Okay, so the trip...

Our start was a little later than I would have liked, but it was nice for everyone to sleep in for a change. (A coughing fit moved me down to the sofa in the middle of the night. The Husband and I both lingered in the quiet trying not to wake the other, or we probably could have been on the road sooner.) The weather was perfect and we stopped for lunch on the other side of Charlotte. Before we knew it, we were across the Michigan state line and heading for Chicago. Husband had charted the course electronically and asked for the shortest route there. Mapquest took us down the Skyway/Dan Ryan Expressway, which sounds good and fast, except there was construction bringing the Dan Ryan down to one lane all the way through the city and by the time we were through that, rush hour had hit full force. We stopped to sooth jangled nerves at one of the through-way tolls and got ourselves a snack and a pee-break, then it was on the road again. We entered Wisconsin and drove straight to Janesville - where it took us over an hour to go EIGHT MILES! (Construction had traffic down to one lane and a semi was broken down in it.) We had fun with it for a while, then I started to melt down. By the time we got through the jam, I had to have dinner and use the bathroom again and, well...mostly just get out of the damned car, so we stopped and ate and found out that the Twins had lost~!

(Sidebar: The reason we were going to Minneapolis in the first place was so Husband could meet his crew for the Lions/Vikings game, but if the Twins had forced a 5th game of their division series, the Lion's game would have to be postponed. The information that they had lost was what Husband needed to charge him up for the rest of the trip. This meant all previous plans would be "Go"! All we had to do was get there.)

So we got back in the car.

And drove to Portage Wisconsin where we stayed in a very nice Super*8*Motel and watched Kenny Rogers pitch the game of his friggin' life to put the Tigers up two games to one on the Yankees in their part of the series. We rose early and enjoyed a continental breakfast and a quick trip to the Wal*mart for some things we didn't really know we needed and we were off. (Whoever plans the 24 hour superstore right next the cheap motel is a genius.)

The trip from Portage to Bloomington was by far the nicest of the trip. Husband had planned it to be short and the morning was stunning as we rolled along the autumn hills of Wisconsin farmland. The color was as spectacular as I'd imagined and we were all feeling better for the good night's sleep. We stopped at a truck stop for gas and they were kind enough to have all the fixings for my favorite cup of tea, so I enjoyed a large one that lasted almost all the way to the Minnesota line. We stopped for lunch just before crossing the Mississippi into St. Paul and made way to our hotel for the weekend.

Except Mapquest had given us directions to the wrong hotel.

The nice lady behind the counter gave us directions to the correct - and much nicer - hotel, where they were kind enough to accomodate our request for an early check-in and by 12:30 - Central - we were in our room. We spent forever getting our bags (3 people and five bags - before we hit the mall) and trying to shore up plans for the afternoon. Husband hooked up with his cronies who were at the Gopher's game and planning to meet later to watch the Tiger game at a bar they'd found after flying in the night before. I called Kathy to see if she had time to get together.

(Sidebar: The fate of the Lion's game had made me reluctant to make plans too far in advance and I had already missed an opportunity to meet another friend due to conflicting plans. I was hoping I hadn't already blown this opportunity, too.)

Kathy immediately offered to take us on a guided tour of Minnie-apple and I was totally stoked to meet her, then got totally nervous, changed clothes twice, put on more make up and then sweated it all off again waiting for her to buzz on over. (She either drives really fast or lives really close to the hotel!) She was also nice enough to include Husband and Boy, so I relented and let them come along, Then tried to pretend they weren't with me. ;) Kathy is far too completmentary in her entry as the Boy was physically pained to be stuck in yet another car and the Husband practically flew out of the car downtown to find his "homies". I was glad to be rid of him, but it would have behooved him to have listened a little more as our guide was talking, because making his way around an unfamiliar city and public transportation are not Husband's strong suits. (More on that later.) Kathy and I spent the rest of the drive chatting as though she had known me forever! Not an awkward moment was had! (She didn't even mind my hugs! 'Cause I have to hug!) I wish I had had an extra day so we could have spent more time chatting, but now I know I want to go back and make it a chick thing. (She says AK and Lap are just as nice as she is, but I have to see for myself.)

The minute she dropped us off at our hotel, I could see Boy salivating to get to the Maul. All the hotels have shuttles that drop we shoppers off right at the door! Which is good, because if I had to walk any further I would have a fit and fall in it. Huge does not even begin to cover the size of this place. There are still stores I haven't seen and we were there from about 3 pm on Saturday until 10 pm, then again all day Sunday. Ugh. Saturday night was fun, just kind of scoping the place out. Boy was allowed to leave on his own for short bursts in between dinner and a movie and going home. I mostly just looked around the fist night, picking where I would hit the next day for the hard core shopping experience. (They have a PEANUT BUTTER STORE!!! at this place that makes cookies just like the ones we used to get at a local market that had gone out of business years ago. But still, a PEANUT BUTTER STORE? I hit this store both days.)

