Nebraska

... is very boring.  Corn fields corn fields corn fields. Nothing says we believe in capitalism like an American Flag camouflaging the patent socialism inherent in the government funded, government built and government filled water tower, used to provide essentially free water to a system of agricorporations to grow subsidized corn to make subsidized high fructose syrup.

Lewis & Clark

Nebraska City, Nebraska.  You may have never heard of it, but Lewis and Clark stopped here while it was just getting started. If they had moved as quickly as Lily did (when faced with a mounted bear) it wouldn't've taken them so long to reach the Pacific.

Missouri

... was not great to us.  Honestly, this is our fourth freakin' state today, and Leah and I are getting pretty sick of each other. So it wasn't St. Louis's fault, but from the traffic to the parking to the sleazy horse carriage scum bags, it just leaves a bad taste in our mouth.  Yes yes, crossing the Mississippi is always a blast, and the Gateway Arch is humbling. You can see it coming into the upper-right of this photo, just barely framing my baby girls.

Illinois

... was fine, but with it's most famous son claimed by Indiana (see below) not much was left to look at.  We avoided the interesting north, and just sort of shifted through the southern highway.  This is a picture of St. Louis from the Illinois side, in traffic.  It's actually the only pic we took in Illinois, if that's any indication of the scenery.

Indiana

... rocked!  We haven't gotten bored with the farm scene yet (see Nebraska).  More importantly, we stopped at the childhood home of Abraham Lincoln -- that's right, in Indiana.  It's a minimally functional farm, and a super cool tour guide (in character) taught Lily what working a 19th century farm would've been like.  Lily looks like she loves it, no?

Kentucky

... is amazing.  The fields around Lexington look unchanged in 100 years.  And we had a great time in Louisville last night.  This morning, on the way out, we stopped at the Louisville Slugger museum.  Lily and Sophie took some swings in the batting cage. Levi was pumped to hold the Babe's bat. On the way out, we posed in front of the world's biggest bat.

Virginia

... was better than usual.  We've been to VA frequently in the past few years, but never on the south-west tip.  In this photo, we're standing in Cumberland Gap in Virginia, and behind us you can see both Tennessee and Kentucky.

Tennessee

is, well, what you expect Tennessee to be.  I'm not going to shame this town by identifying it -- in it's defense, we slept in a perfectly fine hotel here last night.  However, after driving in circles for half-an-hour looking for a decent place to eat this morning, we ended up at a McDonald's inside this Walmart visible in the background.

North Carolina

Last morning in Durham.  We woke up in this hotel, grabbed some bagels, sold our house and hit the road. Happy to unload the house, happy to be setting out on a crazy new journey West, but sad to say good-bye.

2215 Alpine Rd.

Just shy of 5 years, and we're saying good-bye.  When we moved in, this floor was a nasty carpet, the patio was dirt, Lily was a few months old, and the Red Sox hadn't won a World Series in 86 years. I won't lie, it makes me cry to drag the girls from the only home they've ever known. We're excited to get going, but we'll always remember this place as our first home.  Good-bye Breckenridge, we'll miss you.

Epworth ends

Lily graduates from Preschool!  There was no formal graduation, but Lily's class had a final picnic to say good-bye. Everyone had a wonderful time, including the younger siblings. Many of Lily's friends have been with us for several years now, and we'll miss them all. 

Duke Family Fun Run

This is Lily's 5th consecutive Duke Family Fun Run/Walk. This year, Lily made a friend and took off running.  With Sophie (stroller) and Levi (sling) riding, Chuck and Leah hung back.  Once we got to the hard parts, and still no Lily in sight, I decided I'd better run ahead to catch up to her, see what was going on.  Turns out her new friend's mom was pushing her two children and Lily up a massive hill in a stroller. Apparently Lily was saving up her energy for the Toddler Race at the end of the 5k.  A few minutes after we finished, Lily and Sophie ran the Toddler Race.  They both did awesome.  In this pic, you can see Leah just finishing the 5k as the Toddler Race is wrapping up.

Wool E. Bull

Durham Bulls! We decided to hit one last Bulls game before we became Salt Lake Bees fans.  As usual, most of the time was spent on the playground, but because it was a new playground this year, well, honestly it was all the same to me.  But Lily and Sophie had a good time, and we even cornered the mascot for a signature (on Lily's visor).

Strawberry Festival

Durham hosts and annual Strawberry Festival.  Kinda like a fair without the rides.  Plus, lots of strawberries, in theory.  In practice, they ran out of strawberries and I didn't get a sundae.  Still, Lily got to take on some older kids in an inflatable sumo outfit. She kicked belt.