Our time in Maine came to and end in early August, and after a crazy, disheveled summer, we packed up the van, loaded the three kids, and road tripped from Portland, Maine to our new home in eastern Washington. All of our belongings were shipped in May when we originally moved out of the winter rental. So it was just us, the kids, our bags, and our adventures. We took our sweet time, savoring all the east coast sites we could see and taking advantage of the last few weeks of summer break.
This is the route we took. After two cross-country trips last year, we decided to deviate a little from the fastest route and see a few new states!
Our itinerary and highlights
Day 1: Portland, Maine to Hartford, Connecticut
Riley drove the whole way! Here he is on hour 1 of 55 .
Convinced the family to stop at Minuteman National Park, the location of the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The kids loved throwing rocks off the North Bridge.
I reread "Little Women" this summer so we stopped to see Louisa May Alcotts home just outside Boston. Our first hotel stay of many and first night of hotel pool swimming...the kids favorite part!
Day 2: Hartford, CT to Washington D.C.
This was Riley's most stressful day of driving- passing through New York City, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. traffic. He was a champ though. Saw the beautiful Washington D.C. temple and visitors center.
And even though it was only 59 degrees, we had to swim in the outdoor pool.
Day 3- Day in Washington
We spent the entire day at the National Mall. The kids were such troopers but it was hot and it was A LOT of walking. There is so much to choose from at the national mall, it would take days and days to see it all. We chose the Natural History Smithsonian for our zoology and geology loving kiddos.
Hinder has a love for dinosaurs unsurpassed by anything, so we had to take a picture with him and the paleontology lab...just in case he ends up there one day!
Riley and I saw a few things we really enjoyed, but it was less interactive than many museums we've seen, so it wasn't the winner we thought it would be. The highlight for me was seeing the Hope Diamond. So cool!
We spent a good deal of time at the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. We saw the White House from afar. I love this country of mine!
As you walk around the mall, there are memorials all around. We spent time at the Korean War Memorial and World War II. Both were beautiful and symbolic. The original Smithsonian building was cool too. It's fun to see things in real life we've only seen in movies!
Day 4: Washington DC to Charleston, WV
We spent the morning at the national mall. I could NOT leave this place without a few hours in the Museum of American History.
This was by far my favorite part of the entire trip but we were RUNNING from hall to hall knowing that our kids would only handle so much museum. I can't wait to go back someday and pour over every item. If you like history, this place is a gold mine. I'll spare you the dozens of pictures I took, but a few notable things were...
The original sunstone from the Nauvoo, Illinois temple
Muhammad Ali's gloves and Apollo Ohno's skates
A vessel that actually was used in the Revolutionary War. Amazing!
The actual counter used during the civil rights Greensboro student sit-in
Original batch of polio vaccine
And the holy grail exhibit (as far as I'm concerned)...
The top hat Lincoln was wearing when assassinated. I literally got teary-eyed looking at it.
Like I said, it was a mad dash museum experience, but we had miles to put behind us, so we got on the road and drove through the Shenandoah National Park to West Virginia. It was so interesting to pass roadside signs marking Civil war historic sights. And it was really eye opening to me how quickly accents change, and all the sudden we were in southern country!
Day 5: Charleston, WV to St. Louis
This day was a bit more driving, but we needed to cover ground. We drove passed Louisville and saw the Belle of Lousiana from the car, but alas, no time for sight seeing. Our only stop was for lunch at the Louisville temple grounds.
We pulled into St. Louis that evening to this familiar sight...
And had an awesome dinner with our old friends, the Heslops. We love spending time with them. No matter how long it goes between visits, we just pick right up where we left off. Good barbecue, custard, and great conversation!
Day 6: St. Louis to Liberty, Missouri
This morning we spent at the St. Louis Zoo with our friends. It was hot and humid, but St. Louis knows how to do a zoo! We couldn't believe how nice every exhibit was, and we were floored they didn't charge admission. The kids LOVED this place and all the fun animals.
Day 7: Liberty, Missouri to Salina, Kansas
Right away, we headed to the Liberty Jail visitors center, where Joseph Smith was wrongfully imprisoned. We had such a cool experience here and learned a lot about the Prophet Joseph. We're members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and places like this hold a sacred place in our hearts. (don't know what Mormons are? go
here to find out)
The Community of Christ church (RLDS) has a temple in Independence, so we found that interesting as well.
When we finally pulled into Salina, Riley suggested we go to dinner since it happened to be my birthday. All I wanted was Mexican food (there is NO authentic Mexican in Portland), so we found a little local restaurant. I'm not sure it could be called authentic, but it definitely was memorable.
Day 8: Kansas to Denver, Colorado
There wasn't much to see on this drive, but the open plains have a beauty all their own.
We stopped and saw the World's Largest Easel. Can you spot a tiny Vyla at the bottom? It was pretty impressive!
At the border of Kansas and Colorado we found a quaint town that had a beautiful carousel, the Kit Carson Carousel. It was still just .25 cents to ride and each animal was so intricate and detailed. And it was easily the most exciting carousel ride of our lives, going 12 mph!
We stopped at a little trading post/old timey museum as well. I found these WWII Japanese and Nazi flags- what an amazing history our country has!
Day 9: Denver, CO to SLC, Utah
From here on out, my photographic documentation gets a little sparse. Once we got to Utah, we had so many friends and family to see after so long, so pulling out my phone became the last priority.
We drove through the Rocky Mountains, which was the highlight of the trip for Riley. So, so beautiful...but I have anxiety about driving through mountain passes, so I tried to sleep through this part.
We spent the night we Riley's aunt and uncle, and were able to see two of Riley's sisters and our nieces and nephews in Utah.
Day 10: SLC, UT to Twin Falls, ID
Ainslee and her kids took us swimming and to lunch and then we drove to Twin Falls to see our best friends, the Wilsons! They had recently moved there and still were so hospitable!
Day 11: We spent with the Wilsons! Laughing, swimming, eating the best food, playing the best games. It's always a party with them!
Day 12: Twin Falls to Boise
Riley's parents and youngest sister live in Boise and showed us a good time. It's so good to see family after all the months and miles apart. At this point, we parted ways and I went with my sister who was passing through to Washington and Riley stayed with the kids an extra week in Boise. This mama needed some alone time to get our life set up in Washington, and Riley needed some quality time with his parents.
A week later, we were all reunited in our new home state of Washington!
I'm so grateful to the people who made time to see us and let us stay with them. We have the best friends and family!
And let me just say, these three kids are champs! After all the driving we've put them through in their short lives, they have become road trip pros and take the long days without complaint. Sharing these memories with them is the whole point.
America is the most beautiful place! I never want to stop exploring it.
