Life on the road.
Chicago: We’ve made it to the windy city.. Not so windy here, but rainy. Here is where we finally had our car wrapped and while that is happening we decided to go camping at the Indiana Sand Dunes State Park. Right on Lake Michigan. Sure, we all know about the great lakes. Well After visiting the Sand Dunes, I’ve come to the conclusion that they are absolutely beautiful. I could not grasp the concept of calling it a lake because it was just so massive. We spent the first day in our tent and exploring some local towns near by because it was raw. Temps were 32 when we arrived and raining. The next day was supposed to be around 67 degrees and sunny so we decided to hit the trails around the park. They were stunning. With views from atop a bird watching perch, and from tops of sand dunes, to overlooking the great lake was incredible. We spent the afternoon on the trails and then walked roughly a little over a mile of the beach back to our camp ground.
With all the beauty in this country and world there is to see, I came to one conclusion while walking along this beach. Have you ever seen the posters or videos of sea life getting plastic bags around their necks and or balloons in their stomachs? Well, I’ve seen these signs and posters around a lot and becoming more frequent as I get older. Well, I’ve got quite the story that has now helped me understand why it’s so important.
Lake Michigan is quite large and has lots of things to offer. Well one of the neatest things about this lake is the artifacts it washes up onto shore. There were some really unique things but then this one. This one things for every few steps I took, there was one more. A balloon. It saddened me to see the balloons washed up onto shore. At first I thought oh, just a balloon, or eh another piece of trash. As I walked passed the second one I noticed it was a Mothers Day Balloon, and then the next one, and the next. . . . . and so on. I started counting and in less than 2 miles I counted 37 balloons.. In that moment, it became such a reality that this is life. I just know from seeing it first hand I will make sure I will never let another balloon go. 
All in all, it was a beautiful weekend. We picked up our vehicle on Monday night around 5pm. We spent the entire morning and afternoon in the city of Chicago. We did some of the more touristy things. Also, grabbed a local cupcake! And off to Bloomington, Minnesota.
Bloomington, MN: On the road again, seems to be our phrase every time we get back into the car to hit the open road to the next stop. Roughly about a 7 hour drive, it was a long day to say the least. We passed through a couple new states and took photos at the state signs. Pretty late at night we arrived into our hotel roughly around 2am. Waking up the next morning and spent the entire day in our hotel room working. Then hit the local REI for our presentation. The next morning before heading 4 hours to Iowa City, Iowa we decided to go to the Mall of America. I can’t believe I was in the Mall of America. 4 floors high and an entire theme park on the inside of the mall. Well 3 hours down in a mall and just barely covered everything and enjoyed a nice drink and Tomato Basil Soup at the Rainforest Cafe! We also found our MN cupcake in the mall.
On the road again…
Off to Iowa City, Iowa. Not really knowing what to expect with Iowa except what anyone form the East Coast would think. CORNFIELDS. Well.. no corn just yet, but fields for sure. It was gorgeous. There may have been nothing, but there was nothing but beauty. We arrive at our campground round’ 7:00pm to be greeted by an older couple in their 70’s named Chuck and Carol. They were just a treat! The enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed theirs. They took off on Friday afternoon and left us with plenty of food and snacks.. including yummy rib eye and flat iron steaks and freshly ground beef. We already miss them. Well, Thursday night we pulled into the campground after our event at Fin and Feather to meet our new neighbor for the weekend. A gentleman and his young son came out of the camper and asked if either of us had a cell phone charger he could borrow. I handed him mine and he returned it the next morning, It turns out it was a family of 4. Trevor, Janice, and their 2 kids Eli and Reese. They were kind enough to invite us over for dinner on Saturday night.
Saturday came, it was a special day. Becca turned 26 and we bought an ice cream cake at 7:00am and ate it for breakfast, just as she asked, It was delicious. I gave her a small gift bag with some small items she could use on this trip as well. She requested to just relax by the beach all day and that is exactly what we did, We later joined the family next to us for dinner. As well as a little campfire dessert and more singing of “Happy Birthday.” I have to admit it was wonderful to be able to spend her birthday like that! 
On our way back we decided to grab our 1 local beer. We stopped into the Big Grove Brewery in Solon. This place was HOPPING! We grabbed our beers and took a look at the menu. Not really being super hungry we decided to try out their food anyways. She got the Brussel sprouts which were flash fried and had this tasty sauce on them. I got the Mac & Cheese, which for $5 was filling and the best mac & cheese I have had in a long time at a restaurant. We then received a call from Kara and Beth, whom were two ladies we met at our 2 day event in Iowa. They invited us out on their pontoon boat right on Lake Macbride! We enjoyed our afternoon with them and some of their friends out on the boat.
It had been a long weekend of relaxation and work, so around 6:00pm it was time to call it a night, head back to camp, cook dinner, and hit the hay for a beautiful scenic drive to Omaha, NE.
I've officially decided this tour is going to be called the 1 brew, 1 cupcake, and a photo tour :] Our pact consist of the above 3 things. To enjoy 1 local beer, to enjoy the best rated cupcake, and to take a photo in with every state welcoming sign.
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