Day 7 - Harrisburg and Hershey

Chocolate.  OK, that's it.  Have a good night.

Oh...you want me to elaborate a little?  Alrighty. Today was our Hershey, Pennsylvania day.  It was circled on all of our calendars but was circled, starred and highlighted on Mary Kate's.  Once again, the day did not disappoint.

We did Hershey's Chocolate World vs. the also-famous Hershey's Park next door.  The Park is roller coasters and in case you don't know, that's not our bag.  Chocolate World is near-Disney quality indoor attraction stuff and took us from about 9:00 - 3:00 to tackle it all.  We made own personalized chocolate bar, saw a 3D movie, took an in-depth chocolate tasting class, trolley ride around historic parts of town, shopping, etc.  And despite our protests, everywhere you went they were sticking free chocolate in your face.

By 3:00, however, we were all hitting stimulus and sugar overload.  We took off, hit a store to stock up on supplies, did some swimming, went for a run and we are now cycling down for the night.

Time for just a bit of reflection with day 7 winding down.   Still a lot to learn about travelling for this long, but I think we can sincerely say that the honeymoon is over and we are in a good groove.  Definite positives (working through some things with the girls making choices, parental patience, etc.) and also some lessons, mostly that we all need to be conscious about getting some alone time.  Kim and I both took a run on our own and I think it did a good job adjusting our heads for more together time.  When I look back on this post in another 5, 6, 7 weeks, I will probably laugh, but for now I think we are sincerely settling in.

And oh, that run I took.  A quick 4 miles, 650 feet of elevation change, single track with loose, slick granite rocks everywhere.  Not in Kansas anymore.

Onward in the morning to experience some history and do a little horsing around.  Over and out.

Hershey PA.  Ignore the disembodied arm from the photo-bombing kid I tried to Photoshop out.

Make your own custom candy bar.

Custom candy bars made.  And a Nikon shooter nearby to get me in a pic!

In-process candy bars.

My running trail.  Boyd Big Tree Preserve Park, Harrisburg, PA


Day 6 - Ronks to Harrisburg, via Philadelphia

Overheard outside our hotel room this morning:  Hey, nice caboose.  Well same to you!

We got in late last night and stayed at the Red Caboose Motel (http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/).  It's located between Ronks and Lancaster, PA.  Said another way, it's out there.  Super nifty bunch of old railroad cars retrofitted into lodging.  By far the coolest place we have stayed so far.  We slept in a bit and then wandered around the grounds looking at all the railroad cars.  Very unique place to stay if you ever get the chance. They had an attached restaurant so we had breakfast, did a little gift shopping and hit the road to Philadelphia.  Our drive was a wandering one through back road Amish country.  Kim is falling in love with rural Philadelphia.  Very understated beauty.

Given our later start and leisurely pace, we were limited in what we could tackle in Philly - we visited the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Sonny's for a cheese steak.  We could definitely have spent a bunch more time in town, but we traded quantity for a much needed slower paced day.

After Philly we drove to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA (http://longwoodgardens.org/).  This is a gigantic gardens facility with a long history, initially founded by Pierre DuPont.  Hard to describe, basically Madison folks could relate to Olbrich Gardens on substantial amounts of steroids.  A great visit, and then on to Harrisburg PA where we will be for two nights.  Bless the extended stay Candlewood Suites.  They are great for stays like ours.  It has a pool, and anyone with kids knows that you can take your kids to the most amazing place in the world, but they will still be happiest in a hotel pool.

Cheers until tomorrow when we will check in after coming down after getting our chocolate fixes in!

- Jim

The BigTripMobile visiting car cousins.

Dining car, Red Caboose Motel, Ronks PA

Amish farmers were working everywhere, Southeastern PA

Bell

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA

Lovely flowers, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square PA

MK proclaimed that this is where she is going to get married.  Fair warning guys, it ain't gonna be cheap.  Italian Gardens, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA


Day 5 - Boston to Ronks, PA...via NYC

In the movie version of today's sequel to Planes, Trains and Automobiles, I think I would be played by John Candy and Kim would get the Steve Martin treatment.  The marquee for this version might read...um...SUVs, Ferries, Subways and Cabooses?

We took off from Boston early and decided we had the energy and time to try and take a tiny bite out of the Big Apple.  Driving into the City always causes me some serious pit-sweats, but we tackled it nonetheless.  There was a car tour of the Bronx, Queens,  Brooklyn and Staten Island,  finishing up at the door of the Staten Island Ferry.  Is there any other totally free service in the world cooler than that Ferry?  

(Cue the Mission Impossible music...) Kim had it in her head that she wanted to show the girls FAO Schwartz on 5th Avenue before it closes permanently in July.  Mission accomplished!  Ferry ride, subway all the way from Battery Park to 59th, shopping and pictures in FAO, street vendor hot dogs and then we ran the whole thing in reverse.  Awesome few hours, and a complete whirlwind.

If you are thinking that we were nuts to only devote part of one day to NYC, you would be correct...however, we are visiting with the girl's dance school next summer.  This was a great way to get us all pumped for that adventure in 2016!

