At least according to the all-knowing Drew Carey. We started our long journey to Cleveland early in hopes of getting a starting while the boys were still asleep. It half worked – little-dude woke up just as we were leaving, but mini-man stayed asleep.
What seemed to help was dividing the day up into smaller parts and stoping about every 90 minutes. Our first break was to meet up with a guy who was selling his Rokenbok set (I’d never heard of this stuff until Damon found it at a Goodwill and the kids just love it).
We then set forth to the half-way point of our journey – Elkhart, Indiana – for lunch. We managed to find a McDonalds with a playplace, and truck parking (bonus!). It was the perfect stop as it gave us adults a break and the kids could climb and play.
Our third stop was turned into just a restroom break for Damon, as both kids had fallen asleep, which always makes the drive easier. They both woke up just as we arrived at the campground, both needing to get out of the RV. I have to say, despite this being such a long drive – they both did very well.
Unfortunately, the long day plus the long naps meant that the kids were up late. Fortunately, we have a nice campsite that we can enjoy and they could play. It’s really cute to see mini-man set himself up at the picnic table with his paint set and just go to town.
Saturday, we accomplished something new – mini-mans first haircut. You may have noticed that he has long hair. That is three years worth of hair growth for him. It looks like he inherited my hair growth and thickness. A while ago, Damon and I started to notice that his bangs were bothering him and the back of his hair was constantly getting tangled.
On our way to Goodwill, we noticed a haircut place next door that had no waiting. We talked about getting mini-mans haircut and this seemed like a great opportunity. Damon and I were both nervous as to how he’d react – he’d never done this before. To our surprise, he sat there and just watched. He seemed fascinated with the whole process. And when it was done, he looked so cute! I think he feels better too.
After our stops, we headed home and spent the evening planning our new route. Now that we need to go back to Chicago, we needed to figure out where to go next. After planning so many stops, we were back to having no place to go. Thankfully, we are passed Labor Day and parks now have tons of availability. If you check out our leg #5 post, you can see our updated itinerary.
Sunday was a mini Great Movie Ride reunion, when we met up with our old friend Jasmine at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. It was great to catch up with her and talk about our travels, kids, and Bitcoin.
The aquarium was adorable. It was Jasmine’s daughters first visit, as well, and she loved seeing all the fish. My kids, just wanted to be held the whole time, but they still liked looking at the fish.
On our way back, both boys fell asleep, so i took the opportunity to go shoe shopping. This is my biggest vice – i love shoes! Damon dropped me off at DSW, and I headed straight for the clearance section, which was filled with amazing, colorful shoes from the summer. Pro tip: When its back to school time, they put the cute, summer heels on sale!. I hadn’t been to a DSW in years and loved looking at all the shoes. I had a pile within minutes. I did manage to narrow down my finds to just two pairs (I remembered d that I lived in an RV and probably couldn’t store more than two) – a cute pair of flats and some amazing Jessica Simpson red heels.
Labor Day Monday was our originally scheduled leave date. However, after looking at the campground bookings, and seeing what Cleveland had to offer, we decided to extend our stay. Plus, with literally everyone leaving, we had our pick of sites and moved our rig to a campsite with some nice shade and fun area for the boys to play in.
Since everyone else was leaving in the morning, we decided to take the boys out for a while. We did some grocery shopping and hit some thrift stores. When we returned, almost all of the RV’s and tents were gone. It’s amazing how much difference a day makes. Now that we’re past this holiday, every campground has unlimited availability.
On Tuesday, we trekked an hour into Cleveland to check out the Cleveland Children’s Museum. While an hour in the car with two boys can be taxing, it was worth it. This children’s museum opened about a year ago in an old mansion and it’s amazing. The main floor had a water room filled with balls, tunnels, and scarfs – lots of hands on fun. The adjacent room had a huge, two-story tree house with multiple rooms, each with a different activity – like a grocery store, a hospital, mechanic, and garden. There was so much to do on this floor that we never left it. Damon explored the other floors, which had art, reading, and a room dedicated to doll houses. It was really one of the best children’s museums we’ve visited.
Unfortunately for me, something was effecting my head, making it very difficult to get rid of a particularly nasty migraine. Looking back, I think the rainy weather might’ve had something to do with it. By the time we got home from the kids museum, I was in a lot of pain. I was hoping a good nights sleep would help, but, alas, it did not. In an effort to combat this, I spent a large part of the next day in bed, trying to relax away the headache. While I did that, Damon played with the kids.
As Thursday was our final day, we made a list of things to accomplish – cleaning, Sam’s club, lunch, and packing up. It seems to help when we put together a list – we accomplish a lot and makes our travel day much easier.
We had a lot of fun at this stop and I’m looking forward to our next destination – Cincinnati, Ohio, where we have a lot planned.
Heartswell Adventures 