It had been quite a while since we’d been home to Matt’s family for a proper holiday. We were there Thanksgiving 2020, but given the pandemic, nobody got together, so we really hadn’t seen anyone in years.

So we gathered up our stuff and our cat, a whopping four days after getting back from a three and a half week road trip (more on that later), and off we went.

Oy. Work was dumb on Sunday (the day we left) for me. Stupidly, ridiculously, obnoxiously, busy and dumb. Somehow I managed to get out at 3:35 and was home by 4:00.  We were on the road by 4:15 or so. Miracle! 

An uneventful four and a half hours got us to Ellis, KS, where we checked into our hotel at a reasonable hour. We set an  alarm for 5:15 and turned off the lights.

Well. THAT was a horrible night of sleep. Between being riled up from work, driving, and Pivot going nuts after sleeping in the car for hours, I did NOT sleep well. And I woke up at 4:45 and couldn’t fall back asleep. So I got up, showered, and we got on the road by 5:20 local time. 

The rest of the drive wasn’t much to write about today, really. Matt drove across Illinois, I drove the other ten hours. One seven minute traffic jam in Indianapolis. Really, not a bad drive. We got to Matt’s parent’s at almost exactly 8:00 pm, so not bad. We chilled out for a bit, chatted, and then went to bed. Hopefully the sleep will get better.

Our time in Cincinnati was lovely and chill. We got to see some of my family that we hadn’t hung out with in years, and got to spend time with a couple of Matt’s brothers. We hit the usual staples, Skyline Chili and LaRosa’s Pizza, all in one day. THAT was filling. I wanted to go to UDF for a milkshake, too, at some point, but we managed to run out of time on that one. We watched plenty of football, drank a few beers, hung out with the cat, and pretty much did very little for the week.

Before we knew it, it was time to start the long journey home again. The day we left, we got up at the ass crack, said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 4:09am (Colorado time). We grabbed coffee and breakfast at McDonald’s before we got to Indy, and just drove all day. 

I drove about eight hours (Matt didn’t feel great and I was trying to let him sleep), and eventually he drove the last three. Thankfully, we had left early enough that we arrived at our hotel in Salina (Kansas) by about 5:00 pm local time. It was super nice to take a shower and grab a decent dinner. 

Ironically enough, we went to Old Chicago. It was actually pretty decent food, and the beer had hit the spot. We got to see Salina’s adorable little downtown, and we walked around for a minute after dinner. It was cold!!

 The next morning, we took our time getting up, I had a cup of coffee in bed, and read a book for a bit. We were in no hurry today. 

We got breakfast at this cute little coffee shop in downtown Salina which was also a bookstore. SO cool! And the cinnamon rolls were delicious!!!

The rest of the drive went about as smoothly as it could have, and we got home around 2:00 pm. We unloaded the car, and we were home! Another great trip in the books!

Now, it’s time to settle in at home, put up Christmas, and lean in hard to the fact that we’re not going to Florida this year…

Here’s the video for more: