Around  8pm we stopped and made some sandwiches at a rest area for dinner in Iowa.  This picture is us at the rest stop.  It was a really pretty night.  Iowa is filled with rolling plains in which you can see on forever.  That was pretty neat to see.  There are tons of fields and farmlands.   Kind of a boring state but the sky was really cool.  It looked like a rainbow of colors as the sun was setting.   As it got darker, we could see firework shows from different cities far off in the distance.  We stopped driving around 11:30pm near Des Moines and stayed at a Days Inn.  

Day #1

  We are off on our adventure out west after a fun 4th of July weekend!  We just had lunch with mom and dad before we left so we could say our goodbyes.  We said goodbye to grandma and grandpa, Justin's family and our friends last week.  It was good spending some time with everyone before we set off.  We had to say goodbye to Boomer last night and of course I cried the entire way home from Justin's parents house.  This is really our first time traveling without him.  Man, I don't know how I will handle leaving my kid one day since I struggled so much just leaving the dog and cat!  We dropped the cat off at mom and dad's this morning.  They both love being at their "grandma and grandpa's" house so we know they are in good hands.  

   It is a beautiful, sunny day....a good day for driving!  We are planning on just driving as far as we can go tonight and then stopping and sleeping either in the car or at a cheap hotel.  We didn't make any reservations for the drive up to South Dakota because we weren't sure when we would feel like stopping.  We have the trailer packed with the kayaks, bikes and tubs.  We put most of our things (food, dishes, bedding, etc.)  in big tubs.  We are so glad we decided to take the trailer because the back of the car is packed so we needed the extra space!!  It was hard deciding what to pack as far as clothes since the climates will be different and since we will be doing outd00r things and dressing up in San Fransisco, Monterey  and Vegas.  We are also so glad we got the new Highlander for our trip....it is very comfortable and roomy.  We got an AT&T wireless card so I can blog after each day and upload pictures as long as there is reception.  I highly recommend it if you are in the car for a long time.   It kills time!  Got several books to read from my good friend, Mindy.  We also got a converter thing for our I-Pod so that we can play our music on a frequency that doesn't have any music stations.  I think we are all set as far as entertainment in the car.  I am sure once we get further west we will just roll down the windows and enjoy the awesome scenery!  I will probably make up stupid games that get on Justin's nerves too:)  That is what my sister and I used to do traveling in the car.

    We are very excited for this trip.   I would say I am a little nervous too.  I always get a little scared of the unknown....I think that is why God put someone so adventurous in my life.  Justin makes me do things I never would have done by myself.  This trip is one of them.   I know this trip will be a trip of a lifetime!  We will get to see parts of the country that some people dream of going to see.  This is our first big adventure as a married couple.    I hope that this trip will make us even closer as a couple!  OR Justin might be sending me home on a plane half way through:)  Let's hope not!