We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel - me more than the Boy. So very tired and there were two things our hotel had over the two budget motels we bookended our trip with: the beds and the noise level. The bed linens at this hotel were sublime and the beds - even the Boy's roll away - were so very comfortable. And we could have been the only people in the hotel for all we knew because I heard not another sound - considering our proximity to the airport, I would say that's pretty swank. (But it didn't have the mini-fridge of our first motel or the spaciousness of our second.) We were just about to drift off to sleep when Husband rolled in, glad to be there but had gotten totally lost on the way back from downtown. The train (they have a light rail that goes from town to the Maul; back and forth all day and all night) proved to be his nemisis when he'd forgotten where was the stop nearest the hotel. A nice guy at the Maul helped him find the hotel and Husband was so greatful he ended up buying a hand/nail beautification kit from the guy as a gift. Then Husband realized he was at the wrong hotel - same company, just the wrong building. A nice shuttle driver at that building drove him over to the right building.

Sunday dawned bright and clear - did I mention it was about 75-80 degrees...in OCTOBER! - so hot. We all got up quite early - mostly because I couldn't sleep any more and didn't think they had a right to either. Husband was off to join the boys at their downtown hotel, assurred that this time he knew how to get on and off the train. Boy and I had a yummy breakfast, took a little walk, and rode the train downtown and back to kill time before the Maul opened.

We got to the Maul at the perfect time and I was about to go over the plans for the day with Boy (where and when we would meet up) when I stopped to do an ATM and found my Debit Card was missing. Panic settled in and we jumped back on the train and scurried to the hotel, where I realized Boy could have just as well stayed at the Maul. He took the shuttle back after we agreed to meet up and I went upstairs to tear apart my purse, and the suitcases, and the room. I found nothing, so I called the Husband and asked him if he'd picked it up by accident. He hadn't so I told him to have fun today. I took the small amount of cash I had and my only-for-emergencies credit card back to the Maul. It kind of spoiled my mood for shopping, though. I did buy some things (mostly at the Macy's which has the best plus size department I've ever seen) including purchases that I'd put off specifically for the trip, but I didn't do the Christmas shopping I had intended. I was feeling pretty stupid (I'd misplaced my cell phone twice already on this trip) and the crowds were getting to me. What had been a mild crowd on Saturday doubled on Sunday with wives and overstimulated children clogging the halls while their husbands took the train into town for the game and then back to join them afterward. Also, I was totally overdressed for the weather and could feel my legs sweating under my jeans. I knew I looked like I was about to stroke out because every cashier and sales clerk was giving me the same look. Like they were poised to dial 9.1.1.! Boy and I were also having problems because he refused to set his watch to Central Time and we kept missing and misunderstanding each other when it was time to meet. At one point I bought a coke and queso/chips at Ruby*Tuesday's just so I could sit down for half an hour, but I let a family of four staring at me from the hostess desk intimidate me into leaving earlier than I planned. In the end, I limped to our planned meeting place and waited for Boy, easily an hour earlier than we'd agreed to meet.

Don't get me wrong. I had a great time! I just wish I'd planned it differently, hadn't lost my debit card, my good camera hadn't broken in the middle of Sunday and that I had thought to get more cash on Saturday. But it's still a great place. (I spent two separate hour-long trips in the Scrap/Stamp store alone!) And, since this vacation was as much about the Boy as anything else, I'm very glad we went. He had a major blast.

Back at the hotel, Husband is lounged out trying to digest his big dinner and the many, many beers he'd had since meeting the boys at 8 am. I explained my plan to get in my jammies and order room service and pay-per-view, then enjoy another night in the succulent bed. The room service wasn't that great, but watching the movie together was fun.

Monday morning we ventured out in the dark and didn't stop for breakfast until Wisconsin. We left the directions Husband had printed off back at the hotel somewhere (we later found them but by then it was too late) so it was up to me and faithful map to get us through Wisconsin. There were a few turn arounds where signs were missed and the map didn't quite live up to every twist of the road. But we got through upper Wisconsin and back into Michigan. (You know what there is in Upper Wisconsin? Trees. And poverty. And roadkill.) The sky never lighted past really gloomy so we missed a lot of what would have been spectacular color. The best part of the trip was leaving Wisconsin and going into the UP of Michigan. Then it started getting dark and we were just all about getting to the damned motel. (Which was a very nice Econo*lodge on the lakeshore.) We had enough time that Boy and I went for separate walks - me to the lakeshore and he to...I don't know. Then we were off to yet another disappointing dinner and back to the room. I was disappointed to find that the only channel the TV in our room didn't get was NBC, so no Studio*60. I decided at that point I just needed to go to bed so I wouldn't be on my feet or my butt.

This morning dawned cold (Oh, so cold!) and dark but we were out of that motel and on the road faster than anything! We couldn't wait to end up at home today and the more familiar roads made the miles fly by. We stopped for food and gas when required and made it home by 2:30 this afternoon.

So glad to be home. That is far too much driving and far too much together time for the three of us. There was much laughter and much fun, but also much stress. By now we have all of us unpacked and Husband is deep into his third load of laundry. We've touched base with all the loved ones and I have the best dog ever glued to my side. Tomorrow it's back to work and back to business as usual.

Thank goodness.