...Peoria....
...we have been talking about a boat trip...and talking about a boat trip...for ages....Kirk grew up going on boat trips and we have had a 'boat tripping' boat for quite some time....but we haven't had a good place to go...the Mississippi isn't near as well traveled, shockingly, as the intercoastal waterways of Florida...and the marinas and the stops are much more 'necessities' versus luxurious....but that didn't stop us from dreaming about it....
...so earlier this year we overheard a group headed to Peoria...in an open bow....late in the afternoon...and it got me thinking and it got Kirk planning....
...so after a few months of planning...the one open sports weekend in the calendar was booked....a trip to Peoria...it was to take 8 hours on the way up...not counting the one required fuel stop...and seven hours to get home....
...and we looovveeee to explore as a family of five plus mar....so this was the perfect plan...minus the 100 degree temps...and heat advisories...but that just makes it a little more exciting....nothing done easy is celebrated quite like that done through adversity....
...so we loaded up Thursday night....and planned for an early Friday departure...and our family adores sleeping on the boat...potentially more than riding on the boat....they love to go to bed in earshot of both siblings and mom and dad....usually while chatting about the days events over the hum of the sound machine and the gentle rock of the boat....
...and it hits some of us harder than others....
...our youngest cracks us up for a lot of reasons....and his sleeping is just one of them....he is dead asleep for the night here...in this very position....
....and before 6am the generator was humming and the engines were spinning...and Chase and I laid in bed talking for a bit while Daddy got us underway....but unlike Daddy's memories of sleeping for hours while underway as his Dad drove the boat...we were up after about 15 minutes and watching the sun come up over the peaceful Illinois river was certainly something....
...and I joked with Kirk that we were home schooling...but it actually was educational....finding the small town bridges on the map and understanding our location....to seeing the different barge loading machines and things in elevators waiting to be loaded....
...to understanding that the waterways were once one of the only ways to travel...
...and now they provide so much more than necessity...
...and there were certainly times that down below was much more fun....it was nice and cool and you could play games, watch movies...or just make silly faces....
...this one was so sweet...the heat probably got to her the most but she is also the one happiest to do stickers, read new library books or just watch a movie in the AC....as long as no brothers are taking her things....
...and eight hours later, after a quick stop in Havana, IL we arrived....
...and the kids love an appetizer platter at happy hour just as much as mom and dad....
...this was the pre-bath face when I told the kids we could face time Grammy and Papa...unfortunately for Grammy and Papa they weren't available....
...or maybe fortunately...but the bath's helped....
...and this family found another way to have fun....a country concert on the water....but our littlest got the sleepys first and since the concert wasn't part of the original plan we hit the sack after a long day of travel, a juicy, cooked ourselves steak and a night on the town....
....Saturday brought no boating, it was time for a break... it brought more 100 degree temps....but it also brought time to explore the town and the Caterpillar HQ didn't disappoint...
....those tires are actual size and there are full time jobs just changing them when they go flat....
...all that fun left my on-again, off-again napper sound asleep mid afternoon....
...which made for a perfect time to fish...no one needs more kids than parents when hooks are involved....
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| Chase and his big catch...AKA the Peoria Whopper |
...then little love bug woke up and it was time for a nice dinner to wrap up the trip...
...and 8 hours up became 7 hours home thanks to the current...and not surprisingly the way home felt oh so much faster...
...but it still left for plenty of bonding moments and memory making...
...because Kirk is right...there is something about memories made when you are on an adventure with just your family...when you are on a boat trip...the conversations, the life lessons and the love are abundant...certainly the fights and the loudness too....but five weeks later all I remember is the smiles...the sense of accomplishment...the love of the water....the love of the great outdoors and our great country to truly roam free...
....so we made it...we upped our game and our tolerance for adventure....
...thanks CAP-sized & Daddy for a unforgettable trip...
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