A beautiful few hours drive west and south of Staten Island landed us here.  In another car.  A train car.  Caboose to be specific.  Yup, we're spending the night in a train car.  More on that tomorrow when we have some light for some pictures.  All aboard and g'night.

- Jim 

PS - a light picture day...too much running around!

Staten Island Ferry ride to the city.

A last visit to FAO

The girls have never seen 'Big'.  We'll be fixing that later in the trip!

Day 4 - Boston

"Always read the plaque; never read the comments." - Roman Mars

The quote above is from one of my favorite podcasters, Roman Mars, he of 99% Invisible (http://99percentinvisible.org/).  The quote hit home today.

Always read the plaque - basically whenever you run across something historical, especially if someone took the time to memorialize it on a plaque, you should take the time to stop and read.  You'll be better off for it. We spent much of the day in the 'Read the Plaque' headquarters of the universe - Boston, and specifically on the Freedom Trail.  It rained.  All day.  But we stuck it out and tackled a bunch of the trail - climbed the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Memorial, saw the USS Constitution, Paul Revere's house, The Old North Church, etc.  We read plenty of plaques - it was a little like history class for the girls, but the 'All American' theme for the trip demanded a day like this.  We also got GREAT suggestions from some friends and followers and lunched at Regina Pizzeria and had a great sweet treat at Mike's Pastries.  AMAZING.

'Never Read the Comments' has to do with staying away from what folks have to say in the comment section of online news stories.  And hey - WE WERE A NEWS STORY TODAY!  WKOW in Madison ran a great story (Thanks one more time, Savanna.) about us and it got some attention.  Mostly great and supportive feedback online, but of course some folks thought a few various things that weren't so positive about our trip.  Suffice to say we thank our amazingly lucky stars on a daily basis that we have the means, good fortune and support to do this trip.  And we planned and saved for 6 years. So enough on that. As a result of the news story, however, our Facebook feeds BLEW UP and we went from about 400 followers to over 1000 in one day.  All aboard the Big Trip train, people!  Sincerely, thank you for your interest.  We are very humbled by folks being interested and will try to continue making this worth reading if you are so inclined.

After a long wet day around Boston (including a bunch of subway travel - a very big deal for MK), we checked another All American must-do off the list and hit Fenway for a Red Sox game.  We admit to bolting before it was done to beat the rush but it was...raining.  We were done. Made the Jumbotron, though!

We're heading down the east coast tomorrow with a big question mark on the itinerary.  It depends on how early we get rolling, weather and how adventurous we feel.  We'll make sure to let you know how it goes.  Cheers, all.  

- Jim

Bunker Hill Memorial.  Raining.

MK vs. cannoli @ Mike's Pastries.  MK won.

Fenway.  It was raining.

Fenway.  It was, well, you know.

Fenway Jumbotron.  I made it in a picture!

Day 3 - Niagara to Boston

Has it really only been 3 days?  So much ground covered, literally and figuratively.

We are about 1100 miles in and got into Boston after a long travel day.  The 'we had a great day' streak continues.

We were again up early and headed across the border to Canada to see Niagara Falls from the other side.  Smart move in hindsight - the US side is great but from Canada you can see things from a much better angle, plus we got the girls into another country .  We did the 'Journey Behind the Falls', took a good walk and soaked (literally) it all in before hitting the road and heading east.

We had the 'Funk-N-Waffles' restaurant in Syracuse NY on our 'maybe' list as a place to visit if we had time.  Karma stepped in overnight  - the episode of 'Diners, Drive Ins and Dives' where they were featured was on, so we had to go.  It was great - a classic college town dive with great travel food.  Staff was cool, food was great and we walked off some of the calories with a hike around the Syracuse University campus.  Good stuff.

Although we were running a bit behind, we talked the girls into another detour off the main drag and found (thanks to a GREAT tip from a high school friend of Kim's) an Appalachian Trail access point only 15 minutes off the interstate.  This was a bucket list item for the trip, and although it was only a short hour-long hike, it really scratched the itch to experience the trail.  Knowing one of Jim's running heroes Scott Jurek is on the same trail trying to set a thru-hike record at the same time we took our hike made it all the more special.

We are now settled down in Boston and we will be in the same hotel for two days.  It is a much welcomed thought to unpack a bit more, clean up and know we have limited time in the car tomorrow.

Three days in and we are at the Easternmost point of The Big Trip.  We have 3200 miles to the west to get to the other side, and many things to see in between.  A full day in Boston tomorrow.  Cross your fingers for no evening rain so we can hear 'Play Ball'...

- Jim

The Journey Behind the Falls

Waterfall, eh?

Chicken-n-Waffles, highly recommended.

AT trail access, near Becket, MA

Appalachian Trail near Becket, MA

Day 2 - Cleveland/Niagara Falls

Greetings, Fellow Travelers!

Coming at you from the road early on Day 3.  We wanted to post last night, but be forewarned if you are using the internet at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Niagara Falls - the WiFi SUCKS and will crash your browser multiple times until you go to sleep at midnight in frustration...

