DAY 1...
Midwest Illinois to Fairmont, MN. (8hrs)
As we pulled out of the driveway and our neighbors waved their goodbyes, it dawned on me... THEY THINK WE'RE NUTS! (or better yet, check for a stowaway)
Everyone that has learned of our trip to visit 14 states in 4 weeks thinks we're crazy but has been very supportive and inquisitive to say the least. They have expressed how they would love to live this trip vicariously through each of us on this rig. Our children don't quite understand how much of a blessing this trip really is. We decided to halt our lives, hop in an RV and spontaneously visit National Monuments, big cities and family members sited West of Illinois. This will be the Adventure to last a lifetime! Hold on to your hats friends, it's gonna be a wild ride!
........(as I sit writing this)....
Josh so gracefully re-enters the highway after refueling and his co-pilot SCREAMS "DDAAADD!!" at the top of her lungs as the front door swings wide open! YEP, it's going to be an adventure to remember. Can you say "National Lampoons".....CLARK!
After a few weeks of anticipation and preparation, the day has finally come for us Voss' to hit the road in our new goliath of an RV that we will be calling home for the next month. Dad, being the captain of our vessel, had everyone up at 6:15 a.m. this morning and told us all to be aboard the RV and ready to leave by 7:00 a.m. (Which really meant we would be leaving by 8:00 at the pace most of us move). Our Day One route is taking us from North Central Illinois, into and through Wisconsin, all the way to Fairmont, Minnesota where we will be "camping" at the Flying Goose Campground. Our estimated route will take somewhere around eight hours. It sure doesn't feel that long when you are riding in style.
After 7 hours and 17 minutes we finally arrived at the Flying Goose Campground (surprisingly ahead of schedule, but then again I did hear Dad's navigation system yell at him several times "You're going over the speed limit"). It was very well kept, organized, pretty, and the management was very friendly. Once we got everything all set up, all of us went on a bike ride around the grounds. Though it was not very large, it did have mini golf, a sand volleyball court, and a beautiful lake. My mom and I ran out to the beach along the shore of the lake. My mom dared me to jump in and swim to the raft that was anchored a few yards from the shore. It took me a little while, but I finally gathered my courage and jumped in fully clothed. Colin eventually joined me and we jumped off the raft into the water together. I got into a splash fight with my mom and had to ride my bike back to the camp ground a few minutes later dripping wet. Mom, Chandler, and I fell a bit behind Dad, Colin, and Charlie, and ended up finding three different turtles. The first one we found was a baby snapping turtle, I tried to pick him up and move him off the road, but his neck was a bit longer than I thought and he nearly snapped my finger off so I just pushed him across the road with my two fingers by his tail where he could not bite me. The second turtle was a pretty painted turtle, he peed all over me numerous times (We had a pretty good time hanging out if I do say so myself). He did not try to bite me, but he did claw my hand up pretty good. The third turtle was also a painted turtle, but this one was about to be a Momma. She had dug her little hole and was preparing to lay her eggs when we stumbled across her. Mom wanted to pick her up, but I told her to leave the turtle alone. Everybody cleaned up and we ate hot dogs around the campfire. We also got out some shrimp and cooked them on the campfire, they were delicious! We ended the night with s'mores and got all snuggled up for bed.
-Carmen
