Rest area picnic area - nice and shady. 90 but low humidity makes it feel great!

Checked in, salad for dinner and then found a local park to walk around.

5 hours to get here - not to bad! \240

Nice pine tree 🌲

Cute dog.

Crossed the border and did a quick stop.

Cutest photo! \240

Took about 6 hours to drive from Kansas to Des Moines. Jasper Winery is the only one they have in the area so of course we stopped on our way into town.

Back of snowmen

Unnamed -hmmmm

We dropped our tired Missy off and went to the bar at Centro - tried Manhattan for the first time. Oh, but wait another bar on the way back to the hotel - Des Lux hotel bar. Crashed a retirement party and spoke with our bartender for awhile. Fun :-).

Stayed at a Hyatt Place for the first time - not good. It was dirty…

Not very drinkable.

After settling in to our Hyatt Place, took off with Missy in the stroller for dinner at Lua Brewery and a walk through the sculpture garden. Oh my - that grass.

Why Tee likes being barefoot.

Who knew there were Amish in Iowa? \240Learned something new.

Love these signs!

Today was a day to meander around downtown. Walked straight down our street across the river and to the capital building.

Missy is really hard to pose 😂

Back of the library fountain

The capital building

Next up “Eastside” Walking through shops and lunch at the Iowa Taproom - only beers from Iowa. Small flight for both of us and a really good bean burger.

Missy really enjoys that stroller!

Cool mural

In front of Raygun - told we had to go there for their T-shirt’s - mhhh. Bought a magnet.

Iowa taproom

Ended the day with dinner at Tupolo Honey Southern Kitchen. Shrimp and grits for me and Bourbon glazed mashed potatoes for Diane.

Called it an early night - Tee had to work for a bit…

A little over 2 hours later - here we are!

We stopped a little inside Minnesota and had lunch with Diane’s childhood military friend, Edie and her husband, Bob. Ate at a Mexican restaurant of all places, got back \240on our merry way down some side streets to our hotel in downtown Minneapolis!

Such a beautiful boutique hotel - Emery. One of the Marriott autograph collection hotels. Checked in in time to grab one quick beer at their bankers hours happy hour, free for guests. Sat down and enjoyed \240the beautiful greenery around us. Missy did not really want the beer.

In the lobby

Decided to stick around the hotel and have dinner. They were doing a hand pulled made to order at your table mozzarella burrata cheeae served on top of bread, of course. Like a pizza. And we dressed up :-).

Took Missy for a walk and hung out around the fireplace for a bit and called it a night.

Bridge in back right corner

The original industrial start of this area was flour.

Looking back toward the city.

Stone arch bridge

Nice falls

Ended up at Pyres Brewery for lunch and walking break.

And again

Starting to get hot and windy

Being a dork

Back to take a break and drop off Missy. Decided to treat ourselves to a steak dinner. Not up to our Bobs standard, but okay. Ended with dessert - think we earned it. Chocolate soufflé.

Nice bridge

Meandered back to our area checking out the sky bridge and the Mary Tyler Moore statue.

Realizing the only really nice people here did not grow up here 😂. Will still say that Texans are the most friendly people in the country.

Guess which one is Tee’s versus Diane’s….

Pass to the make it yourself bar.

S’more waffle

Back to the hotel and took a metro train to the Mall of America - craziness!!!! Largest mall in America and very busy-includes an amusement park when you first get off the train.

Walking into???

Lemon ricotta pancakes - Snooze is better.

Nice walkable downtown assisted by a metro train and bus system. Some people here engage with you but the norm seems to ignore you when you say hello. We took the train from downtown to the mall on the train - great easy experience- wish we had one of these. Missy needs some quiet time so heading out in the morning!

Bought a few things and had to stop for a drink break. First time to dry a smoked Manhattan.

Hard to see through the glass, but it is there!

And here we go to Fargo - much bigger city than I thought.

And there it is

Of course - had to go here. Nice chat with Neil and Julien 😊.

Went to a place called Breuhala next door to Drekker Brewery. Cool place - can grab a beer or glass of wine and wander around to the various shops and restaurants. And Missy was welcome.

After leaving there, had to grab a quick bite to eat. Ended up talking to a couple from the Winnipeg area of Canada. Interesting discussion about our medical and political systems.

Totally enjoyable quick detour to check off State 46. Heading back through Minnesota tomorrow and into Wisconsin.

Octoberfest - local Wisconsin beer recommended by the neighbors.

My rocking reading place

No makeup and ponytail kind of day. Windy at the dock of our hotel.

Pathway to the lake

Our hotel from the back

Totally enjoyed this hotel - so quiet and everyone was so nice. Would have enjoyed another night here.

