I had been debating this trip for months. I finally decided it would be best to fly round trip into Omaha, Nebraska, and drive all over the Midwest with a rental car. There were a few places I really wanted to see and a bunch of people I was really looking forward to seeing. It took me about an hour to pack for this trip, and of course…I brought BB8 along for the adventure.
Day 1
On Sunday, I got to the airport at 3am and proceeded to wait about an hour for security to open. At Terminal A in Logan, the TSA Precheck line doesn’t actually open until 4am.
My plane was boarding at 4:30am, but I was more concerned with whether the Dunkin’ Donuts would be open or not. (It was!). On my way through Precheck, the TSA workers had fun trying to decide what my Lego BB8 was as my bag passed through the x-ray machine. The first flight of the day was uneventful.
Since we left Boston a few minutes early, that meant that we got into Detroit much earlier than expected. That gave me enough time to not rush through the 1-mile walk from gate A6 to C23. Detroit is a big airport! I got a turkey + cheese + tomato + pickle sub from Subway once I got to gate C23. That’s my usual sub order, but this time I added chipotle sauce for the heck of it. Maaaaan, what a delicious difference it made! Bad news! There was some sort of maintenance problem with the plane, and while they did manage to solve it relatively fast, it did end up costing us about 20 minutes. That was a bit of a bummer, and I hoped I could make up the time later. The second plane was much smaller, so I hoped BB8 would survive the overhead bin space with no trouble. (He did.) At 9:55am I stepped back onto the ground of Omaha! I’ve been so excited the past few months to get to go back to Nebraska and drive around (shocker, I know). It was a lovely day outside. It seemed that we had just missed the rain, and the sun had started to appear.
This time I sort of splurged and got a Mercedes-Benz for my rental car. The price difference was pretty awesome. Usually it’s a big difference so I never really think about getting any “premium” cars.
After getting it, I drove 100 miles to the Homestead NHP in Nebraska. The landscape just felt so peaceful and I got to learn a little bit about how my great-great-great-grandfather may have lived. You see, he bought 160 acres of land in 1892 and since adding that into the family tree I’ve always wondered if he purchased the land as part of the Homestead Act or if he acquired it some other way.
At the Homestead NHP I got to look up his name to see if he had a patent for land, but neither I nor the park ranger could find anything, so we ended up assuming he bought the land privately rather than from the government. Still fun to learn about!
The park sits in the rural part of Nebraska, and it is quite beautiful. I love driving through all the green rolling hills and seeing endless farms. It just seems so peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of Boston. Not to mention the lack of cars.
After some pictures, I decided to skip the World’s Largest Porch Swing (disappointing, I know) and go right to Kansas City. It turned out that the plane problems and interestingness of the national park site had, in fact, stretched my timeline too much, so going to the porch swing would’ve likely made me late. On the way to KC, I detoured through some farmland (instead of just going straight onto the highway) to a small town to use a mailbox. On the Texas trip (not published yet), I forgot to bring postcard stamps! Not to fear, I brought some this time and was able to mail a postcard to one of my penpals who I’ll be seeing later in the week. I thought it would be interesting to see if I got there before the letter.
It was about a 2.5-hour drive from the mailbox to Kansas City. By skipping the porch swing, I would get to KC about an hour early. A few days before leaving, I texted my good friend Jackson from Philmont about a week before the trip to see if he wanted to meet up. He was excited to see me, and so we had planned to meet at a local bar to have pizza and wings. It was the first time I had seen Jackson since I drove back from Philmont in 2019, so it was nice to catch up for a bit.
After a couple of hours of talking, I decided it was time to head to St. Louis, MO. When trip planning, I figured it would be easier to do the 3.5-hour drive that night rather than get a hotel in KC and then wake up super early the next day to drive to St. Louis. I left KC at around 7:40pm and got to the hotel at 11:35pm. (Technically, I drove to Granite City, IL rather than St. Louis. All the hotels in St. Louis are either too expensive or only have paid parking…bleh). The drive was pretty uneventful. Nearly all of it was in the dark, and after getting to Columbia, MO, the weather was particularly annoying. A rainy mist that got much worse every time a truck went by, and there were a lot of truckers.
When trip planning, I had serious doubts about whether I could fly for 8 hours, then spend the next 8 hours driving 600 miles. On paper, it seemed dubious, but I’ve done crazier things in the past, so compared to them, this seemed like a cakewalk.
