guess that just gives us an excuse to come back and visit another time. I think we were just excited to be able to see the stadium itself. 

We then headed over to downtown Chicago. I plugged Grant Park into my GPS and it started to take us there. Halfway through the drive the GPS started tweaking out and it stopped working. We were really on an adventure then because we didn’t really know where we were going. I tried to get it working again but it just wouldn’t work. I gave up and Teej became our navigator. It had helped a little that we had been there the day before because the closer we got to town the more familiar we became. We knew that heading toward the water would be our best option because thats where the parks were located. Teej did an awesome job and we only took a couple wrong turns before finding the parking garage we needed to park at. 

The parking garage was a story all its own. We found a place to park in the MASSIVE parking garage that we parked in. The sections were all color coded and lettered so that  we would really know where to find our car when we returned. We looked at the cost of parking and we were APPALLED at the outrageous price for 2 hours of parking. It cost us $24 to park for two hours downtown. If you ever go there, I wouldn’t recommend parking. Take the train. It’s worth it! Anyway, we decided that 2 hours was our max for being downtown so we were determined to make the most of our time. It was about 1pm by this point and we were hungry so our first stop was finding somewhere to eat. 

We found this cute little restaurant called “Corner Bakery” that we decided to eat at. It reminded us a lot of Panera bread, a restaurant Teej and I would eat at a lot in Vancouver, WA when he was working there. We ordered our food and then decided to head over the park across the street to eat at. We walked past the large fountain and the cloud gate statue that we saw yesterday and finally parked ourselves over by this little canal of water where you could sit down and put your feet in the water if you liked. We didn’t put our feet in because we had shoes on but we saw some people doing it. I mean, it was 80 degrees out today so if I had sandals on, I would have been ALL ABOUT IT. A cute garden with beautiful flowers was behind us which made for some great photos with the flowers and the cityscape. 

We ate our food and then started walking over to Grant Park. It was a cute park that had several different tennis courts within it as well as a small flower garden and lots of benches to sit on. We headed over to the end of the park where this walkway was. As we started walking, we realized that it was actually a bridge that was taking us over the highway to the other side of the street where the cloud gate and fountain was. That took us a while so we figured that we better get on the road pretty soon otherwise we wouldn’t get to Ohio until really late. So, we made our 7/11 run so Teej could pick up his slurpee, head to the bathroom and we were on our way. 

Driving through Chicago was a little rough because we hit some of the mid-afternoon traffic but overall, we were pleased with how quickly we were able to get out of town. However, once we got out of town the fun really began. It was Toll Road Time. We hadn’t ever really experienced toll roads to this extent before so this was a whole new experience for us. The only one I can remember ever going through was the one that is in the Columbia Gorge near the Bridge of the Gods and that was no big deal. This was a whole new ballpark when it came to toll roads. They began right before we entered Indiana. It was called the Chicago skyway, or something like that. It allowed us to go over this beautiful bridge and enter into Indiana a few miles later. We paid $2.50 to get through that particular toll. Oh, but only a few miles later we entered Indiana and had to pay another $1.50 to get into the state. It didn’t get any better from there because about ten minutes later we came up to what we thought was another toll booth but instead was a booth where you took a ticket. We looked at the ticket and it was welcoming us into the Indiana turnpike and gave us a list of stops where you could exit and then re-enter the interstate. The interesting thing about the turnpike is that every time you get off an exit you have to pay a certain amount of money to the toll booth. Then, when you re-enter you get a whole new ticket and you keep that until you get off again and then re-pay. It almost made us feel like we were in some sort of a prison and we were trapped and couldn’t get out unless someone told us it was ok. Very weird experience. 

Also, NO REST STOPS. Instead, they called them REST PLAZAS. They had bathrooms but it was located inside this building that usually had 3 fast food restaurants, a cafeteria looking area to eat, a visitor center, a convenient store, and a gas station. It was extravagant and unnecessary but was the only way you could exit the interstate without having to pay. We ended up getting gas and a dip cone at dairy queen (for me) at one of the rest stops but for the most part I was slightly disappointed with the facilities mainly because they didn’t have cool state signs to take photos with.... and because they were weird looking. 

