Didrickson Family US Tour Day 1

It's finally here!  My sabbatical has started and our U.S. Tour has begun! After about 2 years of meticulous planning, we finally loaded up the mini-van this morning with 4 kids, 5 t-shirts and 3 pairs of shorts each, and 2 coolers of food.  49 days together as family touring the United States awaits.  It's going to be awesome.
Originally, we were planning on leaving tomorrow and driving to Oklahoma City on our way to Kansas City on Friday night to see our friends the Jaegers, and watch our beloved Mariners take on the Royals.
But, last night about 5pm we got an idea....what if we leave a day early?  It sounded like fun...our bags were already packed, the house was already pretty clean, so why not?  But, where would we go?  Let's face it, there isn't a whole lot to see between Albuquerque and Kansas City.  So, I looked at Google Maps and noticed that Omaha isn't too far from KC.  And this week Omaha hosts the College Baseball World Series.  A little more baseball was an easy sell to the kids and surprisingly even to Tiffany.  (That poor girl has become a true baseball mom...and is loving it.)
So, we loaded up and left the house about 11:30 this morning.  Here's what the kids looked like as we pulled out of the driveway of our house.

Pretty cute.  We'll see how long that lasts with 7 weeks of driving ahead..

 

We hit I-25 and headed north. I've always liked driving through New Mexico.  The skies are huge and it feels like you can see forever.  But man, it's a huge state!  Finally we reached the border of Oklahoma and jumped out of the car to stretch and snap this quick picture.  Lots of driving through the panhandle of Oklahoma and into the prairies of Kansas continued, and I tried to make the drive interesting for the kids by pointing out fascinating things like, "Did you know the land we are driving through has been designated as a National Grassland?" and "Would you like me to explain how a grain elevator works?"  Those stirring questions resulted in many blank stares.

We finally stopped in the great small town of Rolla, KS where we found the local elementary/high school and let the kids burn off some steam at the playground.

Even the big kids got in on the fun!  After playing on the slide, Tiff made sandwiches and a good old fashioned picnic took place.  Then, the boys and I played catch on the town baseball field.  I don't think it gets any more All-american than this:

A father and his boys having a catch as the sun sets behind the town grain elevator.  A perfect summer evening.

The night finished by driving to Dodge City, KS to sleep and get ready for the drive to Omaha and the College World Series tomorrow.  478 miles down....about 8,000 to go.  I couldn't feel more blessed.


Car Ride Question of the Day that Dad Has Absolutely No Idea How to Answer:  (Courtesy of Cade, somewhere in SW Kansas) "Hey Dad, How many miles up in the air would you have to be to see Albuquerque from here?"