Oh my goodness it has been such a long time since I have blogged. But I have to start getting back into the groove! Well Devin and I went on a fantastic vacation this summer. Both of us took 2 whole weeks off work and hit the road! What a blessing that time was. Here's a summary of our trip which led us on a journey to 11 states.
June 25: State 1, Oregon & State 2, Washington. Devin picked me up from work at 3 pm with the car all loaded and we started on our way to Spokane, WA. Due to the Hoop Fest in Spokane this weekend, we were unable to find a hotel room in Spokane, therefore we stayed in Ritzville on Friday night, which is just about 45 minutes outside of Spokane.
June 26: State 3, Idaho & State 4, Montana. We woke up and were able to relax until check out time at 11 am. We met Devin's mom, aunt and cousin at the Starbucks in Ritzville for a morning coffee and then they followed us to Spokane and to the church where Devin's cousin, Kevin, was getting married. We attending the wedding which was very sweet and but didn't have time to stay for the reception. After the "I Do's" we were back on the freeway headed to Kalispell, Montana. We stayed at a Historic hotel in old town Kalispell and it was darling. We arrived early enough to grab dinner at a restaurant around the block and then watch some TV before lights out for the night.
Tami and Devin by Flathead Lake in Montana
June 27: We woke up bright and early, ate some breakfast at the hotel and made our way to Glacier National Park. I loved the drive the day before and already thought Montana was beautiful, but this was incredible. We did the turbo fast version of visiting the park since we had to get some good time on the road later in the day, but we drove the"Going to the Sun" road, stopping a few times for view points and a short hike. We also spent a little bit at the lodge at the summit. The views in spectacular and think it would be a great camping destination, if I wasn't afraid of bears. When we paid to get into the park, they handed us a brochure with the scariest bear picture they could find on the front. It was a warning about bears, saying to stay away from them (uh, DUH!), and a little info on bears and what to do if you run into one. It ends with a note that says: "Visitors have been injured and killed by bears at Glacier National Park." Well, fantastic. After a short stay at the park, it was on the road again and we made it to Lewistown, Montana. A little town, in the middle of nowhere.
June 28: State 5, North Dakota. Before another long day behind the wheel, we stopped by a cute local coffee shop for some caffeine. There were probably 4 -5 people in the shop when we walked in. It was quite awkward when we walked in, all conversation stopped and all eyes were on us. Apparently it was quite obvious that we were out-of-towners! It was pretty funny actually. Once back in the car, we decided to take the road less traveled. We abandoned the freeway and continued on our journey on an old highway the cut straight across Montana and we were so glad that we did. It was fun to see the less beaten trail, there wasn't a whole lot of civilization to see but a lot of beautiful sky, land and ranches. I think I might actually enjoying living in Western Montana some day, maybe. We did have a little "we might run out of gas soon" scare, but we found a gas station just in time. This was the day that I hit the wall, so to speak. I was needing a little break from the car. We arrived in Bismark, North Dakota around dinner time and decided to call it quits for the day. We ate dinner at the Olive Garden and caught a movie at the local theater. We saw Grown-Ups which was a much welcomed break from the car and gave us some needed laughter. Because this was kind of an un-planned night as far as where to stay, we ended up staying at the world's most disgusting hotel. We literally had to speed walk/jog through the hallways holding our breath in attempt to miss the rancid smoke/vomit smell the was everywhere. Thankfully once we turned on the AC in our room it covered up most of the smell. The best thing about this hotel was that it was right next to a drive-thru starbucks which we utilized very early the next morning before our next leg of driving. There wasn't too much to see or even care about in North Dakota, but we both noted that ND has the nicest rest stops we have even seen, possibly the nicest rest stops in existence.
June 29: State 6, Minnesota & State 7, Wisconsin: After departing the world's most disgusting hotel and fueling up on starbucks we set our sights on Minneapolis, MN. We arrived around 3 or 4 pm and got settled into our hotel, which was the nicest place we stayed during our whole trip, by far. We took some time to shower and freshen up and then we took the hotel shuttle over to the Mall of America. We spent a couple hours just walking around and being amazed at how big that place was. Of course we stopped to buy some presents to send home to Megan too. Once we had had enough of the mall we jumped back into the car for a mini-adventure. Since we were so close to Wisconsin, we decided that we should add it to our list of visited states. So we headed East, crossed the Mississippi River, drove through some adorable old towns and ended up in a little town called New Richmond for dinner. It was lovely. Then we drove back to the hotel and got a refreshing nights sleep, which was wonderful.