State 47 - be back in a few days!

Missy’s view of the lake.

State 48! Beautiful but long drive to our new destination for the next 4 days. A few stops along the way to see the flowers, quick walk along Lake Superior and a beautiful rest area. This state does a great job with rest areas in terms of lots of them-but all composte and smelly.

Forecast is for rain for the next few days - hoping it will change!

Many beautiful flower flowers along the drive.

Arrived in time to grab some dinner - limited options with Missy, so pizza it was. Spent the evening on our patio listening to the sounds of the water crashing against the shore below our window. So like the ocean except for the no salt, wind or sharks in the water.

And this babbling brook.

Small city along the banks of Lake Superior

Stopped for a stretch break along another spot of Lake Superior

Rest area with lots of green grass

Beautiful!

Wow!

Took a glance at the radar and realized we had a 2 to 3 hour window to get out and explore the small city of St Ignace.

Sun coming up over Lake Huron from our balcony room

Saw some Canadian geese- long necks gave them away.

Walk to the welcome sign

Amazing how clear the water is and yes it is cold!!!

Deceptively like an ocean beach.

They have a nice boardwalk that goes for a few miles around this portion of the lake. Missy and I strolling along.

Another hydrangea!

With the rain coming in, decided to drop Missy off for a nap and go over the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinac City and wander around the stores and drop into the two tasting rooms there. Big disappointment. Not quite what we were expecting in a tasting room, nowhere to sit and fast tastings. Mackinac Island tasting room was the better because the lady was super nice. Meandered around in the rain and then….

Beautiful picture Diane took - hydrangeas, boardwalk and the light house.

Love the flowers that grow in this area due to the lower temperatures in the summers.

Saw a couple of painted anchors. Kind of a cool idea, wish there been a few more.

Walk down to the nonworking lighthouse for a selfie of course.

And time to call it a night - went back to drink mimosas on our balcony and listen to the gental noise of the waves. Tomorrow is looking good as it appears the rain has passed us by. Yippee!!

This is a small tourist trap of a city, but damn the lake views are great. The city is getting ready to close for the season.

Drove over to Cheboygan Brewery as Diane liked their beer and wanted to try the Octoberfest beer.

No sunglasses needed this morning.

And Missy going nose to nose with a bear :-)

Diane and Missy at Robert’s rock.

Crab apple tree.

Oops - caught Diane’s eyes closed 😜. Had a snack at Northern Superior Brewery. Wayne Gretzky Cabernet for me and a light beer for Diane as they were out of Hefes.

Just one car ahead of us.

4 dollars to cross the international bridge. Nice bridge, but the area was mostly industrial.

And back across the bridge to the city of the same name in Michigan. Strolled around the little city and stopped in the brewery of the same name.

Walked along the boardwalk with our Starbucks enjoying the beautiful flowers.

Nice to have art painted on your street.

Today was a bit chilly but we were starving so we went back to our little city and had dinner at Bouy’s on the bay. White fish tacos and bacon wrapped shrimp. Was just OK. Went back to our hotel and called it an evening. Sat on our lake view patio for a bit. What a view!

Perfect 60 and sunny. Green grass, and beautiful houses, and most amazing flowers everywhere

Oh my - that view.

Beautiful views from up there. Steep climb - sore calf muscles 😂

Visited the Archway - a cool rock formation.

One tired girl

And then we had lunch at the cutest little place, called icehouse barbecue. Loved the outdoor seating and our waitress was so cute with her little freckles and her summer job on the island. We tried white fish dip for the first time. Loved it - yum.

Ended our island visit at the Great Turtle brewery- a stout for me and a Peeling Happy for Diane.

Sat by this water feature for lunch

Took the stroll up the hill, the long way to the grand hotel. Of course, Diane and I both had to pee and they charge $10 per person to go into the hotel. At least the lady at the Jockey club was nice enough to let us into the bathroom. So big FU for them. I was a little pissy so I told the guy I was gonna pee on the grass.

Sunny day

And a picture for Gary

On the ferry ⛴️

Took the ferry back and put a very tired Missy in \240the hotel room for a nap. We went over to Mackinaw City to grab a beer at the American Legion in honor of my mama and then to Mackinac brewery and a little wandering around of the shops.

A little beat and hungry, went to the hotel next-door and had white fish dip again and actual whitefish which we really like. We met some ladies from Milwaukee and after dinner sat at the fire pit for a little while with them.

Today was our last day here in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The lake views from just about anywhere are amazing. The towns are sleepy and touristy, but it was sure nice to have some cooler weather.

