Remember earlier
this year, when I reminisced about our birthday trips? I loved rolling
down memory lane, reliving some of the truly exciting adventures we’ve had in
our almost 14 years of marriage. I paused the memories to catch you up to this
year’s story-laden trip to Charleston, so now I want to look back at some of
our more recent birthday trips.
It has been just over five years
since we took our big trip west in Abby the RV. Oh, how we loved Abby. What a
gift she was to us in those WillowBridge years, when we needed a place to get
away from the daily responsibilities. We still dream of Abby 2.0 – someday –
when I’m able to be gone on weekends again! But for now, we have no regrets
about our purchase and renovation of Abby.
This trip was one of the biggest
of our whole marriage, and one of our favorite things about it was getting to
take our home-on-wheels everywhere we went. I had the BEST time looking back
over our scrapbook and reminiscing. Want to see some of my favorite moments?
Our first night out took us to
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and the next morning we took it easy, enjoying Bible
study and coffee right in our own home. I think we both knew in that moment we
had something special on our hands.
We don’t really do trip regrets,
but if I had any, they were from this trip. We passed quickly through Nebraska
without stopping to do anything fun. We passed the American Gothic house, and
if I had this trip to do over, I would have stopped there.
Nebraska did give Ryan a chance
to be a good Samaritan to a couple of ladies with a flat tire. I was crying in
the RV, scared to death he was going to get hit out there.
This was the trip where we met
our dear friends, the Bromptons! What a beautiful stay they gave us – letting us
stay on their property, introducing us to all the farm animals, treating us to
campfire meals and singing every night, giving me a Little House-esque
butter churning experience, teaching us new games, making Ryan’s oxen-driving
dreams come true, hosting a proper prairie wagon ride, teaching us to make
rope, letting Ryan try his hand at milking a cow BY hand, and making the entire
stay one to remember in all the best ways.
We made our way into Kansas and
took a tour through Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. Who knew Kansas could
look like THIS!?
I wanted Ryan to experience the
old west of Dodge City Kansas, which I’ve visited several times since I was a kiddo.
We had fun recreating pictures from the days of yore!
We visited my family and met the
newest baby (who is now almost ready for school)!
This made me do a double take.
Oh the mask days!!
We had so much fun with the fam
while we were there.
I was so excited that we had fun
things planned for the way home – like getting my first stamp in my Little
House passport. Our first stop was Independence, Kansas! We did more
recreated pictures, since I visited there with Mom and Dad when I was little, and
we made our own memories, too!
RV travel is the best: adding
souvenir stickers to the wall, updating the travel board, and seeing our home
right outside our visit spots.
Sometimes we had amazing
campsites that gave us proper campfire opportunities and relaxing evenings.
We visited another of Laura
Ingalls Wilder’s homes (this time in Mansfield, Missouri) and recreated more
pictures.
Our last stop before coming home
was in Casey, Illinois. We still talk about this coffee shop and drink from the
mug we bought while there. And we still love thinking about the small town of
big things. It’s one of the places we recommend most to people!
This trip was truly one of our
very favorites. We made so many amazing, beautiful memories and had so many
unique experiences. I smiled all the way through the scrapbook! (I’m so glad for
the time I took to make that!)
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