The Struggle is Real: Thanksgiving Get Away -- part one

We did it. A family road trip. A 2,222 mile family road trip, the week of Thanksgiving, from Northern Virginia to the area near Madison, Wisconsin. And, it was awesome!

Warning: An excessive quantity of photos forthcoming.

ready to go! daughter so excited she can hardly keep her eyes open

son #1 and son #2 just before leaving home;
sitting together so nicely

less than an hour into the 7 hour drive on day #1 and son #1 has son
#2 in an awkward headlock while they both feign sleep
Okay, this should be an interesting day ...

somewhere in West Virginia, I think.
we stopped at many of these rest stops

upon encountering light snow along the West Virginia and Maryland border route,
some of it stuck to the front of the car
at this rest stop it was windy and 27 F outside

lots and lots of flat Indiana, Day #2, 7 hour drive

first morning in Wisconsin, 2-3 inches of fresh snow

visit to a creamery to see how cheese is made

waiting patiently for the tour

say, "cheese" ?!?

blocks of newly formed cheddar being pressed

the goodies we purchased to bring home to VA

curious observers

quintessential rural Wisconsin dairyland

rural Wisconsin sunset

We had time to hang out with our friends (M, L & C) and make "new" friends with their two cute kitties!

Here they are perched on their favorite napping spot.

girls' Wii time while boys play with cats

son #1, the cat whisperer --
holds kitty string toy used to lure cute kitty to lap

oh hello!
what you can't tell from this photo is that he (the kitty) was purring

hugs for da kittehs

Another day and a visit to Cave of the Mounds.

So many pretty goodies in the gift shop! Hard to justify buying heavy stuff, like these rocks (okay, I mean geodes), when we move often, but they were all so incredibly gorgeous. We may or may not have brought a few things back with us ...

checking out one of the petrified wood stumps
this one was about $400!
very cool, though we did not buy one

place to dig for sparkly things

inside the cave, on the tour

stalactites and stalagmites everywhere

wow. just wow.

Some time was left for an additional tour this day. The National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin!

a mustard vending machine

row after row of mustards to buy in the store above the museum
customers could sample any of the varieties
so we did sample

collection of mustard jars and containers from the 50 states

the ones collected from our region

some very old tins

engrossed by the food challenge questions

did we get that one right?

selfie with the mustard

two mustard enthusiasts

cute t-shirts seen in the gift shop

Then there was bacon ...

the many bacon flavored products

um, interesting idea, but no.

Now for some random shots from our final day in the Middleton area ...

covered in snow from sledding adventure

one attempt at a family shot

outdoor family photo.
I like this one better.
You will see it on our Christmas card this year.

mother and daughter enjoying the snow

Next portion of our trip was spent at the Kalahari resort in the Wisconsin Dells area. There is an outdoor water park (closed in the winter), an indoor water park and and indoor theme park as part of this resort complex. We had lots of fun here!