Day 2 was awesome.  A good nights sleep in Cleveland was followed by an early trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Kim and Jim had been there years ago pre-kids, and the good memories were all confirmed.  A great visit full of conversation with the kids, sharing the love of music that all four of us have in common.  And...HERB RITTS!  If you aren't familiar, Herb was a photographer who was basically THE MAN for portrait and video work in the world of fashion and rock and roll for several decades thru the 80's and 90's (https://rockhall.com/exhibits/herb-ritts--the-rock-portraits/).   All enjoyed it, but Jim's head about exploded - a large two-floor show with dozens of his original works and all kind of history.  Simply amazing.

After the Rock Hall, we took the suggestion of several people and went to the West Side Public Market.  Hate to be redundant, but it was awesome!  Think Dane County Farmers Market, but indoors, inside of a turn of the Century public building and with much more diversity.  Great walk, tons of people, grabbed some good treats and hit the road.

We then drove to Niagara Falls.  We got in fairly late and took a sunset walk down to the falls.  We were all pretty wiped out after a long day so the visit was just OK - breathtaking but not fully appreciated.  I promise, a better Falls update later today when the Day 3 update is posted. The McNulty's will be  crossing the border and going International.  Canada, eh?!

Cheers, more updates at the end of the day (assuming the WiFi in Boston is better than Niagara...)

- Jim

The Girls before heading into the RnR HOF

MK channeling Bjork in front of a Herb Ritts masterpiece.

Cleveland's West Side public market.

The lovely that sold us dried fruit at West Side Market.

Niagara Falls, US view at night.


Day 1 - Cleveland

The first day is in the books, and what was supposed to basically be a travel day turned into a bunch of fun.  Savanna Tomei from Channel 27 was a complete blast, so lucky to have that connection come our way to see us off first thing in the morning (thanks Sis!).  Our drive thru Chicago, Gary and 80/90 thru Indiana and Ohio was a little wet at times but generally clear sailing.  Our surprise detour to see the Notre Dame campus was exactly what I had hoped we would and will continue to do during this trip - see something cool and just do it.

Our hotel for the night is an old beauty - the Hyatt Regency Arcade.  Classic grandeur, and a photographers dream.  A couple pics below.

Dinner was great as well - neighborhood Irish Pub with some great waitstaff.  It was another wish come true for the trip - we just talked to some good folks about what we are doing, they really liked the story, we swapped info, they already liked our Facebook page and we walked away with an awesome keepsake from our visit.  I hope the good mojo keeps coming our way.

Thanks so much to everyone for such great send off messages, too.  We are truly, truly humbled and thankful for everyone giving a hoot about this trip.  More tomorrow, cheers and good night!

- Jim

Lobby of Hyatt Regency Arcade

Lobby of Hyatt Regency Arcade

Lobby of the Hyatt Regency Arcade

Dinner, 4th St, Downtown Cleveland

And We're Off!

We hit the road at 7:40 am! Rainy and chilly, but it was a stress free morning. Six years of planning will do that for you. 

A million thanks to all the visitors that popped over last night for our open house. So great to get sent off with hugs and warm wishes from so many friends and family!

And it was an exciting morning - we got to meet and be interviewed by Savanna Tomei from Channel 27!  She will be doing a story about our trip, airing during the 6:00 am hour on Monday morning. Big Trip media coverage - awesome! 

We'll be checking in often. Thanks again for all the support. Next stop...Cleveland! 

The Big Trip crew with Savanna Tomei from Channel 27.  

The Big Trip crew with Savanna Tomei from Channel 27.  

It all fits!

Less than 3 days to go. We did a dry run to test fitting 10 weeks of stuff in the back of the BigTripMobile. It took all our years of Tetris training, but it all fits, baby!  This is due 100% to the most amazingly organized person I know, who also happens to be my wife. 

We have tried really hard to bring just what we need. Simplicity. Focus on each other and The Adventure vs. the stuff.  Things are starting to get real. 

-Jim

It all fits! 

It all fits! 

One Week To Go!

Say it with me, people - it's one week until we shut it all down and hit the road for close to 10 weeks. To say it's a little surreal would be a huge understatement. We have been in some stage of planning this adventure for the last six years, so it is proving to be difficult shifting into true 'go mode'.  But here we are.

The route is largely planned, lodging is basically covered (we should have a roof over our heads every night), many excursions have been dialed in, but there are also many spots left wide open for unplanned adventure.  And then the minutia...WiFi hot spots, sufficient underwear, new toothbrushes and the like. We are packing as light as we can so the stuff stays out of the way of the time we want to spend together.

Not sure if this post is the start of the daily entries yet, but it is close.  I will say this one time: THANK YOU to those of you who are part of our circle. Thanks for the endless support and indulging some very 'Hey, look at us!' behavior.  We have a family ego like everyone else, but as much as we can, we are trying to just share our experiences and maybe inspire folks a little here and there.  We know how incredibly lucky we are to have each other, to have our unbelievably supportive jobs and to be surrounded by a bunch of amazing people.  We just want to spend good slow time with each other, and share it with people we care about.  

More to come.  Lots more. Tell your friends to like our page and follow along.  It's going to be a fun ride...