The Kia and I safely returned to Austin Tuesday morning after a long 11-day journey that took the family to South Dakota and Minnesota. One of the main points of the trip was to get John to the farm in advance of his big 12-year-old trip to Seattle with Grandma Marcie. In this case, well in advance. Not only did John get to the farm for a two-week stay, but his Austin friend Clark joined him (separately—his family flew him up to SD shortly after we left). I can only imagine the fun those two city boys will have on a farm for two entire weeks before Mom flies them to Seattle. That’s where Clark will reunite with his family, who are also on vacation there purely by coincidence.

Let’s recap the fun on the road.

Friday, July 10: Austin to Wichita Falls

Friday we took off from home around 2:45 and picked up the kids early from YMCA camp and hit the road north. I intentionally planned a back route that would keep us off the interstate, to see some new sights and to enjoy some less stressful driving. After a stop for dinner in Jacksboro, TX, we arrived at the hotel in Wichita Falls, a good stopping point for a first night on the road. It was just three hours of driving on Day 1, but it got us a bit of a head start for the biggest day of driving ahead.

Lauren and Edie at a Jacksboro restaurant, Eastburn… I must say, it was possibly the best meal of the trip.

Saturday, July 11: Wichita Falls to Grand Island

The day with the most miles logged was Saturday with 581! After leaving the hotel bright and early, we stopped for lunch in Cherokee, OK at a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot. I mean that literally too, there was an actual hole in the wall at our table! The kids enjoyed playing with a beetle and a gumball machine while waiting for our food, while I watched the MLB Draft on my phone. Exciting stuff, folks! From there we drove up through central Kansas before stopping at the Geographic Center of the Contiguous 48 States near Lebanon, KS. Google Maps sent me on a wild goose chase down a grassy path to reach it, despite there being a paved road leading up to it. It was a fun little spot if you ever find yourself in the area, well worth the stop. We had dinner in Hastings, NE at Kitty’s Roadhouse where Edie found $5 in a volleyball pit. Mercifully, we arrived at our Grand Island hotel for the night shortly after. A drive not for the faint of heart!

The family was the central-most of any humans in the US at this particular moment… wow!

Sunday, July 12: Grand Island to Carpenter

Our journey to Carpenter through central Nebraska and South Dakota began early in the morning, and by lunch time we were in Huron, where we stopped for lunch at The Vault and to do some grocery shopping. By mid afternoon we had arrived on the Glanzer family farm! We were all thankful to be off the road. Unfortunately, Alex and family had their own vacation planned and soon left for a camping trip, so the kids didn’t have the cousins to play with except for this one night.

This roadside fireworks stand outside Huron has had this old amusement park ride standing since I was a kid. I always wanted to get out and see it up close.

Monday & Tuesday, July 13-14

We parked it on the farm, where Lauren and I both worked remotely during the day. Monday night I cooked up fajitas and we mixed up some margs. A big campfire went well into the night. Tuesday we went to Willow Lake for dinner and let the kids run around the park. Otherwise it was just a couple chill days.

Dad and Lauren gab over a fire.

Wednesday, July 15

I had to get up around 4am to take Lauren to the Watertown airport, where she had to fly to Minneapolis for work! Lauren would not see John again until he returns to Austin in a few weeks. I took the day off work and in the afternoon, Mom, the kids and I went to Huron to the Splash Central waterpark and DQ.

John plunges down a water slide at Splash Central. I went down it as well and my Apple Watch fell off and was momentarily lost.

Thursday, July 16

It was time to say goodbye to John, who would remain on the farm while Edie and I continued onward. After Dad helped put some new tires on the Kia, Edie and I hit the road for Minneapolis where we would reunite with Lauren and get some time in with Granny Anne and Aunt Alice. The drive was smooth and uneventful, and we arrived in time for dinner. At night, I gathered some of my MN friends (Patrick, Charlie, Shannon, Walsh, Nick) out to the local pub and enjoyed catching up.

Friday, July 17

Our one full day in Minnesota started with a trip to the playground and then to old favorite, Pizza Lucè for lunch. In the afternoon we ventured to Uptown to see our old neighborhood and even our old apartment, and stopped at US Bank Stadium for some Vikings gear. In the evening we took in the St. Paul Saints game vs. the Louisville Bats. It was fun, but HOT, even at night.

Lauren, Edie and Anne at the playground in Bloomington.

Saturday, July 18

Now it was time to say goodbye to both Lauren and Edie! I dropped them at MSP to fly home, and set out on my own. I wandered the MOA for a bit, then stopped and saw a random movie in the theater, Young Washington, and then made it to the home of friends Luke and Kristin near Des Moines. The kind hosts took me out to dinner that night.

Sunday, July 19

I had breakfast with Luke, then set out once again, driving to Kansas City for a Royals vs. Padres game. Oh lordy, the heat was unbearable. I got a seat in the lower level and watched 5 innings, but I could take no more sun and called it. I never leave games that early, but it was too much. And I wanted to make more progress on my drive. I arrived in the town of Chanute, KS around 5 and decided that was enough for the day, and got a hotel. I surprisingly fell asleep around 7:30! The sun really took it out of me that day.

My trip to a Royals game. Do I look hot and disheveled? I have seen quite a few games here over the years, including my first ever MLB game in 1994.

Monday, July 20

I hit the road from Chanute very early, with 400 miles on my agenda for the day. Original plans to stop at the office in Tulsa were disbanded and I powered through, all the way to Arlington, TX. Hwy 75 outside the Dallas metro was awful, with the very white-knuckle driving I had hoped to avoid. But I made it to Arlington and found a random hotel near the Rangers’ ballpark. I set up the laptop and got some work done in the hotel, then hoofed it over to Texas Live, the entertainment district outside the stadium. At night I took in the Rangers vs. White Sox game, my third game at Globe Life Field.

I thought I had bought first-row seats, but StubHub screwed me! I only sat in my assigned seat for two innings and then wandered the park the rest of the game. White Sox won 10-3.

Tuesday, July 21

I woke up at 6 and drove the 3 hours back to Austin. I knew I was back in good ol’ ATX when I-35 traffic ground to an absolute halt three or four times.

Recap

Much like past road trips up north, the time away did me some good getting out of Austin and reminding me of the old life up north. The time on the farm was about right, any more and I’m sure Edie would have been screaming of boredom. The Minneapolis part was very short—we didn’t even make it to Surly, our surefire #1 stop every trip! The drive was free of any hiccups, thankfully. There were no close calls or breakdowns or anything of the sort. My plan to stay off the interstates on the drive up was brilliant, but I was unable to stick to that on the drive home with stops planned in cities along interstates.

Not to worry, Minnesota friends and family who didn’t get to see us in our short time there—plans for a Christmas visit are in the works. We even decided on a 4-year Christmas rotation: vacation somewhere fun (Mexico, 2024), planting it in Austin or hosting (2025), Minnesota (2026), South Dakota (2027) and then on repeat until we live somewhere new. I also must not forget that a stipulation of getting the new house was that we would one day have a summer home in the Midwest, and that was a popular conversation topic on the trip. Mind you, owning a cheap second home near some water is something that would have been more affordable at our old house with the cheap mortgage… now, it is less achievable, but maybe we’ll find a way.

Early reports from the farm where John and Clark are staying have been mixed—some fun, some chores, and some boredom. It will be interesting to see what the two drum up. Mom and Dad have lives and can’t drop everything to take them someplace fun every day, so the two will have to get creative. Not that John would be void of boredom here either, but he would be in a camp of some kind during the day.