Day 2
On Monday, I left the hotel at 7:55am to go into St. Louis. It was pretty easy to find my way to the parking garage. The city streets seem wider than Boston, and there was much less traffic, so it was a breeze to navigate. I’m so glad that I drove the extra miles the previous night, as it meant that I wouldn’t have to that morning.
I had paid for Arch tickets online, but the website was glitching so I had to call it in. That meant I never got a proper ticket, but instead a receipt. I turned that in at the ticket counter when the arch opened and then got into line with everyone else.
The ride to the top was at 9:10am. It was interesting! Luckily, I’m not claustrophobic. The pods we were in could seat 5 people and were super small. It was also sort of like a Ferris Wheel in that the pod rocked back and forth as it went up. The inner workings of the arch were very cramped and mostly just structural supports with an escape ladder / stairs to the side.
Once at the top, we had about 6-10 minutes to enjoy the view. It was taller than the Washington Monument, and I think the windows were a little bigger as well. It was really cool to see the city from the arch. I would recommend that 100% everyone should try it at some point in their life.
The way down was much faster and felt sort of like a roller coaster. Once at the bottom, I was able to watch the park film early. This was great news because it put me ahead of schedule for the day. The movie was really well done and made me feel like I was actually there. It was cool to see some of the actual building footage. 5/5
I really didn’t want to waste any of my newly acquired extra time, but I just knew that if I skipped out on a BB8 picture, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. So I quickly walked back to the car to get him and then went back to the arch to grab a nice shot. I’m happy with the result, so therefore it was worth the extra effort. (The picture I’m talking about is the Featured Image).
About a 20 minute drive away was the Ulysses S. Grant NHS. It was the house Grant where he met his wife and would ended up raising his kids in the house just before the start of the Civil War. This park is pretty small, but it’s packed with history. I did a brief self tour of the house, which itself was rather empty. Before leaving, I listened to the 10 minute ranger talk. Between visitors the ranger was listening to the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant so that was neat and I thought maybe I’d get to read them. (Unlikely.)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect at the St. Genevieve NHP. It is a half-affiliate park, so it’s not owned completely by the NPS. Nevertheless, it has a park stamp, and so I was determined to go!
It’s in a pretty rural part of Missouri, and the only way to tour the buildings was with a guided tour, which I didn’t have time for. Instead, I watched a not very interesting film. The content was interesting, but the cinematography was not.
What makes this park interesting is that the buildings are of French design and have vertical log walls. There was a story about how an earthquake hit this once and the buildings stayed standing because of this unique building method. The vertical logs swayed but stood upright, while the more horizontal log houses were shaken apart and fell down. Pretty neat!
After I got a souvenir patch, I decided to have a rare, unplanned lunch. I had a delicious panini, some pretzels, and a homemade strawberry lemonade at the Stella & Me Cafe. Totally worth the stop, and the owner even offered a to-go lemonade after I mentioned I’d be driving 4 hours next.
Indeed, the next phase of the plan was to drive to Ash Grove, MO. I’d never done this specific drive, but my trip in 2022 back from Philmont was similar: Joplin, MO to Bowling Green, KY. The drive itself was pretty easy, and with the lack of cop cars, I made it in pretty decent time.
So for the past few years, I’ve been working on my family tree, and eventually, I went about sending out letters in the mail to various people on the tree. That’s how I met Carolyn! I had been talking to Carolyn for the past few months leading up to the trip about the family tree, and when she said you should come visit, I immediately started to think of ideas of how to do that. Finally, just after 7pm, I found myself in front of her door, ringing the doorbell. I consider myself a 2nd cousin for this part of the tree. It was great to finally meet one of the people from a branch I’d been optimizing for a long time.
For dinner, we went to a new local sports bar, and I got a burger with a fried egg on top. It was awesome and a good way to end the day. Upon our return, we talked about life for a bit and brainstormed things to do the next day. Before bed, Carolyn’s cat, Snowball, joined us inside (an outdoor cat), and then we hit the hay.
Day 3
On Tuesday, I got up around 8am and took a shower. I had to rush out the door to make it to the Titanic! It would be boarding soon, and I didn’t want to miss the departure time. Carolyn suggested it the previous night, and I thought it was a great idea. Why not? Who would’ve thought you could board the Titanic in Missouri?