June 30: We woke up and arranged with the hotel from them to watch out luggage for most of the day. We jumped on the lightrail and headed down to Target Field to see if you could get some tickets for the Twin's game. And we were in luck, we got our tickets and headed into the ball park. It was so fun, and maybe the highlight of the trip for D. We got our snacks and drinks and cheered for the home team, and they won! The lightrail was awesome. It was way nicer and cleaner than the max here in portland. And it literally dropped us off feet from the Target Field gate. It was a great day and the weather was perfect! Once we picked up our luggage and loaded it back into the car we set off for Glyndon to meet up with mom and dad. Everyone was at Aunt Suzy's so we stopped on by and got to see lots of cousins and aunt and uncles. They were busy planning out the details of Grandpa's 90th birthday party.
July 1: We enjoyed a fun breakfast with mom and dad today at Perkins and then explored bonanzaville together. I love all things that are old and full of stories and history, and so does Devin actually, so this was right up our alley. It was super hot though and I could have done without that! Today was the first real relaxing day we had. We didn't really have an agenda, didn't have anywhere to be or anywhere to drive, so that was fantastic. Afterwards we just hung out at the hotel, I took a nap and Devin went for a swim. Then Devin and I spent the evening driving around farm country. We ate dinner together and then watched the sun go down over some beautiful Minnesota wheat fields. It was calming, romantic and an altogether wonderful evening.
July 2: Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa Wyland! This was the purpose of our whole trip. It's not very often that you get to attend and celebrate a 90th birthday. I am so happy that we were there to celebrate with and love on Grandpa Wyland. The day started off with sleeping in and then just relaxing until we met mom and dad for lunch. At lunch Mom and I decided to go and get our nails done while the guys ran errands for the party. We ended up finding an adorable litte shop in downtown Fargo: Polished. A Nail Spa. It was delightful and mom and I had so much fun together. After our manicures it was down to the church we went to help set up for Grandpa's big party. It was a great success and I think Grandpa really felt blessed and loved. We shared a delicous dinner with family and then friends came for cake and ice cream. It was great to meet people and chat with family we rarley get to see. After everyone but family was gone, Grandpa sat down with all of us and shared his life story with us. It was really a precious time. You could tell that he really enjoyed sharing his life with us and was touch by our interest. It was a cherished time that I will never forget. I am so thankful that I have that memory of Grandpa and was able to learn more about him and hear more family stories. I have always loved my Grandpa Wyland, but the older I get, I appreciate him even more. What a great man he is, and he is the only Grandpa that I ever knew.
Grandpa & Grandma Wyland on Grandpa's 90th Birthday
July 3: We spent the weekend at Grandpa and Grandma's house. It was fun to be out on the lake and be a part of their world for a short time. We all went down to the Cornfield Cafe for some breakfast, and I was so happy that Devin could experience. You don't see a restaurant in a hardware store too often. Later in the day Uncle Roger and Aunt Shirleen, Uncle Dave, Aunt Suzy, Jack and Jill came over for a BBQ and just to spend time together. The guys spent HOURS outside in the humid hotness playing croquet. I guess they were having fun, but I was thankful to be inside! Unfortunately, during the early afternoon, Devin got a call from his mom saying that his Grandma has fallen and broken her hip and that things were not looking too good. I am sure it was a little hard for him to be so far away during this time.
July 4: State 8, South Dakota & State 9, Iowa. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma and us headed back to Glyndon to go to church with the Olek's. It was a great patriotic 4th of July service that we very much enjoyed. We all headed to ihop where Uncle Gary met us for lunch. Right after lunch, Devin and I had to hit the road and start making our way home. We drove down to Sioux Falls where we camped for the night at Yogi Bear's Jellystone and watched Fireworks from out tent. However, before calling it a night, we ventured a little East and had a nice drive through Western Iowa in search of dinner.
To be continued....
