We have achieved lift-off!

Today is the day! Today is the day! We did well - only missed our goal of an 8:00 departure by a few minutes. Gabriella was so excited that she couldn't even eat breakfast. If you know Gabriella, that is MAJOR. All three kids hopped in the truck ready to go.

It was smooth sailing all the way. As a matter of fact, we made it all the way to Binghamton before the check engine light came on. Oh joy. However, everything seemed to be running smoothly and Don figures it was the same problem that we experienced last year when an over-boost tripped the sensor. Don't ask me for details, as my grasp of the situation is rather limited, but the light did eventually go out again on its own and it seems to be fine.

After several hours on I-90 I was very excited to see this sign. It meant we were really on our way.

The backseat didn't really share my enthusiasm, though. We stopped at a rest area and we ate our yummy curry chicken pita sandwiches in the camper. It was a little toasty in there, but it worked. We're trying to avoid eating fast food at rest stops on our travel days if we can help it. It's better for our wallets and our stomachs. We'll be saving our meals out for buffalo steaks and Indian tacos instead of chicken nuggets at McDonald's.

This sign garnered a little more excitement because it is our first time in this state and it meant we were close to our destination.

Gavin and Bernie were great travelers today. Gabriella just wasn't herself. The lack of sleep for the last few days coupled with the lack of a good breakfast just wore her down. There was a lot of "Are we there yet?" which is unusual for her. It could make for a long trip. Hopefully she gets into the groove soon.

After about a nine-hour trip to cover around 470 miles and two stops, we arrived at the Streetsboro KOA. I knew that it was going to be a good place once a saw the welcoming pig rock. It felt like we were heading up Route 30 to Golden Beach :-)

We both had nice, large grassy sites, though Bob and Linda's site was not quite level. Good thing he's an expert at handling such things ;-) While Don was getting our rig all hooked up, Mom, the kids, and I took Bernie for a little walk. He had a slight altercation with a pug while the kids were swinging, but peace was soon restored.

By the time that we were settled, we were all hot and tired, so we decided to get take-out. Plus, the kids were so excited to have access to the Cartoon Network that they didn't want to leave the camper. We got rid of cable tv a couple of months ago at home, so they're terribly deprived. Anyway, the boys went and picked up food at Steak 'n' Shake. I know that just a few paragraphs above I said we were trying to avoid fast food, but I have heard people rave about this chain and there aren't any around home, so we had to try it!

Gabriella thought the steak burgers hit the spot.

Gavin thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate milkshake - I didn't tell him that I thought my strawberry shake was better!

At the end of a long day, we all slept soundly in our beds in our home away from home. Except for Bernie, who slept on the couch.