Wednesday was the official start of our road trip.  Counting the unplanned leg from Minneapolis to Des Moines, Google Maps estimates the total trip at just over 2,200 miles!

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It just so happens that my sister, Robyn, and her family recently moved into a new house in Norman, OK, which is en route to our final destination, Los Angeles!  So, today’s leg: Des Moines, IA > Norman, OK.

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Iowa’s southern borders are not its best and brightest.  As Judi likes to say, the bottom two rows of Iowa counties should’ve been left to Missouri.  Though she may be a bit bias, considering she lives about 20 minutes from IA’s northern border (kind of like the NorCal / SoCal rivalry).  But really, wherever you are in the Midwest on a summer afternoon, it can’t be too bad.  This is God’s Country, after all.  Here are a few highlights.

Iowa grape vines.  The wine biz in the Midwest is growing traction (at least within its own borders)!

Oh!  And we had an Amish sighting!

Rolling into Kansas City, MO.

Missouri River.

We were in a pseudo-caravan with my sister, but we gave them about an hour head start to allow their little munchkins a few extra breaks.  Apparently they came into some nasty weather, but the skies were pretty friendly by the time we came through.  Here are some photos about an hour south of K.C.  The skies were really putting on a show.

We made it to Robyn’s house around midnight, 8 hours after we had started, and about an hour after they had arrived (guess they didn’t need that head start, after all).  We’ll pick this story up tomorrow when Tyler and Katelyn show us how to beat the heat in OK.

Cheers!