It took about one hour and 15 minutes to get there. Most of the drive was on a windy road through the mountains. It reminded me of the Cimarron Pass on my way to Taos from Philmont.
Once there, I got to do a self-tour of the place. It’s not a scale replica, but it is life-sized. The basic process is you are handed a card for someone who was on the Titanic on the ill-fated night, and then at the end of the tour, you learn whether they survived or not. There are numerous artifacts (I don’t think any of them are from the actual wreck), and it was really neat to see things like a dinner menu and what the difference between the third-class dinnerware and the first-class tableware looked like.
They had a life sized life boat, the captains steering wheel cabin, a third class cabin, and a replica of the outdoor promenade. There was also a little bucket of water that was 28F and was there to simulate what it was like if you fell into the ocean when the Titanic sank. I was able to keep my hand submerged for 31.53 seconds before I had to pull it out. If I was competing with a friend I could’ve willed myself to stay in longer. Apparently 20 minutes in water that cold is enough to give you life threatening hypothermia and I believe it.
After exiting the ship, I went to the Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas. This involved driving on more twisty mountain roads for an hour and a half. The park is pretty big and has a 7-mile driving loop, although I thought that the stops weren’t all that impressive.
Next, I went to Bentonville, AR, to try BBQ at a place that Ethan recommended. Ethan gets to go to Arkansas pretty often for work, and he loves it. So I thought he would be the perfect person to ask for food advice. I got a pulled pork sandwich, mac and cheese, and some pickle slices. Also a Sprite. The food was terrific and totally worth going out of the way for.
After a quick lunch, I headed back to Carolyn’s house. It took about 2 hours and was uneventful. Once I got back, we talked about the day for a bit and then we split up for a bit to chill. It was nice to take a short break from all the sightseeing.
We decided to go to a local Mexican food place in Ash Grove for dinner, but it was packed inside, so we instead opted to go to Springfield. The plan was to have dinner, then see a softball game played by one of Chris’s kids. Chris is Carolyn’s son. My brother Phil plays softball, but I’ve never seen him play, so I was curious what seeing a game would be like. It turns out it’s very much like baseball, but with a few technical differences. The team ended up winning! After that, we said our goodbyes, Carolyn and I headed back to her house.
Day 4
On Wednesday, I got to sleep in until 8:30. Pretty nice! We started out the day with a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and cantaloupe. It turns out that I’m fine eating cantaloupe even after seeing the Bring Her Back movie. (I thought I’d be traumatized for a few years.)
The first stop of the day was the Ash Grove High School so I could talk to Chris some more. I did go to high school, so I know what it’s like, but every building is different, and this one boasts a welding workshop and agricultural center. My high school doesn’t have stuff like that!
After talking for a bit, Carolyn and I headed out to Chris’s ranch, and Carolyn gave me a tour. (Technically Chris only owns the land around his house inside of the fence and the rest is rented from Carolyn.) It was mentioned that the family had a lot of land, and once again, it was really nice to see some of what I’ve been adding to the tree. Just putting “Rancher” doesn’t really do the ranch justice, I think. It is quite the layout and has a bunch of lovely-looking cows.
After touring the ranch, we headed over to Chris’s house to do some errands. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when planning the trip, but it turns out that the family is super active around town and is therefore always on the move.
We were both feeling peckish, so we went back to the house to both have a bite to eat and check on the roast (for dinner). Snowball had gone out the night before, but still hadn’t returned by then, so we were getting a bit nervous, but tried to stay optimistic. After lunch, we headed out to the Phenix Quarry to see what all the hype was about. Supposedly, you could just walk right out and see the limestone / marble cutting process, but that proved to be false. The president of the company did say that we could come back and take a tour on a more favorable day. He was super nice, and with that, we left.
Next up was a more expansive tour of the ranch / farm land. It turns out that it’s a pretty big chunk! Carolyn drove us all around the properties and I got some more great cow pictures. In total I got to view a huge section of Carolyn’s land, a bit of Rebecca’s land, some of Wendell’s land, and the part that Chris rents. Wendell and Rebecca are Carolyn’s siblings. Every piece of land has a purpose. To me, it just looks like a bunch of fields separated by a fence, but Carolyn took great care in explaining all the intricate differences, whether that be who owned it, what it was actually for, or the history of it. That’s the kind of thing you can’t learn online. It’s hard to imagine that the total size can compare to the town I live in.
