The Preparation: With each trip in the trailer we are learning tips and tricks to make it flow more smoothly. By this trip the preparation included a lot of meal prep: 11 breakfasts and lunches, as well as 44 healthy snacks proportioned out to not only keep us from feeling sick along our journey, but to speed up our drive times so we could leave faster in the mornings and avoid stopping for lunch. While I did a lot of shopping and cooking, the kids pitched in with the cooking, cleaning, and self entertainment. There was much outside time, playing with friends, and laying around. But eventually the hard work was done and all that was left was to wake up and start our 11 day trip through the South to end our summer play!
St. Louis, MO: This was too be the first stop along our trip. Because we ended up turning around and going home to switch from the Expedition to the truck, we got on the road later than expected and didn’t arrive until it was too late to get into the Cardinals game. Thankfully the energy of the stadium combine with their super cool big screen outdoor viewing area across the street, we still got to feel the excitement. And we went across the street to eat food, watch the game on tv to our left and look down into the stadium on our right. It was till a very cool experience.
Nashville, TN: Hands down the WORST day of our trip! Lol. We can laugh about it, but was just the worst. First off… the heat was unbearable. The town smelled like pee. It was dirty. And there were drugged up people passed out in the heat all Over the place. We were excited to try some local bbq, however, every restaurant turned into a 21 and over bar at 6:00pm. We ended up waiting over an hour to get into the Hard Rock, and the girls were miserable during the wait. Also the wildlife… drunken herds of girls traveling in packs as far as the eye could see. Whether on foot, by bike, or on party buses, the herds were out to hunt!!! So it was late and we were tired and our GPS ended up taking us to the wrong KOA 20mins passed where our other one was at. And on the way back to the right KOA we ended up getting pulled over… Nashville hated us, and we hated Nashville.
2 Days at the Gulf Shores, AL: A much needed break from driving. Delicious food! Bathroom fiascos I’ll never forget. And endless beach play… what else is there to say??
Harry Potter World/Universal Studios, Orlando, Fl:
This was the day this whole trip was built around! The boys spent the whole summer saving up money on a chart so they could buy souvenirsat the park. Maddix went straight away to Olivander’s wand shop and purchased himself a wand. He worked so hard and was so happy with it. The park had several interactive spots set up where you could stop and cast spells, which was very cool. Aaron went straight to the Weasley’s jokes and treats emporium (I know that’s not the correct name; sorry boys) and purchased jokes and treats! I went for the butter beer! Travis… had many critiques on the day, and the girls weren’t in the best of moods; they were definitely too little. And it was too hot in Florida, in August! But it was worth it to hear, “this is a Real life dream come true” many times throughout the day. Oh and the Hogwarts express was awesome! Bucket list item ✅
Charleston, SC: This was THE BEST day of the trip. Why we never received interviews in the South blows our mind, but we know we weren’t supposed to move to the South because we never would have come home.
The best part is this trip was playing at the beach when a giant black storm head blew in. All the locals were already packed up and almost gone when I finally got Travis’s attention in the water. No joke, as soon as we got out of the water and to our things the winds began WHIPPING!! Travis dove over all our things. The boys went chasing after our other things. I was scrambling to get the girls somewhere safe while they screamed that the sand was hurting their faces. Which was fair. The winds were whipping between 40-60mph we later found out. And during this all, there was Travis yelling, “this is our moment! THIS is the moment on every trip you look back and remember forever!!” Crazy pants! But he was right.
At the trailer we formed a pretty well organized procession line for showering off six sand people with limited hot water, without making a sand mess. And then we went to a very late dinner in their French district. Ugh! The history there was amazing!
Pigeon Fordge, TN: Well we drove through the beautiful great smoky mountains of North Carolina/Tennessee and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere at a log cabin gas station with two pumps in the middle of the trees. As we filled the truck we watched a guy with an epic mullet drive off with one hand on his go-kart steering wheel and the other waving his burrito in the wind… Woohee. We went to Walmart where everyone smelled like skunk and the accents were incredible. We stayed next to Dollyworld and couldn’t believe the lineup of cars to get in! It was like Disneyland! 
Louisville, KY and Ohio Falls, IN: We were making the best time we’d made so far on this trip, so of course we got stuck in standstill traffic for an hour extra. And of course… someone was going to pee their pants! We made it in time to tour the Slugger Museum and factory. The baseball history at the beginning was my favorite. The kids loved their free mini bats. And all the kids LOVED leaving with their very own slugger stuffed puppy. We continued over the bridge into Indiana to go explore the meeting place of Lewis and Clark.
Springfield, IL: Our last day was spent visiting Abraham Lincoln’s home. He and his family lived in this home when he was approached and made the decision to run for President. After his death, and the death of multiple sons, his wife never returned home; instead, her eldest, and only living son, inheretrd the house and sold it to the town for $1.00 with the promise that the tours would always be free. There was a special spirit there and I enjoyed that tour more than I thought I would. Plus, Travis helped do the German translation on the home pamphlet (in regards to her cooking stove, which has a cool history itself) as part of his senior project.
As we went to leave, we somehow witnessed the creation of “ferret fights…” something that is still happening in our home today.
The next morning we drove home and we’re greeted by a neighborhood of children! All of which were willing to help unload the trailer so the kids could play sooner… which resulted in my house looking like a bomb went off and me not being able to find anything, ha ha. But it was very sweet!
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