Indiana, overall, was a weird state. Other states normally have a mile marker sign every mile that is green and located on the right hand state of the interstate. Well, Indiana had  that but it also had a one-tenth mile marker sign every one-tenth mile (Duh). It was so weird and again, unnecessary. 

I think the only semi-cool thing we did while in Indiana was head into South Bend to see the Notre Dame campus and football stadium. Now, Teej HATES Notre Dame football but we figured it was the only time we’d probably ever be in South Bend, Indiana again so we might as well go and look at the historic stadium that not only holds up to 100,000 people every game but also is famous for the mural of Jesus Christ hanging behind the stadium. Teej says that they apparently show that mural every game and is supposed to look cool. We got there kind of later in the day because of the one hour time change so there were no students present at all. It was a beautiful and warm evening so we walked all around the stadium, saw the statue of Lou Holtz, and couldn’t help but take a picture with the Notre Dame sign holding up the Oregon “O” to represent our school. When we got back in the car we were feeling very satisfied that Oregon had made its mark on the Notre Dame campus and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. 

The rest of the drive took a few hours but we finally made it to Sandusky, Ohio just a little while ago. We are staying at this somewhat sketchy motel in Sandusky but its only a few minutes from Cedar Point Amusement Park where we will be heading to tomorrow! Can’t wait for Roller coasters, Roller coasters, and more Roller coasters. I guess I should make sure I get some good sleep tonight then huh! 

Hope everyone had a great day! Love to all :) 


"As iron sharpens iron, A friend sharpens a friend." Prov. 27:17

The Windy City

Welcome to day 7 of our adventure! Personally, I think that today was my favorite day of the trip thus far. Why you ask? Because we went and explored the windy city of CHICAGO, ILLINOIS! It was amazing! Let me tell you all about it. 

We woke up this morning at the lovely home of Linda and Norm Vessering. We decided to wake up early this morning so that we could spend a good amount of the day sightseeing and experiencing the great city. However, it was a struggle with the two hour time change but we managed to get up a little before 8, (Illinois time) and be out the door by 9:30. Linda was so sweet and offered to drop us off at the train station near their house in West Chicago so we could catch the train at 9:45. After that, the train only would come through every hour so we needed to make sure that we caught that train. 

We waited at the platform for about ten minutes until the train came. West Chicago is one of the first stops so when we boarded we were happy because we could sit wherever we wanted. The train was a very old traditional style train that had an upper and a lower deck. We decided to sit on the upper level so in order to get there we had we had to walk up these narrow steps but it was well worth it because it made for a fun ride. It took about an hour to get to the downtown train station and last stop called "Ogilvie." The ride was pretty uneventful but it was fun going through new territory and not being the one to actually have to drive. :) 

As Teej and I got off the platform at the train station we were so excited to walk through the city and see anything and everything we could. The platform was very modern looking with a large mall attached to the station (which I had never seen before at a train station). Anyway, we walked up the escalator to the doors and went outside. The station was a lot larger then we were anticipating because when we turned around to look at the building we were in awe of the height and and overall stature of the premises. So, of course, we had to take a photo! 

I had mentioned to Teej earlier on the train that I really wanted to see the Navy Pier. It is this long strip of land that is surrounded by Lake Michigan with a huge Farris Wheel, fun rides, and food. Very touristy but it looked like a fun place to visit. So, since we are tourists, we had to go visit it. :) The distance from the train station to the pier was about 2 miles so we turned right from the train station and just started walking. Of course, we got very distracted as we began to walk because we were surrounded by all these beautiful high rise buildings, a canal running through the city, and much more. One of my favorite things we saw was this really cool red and white sign that said Chicago on it. I loved it and felt it was appropriate to take a picture with it! At this point, I became a mad woman with the camera and just started taking photos of everything I saw. It was a beautiful sunny day (about 78 degrees) with little to no wind so in our opinion, it was the perfect day to be in the city. We were so thankful for the sunny weather today because it made for such amazing pictures. 

