The easterly journey continues...

And we keep traveling east!  Yesterday we made it from Kersey, CO to Lincoln, NE.  Nebraska was pretty long and redundant, but we made it just fine… mostly with the help of some very serious bingo playing.  I am happy (and sad) to report that Ben won 3 times yesterday… sheesh!  Yep, he won a little 16-month kitten calendar (which I think is especially awesome), a cap gun, and the caps for the gun.  He gave it a go in the car, which was funny, but resulted in us having to roll down the windows for a few minutes on the interstate, heh.  Guess we’ll save that one for outside…

Last night we ate at a local BrewPub of Lincoln, Lazlo’s.  They made & served Empyrean beer, which we had never had before – I had a porter and Ben a stout, and we were both pleased, pretty darn good.  Also, we were just an hour south of Omaha and the restaurant, of course, served Omaha Steaks and we indulged.  I had a really delicious cut of prime rib along with buttery salty sautéed green beans and Ben had a New York strip with wild rice… so good!  I don’t have pictures of the meal this time, but you can imagine how wonderful it was… the meat was even cooked perfectly.

We got up this morning and had been in 3 states by the time 10:30 rolled around – Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri.  We’re currently making our way through MO and will stop for the night somewhere between St. Louis and Louisville, KY.  Tomorrow we’ll be hanging out in Louisville a little bit, and after that we’re only about 8 hours away from home.  We’ll probably take it good and slow – hopefully making a pit stop in the good ‘ole WNC mountains - because it still feels like home even though our home isn’t there anymore - before finally making it back to the Charlotte area to be with our families. 

Okay, below is a new series of maps for your enjoyment.  First is the way out, second is our way back.  Also, just so you know, Missouri gas prices are competitive with Salt Lake City!  Hooray for sub-$40 tanks of gas!

I am happy to report...

That we had a fabulous day!  It didn't start out so promising... we woke up to sleet, ugh.  Before long, however, the skies cleared up a little bit, and we decided to go ahead and go for a bike ride.  Turns out it was a great decision.  The weather was beautiful for the entire ride, and it was by far the best ride of the trip yet (at least for me).

We tried out another "classic" trail for this area - JEM Trail.  We clocked about 14 miles... and once again, the scenery was just beautiful.  This trail was a loop - mostly road and wash the whole way up, then a long descent on low-grade, smooth, hard-packed, beautiful cross-country trail.  Ben and I both had a ton of fun... it was nice and struggle-free and fast, just my cup of tea.  Then, to top it off, the final mile or so of the trail was along the rim of the Virgin River Canyon... slightly scary, but amazing!

Also, I won another bingo prize!  That's right.  I may or may not have taken advantage of the fact that Ben was napping, but that's his own fault, haha.  So, prize #4 - a gun that shoots foam discs!  And I took full advantage by shooting Ben with it.  A couple times.  I also happened to take it into a restaurant with us last night and shot him at the booth.  It was awesome!

And finally, I am also happy to report that Ben and I are good cooks.  I don't mean this in a bragging way, and I mean it more for Ben than myself really, but it's true.  I am always satisfied with the meals we cook... they are nutritious, delicious, and filling.  Ben cooked again tonight - we had sauteed brussels sprouts, white sweet potato, and shallot as well as buttered pasta and thai seasoned chicken. Mmmmm.  Check it out...

Also, a lot of you know that Ben is basically the animal whisperer... he denies the fact, but the truth is that all animals are attracted to him.  Just to prove it, as I came out of the laundry room at the campsite where we're staying tonight, there was some random cat rubbing up against Ben as he was cooking.  It just thought Ben looked nice and came to say hello.  It even tried to hitch a ride with us... who knows, maybe he's still in there...

And we've got a winner!

Hello People!  To start, here is a family photo from this past weekend:

 We’re still on the move… we’re currently in the middle of working our way from Grand Rapids, MN to Kersey, CO.  We decided on a route that would take us by Mt Rushmore, so we headed west from MN into North Dakota and camped last night at a KOA in Bismarck.  It was a really good night – we got into town pretty early in the evening so we ran a couple errands, went to an Applebees and had a couple beers, then went back to the campsite to make dinner and get ready for bed. 

The first thing we did last night was to purchase a new mac-daddy 2-burner camp stove.  Sorry Mom – the other one leaked fuel and caught itself on fire, so we figured a replacement was in order.  The new stove did a great job and Ben cooked up some delicious chili with ground pork, and yes you guessed it, the rest of the leftover Porketta.  Mmmm.

So, not sure where you are while you’re reading this and what your weather is like, but it is definitely winter up here.  It got down to 5 degrees last night!  We camped in the car again (it just seems warmer than in the tent on the ground).  It’s so nice because the car starts warm and delightful, then just cools down throughout the night.  We woke up to frozen crystallized windows and cold air, but it was cozy in our sleeping bags.  Ben pan-fried thick slices of homemade banana bread and made mocha with pressed coffee and homemade hot cocoa mix – all compliments of my Auntie Carrie (thank you!)… a perfect start to the morning.

So, Ben and I have been holding off on the car bingo until now in an effort to savor the experience… ya know, we don’t want it to be over too quickly.  Well, we decided to go ahead and bust it out for this leg of the trip, and we’ve each won twice so far!  We also accidentally messed up the order of the presents (Ben thought #11 was #1), so here is what we’ve won so far:

#11 – Another set of car games, including checkers, snakes & ladders & chess

#2 – A magic set… can’t wait to fool all of you with our new tricks :)

#1 – A whoopee cushion.  Yes!  I’m totally slipping this under Ben’s sleeping bag tonite!

#3 – A pair of sweet candy cane socks (pretty sure Ben is going to try and claim them).

We’ll get back in the proper order after this… I think we’re also going to try some more difficult bingo requirements… like the “L” or something like that.

So how many people have driven through North and South Dakotas?  Wow, they are big states.  The views are enormous… you can see for miles and miles and the roads are super straight.  I’ve never seen so many round bales, cows & buffalo in my life, but despite the redundancy, it’s a very beautiful part of the country.  Here’s another map of our progress – From November 15 through November 22.

The Title!

Okay okay, already not doing so well at this.  I meant to tell everybody about the title of the blog.  Hopefully "Adventures" is pretty self-explanatory.  Now for the "Car Bingo" part...

So, Ben and I have some really really really good friends Zach and Blaire (a lot of you probably know them).  They are totally awesome.  You know, the kind of friends who really get you, and you don't have to filter the things you say or the way you feel when you're with them, and you always want to hang out... yeah, they're that kind.

Well, Zach and Blaire gave us the most unexpected and wonderful road-trip gift.  Well, it's kind of a bag of gifts.  We got to open one when they gave it to us - it's a set of car bingo!  Have you guys seen this before?  Ben had, but I don't think I have ever played it.  I'll try to post a picture of it tomorrow.  Anyway, it's got all kinds of things on it like cows and churches and street signs and people and more.  So, to offer us a little bit of fun during our days of driving, we have car bingo to play - and the best part: each time one of us wins we get to open a prize!  There are 11 prizes and we have to open them in a certain order.  I can't wait to get started (and win, hopefully).  I know with the minds of Zach and Blaire  behind it all that I am in for some good laughs.

Thanks you guys!!!