Today was our longest driving day on our way west. To have a couple days in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, we had to do it this way – but it was long. Add on top of that sleet this morning (and getting in 150 miles before the sun even came up) and blizzard like conditions for two hours as we approached Minnesota. I’m happy to be in our hotel room!

Char is enjoying her little “cubby” in the car! She has everything she needs at her fingertips and seems to be enjoying the long rides. What would a cross country trip at Christmastime be without Christmas lights, Sable and Charlie, the rainbow unicorn?

We trucked through a lot of states today! Here’s the proof (and Illinois is weird because we crossed the border at the City of Chicago line so there wasn’t much of a sign – but we made due!)

Apparently, my car started to worry about me because about every 250 miles without stopping, this sign pops up on my dash…

You might wonder why we were pushing so hard and going so far – well, to see the Mall of American, of course. And we got there just in time to pop in, walk around for 10 minutes, get some rainbow unicorn cotton candy with edible eyes and mouth, and head to our hotel. It was worth it!

Total Miles = 971

States = New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Hours on the road = 15.5 (including stops and sight seeing)

Average Temperature = 26.5 degrees

Coffees = 2

Playlist = Hamilton the Musical (twice), The Best of the Eagles, Pitch Perfect Soundtrack, 80’s & 90s hits

Major Landmarks = Cleveland, OH, Lake Michigan, the Mighty Mississippi River, Chicago and the Mall of America

Speed Traps passed = 4

People not wearing masks in public places = 2

Gas bought = $80.00

Extras = $54.00 (coffee and food)

Hotel = $108.00 – Holiday Inn and Suites, Maple Grove, MN – SUPER nice!!!! Great location and very nice lobby, rooms, staff and in non-Covid times, they have a really cool indoor water park open to guests. This Holiday Inn has a Venetian theme going on and we were really diggin’ it!