Our Beach in the Midwest

When we can't get to the coast, we can at least get to the beach. The beaches of Lake McConaughy, that is.

We stumbled upon this oasis last summer and have been itching to get back ever since.

The water was pretty cold the first day, so the next day we dug out the wetsuits.

And actually enjoyed putting them on! At least Jonas did.

Joey built sand stairs in an attempt to make it easier to get up and down, and Jewel kept up with the constant maintenance.


Joey also carved out a tiki man, but once he added arms and legs it looked more like Spongebob on steroids.


By the time we broke out the boogie boards the waves were gone, which left the boys waiting for the wake of a speed boat or jet ski. It was tricky getting the timing down right, but they were having fun figuring it out.



Joey captured this cool shot of Jacob with the noodle.

We're not sure which one was bigger.

It wouldn't be a Nebraska lake post for me without the obligatory toad shot.


Meet Toad, and Toad, Jr.


It amazes me how my kids expressions always seem to mimic those of their toad buddies.

I don't know, maybe it's just me.

We finished both nights around the campfire, with wood that I gathered....... by driving to another RV spot and taking the logs they left behind. Joey used to cringe when I did that, but if he really didn't want me to take it he wouldn't even tell me it was there. The last time I "gathered" he even helped! Let's keep that between us, though.


Get out of my way!

A storm was rolling in, and knowing it'll most likely pass within half an hour, we had to protect our fire.

It worked and we were able to finish off another bag of chocolate marshmallows.

And So Began The Rest Area Tour....

Iowa was the next state to go through before getting to Minnesota, and it was for me the most difficult state to pass through. It was cold and raining when we pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot in Des Moines late that night and since we weren't paying for camping that meant we got to eat out. We had Fuddruckers for the first time in TEN years, and it was even better then we remembered it, and I could hardly believe we spent no more than we'd normally spend at McDonald's. Anyway, what was so difficult was that I wasn't going to get to see any of my unschooling friends. I stressed enough all the way from Albuquerque to Lubbock that we didn't stop and see Sandra and now Des Moines is making me feel like the worst friend ever. To my defense I did try emailing Heather from my cell phone but I don't think she ever got it. We always have the best intentions on seeing folks as we travel through, but we're on a mission this trip and just can't spare the time, or the extra gas mileage to go a little out of our way.

We're both using diesel which is averaging $4.70 a gallon, and we figured it's costing us almost a dollar a mile to drive...so even just eighty miles out of our way isn't cheap. Plus, we're heading to a job, and we need to allow as much time as possible for any unexpected delays or breakdowns. Joey wanted desperately to see his brother which would have added 300 miles and we wanted to see our old friends back in Fonda, which would have added an extra hundred miles, but instead we started the Rest Area Tour 2008.

Oh yeah, even when we tried to get a campsite we were denied because all the weekenders were out taking up all our camping spots anyway, so we really didn't even have a choice.....and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. It was easy to keep my commitment to no TV and already not being on the Net for weeks has made me not even interested in it, aside from checking my email from my cell phone, so we got to spend a lot of time just hanging out together and talking.

The rest areas weren't bad either. Besides's Iowa's rest areas being wi-fi hotspots, they have great playgrounds.

Most of the time it felt like Joey and I only had one kid, but the tire swings inevitably draw the boys out to play with us.

The best part though about the Iowa rest areas this weekend: The Boy Scouts were handing out free refreshments! Jewel got an apple, the boys got popcorn, I got homemade carrot cake for myself and coffee for Joey, then donated all the change I had in my pockets.

Jewel liked the boy Scouts.

Nebraska, we're back

It's time to get serious about finding a job so we had to leave Flaming Gorge. If they'd have had electricity we would have set up our satellite and probably stuck around until they kicked us out, but they didn't, so we had to move on and leave their sunsets behind.


The town of Rock Springs, closest to the north, looks like a big dirt pit so we decide to check out Green River, WY, just to the west. It's not much better, but it'll do. As soon as we park I check for wi-fi and lo and behold, I've got a signal. Knowing that, we head to the river for some water play, and I'll attack the Internets later.

Only to find when we get back, the signal is gone. We tried for almost two hours to set up our satellite but even though we got a good signal (72) it would not connect to the NOC. I called up HughesNet and they said they're sending out a service tech, no longer than 3-5 days, it's most likely something with my modem. Now we're in the most expensive RV park we've ever been in, Tex's Travel Camp, it's over 100 degrees outside, the river is too gross for me to play in, and I have no Internet! Get me the hell outta here. Since it's now the weekend there's really no point in job hunting anyway but by the conversations Joey's had with fellow welders and a Super from his old company we pretty much know he can work in NE or ND, and they both sound like good options for me, so we decide to head that way. Chris, your jinx worked, I'm heading back your way!

Saturday we drove all day until we stop for the night just over the border in Nebraska, where we find a Cabela's campground. I didn't know Cabela's had campgrounds! And what a nice one. The kids played at the playground while we enjoyed the cool night breeze, and a leisurly stroll thru the boats while the salespeople were away. We got up early to go check out the store in the morning and ended up waiting almost an hour while the saleslady tried her damndest to find Jonas the Rainbow Trout oversized pillow that he desperately needed. In the end she couldn't find one, so he happily made do with a cute small sunfish, and I some fudge (which I hid from everyone).


We're off to go look for a large body of water to chill in until Joey actually goes to work.