July 2015
I know it didn't seem like we were, but we finally left Utah! Maria was such a champ the whole trip. She slept so well and we were able to drive at least 2-3 hours at a time. It also made the drive more enjoyable for me and Jordan because we got to take a break with each pitstop.
I can honestly say that this is what Maria looked like for most of the trip. :)
Because of our friends Ashley and Austin, we have a special place for Colorado in our hearts. It's always a beautiful drive to Denver. Denver was our first "stay for the night" stop. We were lucky to have been able to stay with Jordan's grandparents just outside of Denver. It was their first time meeting Maria. I wish we could have stayed longer, but after they made us a delicious breakfast and some more of Jordan's family visited, we had to leave. Jordan's grandma even made Maria a beautiful blanket. :)
Once we were out of Denver, I couldn't believe the sudden change of scenery. I had never been anywhere that was so flat!!!!
But, that's the midwest for you...
This was my first time being in Nebraska and the furthest east I had been thus far. Nebraska is also the birth state of my grandpa so it was fun to think about him.
Our next stop for the night was Omaha, where some of our other best friends were living (Lana and Marcus!). They were so excited to see Maria, and we were so excited to see them! We got some much needed rest and then hit the road again first thing in the morning.
I'm sure Maria was praying for our lunch. ;)
After Omaha, we went through many more states than our first two days. Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio! All in one day! One of our favorite parts was crossing the Mississippi River. Such a beautiful sight!
Ok, I have to admit. We did NOT enjoy driving through the Illinois/Indiana border. Toll roads AND traffic were no fun at all. Not to mention a fussy newborn who needed a diaper change. We were finally able to stop, but we kept pressing on until we saw this sign...
Ohio was by far our favorite place to drive through, mainly because of our detour. We had found a hotel and we were trying to get there, but the gps took us through a small farm town. It was right during the sunset and we couldn't help but admire the corn fields, porch swings, and American flags on every house. We saw what had to be an 80 year old man plowing his field MANUALLY (hand plow) all by himself. We were lost in the middle of nowhere (the gps said our hotel was in the middle of a corn field), but we really didn't mind. Maria was asleep so we just savored the beauty of the evening.
Looking out the window I saw fireflies for the first time. Jordan insisted that we pull off and catch some. After some hesitation I agreed. This is such a precious memory to me. Lost in Ohio without a worry in the world.
We finally found the real location to our hotel and crashed for the night. And I mean crashed! haha The next morning we got up early so that we could have more time to spend in Kirtland! We LOVED Kirtland and can't wait to go back again! We were only able to spend a few hours there, but it was more than enough time to feel the spirit.
My favorite memory from Kirtland was standing inside the temple and singing The Spirit of God with our tour group. The spirit was so strong and all I could think about was the early saints singing the same song there so many years ago.
Because we spent extra time in Kirtland, our next (and final) stop for the night was in Pennsylvania.
We were able to have a nice, relaxed dinner at the hotel and went to sleep early! The next morning we started our final leg! And Pennsylvania was so green! The Midwest was green, too, but Pennsylvania had towering trees on each side of the freeway with grasses and bushes everywhere. The greenery was so thick, you couldn't even see very far off the highway. Jordan said it reminded him of Virginia.
Maria was such a trooper through the whole trip. Every time we stopped she ate well, and every time we drove she slept well. She never complained about being in the car seat but she was very excited whenever we would take her out. She would stretch her arms and legs out as far as she could as soon as she was out of the car seat. :)
We were extremely excited to see the Philly skyline! We were getting so close!
We didn't even realize that we would be driving right by the temple either! Best surprise ever!
The Ben Franklin Bridge, which meant that we were almost in New Jersey!
The truck that carried all of our belongings wasn't ready yet, so the Sikahemas graciously welcomed us for our first couple of nights in New Jersey. I think Maria was pretty much the size of a football in this picture. ;)
It felt wonderful to sit on a couch and know that our cross-country journey was finished!
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