KY or Bust: Part 1

The day came to move and I had done pretty good. While we had hoped we would be moving to start Dental School, we were prayerful about our decision to relocate and felt good about it. I couldn't imagine going from being 2.4 miles to 2,354 miles away from my family but we were excited for our new adventure! Now I'm not gonna lie, I cried by myself all the way to at least North Bend while Ben slept in the back and Lance drove the Audi alongside me but I pulled it together:)

We drove to Royal for a fun few days before making our journey east:) I will have to get some pics from my mother in law:) We had a lot of fun eating, swimming, and visiting. We left Royal on Friday morning.

I didnt have the state sign idea till after we passed the IDAHO sign and were on the other side:) I took lots of scenic pics because it really was pretty but when it came to narrowing down...they didn't make the cut

Idaho to Montana...BEAUTIFUL drive!

Montana to Wyoming...

First night: we stayed the night in Buffalo, Wyoming. We had no idea that finding a room in a small town off of I-90 would be a challenge but because of the unknown phenomenon of Sturgis, everywhere was crowded with leather sportin, tatooed, bandana doo-rag wearing, harley ridin' peeps (kinda a stereotype but most fit the bill:) We got the LAST non-smoking room at a Super 8 and were pleasantly surprised.

Ben took a tub, slept like a champ, and we were on the road again...

to South Dakota...

1st stop: We took a slight detour to see what the fuss was about. We had been seeing bikers for miles on I-90. In fact, Lance counted 80 motorcycles that we passed going other direction during only 10 minutes! So we decided we better take a quick drive through Sturgis, South Dakota and it was an experience. We will probably never make the journey on a bike so it was worth driving through!

Fortunately for us our drive through Sturgis fell on the last day of Bike Week 2010! It was a zoo in Sturgis, bikes EVERYWHERE!

Because we were going about 2 mph down the road with bikes and people all around we gave ben his only driving break out of the car seat and let him look out the window. Ben was totally fascinated with the motorcycles and especially their noises!

2nd stop: Mt. Rushmore-Great Faces, Great Places:)

From the looks of the picture below you can tell Ben was excited to stop and so were Lance and I. We thought Mt. Rushmore was so cool and while we were further from the Presidents than Nicholas Cage led us to believe, it was a beautiful and incredible monument. We even watched the little film and checked out the museum.

Just past Mt. Rushmore, we were tempted by stopping at the Badlands because we heard they were beautiful but Ben had just eaten and was asleep and we had just stopped at Rushmore so maybe on the way back to WA in 5 yrs? we forged on...

to Minnesota...

Gas stop... Dinner Stop...

2nd Night was in in Worthington, Minnesota-our 3rd stop attempt due to NO VACANCIES-stinkin' bikers! Gave Ben a tub, he slept fairly well, ate a little continental breakfast, then hit the road...

to Iowa...

3rd Night we were so excited to stop at Megan's in Davenport, Iowa. Ben had never met Aunt Megan and we hadn't seen her since December so we had fun visiting with her Sunday afternoon and night. Monday morning we followed Meg...

to Illinois...

where she works in Moline at the John Deere Headquarters. Lance could not have been more excited about this stop. My handsome farm boy was like a kid in a candy shop:) He got in EVERY tractor and combine that he could and sat in each for a while admiring all their features. He detailed in which order he would buy each piece if we had a bottomless bank account and was texting his brother Chad throughout to share his excitement with someone who understood it's greatness. Ignorant as I am about farm equip, Ben and I thought it was pretty sweet too!

Ben thought he was a fancy donut being buckled in to all the jump seats by his Daddy

Picture with Meg out front of her office. The grounds were beautiful!

Ben saying bye to Meg but we are glad we will see her more often now because we are only 6 hrs. away!

we hit the road again...but had to snap this exit sign in honor of my LLB:)

Ben thought his feet were quite tasty and we often found him snacking on them during the drive... anything to keep him entertained. True to form, he was an ABSOLUTE ANGEL!! ONLY crying when hungry or tired and was otherwise happy as a clam:) He sucked on his toes all the way...

to Indiana...

then FINALLY into Kentucky...

our first look at Kentucky skyline...

our new home for 5 yrs and we are so excited!