We are finally off! The first day of our trip took us from Milwaukee to Minneapolis - the metaphorical dipping of toes into the roadtripping water. We got a great start to the day going to church with my parents and grandma, loading up on Starbucks, and tuning in for some Car Talk (or wasting another perfectly good hour, as Tom and Ray would say). Then we were on our way.
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| Starting odometer - 0.0 miles. Only about 7,000 more to go... |
Instead of taking the more direct route up to the Twin Cities, we decided to take the more scenic, albeit indirect, route through LaCrosse and then following the Mississippi River north. The ride from Milwaukee to Tomah is incredibly boring, but the ride from Tomah to Minneapolis makes up for it. I love crossing over the Black River Bridge in LaCrosse and looking down to where my grandparents used to live. And then crossing over the Mississippi River Bridge into Minnesota with the Dresbach Dam on the right and downtown Lacrosse on the left... Always such a beautiful sight.
After crossing into Minnesota, the ride was uneventful. We did see a place that had signs advertising "Fish", "Fireworks", and "Tattoo Removal". It was three sepeaate signs in front of the same building, so I am not sure if all three were covered by the same business. My two thoughts were 1) I bet they have some interesting stories, and 2) why no cheese and/or adult videos?
Lunch was at a little place in Lake City on Pepin Lake (which is the birthplace of waterskiing, btw). Although I was disappointed by the lack of Catfish cheeks (a Mississippi river delicacy), I was at least able to fulfill my desire for oddly named fish parts by munching on some Walleye fingers.
We arrived at Carrie and Darren's house (Amy's cousin and her husband) late in the afternoon and had a great time catching up. Carrie and Darren just welcomed baby Makenna into their family a few months back, so we got to spend the time getting to know her. Well, as much as you can get to know a four month old; but she sure is a cutie! We had a nice dinner at a local pub and then settled in for some gymnastics Olympic trials (our last TV for who knows how long) to finish off a great night.
While we were talking tonight, Carrie mentioned that she had friends who took a long road trip to New Zealand not too long ago. She mentioned that one of their observations was the weirdness of really only talking to one person for such an extended period of time. I hadn't thought of that. I know we will talk to other people (obviously), but there is no work, or family, or firends around to also interact with. Should be interesting.
But so far, so good on the talking front. For example, we had this nugget of genius somewhere around the Dells: people from Wisconsin only travel in two directions - Up North (or "Nort") and Down to Chicago. We came to the realization that, regardless of direction, all Sconies say they are going "up" unless their final destination is Chicago. There might be a Milwaukee-tinged bias in our observation, but with stimulating conversation like that, how could we ever get bored of each other.
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| Amy with her cousin Carrie Jacobson, husband Darren, and baby Makenna |
Tomorrow, on to South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore. Weather looks hot, with rain on the way. Sounds like perfect camping weather! Somewhere, my dad is laughing at us.
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