Going for Silver

Since joining the National Park Travelers Club in 2011, our travels have gotten us the Special Achievement Award (minimum 10 units in 2 regions with 20 stamps) every year except for 2020 (pandemic 😢) and last year when we earned the Bronze Master Traveler Award (min. 25 units, 4 regions, 50 stamps). This year because we have been able to visit a number of different NPS passport regions (Western, Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic), we are really close to achieving the Silver MTA (min. 35 units, 5 regions, 75 stamps). Only need stamps from 7 more units before the end of the year! 

So, in an effort to get our (okay, *my*) certificate, we took a slight detour on our way down to my parents' house today to move 3 units closer to Silver...

225 miles

Gotta Catch 'Em All

Since Pacific Crest was officially ending their tour today, their last order of business was to clean up their housing site, and then go back to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the final 12 corps compete. Because all of the kids from all of the corps are descending upon the Indianapolis airport in the wee hours for their flights home on Sunday, we thought it would be easier to pick up M's stuff before it was loaded onto the buses and have him walk back to our room at the Hampton Inn downtown instead of dealing with mass of humanity at IND. Totally worth the 90-minute round trip to Hauser Jr./Sr. High School in Hope, IN this morning!

Here's to the Ones Who Dream

Pacific Crest 2018 DCI Tour

Does this sound like a summer of fun to you?

• Rehearsing countless hours a day in the sun, heat, humidity, insects, rain... 
• Catching a few hours of sleep on the floors of school gyms or while riding on the bus
• Traveling with a small army of performers, instructors, staff, and volunteers in a fleet of buses, equipment trucks, RVs, and a mobile kitchen
• Performing in venues across the country over the course of 6+ weeks

#23

No, in this case #23 does not refer to Michael Jordan. Sandwiched between the two terms of Grover Cleveland was Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States. The only POTUS to hail from Indiana, the house where he lived in Indianapolis is now a national historic landmark. Since we had a free morning before M's semi-final performance with Pacific Crest at Lucas Oil Stadium, we decided to check out the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, about 1.5 miles from our hotel downtown. 

Love the bunting on the porch railings!

Youngsholm

The final stop of our trip to the Buckeye State was Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Wilberforce. Because this unit was only designated in 2013, it's still a work in progress. They aren't open for regular visitation, so several weeks ago I made arrangements for us to visit the site at 10:00AM today.

Hoosiers

Having lived here in California for 15 years, we're used to driving long distances to get anywhere: 4.5 hours to Las Vegas, 5.5 hours to San Francisco or Sacramento, and 6 hours to Phoenix. And that's on a good day with no traffic, of course! 

So whenever we come back to visit our families, I'm always looking at a map and figuring out where else we can go for a side trip. And in the Midwest, multiple states are within 4-6 hours! Woohoo! Today our Las Vegas-equivalent drive would take us from Louisville to Indianapolis, and finally to Chicago. First stop - the Indiana Statehouse!

Time Travelers

First thing this morning, we said goodbye to my folks and headed for parts unknown... to us, at least! Any place south and east of Champaign-Urbana is unexplored territory!

What a difference a year makes!

Hail to the Orange!

From Dayton, we hopped onto I-70 and drove about 2 hours west to Indianapolis. Another 2 hours farther, and we were in Champaign-Urbana! It's been nearly 20 years since R and I have been back to campus, so we were eager to see what had changed (or not!) and to show the boys around. I just wish it hadn't been so hot today -- we could have walked around to see more!

Five for the Road

As per their usual custom, Uncle K took the nephews with him to Starbucks before church this morning. Hot chocolate for J and a double chocolate chip frappuccino for M (just how many calories are in that thing?!) We caught up with them at church – so nice to see so many familiar faces this morning!

After church, we grabbed a quick lunch and loaded up the car. K is coming with us as far as Cleveland, where he’ll stop in to visit some of his customers before flying back to Chicago. Until then – it will be a cozy ride in the back seat of our full-size car.