Days 7 and 8

Days 7 and 8

On Day 7 we headed to Asheville, NC. C's sweet friends in Wisconsin gave her a necklace kit which was so wonderful for her to have in the car. It came with the supplies to make three necklaces. She of course wanted to make all three, but this took her about 45 min to an hour. That was the longest I had seen her focus on an activity this whole trip. We arrived in Asheville around 5:30 p.m. and checked in at the Holiday Inn Express. It was a nice hotel. It didn't have fridge in the room but was very pet friendly. In all of the grass areas around the hotel they had bags for pick-up and they even had a porch off of their restaurant where they allowed pets to join you while you ate.

On Day 8 we woke up and headed to Montreat. I had the pleasure of taking an amazing group of high school students (the youth group at my church in Jax) to a youth retreat in Montreat many summers ago. I fell in love with that place almost immediately. I was so excited to show mom and C. Unfortunately it rained, but C was able to play in the park for a few minutes and I was able to drive around to show mom some of what I liked so much. Then we were off to....CHARLESTON!

We made it! Who's excited!?! Me!

Four or five days ago I called the Inn at Charleston on the Air Force base to see if they had any availability. When they said they didn't, I requested a "non-availability statement." I was told that when I arrived I could go to the front desk and they would call hotels that they work with and see if they had availability. If they didn't, then at that time I would be issued the statement. So of course today I went in when we arrived and we were issued a statement. We then spent time looking for a place to stay while I look for a house. We ended up booking a room at the Hyatt Place. Did you know that almost all hotel websites do not provide a place to let them know you have a pet...even if they allow pets? Well this hotel was the same. I booked a double queen suite for three nights (to start). When we arrived they said we had to be on the first floor because we had a pet. I was ok with this. Then I went into the room it wasn't what I had booked. It was one King bed and had a shower (no tub for the kid). I was disappointed with the hotel and they ended up letting me cancel our room without penalty.

So, we searched again and ended up at the Staybridge. Let me tell you what a better choice this was...for the same rate, we are in suite (similar only in that it has 1 king and no tub) that has a full kitchen. Dinner was included tonight (build your own sub) as well as complimentary wine, beer, and soda. The rest of our stay will include hot breakfast every morning. The hotel has complimentary laundry, dvd rentals, and has an indoor pool. We are definitely settled and happy. I am looking forward to sleeping in and not packing the car in the morning.

I already have appointments to look at two homes tomorrow and am hoping to see even more. Our HHG's arrive early next week and I'm hoping to have an address for our driver instead of getting put into storage. Fingers crossed!

Making a necklace

C drew herself, me and Jonny

 Beautiful Montreat

 Mom bought C these vinyl sticker "paper dolls"...this was the only other activity that she stuck with for a while (an hour plus).  

We made it to South Carolina!

 Our suite at Staybridge. Looking forward to going to the grocery store and eating in for a change!

Days 5 and 6

Days 5 & 6

Almost there! We have made it to Columbus, IN. We have 1 medium day and 1 short day left. Yesterday we left Homewood Suites in Sioux Falls, SD and drove 6+ hours to Wisconsin. We stopped to see friends. It was so good to see get this break in the middle of our journey. It was so nice to be in a home (even if it wasn't our own). It was nice to sit on a couch at night and talk to friends and to watch a little news. It was great to get to do a load of laundry. It was so nice to have two home made "comfort food" meals (chicken pot-pie, and breakfast casserole). It was even better to let C see and play with old friends. This morning, once we were all repacked, we headed over to a park to let the kids play and get out some energy for about a half hour. It was a perfect stop. :) Thanks again Rainbow and Chris for your amazing kindness and hospitality.

This afternoon we drove 4 and a half hours and arrived in Columbus which is right outside of Indianapolis. We are staying at one of the nicest La Quintas that I've ever stayed in: Super clean and modern decor, comfortable beds, nice staff, free wifi and breakfast, and good military rate.

How are Duke and C? Well Duke is such a great dog. He is very popular with everyone when we stop and he has quietly slept/laid on his bed pretty much the entire way. We let him out every time we stop, no matter what, and let him go potty and give him water. He has a bed in the back of my SUV and we bring it into the hotels every night. C is doing really well too, especially considering her age. I have different toys/activities for her to do each day to keep her busy. We have a dvd player and ipad in my car which we try to save till the end of each day when she has run through all of the toys and games and we are desperate to make it the last 45 min to an hour without a break down. So far so good. At night I've been taking her to the hotel pools and letter her swim for 20 or so min. She's having a ball.

On to Asheville tomorrow. I'm going to take mom and C to Montreat tomorrow night or Thursday morning. Love it there! Great park and little fresh mountain stream to play in...fun will be had.

C is taking an interest in using my camera. She captured these pics of Duke from her level. :)

The Mississippi I think.

Fun at the park with friends.

 Finally passed out after fighting it for a while. Then woke up and asked for headphones and went back to sleep. Too funny.

Pool time at the hotel. 

Days 3 and 4

Days 3 and 4

Saturday morning we got up and actually made it out of the hotel by 9:00 am. Yay us!  We started our drive with the thought of stopping in Gillette in the back of our minds. Then when we got to Gillette, we stopped for dinner {at a Subway that had a DRIVE THRU!...it doesn't take much to impress me} and decided that we could probably make it to Spearfish. Well...we made it to Spearfish and there were no rooms available. Then we made it to Sturgis and there were no rooms available. Then on the way to Rapid City we called every hotel in the area and got the very last room at the Ramada (sad day...but at least it was a room).

Today was a great day. We woke up and grabbed some Starbucks for breakfast (a big thanks to my SMM families for that!). Then we headed over to Mount Rushmore. My mom had never been and I was really excited to take her and C. We ended up walking the half mile around the Presidential Trail. It had 450 stairs...yikes! C bought herself a flat penny. She was so excited! Then we hopped back in the car and headed toward Sioux Falls. On the way we stopped at Wall Drug and took a brief walk through. Now we have made it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and I would highly recommend the Homewood Suites- wonderful and clean suites, pet friendly and very nice and helpful staff!

Tomorrow we will get to see some familiar faces! I can't wait!

Here's the question of the day: What's with these pallet looking fence line ups??

My Darling Daughter took the next two pics.

Mom took a pic of me taking a pic of C.

Day 2

Day 2

Hotel recommendations: I highly recommend the Double Tree in Spokane. Excellent service and great rooms. If you are military you get free hot breakfast buffet included. I also would recommend the Comfort Inn in Butte, Mt. They have a great military rate and your stay (military or not) includes hot breakfast, wifi, and ice cream. The rooms are very clean and the beds are comfy. Both of these places accept pets. :)

We didn't get as far as we were hoping on our drive today, but that's alright. We ended up, at the same time of day as yesterday, getting stuck in road work traffic. Luckily it was moving... just ever so slowly. We stopped at a rest stop to eat lunch (that we packed) and play catch for a few minutes. Then we got moving again.

We decided to stop in Butte because we needed to get dinner and my darling daughter was getting antsy. I think it turned out to be a great idea though. We grabbed some food for dinner, checked in at our hotel, got settled and then grabbed some ice cream to-go (even one for Duke) and headed over to a local park. Mom walked Duke around while I pushed Caroline on the swings. It was good to get out and let both kid and dog expel some energy.

Now we are back at the hotel and headed off to dream land. Our goal for tomorrow is to leave the hotel by 9:00. Thursday we left Everett at 12:00 and today we left Spokane at 10:30. Fingers crossed.