Road Trip....Moving to Arkansas

8/9/2020

July 29 - After Tim got home from working last night we headed out. We are going back to Ohio to get all of our stuff out of storage to move to Arkansas. This will be our home base for now while we continue to travel full time in our RV as Tim does Travel Nursing. I will be driving today since Tim worked last night and we got on the road right around 8:30 this morning. We will go through New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas today stopping in Kansas for the night.

Along our route in Colorado we came across some cattle and a real life cowboy herding them up. He had us follow him up the road to clear the way for us. It was so cool!!

I normally get pictures of Tim driving, but this time he got one of me, LOL. Garrett was enjoying watching out the window and loving on his dog ;)

Crossing into Kansas. This state has been the only state we needed for the middle of our map and has left a big gaping hole on our map....until now. We finally get to add it, woohoo!! Welcome to Kansas!!

Not too long after we noticed in the distance dark skies, and a rainbow. I think we are heading into a storm.

It sure was a doozy. We had hail, strong winds, and heavy rain. It lasted for about 45 minutes before we got on the other side of it.

We finally arrived at our hotel for the night. We stayed at a Best Western in Dodge City. Very nice hotel, but the best part. They had a pool that was open. Garrett was so happy!!

Our room was a normal size room and everything looked great!

July 30 - The next morning we got up and headed down for breakfast. This was one of the only hotels that still served warm food. To help with Covid, they had a server that would place on your plate what you wanted for breakfast. It was actually a great set up. We got on the road around 8:30 and we did have some rain that morning on the road.

We stopped at a gas station for diesel. Really good prices right now :)

I had some birthday money that my Mother In Law had sent me so I decided to purchase one of the trucker maps for us. It has all laminated pages so I'm hoping this one will last me awhile. Thanks for my Birthday gift Linda :)

Garrett found a stretchy man inside and he has been really good this whole trip so far so I let him get it. He really was enjoying playing with it.

We stopped for lunch and Garrett was showing me where he got scratched on his arm.

We are loving the price of diesel as we are coming across.....

We made it to Missouri for the night where we stopped at Mark Twains Brewery for dinner.

After dinner we had to burn off some energy and found a huge hill right next to the mighty Mississippi River. Such a pretty area!!

On the Mississippi River you can see the Mark Twain Riverboat.

We then headed to the Sleep Inn and Suites where we got checked in and enjoyed some pool time fun!!

July 31, 2020 - Our rooms were pretty nice and we were really liking the hardwood floors for the dog and Garrett. Garretts favorite part was jumping on the beds ;)

Sassy always has to sit really close to Garrett in the back seat. She sure loves her kid!!

At the pilot rest stops they have a little dog park area. Sassy was able to enjoy it for a little bit today.

We finally made it to Ohio and first stop was Grandma Beverly's house. She was so excited to see us and Garrett was super excited to see her!!

He opened up his birthday presents from Grandma. He got so much fun stuff!!

Next stop was Josh and Alisha's house where we saw them and Uncle Rob and Aunt Joyce. More opening presents. He got a cool dinosaur from Uncle Rob and Aunt Joyce and a cool nerf gun from Josh, Alisha and Kayley. He was so happy to see everyone!!

Sassy is unsure about this masked person.....

Putting together the nerf guns.

We then headed to our hotel. We were staying at the Best Western in Wapakoneta. They didn't have the pool open so Garrett had some bath time fun!!

August 1 - Our room was pretty basic. Sassy was getting some extra attention from Tim this morning and Garrett was having fun playing with his new spiderman doll.

We left early to go pick up our U-haul and then headed to our storage unit in Cridersville. Thankfully my Sister Joyce and her husband Rob came to help us out. We got everything moved out and loaded up into the U-haul. The morning of the 2nd we will be heading out to Arkansas for our new home base. Here is our truck and U-haul all ready to go!!

That night for dinner we headed back to Sidney for 1 last meal with the family. Us, my mom, Rob, Joyce, Amanda, Greg and DJ were all there. Garrett was so happy to see Amanda, Greg and DJ!!

Making his rounds....Uncle Rob and Aunt Joyce next :)

Getting in some poses after the meal and saying goodbye to everyone :( We wish we could have stayed longer but alas we have to head to Arkansas tomorrow to set up our new home base!!

August 2 - Today we head out for Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. Garrett was so sweet sleeping on his spiderman I just had to get a picture.

We ran into some rain when we first left but it didn't last too long.

Garrett watching a movie and Sassy sleeping in the back seat. Pretty normal for a drive day for us.

We stopped at a barbecue joint for lunch. He sure does love his dad!!

Taking Sassy for a quick walk after eating and Garrett found this feather.

St. Louis. Going over the Mississippi River and seeing the Arch. One of these days we are going to stop and I am going to go up inside of that. It's on my bucket list of things to do.....

After lunch nap for the 2 kids, LOL.

