Welcome to the midwest!

Well, the roadtrip began with a bang... or, at least a blizzard. Our plans to visit with Nick and Maggie in Indiana unfortunately fell through due to snow, so after (very slowly) making it out of Maryland, we headed south through West Virginia. We enjoyed a short lunch in West Virginia's capitol city, then ended up in Louisville for the night. Despite the initial white-knuckled, 35mph trek through western Maryland, the rest of the drive was very pretty, and we had a good first day on the road!

Day two also started out with a bang, this time at the gas pump, where four extra gallons poured out everywhere before we realized what was happening! The good news is, the car didn't explode when we drove away. AND the gasoline smell is already significantly less on my boots! :-) 

Alicia and I spent the day in St. Louis, which is a pretty quirky city, but it was clean downtown and full of nice people! We re-learned our American history in the Arch museum then headed over to the City Museum to check out some indoor abstract art and play on the giant indoor "art" playground. And what trip to St. Louis would be complete without a stop at Ted Drewes for a taste of their famous custard? There were 30 others in line with us outside, waiting for this delicious ice cream... definitely worth it! 


Back on the road again, we Pricelined a room in Kansas City for the night. We ended up booking a stay at the Coco Key resort (aka a Holiday Inn with an indoor water park attached). Nothing like having a lazy river in your hotel in late December when it's below freezing outside... but don't worry - there are only 175 days left until summer!