Have always wanted to visit the Great Lakes and have now visited all of them. That is really one way to always be able to remember their names! \240Will always remember that the water looks like an ocean, but it is flat and completely clear. Oh yeah, and it is unsalted and no sharks.

At this stop we stayed 4 days at a Holiday Inn on Lake Huron in St Ignes. Room 401 - corner room with the lake right below us!

Overall a little loud for us, so we went back to the hotel. Even worse - kids everywhere. Gotta get out of this place. Changed our plans to go to Lake Geneva - Thank goodness!!

Only other pictue I took - cute.

New place - still need to get their shit together

Went to the Public Market to get some local \240cheese and then to Wicked Pub for a snack. Tried cheese curds 😂

Just love this picture. Wine wasn’t the best except the Ruby port.

Left there and went to the TopsyTurtle Brewery and walked around the boardwalk.

At the entrance - had art inside

Missy relaxing.

In front of the grape viines - they had just harvested the grapes that morning

Dropped our tired Missy off and went to Gino’s East to have a salad and deep dish pizza. Yummy. Some vino and hit the sac.

Our stay here was at a Fairfield Inn - nice, new and clean.

And the not so pretty Illinois side.

And this one

At the top - had to hold on as a little disoriented with the angle 🤣

Best view from up here looking toward downtown

Did catch this one

And caught the firemen taking down the flag that was flown today in remembrance of 9.11 - 22 years ago.

Time to call it a night. Loved this bed backdrop at the Hotel Indigo. Did not like the staff or the fact that the bar and restaurant were closed.

And this fountain

Wanted to find a unique dinner place so found a place called 360 bar at the top of the Hilton Hotel- great view of the arch and the river.

We went wandering downtown for a bit - wanted to go to the sculpture garden - but alas was closed up for who knows why? \240

The cars are really tiny and hold 5 people - very claustrophobic- Thank goodness it was only 4 minutes up and 3 minutes down! \240

Decided to stay at a new hotel with a New Orleans vibe-voco St James. Cute little pool courtyard. The other one smelled bad. \240Not \240a do over hotel. The lobby and bar had zero personality!

Relaxing by the pool.

Room is big and quiet and crooked 🤣. Suite upgrade made it bearable, but not laid out very well.

Kind of a lazy day wandering around with Missy. Had a beer at our favorite - Crescent City Brewery - Red Stallion and let Missy get her sniff on.

After a short break - Went to our favorite watering hole - Mr. B’s Bistro for pear cosmos and grilled redfish. And a bad crème brûlée unfortunately.

Still love those drinks!

An empty :-)

Diane is practicing for the stein holding competition at the Boerne Beer festival.

This was followed by a walk down the river and Bourbon Street ending at Pat O’Brien’s for a hurricane. Immediately followed by a nap to prepare for dinner.

And our final dinner was at Galiers - a place we had not tried before. Had to do their charbroiled oysters, and a taste of new ordeans platter that included gumbo, red beans and rice and jambalaya. Surprisingly, the jambalaya was our favorite followed by the red beans and rice. Gumbo is hard in New Orleans to find a favorite, but seems to have been Mr B’s this time around.

Back to the room to pack. New Orleans was hot and humid as it is in the summer. We were disappointed this time at their lack of street and sidewalk maintenance and just a little dirtier than normal.

It won’t deter us from going back again, but next time I think we are going to stay outside the quarter the entire time and check out all of the bars, restaurants, galleries, etc. in the warehouse and Midtown district and hopefully catch some jazz.

So yummy and crispy bacon!

These are the 13 states we drove through on our trip.

And today is our day to drive home. Hit a little bit of rain and suffered a cracked windshield but other than that no incidents on our entire 4400 mile road trip. Taking \240Missy slowed us down a little bit but we were glad to have her with us, and the stroller was an amazing addition to our traveling with her. Enjoyed seeing the Great Lakes, staying on lakes and a little bit cooler weather up north. Very flat area. I really thought we would have a little more hills but I did get a chance to do some relaxing which is something that is hard for me.

We accomplished our goal of hitting five more states and have two remaining. Still think our 37 day trip was a little more enjoyable because we got to do a little more hiking, saw a lot more mountains and trees and had shorter day drives.

I can’t say that I could pick one favorite state, out of all the ones that we have been to. Some I would never go back to, but there are quite a few enjoyable states that I wouldn’t mind visiting again- \240Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, the Carolinas toward the east. Towards the west, enjoy most of them.

Look forward next year to visiting Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Think our long road trip days are over. I think we would prefer to go somewhere and park for a couple of weeks where we can walk everywhere hike, and relax.