All's well that ends well!

As I write this, I'm resting on my last hotel bed, before I return home to my own bed! My grand adventure is almost over! In the last 8 days we've stayed in 4 hotels and put about 1200 miles on the rental car. We've navigated those same 1200 miles, and gotten everywhere we planned to go, despite never having been in this part of the country. Tomorrow, comes our final navigation challenge to the airport. I'm pretty sure we will do fine on that final challenge, just as we did all the others. At the end of every great trip, comes the anxiety to get back home to your own bed, your own pillows, and having things already set up for your comfort. I've reached that point.

I don't know how many of you've driven around in Illinois. My recommendation to anyone going to Illinois, always travel with a roll or two of quarters. I can't believe how many toll roads there are. If I lived here, I'd be trying to get some laws changed to eliminate all the ridiculous toll roads and put taxes on the gas to pay for highway projects, like Utah and other states that I'm familiar with. We'd pay $1.90 for a toll, then down the road a bit, another $1.90, then .80 and etc. We paid a small fortune in tolls during the last 100 miles back to Chicago. They even charged people .30 to get "OFF" the freeway!

I guess typical of all tourist, we have been going, going, going constantly. This last leg of the trip was to see the things Paula wanted to see, since the first leg was to attend the convention I wanted to go to. I've gone "along for the ride" and managed to enjoy myself in the process. The Mississippi River is absolutely awesome. When we drove from Nauvoo to Carthage, we had the most scenic beautiful ride along the Mississippi. We drove back at sunset, which added to the beauty. I did fall in love with how beautiful parts of Nauvoo are. I love shores, and the view of the river that could be seen from higher ground. I never in my life imagined that I would get to see the Mississippi River, and now I have. In this trip, I've gone to Illinois, Wisconsin, and very briefly to Iowa. Those are three states I never thought I'd see as well.

I started to become sick on Monday, during the drive from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Nauvoo, Illinois. I knew I'd done a lot at the convention, but I guess I ran myself down enough to get sick. Despite this, once we got to Nauvoo, we hit the ground running, and never stopped. I realized last night as we got to our motel room that we were both so exhausted. Probably due to the exhaustion, I felt even sickest I had all week. On top of this, my legs were swollen and hurt. I realized that despite all the weight I've lost, my "leg pillows" for elevating my legs is really important for me. I suffered damage to my blood vessels when I had blood clots in my legs years ago, and I guess the damage will always be there. Due to the swelling and discomfort, I had charley horses (aka leg cramps) in the night. This part is not fun!

When we found our hotel and checked in, here in Chicago, we were both too exhausted to do anything else but pass out on our beds for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We even ordered ridiculously expensive room service, so we didn't have to push ourselves any further. My mind is also lethargic, hence this hilariously entertaining blog (tongue planted firmly in cheek)!

Gratitude Entry: It's simple tonight. I'm grateful to have a home I'm looking forward to returning to! Home is definitely where the heart is!