Heartland Inn Eau Claire

Hey everybody,

As you well know I'm leaving for Europe for 6 weeks starting this Sunday. Instead of writing lots of separate emails I thought I would chronicle my travels in this travel blog. Feel free to check back in to see where in the world I am and to feel so incredibly jealous of me. :D

<3
Alyssa

... under it! It was cool! We then went for a drive round town to fix my incurable itch to see more Armish people.. It was like Armish safari as Sarah slowed down by known Armish 'hangouts' as I hung out the window , camera in hand trying to glimpse these strange creatures.. Sadly we saw none (word must of got round the Armish grapevine that the papparazzi was out) but I did see this most rural part of America that I hadnt witnessed at this stage. This ...

... pictures. Jennifer’s new in-laws-to-be are very nice.

July 9

Today, we’ve sat around, cleaned up the trailer, washed some clothes and we are waiting for Melissa to get here from Chicago. She’s had a saga-type trip from China but aren’t they all? They were for us! Tonight I think it is the bachelor’s party and whatever they call the drunken celebration for the bride. Whoo hoo!

It's betting late here in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Cute town, nature is beautiful, only a 1 hour drive from Minneapolis but I did that for a reason: It shaves off 1 hour of a long drive tomorrow because I have something special in mind, you have to read abou that later. I'm looking very much forward to it, it's going to be a long day....So this is a stop over and I relaxed and wacthed tv for a ...

... Abschluss. Am naechsten Tag luden wir die Familie zu einem deftigen Mittagessen ein und wurden etwas in Eau Claire herumgefahren. Auch haben wir es endlich in einen Coiffeursalon geschafft, und konnten unsere Haare baendigen lassen. Unsere Zeit hier vergeht viel zu schnell und der Abschied rueckt unbarmherzig naeher... CU Martin & Reto

This is going to be the longest drive on our epic sojourn. Tupperville to Eau Claire 674 miles (1085 kilometres) 11 hours 27 minutes estimated driving time Left home at 5:00 am. Lots of construction in Detroit and had to find 94W. Only got lost once but managed to get going after a 15 minute delay. Good drive through Michigan, part of Indiana ...

... and not a week ago Saturday when I was moving and having a garage sale. The drive back to Minneapolis was uneventful but within about 15 minutes of arriving home the dark clouds rolled in and a hailstorm began, while the sun was shining, lasting about 10 minutes and leaving quarter sized hail and a ton of leaves and small branches on the ground but thankfully no serious damage to cars or structures. What an exciting day!

Thought I'd enter something in here, just to get the hang of this thing. I hope to be able to enter something on here at least once a week or so, depending on the availability of a computer. I'll be able to enter pictures and stuff so everyone can see how much sweeter my summer will be than thiers. It's only 10 days until we leave ...

... gets me extremely excited, but its the "out of the blue" thoughts at work and squirms of impatientness that alert me ...AM ACTUALLY GOING! I have a few odds and ends to get done before the trip, but hopefully that will all be taken care of a week in advance before I leave. Until that time, I get the joys of finding out how dorm life is different to having a house and making the most of my time before I leave the country.

... even though it's currently stressing our thinned blood) a white Christmas! This is it. We're HOME! We're done traveling but not exploring. Being home is the beginning to another adventure in its own right... We hope you enjoyed the African trip with us. Make sure to include us on your future trips!! Happy Holidays and Happy Trails, Beth and Erik