2024 Michigan Family Vacation Day 1: Travel

 State number 48!!!

We knew we didn't want to forgo our family vacation this year, but we had to cut it in half due to the little one. Thankfully, we only have 3 states to go so that's not the worst thing ever. 

A last-minute decision was made to cancel the rental car and use our car and take a U-Haul trailer. I was really nervous about having enough room for every thing we needed considering we had 4 adults and one little one. This gave us more than enough room.

I hit up Costco the week before leaving and loaded up on snacks. 2 types of trail mix, 3 fruit snacks, grass-fed beef sticks, several different bars, and some chips. I also filled a backpack of activities and toys for little miss A. 

Our first day was also our big driving day. The goal was to get in 8 hours of driving and we succeeded! We made a bunch of shorter stops and it worked out really well. 

 Our first stop was the little Arch in Vandalia, IL. Why? Because we could.

In Terre Haute, IN we found a coffee shop we'd never visited. Loved it! There was a gazebo on the grounds and little red decided she loves "bazeebos". She really enjoyed this stop.

Our next stop was in the Broad Ripple area in IN. We really love this area. Lunch was at a Mediterranean eatery.

Instead of walking the Broad Ripple area, we tried Holliday Park. It was lovely and we probably spent an hour there.

 The park featured some lovely ruins surrounded by beautiful landscaping and green space. There was an immense playground. In addition to the regular playground equipment, they also had these areas with stones that kids could use to build with. Such a cool idea!

We made it to our hotel room outside of Toledo at a good time. Little Miss got set up on her travel cot and was out! She'd had quite a day!