42°54' N, 87°55' W -- Oak Creek, WI
After some frantic (OK, mostly me) packing, we left at 8:02a. Packing had to be optimized, since we're taking heavy cold weather gear--long underwear, sweatshirts, boots, etc--and one of the upcoming legs of the trip has a single bag, 40 pound limit. From Columbus to Lima to Ft. Wayne to Merrillville to Chicago to Milwaukee to New Berlin; Mindy's hometown and where my in-laws George and Martha still live. Driving days are generally boring, especially when it's a drive you've taken many times.
It was a bright, shiny day most of the way as I drove us over. The weather went south as we went north--just as Mindy took over driving duties, unfortunately. It went from rain to freezing rain to snow very quickly. Mindy called it "snowman snow"--huge flakes since we were so close to the lake. Mindy always drives the Chicago run--I just can't handle the traffic. I did offer to drive in the bad weather but she was resolute (whew!). I took some pics of the snow...
We pulled into the hotel at 4p central--about 8 hours driving time plus breaks. We then picked up the in-laws, went out for some pizza, then back to the hotel. The airport shuttle picks us up at 5:50a--gotta get some sleep.
One last thing--Beard Day 1. Mindy referred to me as a ragamuffin.
