Journey to the Golden Dome

It's road trip time!

Brian has a conference for work this weekend in Indianapolis so Will and I are tagging along.  The conference starts on Saturday so we left a few days earlier to have some fun as a family. 

Since I find the drive on I65 extremely boring, I decided to change things up a bit this time around. I did a few Google searches and discovered that going to Indy via South Bend only added about 30 minutes to the trip so that is what we did. We left Milwaukee early afternoon and arrived in South Bend around 5:30. Since the bookstore at Saint Mary's was already closed we headed straight for the hotel to check in and feed Will. 

Once the belly was full we ventured over to Notre Dame.  We explored (and spent a few dollars) in the bookstore and then walked down near the dome to take a few pictures. 

One of the benefits of going through South Bend is that we got to spend a bit of time with Bridget. She stopped by the hotel after we got back from dinner and was greeted with plenty of smiles from Will. 

My little guy did great today, he slept most of the car ride and was up almost two hours past his normal bedtime without getting fussy at all. Our hotel room is great because there is an area separate from where the bed is so we were able to tuck his pack n play out of the way. He is so wiped that I was able to move his bed a few times while he was sleeping and he never moved a muscle. 

  

Near the Golden Dome with Dad

Golden Dome with Mom

Hanging out at the hotel

Feeding myself, getting to be a big boy

Oh the places we'll go!

I love lists and planning and making more lists after I plan, so what better way to start out our trips around the United States than with a list of the states so that I can visually see all of the places we can plan to travel to!

Here is a start with the places Will has already been crossed out.

Places to Visit:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming
• Washington, DC
• Puerto Rico
• Guam

This list is dynamic and will continue to grow and shrink as we think of new places to travel and then are able to cross them off our list after we visit.  

Let the Adventure Begin!

The world is full of adventure!

As a child, my parents took me on many trips.  I have fond memories of spring breaks, road trips to soccer tournaments around the Midwest, or long weekends to the Dells.  I was fortunate that my parents allowed me to travel with my church group during my high school days and even let me go on a school trip to England.  All these adventures instilled in me a desire to see and learn more about the world we live.

As an adult, I've continued my travels to cities and countries near and far.  I've gone camping in Green Lake, taken countless pictures with the "bean" in Chicago, swam with dolphins in Roatan and Puerto Vallarta, been deep sea fishing in Cabo San Lucas, kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland, visited platform 9 3/4 in London and visited the top of Eiffel Tower in Paris just to name a few.

Now that I have a child, I want to show him the world and I plan to use this blog to document his adventures.  I have always had a goal of visiting all 50 states and US territories - so far I have been to 26 (28 if you count only being inside the airport).  While William is too young to articulate his goals in life, my hope is that he will see the world - anywhere he wants to go - I hope to make it possible!

In his short six months of life so far he has already been in three states and several cities in Wisconsin.  We've already got him booked on his first plane trip and have plans for his second one.

Here we go Will...hope you enjoy the adventure!