And so begins our adventure to Tulip Time in Pella. I had been toying with the idea of going for a while; I had always wanted to take Violet back before we had more kids, and well, this was the last year that would be possible. And, I was having one of those stir-crazy moments where I had to just get away. Ben is super busy with track, and if I went, then grandma and grandpa could entertain Violet, and I could get some rest and relaxation. Tuesday, I decided to pull the trigger, and Thursday morning we left Big Rapids at 7:30 AM EDT.
I'd done the trip this way before; with a early awake time, Violet takes a relatively early nap, usually allowing me to get through Chicago before she wakes up and we need to take a break. The trip was going well; we'd had one potty break in Holland, and although Violet didn't fall asleep, she was riding very well and keeping herself entertained. We got to Chicago proper without much of a hitch...and then the fun began.
First, there was an accident at the Indiana/Illinois border. For those of you familiar with I-80/94/I-294 in the Chicago area, you know this is not the best place to have an accident. Fortunately, the construction of the last five years has helped congestion quite a bit; it slowed us down considerably, but we were never 'stopped' and waiting. And, Violet was having a ball at watching all the cars zoom by. No big deal; got through it and as soon as we were past, traffic pace picked up to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief...and then...
...came the I-80/I-294 toll booth. Now, the great minds that compose the construction crews of Illinois must have decided that the Thursday before the Mother's Day weeked would be the best time to close down not one, but TWO (out of 3) anes of I-80 about a mile past the toll booth. Traffic was backed up to two miles PRIOR to even reaching the toll booth--I didn't time it but I'm pretty sure, based on our total travel time, which I will reveal later, that we spent 2+ hours going 4 miles to go through and past the toll booth. I must say, thank goodness for freight traffic, (even though I was tired of breathing all the fumes) because I was able to entertain Violet by looking for different colors of semi-trucks. It is important to note, that during this two hour trek of 4 miles, the air conditioning was not keep up, so I rolled down my window to try to avoid having the car overheat.
So, finally, we make it through the toll booth, squeeze through the one lane of traffic (seriously, it was for about 500ft to patch holes with that granular black stuff--it couldn't be done at a time other than in the middle of the day??), and as I went to roll up my window...it wouldn't go. Ever. For the rest of the trip (about 4 hours) I got to drive down the interstate with my window rolled down. All the way. And, did you know it was pop-up thunderstorm season in Illinois and Iowa? Yes. Through two of them. With the window down.
Finally, after 11 hours, we rolled into my parent's house in Iowa. I must say, Violet, though, was a trooper. When I noticed we were approaching a thunderstorm, I pulled off, threw her her coat and told her to hold it over her head and in front of her so she would get wet. She thought that was one of the funniest games ever. Her reward--a Fisher-Price doctor kit. A two year old that loves to tell the story of the 11 hour trip to Iowa with a giggle, no fits, and not an accident until we were only an hour away from our destination (and that was more my fault) deserves a little bribe.
So, was Tulip Time worth all that. Yes. It was nice to be home for spring planting and seeing the plains of Iowa in that time of the growing cycle was very rewarding. I don't think I've been home in May since I graduated from college, so it was time. It was also fun to eat some of the good food that I remember from my high school days, and see some old friends--even running into my high school track coach, who's daughter I baby sat is now a junior in high school.
And, these pictures really tell the story of Tulip Time. Violet is actually in my sister's Dutch costume; I would've had a bigger one that matched. There's nothing like bringing a blond haired, blue-eyed girl to Pella and sticking her in a Dutch costume...
Smelling the tulips..thank goodness she didn't pick one; that's a $500 fine!
She's not smiling, but this is just such a classic picture...