When we were walking alongside the canal we saw this beautiful fountain to our left. We stopped to watch it for a bit and the next thing you know water starts shooting out of this cannon looking object to our right and almost sprays us to death. We jumped up really fast and thankfully didn't get very wet. :) It was kind of comical. 

We finally reached the pier after about an hour of walking around and taking pictures of beautiful buildings. The Pier was amazing and it allowed us to see Lake Michigan for the very first time! We were amazed at how BLUE the water was. Actually, the water, surprisingly, reminded us of Hawaii because of how rich the color was. As we starting walking out to the pier we heard a loud crash behind us. We turned around and we saw 2 cars had smashed into each other. The young lady who hit this man was really upset and screaming at the man. The funny part about this is that the car the lady hit belonged to a state trooper who was off duty. So, she was yelling at a state trooper. In my opinion, not to smart lady. We saw him call for backup on his radio and in about 2-3 minutes help was on the way. Teej and I got kind of distracted watching this whole thing happen but after a couple minutes I pulled Teej away from the crash and we continued on our way. 

The Pier was awesome! I think our favorite part was being able to see the whole city and the Lake behind us. That, of course, made for some stunning pictures. As we continued walking we saw a bunch of high schoolers and middle schoolers roaming around the area. We later figured out that they were all on field trips. Some of them were even dressed up like they were going to Prom. We never figured out why they were dressed up walking down the pier but there were a lot of them so something must have have had to been going on. :) 

After the pier, we headed over to the John Hancock Observatory. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city with over 95 floors. Needless to say, a building with 95+ floors is going to have an amazing view at the top. We had heard from Linda that you can eat lunch on floor 95 for a reasonable price so we decided to try it out and see what we thought. I think that was the best decision we made all the day. Lunch was closing at 2:30 and we arrived at 2 to eat so when we got there there wasn't very many people there. With that said, we got to sit at a table with a phenomenal view of the city. We could see the pier to our left and the rest of the city in front and to the left of us! We definitely took our time eating because we really wanted to enjoy the view! 

Before we left, we headed to the other side of the restaurant to see the view from the other direction. It was crazy because the view we saw looked almost identical to one you would see in Honolulu, HI. You could see the coastline and the building right next to it. The weird part about it was not only that it looked like Hawaii but that it had sand. I wasn't aware that lakes produced sand but apparently they do. Who knew? haha....

After lunch, we headed back over to the pier to the place where you could take boat rides. They have several options of tours you can take but they are awfully expensive and when Teej and I were talking we just wanted to ride on a boat and take photos. We didn't really care about the history as sad as that sounds. (sorry Dad. I am sorry that is disappointing to you!) Anyway, we decided to take this boat called a water taxi. It only costs $7 each and it took us to Willis Tower (old sears tower) where we wanted to be anyway so it worked out great. The ride lasted for only about 15 minutes but it was really cool because it took us under all the beautiful bridges and through the middle of the city on the canal. 

We got off the train and headed down toward the waterfront again but this time we didn't go to the pier.   Instead, we went to Millennium Park and the concert hall. I had read online all about Millennium Park and told Teej that we had to go. It took us a while to walk there but we thought it was worth it by the time we got there. Millennium Park had this amazing structure called "Cloud Gate." Cloud Gate was this large bean looking thing that was surrounded in mirrors. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. You could see not only your reflection in the structure but also the refections of the buildings so we got some pretty fun and creative photos of that. 

