On the road again

We're officially on the road again and spending some quality time in the upper mid west.  We left Irmo on Friday, July 3rd to embark on a 25 day expedition crisscrossing through West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and an unknown mystery location.  The mystery location is not a surprise per se, but instead more of a question mark in our own planning.  More about that later.  

First, let's begin with the short layover in Ohio.  While it is technically possible to drive the nearly 1000 miles it would take us to reach Michigan in a single trip, it was not our preference and we had to stop off in Ohio to see the Potteiger clan. Because we picked maya up straight from camp, we also were in serious need of my sister Ashlee's laundry facilities.  

We arrived at Potteiger farms around 8:30pm and took in the sights.  And what a sight there was to see!  She lives in a beautiful old farm house complete with chickens, massive red barn and pond.  Shep and Melissa Rose gave us the grand tour complete with basement and attic!  Ashlee made potato mountain for dinner and we washed all of Maya's clothes.  

The next morning we said farewell for a few days to the Potteiger family and set out for Michigan.  We stopped along the way for lunch and ran into a group of Amish people.  Beyond this encounter,  the trip consisted of mostly farm land and corn fields.  

We arrived at Marci and Lee's gorgeous  lake house on Lake Gull in Hickory Corners Michigan.  After a quick tour and hellos, we began setting up our tent beside a small brook in their yard.  Dad and Uncle Jim helped us pick the spot and set up our tent dubbed the Taj Mahal.  

After getting settled in, we joined a large group of family and friends playing games such as croquet, corn hole and ladder golf.  Everyone was so welcoming and we had a great time!  Chef Lee made hamburgers and hot dogs for the whole crew.  

Later we went on a boat ride courtesy of Lloyd Lee (my cousin) to watch the fireworks.  This picture of Landon was taken at 10pm!  We were shocked at how light it was outside still!  Fireworks began around 10:30 as we had to wait until it was dark enough to see them.  In the middle of the lake we were surrounded by fireworks!  It was somewhat surreal to be on a boat on the lake watching fireworks on the fourth, but not at Lake Wateree.  Homey but not home.  

After we returned and spent a few minutes around the campfire, we returned to our tent for bed.  We slept great for the first night in our tent since 2013.  It was a little chilly, so we were bundled up in sweat pants and long sleeves for the night, but overall slept well.  

We woke up to a wonderful breakfast cooked to order by Chef Lee.  We had omlets, bacon, sausage, fruit, hash browns, and blueberry pancakes.  Dad and I joked about making grits for everyone and Grandpa Wilcox performed a taste test of syrups.  Don't let Mrs. Buttersworth's fancy bottle fool you- Aunt Jemima has this one hands down!  Everyone has been so welcoming!  I can say without a doubt any myths about northern hospitality should be put to bed.  Southerners they're coming for you!    

This adventure is sure to be monumental for us.  A big thanks is due to all the people who helped get us on our way including mom for giving up her annual Fourth of July celebration and helping us save up the cash needed to pull this thing off.  Also to Donna and Doug for lending us their Durango for the trip.  We are now spoiled by a built in DVD player with wireless headphones.  I have never enjoyed traveling with the kids for hours at a time so much!  Also to all the Wilcox clan for inviting us into their home and making us so comfortable!  We are so very blessed to be a part of this amazing crew!

We couldn't do these types of things without the generous love and far reaching support of our beautiful families.  You mean the world to us.  Here we go!