Abby's First Big Trip!

I told you yesterday that Ryan and I have been given the gift of respite, and we are so very grateful for it. It has come in the form of a combination of our first big trip in Abby - and our 9th annual birthday trip! 

I thought I'd give you some peeks at the fun we're having with Miss Abby, and we sure are grateful for her. She is the perfect way to travel right now. I thoroughly enjoy having home right there every time I turn around!

We left last Saturday morning, and in a vacation first for us...our first stop was a wedding! What...does everyone NOT drive an RV to a wedding?

 It was an absolute joy to witness the marriage of one of my very good friends. She and I first connected years and years ago over Mary Kay makeup of all things. She sold it...I bought it. And somewhere over the chatter of cleanser and concealer, a friendship was forged. She and I have been accountability partners, prayer partners, and have walked many (figurative) miles together in the last however-many years. This marriage was the answer to many years of both our prayers, and it was my honor to be a witness to it. 

And it was just such a very fun wedding. It took place in the late morning - in the gorgeous park down in Marion where Ryan and I spent so much time in our early married years. We have so many great memories there ourselves, so it was a full circle moment for us. 

I loved this beautiful banner they had, and I absolutely cracked up when I looked back at my pictures and saw the big warning sign behind the banner about love. Ha! I could crop it out, but naaaaah. It's too funny. 

They served lunch at the reception, and we were able to stay for that before we had to get back on the road. Ryan lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvved the lunch. I did too, but he talked about it all day long. It really was some pretty delicious food! (And no - I did not eat all that. The caterers filled the plates and were far more generous with portion sizes than I would have been!)

We had a specific time we had to be on the road, so we didn't get to stay for the whole reception (including the cake...sadness!) but it was delightful to change clothes in the RV and get comfy for the ride!

Our first destination was really just a stopping point for the night. We were thankful for a gorgeous day to travel and allll the construction we were able to drive through. Indiana is famous for it, and it turns out, Illinois does its best to keep up!

We saw some beautiful bridges and bodies of water:

We made it to Iowa just before sunset. I haven't been to Iowa in over 20 years, and Ryan had never been there, so it was a great experience for us to have together! Our destination was just a few miles into Iowa, and we were glad to make it there before dark.

Originally I had planned to make our dinner in the RV that night, but we were both SO HUNGRY by the time we arrived, so we decided to grab a pizza on the way into the RV park and make our own lunch the next day, rather than grabbing something on the road. 

I sent that last picture to my sister, who said, "Really? Pizza and air conditioning while you watch TV? Camping isn't what it used to be."

HA! True.

But here was the crazy part: we had every intention of eating outside and hanging out by a little campfire all evening, but at this RV park, apparently NO ONE hangs out outside. We didn't even have a fire ring to make a campfire. So we just went inside and camped there. (More on this tomorrow.)

But it really was a great start to our trip!