The last structure we saw before heading back to the train was the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It was this amazing concert hall that had these beams covering it. It's kind of hard to explain but was really fascinating to see. We agreed that we had never seen anything like it before and would love to go to a concert there at some point. We sat there and talked for a while because we were pretty tired and we had an hour wait before we had to get on the train to go back. When we got back from Chicago we looked up on google maps how far we walked and we figured out that it had to be about 8 miles. No wonder we were pooped by the end of today! 

Overall, today was amazing! We absolutely fell in love with the city and can't wait to explore it more tomorrow! I think we are going to try to head over to Wrigley Field to see the Cub stadium (even though they aren't playing) as well as see Grant Park and a couple other things. We were so fortunate to be able to walk all over the city today in such amazing weather. We are blessed! 

For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. Psalm 36:9

An Unexpected Day!

It's the sixth state we've been in!

It is day 6 of our blog/trip! We are officially past the halfway mark in terms of days we are on our adventure as well as miles we have traveled. Just to give you a number, we have traveled about 2500 miles in 6 days! :) It is very exciting and I think kind of scary all at the same time to realize that we have gone that far in such a short time. I think it is becoming more and more real that Teej and I really left Oregon. However, it has been truly an amazing experience so far and we know that the Lord has been with us the entire time and will continue to until the finish. God is so good and we are so blessed to be able to see his beautiful creation every day. 

With all that said, we kind of had a bit of an unexpected day. We woke up in the wonderful home of Adam and Jamie De Laveaga this morning in Omaha, Nebraska. We got up pretty early because we wanted to get a jump start on the day and hopefully make it to Chicago by dinner time. The people we were staying with had wanted to cook dinner for us so our goal was to get there by 5pm. 

Before we left Omaha, we went over the bridge to Iowa to the interesting city of Council Bluffs to get our oil changed at Jiffy Lube. We noticed that our car was just over the 3000 mile mark and since we were driving so much we figured it would be safe to just get it filled up while we were in Omaha. Now, when you go to Jiffy Lube, the mechanics there always check every little thing and then tell you how many hundreds of dollars you should pay to get them all fixed, right? Well, we had that happen today but they could only find ONE thing wrong with the car. As a whole, we were pretty stoked about it. That is, until we figured out what the problem was. Under our car is this thing called a CV boot. It kinda looks like a little plunger. It is there to hold all of the oil in to lubricate the car. Teej said it's like a joint and if there is no lubricant there then the metal parts start rubbing up against each other and the car is going to have major issues. So, this CV boot had ripped and was causing oil to leak everywhere under the car. NOT GOOD! So, in so many words that needed to be replaced.

Jiffy Lube sent us over to this auto place called "Brakes Plus" to have it fixed. We talked to this nice man named Josh who took a look at it and noticed that the CV boot on the other side of the car was also torn. This could have happened before we got the car because he said some of the oil was dry (meaning it might have been there for 2 months.) At this point, I wasn't too thrilled. Josh told us the estimate of how much it would be and we were not very happy. We got a warrantee on the car when we bought it and were hoping that it would cover it. IT DIDN'T. We still needed to have them replaced so we said, "Ok, go ahead and do it." We walked around the town of Council Bluff for a few hours while it was being worked on. Teej got a donut for breakfast and I got fruit. When we were just about to get the car, Teej had this bright idea (thanks to his mother) to call the warrantee people. The guy on the phone said the CV boot actually was on the warrantee and all that he needed to do was have the people at Brakes Plus call the claims people to verify. We were so excited at this point so we marched in there and told them that we talked to the warrantee people that they said it was covered. Josh said he would call them and get it figured out. After about ten minutes Josh came back out and said he had good news and bad news for us. The good news was that they were going to cover some it, but the bad news is that it wasn't actually on the warrantee and somebody at the company misspoke so they couldn't cover it all. We were happy that they were going to cover anything at all so what we thought was going to be a huge investment in the car happened to not be so bad. The only thing bad about it was that we had to wait in this kind of dumpy looking town for 2 hours, which set us back on our trip. The day didn't turn out exactly like we had planned but turned out a little better then we thought. 

