Washington or Burst* (Day 1)

It's vacation time again, and that means traveling to see Gamma**, Gampa**, Abuelita and Abuelito in Washington.

This, ladies and gents, is why we bought a Sprinter van.  That's a month's worth of luggage for a family of nine and a dog.  What you can't see is that each kid has an overnight bag under his/her seat.  There's still room to spare!  

For comparison, let's look at a pic from our first family road trip five years ago from Germany to Croatia.  This is our beloved old Honda Odyssey loaded to the gills for a week-long trip. 

These are our seven kids sitting comfortably in the Sprinter with three seats to spare.

 And these are our five kids, five years younger and therefore much smaller, in the Odyssey.  

But why stop the comparisons there?  Here's your humble correspondent today...

... and five years ago. 

 Your lovely navigator, Aimee, today...

... and five years ago.

Day 1 of this misadventure took us from our home to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

We made pretty good time, considering that I forgot to sign out at my battalion until we were already on the road, which cost us an hour.  Oops.  At least the weather was beautiful.  

It was warm and sunny, but not too hot.  I think the highest temperature we saw was 93 F.  By the way, that isn't Kansas, it's eastern Colorado, or as I like to call it, Kasarado. 

Jer-Bear mostly had a good time, especially when we had music on (the kids mostly watch movies).  One of these days I'll catch him dancing!

 Sheba helps keep him happy.

That, ladies and gents, is a supermax prison.  Ironically, Aimee and I just finished watching Season 3 of "The Walking Dead".  Let's not pick up any hitch hikers here. 

Jer-Bear and Sheba get some much needed rest.

Why can't he sleep like this at home? 

 

 Both Kansas and Colorado produce lots of petroleum and natural gas, but they also make good use of the high velocity winds these flat landscapes facilitate.

Heading north towards Fort Collins, Eli couldn't hold it anymore. 

The poor kid hasn't learned how to aim yet. 

We finally arrived in Cheyenne, checked into the hotel and unloaded some of the luggage.  Aimee made lots of snacks and finger foods for the car - including one of my favorites, paleo muffins - so we didn't stop at all for lunch or dinner.  

After sitting in the car all day, the kids were anxious to swim.

No matter what else we do, this is always their favorite part of our travels. 

It's a great way to relax for us adults as well, especially when followed up with a good soak in the hot tub. 

Stay tuned for Day 2!

* Lest you think that was a typo, dear reader, watch this!

**That was also not a typo.  It's what our Ethiopian kids called their grandparents when they first started learning to speak English.