Day 5

Slept in just a little after our late night with Aunt Marilyn. Got up and moving finally and then Uncle Steve came home from work and we all had breakfast together. YUM!! It was the first real food we’d had in days, and homemade, too! We hung out just a little while longer and Katie messed with Aunt Marilyn’s computer. Around noon we finally packed up, said our goodbyes and headed out. After a minor incident at the Aurora Mall gas station, we hit the road with a full tank (and then some, apparently), some more snacks, and 25 bags of microwave popcorn. At this point, there is so little room that Katie took the popcorn out of the box and literally wedged it in any open cracks she could find between and under the seats. Sad.At this point in the trip, Katie and I had traveled into and out of 3.5 states (not counting the Four Corners) in 3 days. Day 5 left us with 3 more in just one day – our longest and, by far, most boring day of the trip. Let’s just say that Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana PALE in comparison to California, Arizona and Colorado, as far as scenery goes. With the exception of a few food stops, gas fill-ups, a hotel tour (future Thanksgiving reunion destination) and quick visits at two different Younkers stores (in search of a GORGEOUS sweater, which I could not find), we drove FAST & STRAIGHT for about 14 hours. Seriously. Straight. Like, “set the cruise control and take a nap” kind of straight. See for yourself – just look at I-80 on the map. Yawn.

The only real excitement of the day came 27 miles into Illinois when Katie and I met Officer Handsome (Katie's name for him - a "Friends" reference). 78 in a 65 and a written warning. Very personable man. Most pleasant traffic stop I’ve ever experienced, that’s for sure, and I’ve experienced my fair share, to say the least. Katie and I came very close to losing our minds during the last leg of the trip. I’d say that, out of the more than 2400 miles we drove, the last 50 were definitely the hardest. Almost had to pull the car over and give up. Yes, it was that bad.

Overall, it was a great trip. Mission accomplished – Katie’s home. We managed it without any accidents or vehicular mishaps of any kind, without getting a ticket (close doesn’t count), and without killing each other. So, for those of you who put money on only one of us returning, alive and in one piece, HA! Leave it to two very stubborn and competitive redheads to prove ya’ll wrong!!