Missouri is such a pretty state to drive through.

And they have the funniest signs and stops along the way......

We finally made it and checked in to the Quality Inn. We decided to do German food for our dinner. The place was pretty good!!

Afterwards pool time with dad. Missouri's pools are open and Garrett was soooo happy about that!!

August 3 - The next morning we got up and decided before we headed on to go check out the Uranus Fudge Factory. Was it kitschy...yes, but it was still fun to go check it out and Garrett seemed to enjoy it from a kids perspective. For us its a 1 and done but I'm glad we checked it out :)

I love how Garrett is plugging his nose like the animals butts are stinky, LOL!!

Garrett and I headed outside to explore some more while Tim finished paying for our fudge.

Playing on the U-haul while waiting for dad.

Poor dog.....

Very pretty drive!!

Ah.....Welcome Home!!

Almost there.

Woohoo!! We made it. For now we will be staying in the main house, but come October we will be moving into the brown cabin. So excited!!

Garrett was so happy to see some cats. Sassy wasn't sure what to make of them.

They had a hummingbird feeder up and lots of hummingbirds came to eat.

We had the most beautiful view from the porch.

Garrett and Sassy were both enjoying being out of the truck and able to play.

August 4 - Happy Birthday Garrett!! Every year you have celebrated your Birthday in a new state and this year we added Arkansas. We hope you have a wonderful day today and love you so very much!!

1st Birthday: Oregon
2nd Birthday: Ohio
3rd Birthday: Connecticut
4th Birthday: New York
5th Birthday: New Mexico
6th Birthday: Nebraska
7th Birthday: Arkansas

He enjoyed the morning of his 7th Birthday playing on the swing in the front yard.

Garrett and Sassy were both really enjoying the front porch and all the cats to play with!!

Getting ready to take the U-haul back.

I'm a bad mom. We did do presents, cake and ice cream. But we were having so much fun that we didn't get any pictures of it.

August 5 - Today we did all things DMV, let me tell you this was not fun and the ladies up at the DMV were not helpful or nice. Must be a requirement for all DMV's, LOL. Hopefully we can get it all worked out and get the registrations for all the vehicles....until then Garrett was having a good nap on the floor while we were working it out.....

August 6 - Today we head to Little Rock to get Tim's fingerprints done for his Arkansas Nursing License. Getting in some cat time before hand though.

See that little orange cat, that cat wouldn't take any crap from Sassy it was so funny!!

We are loving our views here!!

We headed out for Little Rock and we were going around a lot of curves. All of a sudden Sassy vomited right in the middle of the console and it was the worst smelling stuff ever. Thankfully it was a 1 and done and she had no other issues the rest of the trip.

We ended up eating lunch at Lakewood Fish and Seafood. We decided to get an appetizer of Alligator Bites. Garrett REALLY liked them. Tim and I went with the crab legs so yummy!! It was a really good place to eat.

Looking at the alligator head.....

If you are ever in Little Rock and need a place to eat this was a great place!!

Having a full belly makes for a tired little boy!!

We took the scenic route home. It was so beautiful!!

We stopped at a rest area along the route and they had a lot of informational stuff out for people that are visiting.

The rest area sure had some amazing views!!

Garrett wanted to take a picture of dad and mom ;)

We then headed to Alum Cove Natural Bridge where we were going to take a short hike.

The bumpy road we took to get there.

Hiking the trail. This area was so pretty!! Lots of trees, caves, rocks, bridges and other fun things to explore!! We all had a great time but I will let the pictures speak for themselves :)

Garrett was having a lot of fun jumping off the logs and the rocks. He was really enjoying himself.

Alum Creek Bridge.

Hiking on....

Inside a cave.

We finally made it to the truck. The hike took about an hour and it was approximately 2 miles long. It was a nice hike and we would definitely do it again!!

Tim found some acorns near the truck and was teaching Garrett how to blow into them to make noise.

We always thought that Tennessee would be our forever home, but I have to tell ya Arkansas is right up there with it. This state is so beautiful!!

Ozark Cafe is where we had dinner and it was good. The portion size was huge!!

When we got home we saw this on the outside wall of the house. Looks like its a stick mantis. So cool!!

August 7 - Today is our last day here and we are packing up to get ready to go. Looks like Garrett has a stalker, LOL!!

Sassy came to his rescue....chased the cat away!!

That was exhausting.....

By the end of the trip Sassy was best friends with all the cats and would even patiently wait for them to finish drinking and eat out of the same dish. She is such a good dog!!

Garrett was very happy about taking a bath!!

August 8 - Time to head home. Sassy saying goodbye to all the friends she has made during our time home. Some were more receiving than others, LOL.....

Back on the road again.....

Where we had lunch....was just ok.....

We made it to the Microtel Inn and Suites where we would be staying for the night. No pool at this location unfortunately :(

August 9 - We got up that morning and they only had paper bags for your breakfast.