The drive to Chicago was beautiful. We drove through Iowa most of the way. Iowa looked mostly the way we had imagined it to look. Almost everyone that lived near the interstate (that we noticed) owned a house, a barn, 2-3 silos and owned several acres of land. The rolling hills and the vast array of trees made it for a pretty drive but the scenery became pretty redundant as we continued along on our way to Chicago. 

One interesting thing about Iowa was it's rest stops. As weird as this sounds, I think so far Iowa has had the most luxurious and beautiful rest stops. It's a little hard to explain, so here is a picture of the one that we really liked. :) The architecture was just amazing! We were so impressed. 

As we crossed over the bridge to Illinois we noticed this massive body of water on either side of us. Immediately we realized that we were crossing over the Mississippi River. There was a visitor center for Illinois the very next exit after the bridge so I hopped over two lanes very quickly and took that exit. It took you around a couple windy roads and finally to a parking lot. The lot was facing the water so we got out and ran to take photos of the beautiful river. It was a breathtaking view with the wonderful sunny day that we had. 

The rest of the trip got a little rocky for us. Teej felt the need to bypass the one toll booth that was in between where we were and Chicago because he didn't want to pay. He figured it would be like $7 or something like that and so I gladly supported him in that decision. I later looked it up to see what it actually cost and it only was about $1.50. hmmmm.... Anyway, apparently taking another road would only be 7 minutes difference then just driving through the toll and paying the fee so at first I was ok with it. Boy, was that decision the wrong one haha... My GPS on my phone took us on this 1 lane highway for about 60 miles in the middle of nowhere. It was still light outside but the sun was beginning to go down so it was starting to freak me out. At this point, I was so ready to be done being in the car. At first, adding an extra 7 minutes seemed ok until I saw the speed limit on the road we were on had dropped significantly from the main highway road. I knew at that point we were going to be adding a little more then 7 minutes to our drive. 

We made it the 60 miles down the stretch but  in the process of doing that we went through several dumpy towns. I stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom and had to go all the way to the back through these sketchy doors to get there and if you know me at all, I get freaked out pretty easily so as soon as I was done in the bathroom I was booking it back to the car as fast as I could. I looked at Teej when I got back in the car and he was like "I'll take the blame on this decision." haha.. 

The whole side trip, lets call it, was supposed to take only 7 extra minutes. I think it ended up taking about 30 extra. Now, that may not seem that long but if you have already been in the car for 7 hours, it seems long haha... I know that we will look back and laugh on this adventure but let's just say I wasn't the happiest of campers on that particular stretch of road! :) 

Oh, and the icing on the cake happened right before sunset. We saw a RACCOON frantically running along the side of the interstate. I about passed out from pure fear. I yelled "What is this raccoon doing out in the day time? It must have rabies or something." I was being a little dramatic but if anyone knows me at all, I HATE RACCOONS! Anyway, that was definitely the finishing touching to this somewhat interesting day. 

We arrived in West Chicago at around 8:30pm (6:30pm pacific time). We are staying with Linda and Norm Vissering. They are Tj's mom Janet's cousins (we think). They were so lovely and fed us right as we arrived. We couldn't have been more grateful because we were starving by that point. We were able to sit down and talk with them a little before bed and they are just such wonderful and gracious people. We are going to stay with them another night and visit Chicago tomorrow! Teej and I are so excited to get to explore downtown Chicago. We have heard great things about it and are just so excited to see everything ourselves. YAY! 

I think the moral of today was that things may not go as we had planned them to but as long as you have someone fun to share those experiences with, then it can never be a bad time. I am so thankful for Teej in my life. He is such a great husband, especially when I get upset, which is sometimes. He is patient and loving and always there to support me! :) I am blessed. 

Tomorrow? Downtown Chicago! Can't wait to post pictures from that adventure. 

Love to all! 

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.- That's for Teej!