Mid tour, we had to drive back to town to get more gas since the car was almost empty. After getting gas, it was decided to check on the roast again, then go back to the ranch for BB8 pictures. Snowball was still nowhere to be seen, but we remained hopeful of her soon-to-be return.
We went out for one last errand, and I got to formally meet another nice cousin. We went back to the house and had dinner, then went to the Bass Pro Shops to look around. I think there are a few in New England, but the one in Springfield, MO is more heavily centered around hunting and fishing.
In the store, there’s a live crocodile, lots of fish, a beaver, and the #1-rated aquarium in the country. It was a massive store. I don’t really have much interest in hunting or fishing, but it was fun to look around at all the neat stuff on display throughout the store. The aquarium was closed by the time we got there, so you know what that means…I’ll have to come back and do that next time!
The last thing we did was swing by an Andy’s Custard store and get some frozen custard. That’s not really a thing in Boston. We have ice cream and frozen yogurt, but I’ve never seen frozen custard anywhere. I got a strawberry concrete. It thankfully didn’t break my teeth and was very good. It sort of reminded me of yogurt, but was a bit more smooth. It also seemed a bit creamier than your typical ice cream. The closest store to me back home would be in Raleigh, NC.
Before bed, I made sure to scan some family tree documents onto my laptop. They will be supremely helpful in my quest to cultivate the family tree. I also was able to get some very much needed pictures. Thank you! Two people I didn’t get to meet were Erin and Andy. They don’t live very close to Ash Grove, so I didn’t really get a good chance to say hi. If you are reading this, hello! Before bed, we looked out the back window to find Snowball sitting on an air conditioning fan. She had returned!
Day 5
On Thursday, I got up around 4:20am, said goodbye to Carolyn and Snowball, and then hit the road towards Topeka.
I made good time and managed to beat the GPS by about 25 minutes. The first stop of the day was the Kansas State Capitol. I’d be doing the dome tour. It’s a free tour that brings you up to the very top of the building to the highest point in Topeka.
I managed to climb 296 steps to the top and soaked up all the fascinating details on how the dome was built. I was the only one on the tour, so that was pretty nice.
We took three breaks on our way up. It gave me time to really observe the workmanship and catch my breath. The first one was right at the top of the first dome. It should be of note that there are these massive fans up here. There are no fire sprinklers in the building. Instead, these fans are so powerful that they suck out all the smoke and can snuff out the flames in seconds. Supposedly, anything that isn’t properly secured can rise up off the ground. I just thought it would be an interesting thing to note.
The second stop was sort of a midpoint between the first dome and the second. It gave a great vantage point to see everything in its finest majesty. You might notice the winch in the center. That is to help raise and lower the chandelier (Look at the first picture a few paragraphs up). The chandelier can be lowered all the way to the bottom level where the flags are. The very bottom level. I thought that was super cool.
Back in the day, there were no safety regulations, and kids would come up to climb on the structure. They wrote their names all over the place as graffiti, and if they didn’t have anything to write with, they would carve it in with a pocket knife. Some of the names are very high up in places that seem impossible to get to without ropes. I think I could get there, but it would be a bit terrifying coming down.
The view at the top was awesome! I was able to see just about everything on such a clear day. The tour guide was super nice and loved her job. She said that they built it back before cranes or tools (other than rudimentary stuff) existed, and we both found it hard to believe such a magnificent building could be built in such a way. Also, the dome is lined with copper.
The idea here was the green dome would symbolize the fertile green fields of Kansas and entice people to move out west. People didn’t rush to Kansas because the dome didn’t turn green fast enough. Maybe in the next 20 years we will see a mad rush of people going to Topeka when the copper gets a patina.
If you are afraid of heights, I’d say the way down would be worse than the way up. Just because it’s hard not to look down since the steps are steep, and you don’t want to trip. Also, looking down might give vertigo since the steps sort of blend with the drop.
Once at the bottom, I made my way to the gift shop, where I learned that there is a stamp-collecting book! Much like the National Park stamps, there is also a state capital stamp book. Soooo 1 down, 38 to go. (Only 39 capitals do it / qualify.) Before heading back to my car, I watched the film. It was about how the capital was built and the struggles along the way. Pretty interesting.
The next location was the Brown v. Board of Education NHP. This place was all about the landmark case in the Supreme Court that basically kicked off desegregation in schools and helped catapult the civil rights movement to new levels. There was fierce resistance all over the place at first, but I’m not sure if the schools we know of today would be the same if not for the 14th Amendment.
