Missouri

Missouri
Our final stop on the trip was the St. Louis Arch in Missouri. Although we were on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, we had a great view.
 The Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park is on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River from the Arch. It provides an excellent view of the St. Louis skyline. The park has a 43 foot tall concrete viewing platform with ramps to the top that were easy to climb. The viewing platform is free, as is park admission.

The park also has a geyser fountain which is the tallest man made freshwater fountain in the world. Known as the Gateway Geyser, the fountain runs from April through October and fires a fountain of water as tall as the Arch itself four times a day.

The park is named after Malcolm Martin, who was a St. Louis lawyer and philanthropist with a dream of building a companion park on the Illinois side so people could properly view the Arch.

Martin organized the Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis in 1987 to raise funds and build the Illinois park. The park became his life's work, and he used some of his own money to purchase land. He died in 2004, before the platform was completed, but his final gift of $5 million dollars saw the project completed. A statue of Martin sits on the top of the platform, gazing fondly at the view he wanted everyone else to have.

Oklahoma

 Oklahoma
On Thursday, July 5th, we took a 30 minute drive to Oklahoma (just to add another notch to Leah's travel belt). We ate dinner at a little restaurant in Ponca City.

While taking these pictures, we did see a dead armadillo in the road, so at least Josh was excited...

Kansas

 Kansas
We finally arrived in Kansas on Monday, July 1. Our trip was to visit Josh's mom, Susan, and her husband, Tom. They live in South Haven, which is about an hour

 south of Wichita, close to the Oklahoma border. These first two pictures are of a cow pasture that we could see from their front porch! (It was a little too hot for Leah's liking).

 The next pictures are from Susan and Tom's property. They have about 25 acres. There are 3 horses (Stormy, Murphy, and Paint). They have chickens guineas, 3 dogs (Trixie, Tori, and Ringo) and cats!

We spent 4 days there in the VERY hot temperatures. Mommy and Daddy even won some cash at the casino in Mulvane.

 On Tuesday we went to Botanica in Wichita where Leah got to spend some time in the Downing Children's Garden.

Petting Mimi's horse, Paint.

Iowa

 Iowa
Our next stop was completely unplanned. We happened to be driving through Iowa and saw a sign for the Madison County Bridges.

 We decided to go check it out and we came across Imes Bridge. The Imes Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa. Built in 1870, it was originally located over the Middle River. 

In 1887 it was moved to a spot over Clinton Creek, and in 1977 was moved again to its present site. It is 81 feet (25 m) long and is the oldest of the remaining covered bridges in Madison County. It was renovated in 1997 for a cost of $31,807.

Illinois

 Illinois
We began our trip in Milan, Illinois. Here we stayed with the lovely Griswold family, a favorite hangout! During the trip, we drove down to Rock Island where Leah got to see the Mississippi River. Of course, we picked the hottest week in the summer of 2012 to travel, so she wasn't very happy, and a little uncooperative! 
 

She had a great time with her friend, Owen. They swam in the pool, chased each other in the huge garage, and sat together to watch cartoons!

 Hanging out with Owen!

 At a water play area along the Mississippi River.

Let the trip begin!!

On June 29th, we left for a fun filled trip out west. We left Ohio at 4:00 am and began our trip to Milan, Illinois to visit friends. After Illinois, we made a pit stop in Madison County, Iowa to visit the bridges of Madison County. Finally we made it to Kansas to visit Leah's grandma, Mimi Susan. While there, we drove to Oklahoma and on the way home, we stopped by St. Louis to visit the St. Louis Arch. The following entries and pictures are from our trip. Leah officially went through 6 states!!

Thank you!

Thank you to all our friends and family members who have been contributing to our blog. We are so excited to begin our travels. We especially appreciate those of you who have offered up a place for us to stay while in your state!
We also have the most wonderful friends who have begun to plan trips WITH us...possible Pittsburgh trip with the Griswold's and still in the early planning stages with the Dyer's. Fun times!!

Small Ohio Trip Ideas

At the end of March, Josh and I have a week to do something fun. We don't want to go far, so we are sticking to Ohio. Any ideas for a short trip that is age appropriate for a 20 month old?

Our Next Big Trip!!

This summer, we planned a trip to visit Josh's mom in Kansas. We had already planned on stopping at a friend's house in Milan, Illinois on the way out to Kansas, then again on the way home to break up the trip. However...minutes after I began this blog, Josh was already rerouting our trip to include a few extra stops. At this point, we will be in Chicago around the end of June to see Cloud Gate, and then in Missouri to see the St. Louis Arch, before heading out to Kansas. I love how dedicated he became to this mission!!

So, if you live around Chicago, Milan. St. Louis, or Wichita, we would love to hear about surrounding activities or "must see" places along the way!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA
In July of 2011, we took our first family vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Here is Leah (reluctantly) sitting on the beach with the Atlantic Ocean in the background. She wasn't a very big fan of the beach! We did some shopping at Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the beach. We even took a walk down the Apache Pier. 



Leah also enjoyed visiting Ripley's Aquarium! She was only 13 months old at the time and did fantastic on the 12 hour car ride down and back.

 Look at that cute face!














Digging in the sand!

On the beach with Mommy and Daddy

Not too sure about the sand.

Hanging at the pool with Papa and Emma

At the Aquarium

Leah and her buddy, Owen

Leah and Mommy at the pool!

This is the first time Leah ever pulled herself up into a standing position!

How This Blog Works

I have listed the states in alphabetical order in the above menu. If you have a great, affordable place that we can take Leah, list it under the specific state. We will post pictures as we go along our journey!!

Why I started this blog...

Well, if you know me, you know that I have never been fond of blogging. I began a blog while pregnant with my 19 month old daughter, Leah. The blog tracked my pregnancy, and the first...maybe...6 months of her life before I gave up. I think her baby book is only full to 9 months. Bad mommy!!

Recently, I have been on a huge travel kick. It began when I was flipping through Leah's baby album and there was a space for me to write her a letter. To this day, I haven't wrote a thing, but I have been thinking about it. I think the most important thing I can tell Leah is to see the world. The world is waiting for her, it is all there for her to see.

But how can I tell her to see the world, when I haven't? Why have Josh and I been satisfied sitting around Ohio (of all places) year after year, only making it to about 4 other states in 30 years?

So now I am on a new mission. I printed a map of the United States and marked off the pitiful amount of places Josh and I have been. I would like to visit all 48 states in the continental U.S. before Leah is 18 years old. And not just a drive-through...I want to stay at least a weekend in each state (including Washington D.C). There are several problems with this mission...the biggest one being funds, and a close second is the fact that I don't know what to do in each state.

Here is what I need from my readers...I need people from all over the United States to tell me about their state. If I only have one weekend to spend in your state, what should I do? What is affordable? I have tried to look on the internet, but that isn't the same. I want YOU to tell me about the best vacation spots, even if it just beautiful scenery for hiking.

I want to see the US with my daughter and my husband. And I want Leah to go out someday and see the world.