Day 4: Lincoln, Nebraska to Laramie, Wyoming.
Somehow, this trip seemed to go much faster last year when we were driving in the other direction. I think it's because last year, we packed in one 14-hour day that really took the edge off the 36-hour trip total. This time, we're doing mostly 8-hour days so it's taking f o r e v e r.
We spent the morning in Lincoln hanging out with our friends the Lewises. That wasn't the plan at first but they are good at talking us into things (last year, they talked us into staying the night, which also wasn't the plan).
Then we drove across Nebraska and part of Wyoming. Like I said, Magdalena started to lose it around Cheyenne so we called it quits as soon as we came across an acceptable hotel in Laramie.
Now, for the Joys of the Road Trip:
- Turning on cruise control and seeing how long you can go without having to tap the brakes to turn it off because of other cars throwing off your groove.
- Watching the ETA on Nigel the GPS slowly tick down because you're exceeding the speed limit by 4 MPH. Mwahahahahaha.
- Singing along to the soundtracks of various musicals together in an exaggerated manner that would not otherwise be acceptable. So far, we've done Evita, Les Mis, and Phantom. And Top Gun isn't technically a musical, but we did that one, too. Can "This kinda game; people get hurt; I'm thinkin' that the people is me" possibly be a real lyric to a real song?
- Translating the lyrics of foreign songs into English as you sing. Even more challenging is translating English songs into a foreign language. Seriously, this one is so much fun.
- Noticing how the landscape changes. I was sad to see the last vestiges of the Midwest fade away as we drove across Nebraska. Wyoming mostly just disturbs me. It doesn't get good again until Utah. What's with that?
- Playing red light/green light with the girls at rest areas.
- Talking about things with your family that you never would have talked about if you weren't stuck in a car with them for hours and hours.
Mostly I just love getting a sense of this country, even if it's mostly through highways and freeways, gas stations and rest stops. It's nice to be able to put an image to a place name, you know?
Tomorrow, we push on toward our final destination (Lehi, Utah). We can do it!
Pace: Steady. Another 8ish hours. It started to feel like grueling right around Cheyenne, when Magdalena had a little breakdown.
Rations: Our chocolate milks are now gone. Does that qualify as meager?
Somehow, this trip seemed to go much faster last year when we were driving in the other direction. I think it's because last year, we packed in one 14-hour day that really took the edge off the 36-hour trip total. This time, we're doing mostly 8-hour days so it's taking f o r e v e r.
We spent the morning in Lincoln hanging out with our friends the Lewises. That wasn't the plan at first but they are good at talking us into things (last year, they talked us into staying the night, which also wasn't the plan).
Then we drove across Nebraska and part of Wyoming. Like I said, Magdalena started to lose it around Cheyenne so we called it quits as soon as we came across an acceptable hotel in Laramie.
Now, for the Joys of the Road Trip:
- Turning on cruise control and seeing how long you can go without having to tap the brakes to turn it off because of other cars throwing off your groove.
- Watching the ETA on Nigel the GPS slowly tick down because you're exceeding the speed limit by 4 MPH. Mwahahahahaha.
- Singing along to the soundtracks of various musicals together in an exaggerated manner that would not otherwise be acceptable. So far, we've done Evita, Les Mis, and Phantom. And Top Gun isn't technically a musical, but we did that one, too. Can "This kinda game; people get hurt; I'm thinkin' that the people is me" possibly be a real lyric to a real song?
- Translating the lyrics of foreign songs into English as you sing. Even more challenging is translating English songs into a foreign language. Seriously, this one is so much fun.
- Noticing how the landscape changes. I was sad to see the last vestiges of the Midwest fade away as we drove across Nebraska. Wyoming mostly just disturbs me. It doesn't get good again until Utah. What's with that?
- Playing red light/green light with the girls at rest areas.
- Talking about things with your family that you never would have talked about if you weren't stuck in a car with them for hours and hours.
Mostly I just love getting a sense of this country, even if it's mostly through highways and freeways, gas stations and rest stops. It's nice to be able to put an image to a place name, you know?
Tomorrow, we push on toward our final destination (Lehi, Utah). We can do it!