Midwest Tour! Illinois -> Missouri-> Nebraska

As soon as we got out of the mountains we quickly picked up the rest of our belonging (safely stored at our friends house in Wenatchee). We loaded up the Jeep again and headed to Anacortes to store everything. This was the last big push in the effort to move from Wenatchee Valley! It was a full, exhausting day, but we finished just in time to fly to the Midwest for our 10 day trip visiting family and friends.

First stop: Crystal Lake, IL

We stopped in good ol' Crystal Lake to visit Mom and Dad- we had a great time relaxing and catching up! We got out on Crystal Lake on the AquaPatio for happy hour, and basically ate and drank our way through the rest of our time there. Somehow we didn't take ANY pictures! Grrrr! While we don't have any pics to prove it, we had a wonderful time there!

Second stop: Chicago, IL

We hopped on train and headed downtown Chicago for a Cubs game and city exploring! We found a ridiculously cheap deal on Airbnb and stayed in the heart of Wrigleyville- super fun area! And since we were in Cubs territory, we had to catch a game. We met up with a bunch of friends we haven't seen in forever. Bleacher seats with friends- couldn't ask for much more!

It's also worth mentioning we saw some fantastic live Jazz at the Green Mill Lounge and were able to squeeze in a trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Super fun, action packed visit to Chicagoland. So great seeing everyone and hope to see you all soon!

Wrigley Field with friends

Go cubs!

The Bean!

On a run in Chicago

Buckingham Fountain

Third stop: Kansas City, MO

Again, we hopped on a train from Chicago to Kansas City. For $60 each person, it was by far the cheapest form of transit between the two cities. I (mac) had never taken a cross country train before and thoroughly enjoyed the trip! Plenty of legroom and space that you would never find on an airplane. We even got to dine in the dining car! It's interesting because, for dinner, they pair you with other random passengers..... so we had dinner with a Chinese Surgeon and his wife.... there was a bit of a language barrier but it was cool hearing what they said about America.... namely that everyone was so much nicer than China.

Anywho, Chris and Debbie picked us up from the train station at midnight (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT!). We spent the next few days relaxing by the pool and catching up with family- even got a round of golf in with Chris and Andrew. Our time was short in Kansas City, as we were due for a Sass family wedding in Hastings, Nebraska. 

Golf outing!

Great day for golf

Pool time!

Relaxing in the pool

Fourth stop: Hastings, Nebraska

Our last stop on our Midwest tour landed us in Hastings, Nebraska for Phil and Kylee's wedding. We zipped over there the day of the wedding and helped celebrate the couple- we boogied on the dance floor until the wedding ended, closed the bar down, then headed to Perkins for a late night/early morning meal. Finally went to bed at 3AM! Those Sass's know how to party! Thankfully we all slept in and were able to catch our afternoon flight back to Seattle (although that did require one change of a tire!).

Bar before the wedding

Van problems! We solved them in time to catch our flight

So that does it, our Midwest tour in the nutshell. Up next we take the boat in for maintenance, which leaves us homeless..... good time for a roadtrip! We are headed to Olympic National Park for some good old fashioned exploring.

Thanks for reading!