The school is a museum now, but there is one classroom that is set up like it would be as a kindergarten back in the day. I thought it looked like the average classroom with the addition of what must’ve been a projector of some kind on the desk.
After I left, I had a 5-minute debate of what to do next: the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library or my original plan. After much back and forth, I eventually decided on sticking to the plan.
It took an hour to get to St. Joseph, MO. This city was sort of a ghost town in that there are people, but the streets are almost empty. I reluctantly paid for my $10 ticket to the Pony Express National Museum and made my way through the super old film. (Shot pre-1999, I think, haha.)
It was crazy to think that a horse rider would travel from St. Joseph to San Francisco all by himself. He would basically be on his own for hundreds of miles at a time. There were stories of riders finding tornadoes or huge lightning storms where they didn’t expect anything or Indians (the term used in the film). The pay was pretty good, though. I think I’d attempt it once, but I’m not sure I could make a habit out of it.
With not much else to see in St. Joseph, I made my way back south to Independence, MO, to visit the National Frontier Trails Museum. I had bought a big national park book for the stickers, and so I wanted to get the stamp in both the big and small books while I could. The museum was pretty small and was mainly about the different trails from the east to west coast. The Lewis and Clark, Mormon Pioneer, North Country, Pony Express, Trail of Tears, Oregon, California, Santa Fe, and Ice Age trails. Some are National Historic Trails, and others are National Scenic Trails.
I had maybe 40 minutes to get and see the Truman Library. I didn’t have much hope of getting there in time, but I tried anyways and was indeed too late! Better luck next time.
The final stop of the day was my penpals house! I would be staying the night there. We’ve sent several letters back and forth, but this is the first time we’ve ever met in person. I also got to meet her family who has only been vaguely mentioned in letters, so that was neat as well. Since I was in the area rather than in Boston, it was an easy task to accomplish, and I’m grateful I got to talk in person. (Plus the grilled chicken / cornbread was really good!) Thank you!!!
Day 6
On Friday, I got up at 5:15am and by 6:20am I was on my way to the Omaha Zoo. Back when I was trip planning, I had decided it would be possible to visit the Omaha Zoo and see almost everything before having to go to the airport and come home. The drive to the zoo was around 2 hours.
I worked with ChatGPT to draw up a very precise schedule, and on Friday I finally had the chance to test things out. It was the College World Series (baseball), so I expected a lot of people at the zoo. I also expected it to be really hot. I factored all that into my plan, plus a few other niche things such as my walking pace.
I went to the Aquarium first thing at 9:10am I was a little late (10 minutes behind schedule), so I rushed through this a bit. The aquarium was very cool and had a water tunnel. I’ve never seen one of these before, and there was a shark just lying on top above the glass. I had planned to skip the butterfly building since it is, of my opinion, that butterflies are boring.
At 9:35am I got to the Lied Jungle. This is where the smaller monkeys and a few birds are kept. There were also various other critters. The atmosphere was humid. It truly felt like you were in a jungle. The only major downside was that most parents were wheeling around strollers that took up too much room.
At 10:01am I was at the Desert Dome. This is a highly talked-about building that houses a lot of desert birds and lots of reptiles. Some mammals as well. It was hot in there and looked sort of like the middle of nowhere Arizona with all the orange dirt everywhere.
In the plan, I had an “Optional quick peek into Kingdoms of the Night”. This meant that if I had extra time, I could go look around under the Desert Dome. The Kingdoms of the Night part of the zoo is one of the most talked-about places. There are a lot of snakes here as well.
Also down there was a swamp-like area. There were both crocodiles and alligators as well as beavers and some other critters. It was really dark down there so it was hard to get properly focused pictures. There were also many strollers. It seemed like a lot of people came down here to beat the heat outside.
At 10:36am I was looking at the giraffes. They had a rather large enclosure bordered by the train. I didn’t have time for the train on my trip, but it made for a very nice picture with the giraffes.
On my way down the path I stopped by the elephant enclosure to give a brief hello to the elephants. They were all huddled together on one side of the enclosure so it was easy to see them. This was at 10:40am.
Now I had plenty of time to venture along the covered bridge to see the fish in the lagoon, but since the bridge had a lot more people on it, I opted for the longer / regular bridge. I had plenty of time to take the original route (the covered bridge was sort of a shortcut).
