Driving to Chicago

Packing for our trip to Chicago began the Tuesday before we left. Our plan was to head out Sunday night after Quinn's last bottle (between 5 and 6). This way, we would have Saturday and Sunday to take naps to prepare for the 12 hour drive. Sadly, naps did not seem to fit into the schedule, so when we rolled out Sunday night, I had been awake since 6am and Chris since 9am. The girls began asking "Are we there yet?" approx. 23 minutes into the drive. Quinn went right to sleep...the girls watched a couple of movies and then went to sleep too. The major snafu of the adventure happened in Tennessee. Apparently, I chose the wrong fork in the road. Instead of taking 24 to 65 (which is the way I have always gone) we should have stayed on 24 to 57 in southern Illinois. We were trying to avoid Indiana because the northern part of the state gets a lot of "lake effect snow" this time of year that often shuts down the interstate. I did not realize my navigational mistake until a little after 1am when we crossed into Indiana. Argh! So, we bought a map to find a route from 65 to 57. Success! We could take 74 out of Indianapolis to 57. Keep in mind that it had been pouring rain since Nashville and we had no idea what kind of road 74 would be like. Let me tell you - it was a pitch black road. A pitch black road with nothing but semi trucks and lots and lots of rain. As soon as we hit the Chicagoland area, it started to snow. Fun. Our 12 hour drive turned into 14 hours. 14 really, really long hours - in the rain and the dark. We were staying this time with my wonderful aunt and uncle who were ready and waiting for us when we got there. We visited for a little bit and then they took over with the kids and Chris and I slept for a few hours. Thank God.