My sister Katrina and brother-in-law Myke let us park in their driveway for a few weeks, and we had such a great time visiting with them! It'd been 2 years since I'd seen my sister and catching up was long overdue. We were also able to visit with my brother Nathan and my mom! After so long on the road it was comforting to have a reliable and convenient place to park and relax. We had everything we need with us in our camper, so besides taking up their driveway, I was relieved not to be invading too much of their space. My nephews were doing e-learning from home too, so I was able to get lots of priceless quality time with them.
Khaleesi was especially thrilled to see her buddy Chop.
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| Kyle was also thrilled to see Chop. |
The weather was perfect for a small family cookout over labor day weekend. We barbequed on the porch and played corn hole in the yard.
My brother got out the foam swords and everyone had a great time battling each other. (Except for Kyle breaking his toe!). After everything settled down that evening, Kyle and I were sitting outside on the porch with my brother-in-law Myke. Suddenly, a car screeched down the road, jumped the curb, and flew through the air landing inches from a neighbor's house!!
We jumped up and started running toward the car to see if we could help. As we got closer we saw two guys getting out of the car, carrying what looked like alcohol bottles. They were fleeing the scene. The neighbors had all come out of their homes and one started chasing the guys. An older woman called the cops, and when they showed up we gave them our descriptions of the men and what we witnessed.
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pictures from the damage the next morning |
Whenever I visit my mom we almost always end up baking something. My favorite memories from the holidays are of us experimenting in the kitchen together. I was really excited to help her with a few ideas she had while we were in town!
I also made a HUGE change this month. I got the most drastic haircut of my life! I have always had super long, thick hair, which gave me headaches and was constantly in my way. I was beyond ready for a change, and my mom offered to pay for me to go to her stylist. It was a bit scary to take that huge step, and I was definitely nervous, but once that first ponytail was cut I started laughing. I feel so much lighter and way more free with that weight off of my shoulders!
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| Two feet! |
My favorite part of our visit was taking my sweet nephews biking and fishing in the Fox River.
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| Mom even came out and fished with us! |
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| Nate caught the biggest fish |
Mykey caught his first fish ever! and his second!
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| I got one too! |
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| Thanks, guys <3 |
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| Thanks, Sissy! |
But, we had to get down to Florida so on we went. After leaving Aurora, we did a quick one-night parking lot stop at a Cracker Barrel in Lafayette, IN. We got there after they closed so take-out dinner wasn't an option, but we were able to order take-out breakfast including hot coffee which was really handy before getting back on the road.
Our next stop was in the Hoosier National Forest, at Saddle Lake Rec Area. It's a small gravel loop in the woods down the road from a lake that costs $5 a night. No reservations, and you self-register when you arrive. We stayed in the last site, #13 which was one of the bigger ones with a nice grassy area for the dogs. The woods were really thick and we got almost no sun for our solar panels.
We tried out our new portable grill and were really happy with how it worked. You can actually pick it up and move it around while it's hot which is pretty nifty.
We were only about an hour away from Fort Knox at this campsite, so we took a day trip driving tour! - We saw Kyle's old barracks, and the creek where he used to fish, and I loved listening to his stories and memories as we drove through.
We stopped at Sonder springs nature preserve & Camp Carlson Army Rec Area.
After our short stay in Indiana, we drove about 6 hours through Kentucky and made it to Virginia!
We pulled into my dad's driveway at dusk. It had been a long and winding drive through the mountains and we were so tired. We found him out back grilling a pork loin, with a nice fire going in the pit. It was such a welcome feeling after a long day, and a long year! Almost a full year had passed since we left here on our honeymoon adventure, and it felt so good to be back in Virginia.
*If you are reading this in the email version, make sure you go to https://telastravels.blogspot.com/ to see the full post including videos!*
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