At 10:58am, I was at Stingray Beach. Unfortunately, it was closed! This is where you could pet some stingrays, and I was very excited to try this out. With that being closed, I had 30 extra minutes and, not really sure what to do with myself, I spent a few minutes looking at the map.
I eventually decided to just go right over to the Asian Highlands. I got there around 11am and then took the loop around the region. Many of the kids were excited to see the tiger, but it was just enjoying itself in the sun and not providing much entertainment for the kids, so they were banging on the glass trying to get it to move. That’s just another reason why I’m not a fan of most kids.
I spent a decent amount of time searching for the snow leopard, but couldn’t find it. The takin was easy to spot. They were all lying waaaay in the back under the shade. On the way out I spent some time saying hello to the two Rhinos.
Next up was an unplanned visit to the Simmons Aviary at 11:22am. The smell inside near the flamingoes was ripe. It was sort of both a neat and also unpleasant experience to be inside the aviary.
I went through the Gorilla building next at around 11:28am. Most of them were asleep, but there was one big one that was being accosted by more kids banging on the glass. Maybe it was just thinking, though? I got to the Orangutan building around 11:36am and they were just lounging about too. I think being in an enclosure would at first be entertaining, but eventually it would get boring, and there would not be much more to explore, and I think that’s how the orangutans felt. I wasn’t able to ask, though, so there was really no way of knowing for sure.
Next up was lunch. ChatGPT was adamant that I work in a break somewhere, so I went to lunch around 11:53am and it was super crowded. I got a personal pizza, some ice cream, and had my water bottle. It was actually nice to take a break, even though I still wanted to see as much as I possibly could. (Lunch felt like a waste of time when planning.)
I had some extra time after lunch before the main event of the day, so I went back to the giraffes for some more viewing. At 12:24pm the crowds were light, and I was able to get a good spot to observe things. With 20 minutes left, I debated doing the butterfly walk, but I had some doubts I could do it in time, and so did one of the zookeepers, so I turned around and headed over to the Robert building at 12:45pm to meet the tour guide and other participants.
I would be doing the Sea Lion Backstage Adventure! I was super hyped up for this, and it was awesome. I couldn’t take any pictures, and I’m not supposed to talk about it on social media. This helps preserve the surprise for anyone wanting to go.
Fast forward to 1:50pm and it was time to feed the sea lions. I was allowed to take pictures for this, and I did. There were 10 people in the group, and we each got to throw a fish to one of the sea lions. It was a very fun experience, and I’d highly recommend it.
At around 2:20pm it was over, and I was on my way to the airport. My plane was boarding at 4:30pm and so I had wanted to be there at least 1.5 hours early just in case I hit traffic or there was a flight change. (They did end up boarding early.) Before leaving the zoo, I stopped by the gift shop for a patch for the souvenir drawer back home.
Everything worked out almost just as planned. The only reason I was initially rushed is because I got to the zoo 7 minutes late. One would think that wouldn’t be a big deal, but for me it was. Overall though, I feel like it all worked out, and so I was very pleased.
Before dropping the rental car off, I had to get gas. It was a short trip to the airport after that. With the college World Series being this weekend and the fact that Omaha has a small airport, I got through security really fast.
The second flight was rather annoying. It was delayed 3 hours because they couldn’t find a pilot for the plane. There was a co-pilot, but no pilot. Grrrr! That had never happened to me before. At 12am we were boarding, and by 2am I was on the ground in Boston. I didn’t actually get home until 3am. It was a very long day, but I was still glad I managed to fit in a trip to the zoo.
Final Thoughts
This trip was meant to be both a solo trip and a trip to meet Carolyn. I accomplished both goals and got to also see my friend Jackson, my long-time Reddit pen pal, and Carolyn’s family. This trip was one for the books!
I really liked planning this trip and in my notes I call it “The Ultimate Midwest Trip”. See you next time!
Trip Stats
- Estimated mi: 1569
- Actual miles: 1767
- National Park stamps: 7
- Died on the Titanic
- States visited: NE, KS, IA, MO, IL, AR
- Cats seen: 8
- Amount of blog written on my phone: 45%
- Steps: 45,490
- Taxi fare in Boston: $57 (including tip)
- Tolls in rental car: 2 (so sad, I totally could’ve avoided them)
- Pictures with Carolyn: 0
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