Kicking Off My Midwest Adventure Plan
Last Tuesday morning, I dumped my cold coffee down the sink and thought “Enough screen time!” I grabbed my worn-out Midwest map from the junk drawer and slapped it on the kitchen counter. Started circling potential spots with a red marker while eating toast – saw Chicago pop up first cause my cousin kept raving about deep dish pizza. Then remembered Minnesota’s lakes because Frank from work showed me his fishing photos last month.
Research phase was messy:
- Called my aunt in Ohio who screamed “CEDAR POINT!” into the phone
- Found crumpled roadside attraction brochures in my glove compartment
- Spilled coffee on my printed hotel price comparisons
Building The Actual Itinerary
Wednesday night I got serious. Tore pages from my notebook to make separate piles: MUST-SEE spots (Mount Rushmore because duh), cheaper eats joints, and “maybe if we’re bored” places. Wrote driving times between states in big ugly numbers – realized Wisconsin to South Dakota would wreck our butts. Ended up axing Nebraska completely after that.
Booking stuff got wild:
- Realized I booked nonrefundable cabins the same week as some county fair jacked up prices
- Our SUV needed new tires right when I was checking campsite availability
- Bribed my neighbor with BBQ ribs to feed our cat
Road Trip Reality Check
First disaster hit near Indiana dunes – massive thunderstorm flooded our tent site. Woke up floating in sleeping bags! Drove soaking wet to Walmart at 3AM for emergency towels and cheaper tent. Second meltdown happened when roadside pie shack featured on Food Network was permanently closed. Had to settle for gas station donuts while muttering about false advertising.
What actually worked:
- Packing extra phone chargers saved us when GPS died near cornfields
- Putting each kid in charge of daily snack budget stopped constant whining
- My “no itinerary after 5PM” rule let us chase random firefly fields
Final Takeaway After 1,200 Miles
Turns out our favorite moment happened by accident near some Missouri backroad – found this family-run peach stand with actual goats wearing sweaters. Spent two hours there petting goats and spitting pits instead of rushing to museum. Came home with sticky steering wheel and zero regrets about ditching half the “must-see” list. Next trip? Definitely less planning, more goat farms.
