Our Girl's Road Trip

(a barn in Iowa)

Nothing does my heart more good that spending time with my girls. At the end of July we decided to go on a road trip. It's kind of an annual thing for us. This year was a bit different...a bit farther. Usually we travel in our state or neighboring states. For this drive we were heading north, way north-all the way to Brainerd, MN. Grace and I sat on the back porch one evening a couple of weeks prior to leaving to plan the drive. I casually asked Grace, "How many miles to MN?" She hesitantly replied, "14oo". My mouth fell open! Seriously??? I know where Minnesota is. I've flown there many times. I've just never driven there-by myself with 3 children and 1 dog. I immediately decided this was crazy. We would be driving from the bottom of our country almost all the way to the top (within 6 hours of Canada). My hubby came to the rescue and assured me that I could do it and that the girls and I would make so many memories.

(our friend's barn in Ft. Ripley, MN)

So, that Thursday morning we loaded up our small SUV and departed about 7:00am. The first day we drove all the way to Wentzville, MO (just above St. Louis). The following day we made it to our destination around 7:30 pm. Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought to drive 1400 miles. I love seeing our beautiful country and this was the perfect opportunity.

You may be asking why we wanted to go to Brainerd, MN. Well, it involves a dog...actually 3. Our puppies are up there at a kennel called Pine Shadows for training. They left in June and will return home in Sept. We just couldn't wait to see them. Plus we wanted to see where 2 of our Springer Spaniels were born and meet their 'family'. We also happen to be good friends with the trainer and his family. We visited the kennel, broke bread with our friends and shopped at the nearby town of Nisswa.

(me with one of the many puppies at Pine Shadows)

(our little English Pointer Willow)

(Thicket, our 3yr old Springer Spaniel from Pine Shadows)
Yes, it was well worth the 22 hours and 1400 miles (one way) to see our babies and friends. Now I'm wondering where our next adventure will take us.