We started feeling homesick, missing friends and family while we were in Montana, so we decided to head back east about a month early. We did some crazy, long drives for 4 days.
The first day we didn’t even make it out of Montana, that is one big state! We spent the second night in South Dakota and had our first tornado scare. We were in the RV eating dinner during a thunderstorm, when we suddenly heard tornado sirens. We looked outside and saw lights flashing at the campground laundry room (I assume that is to let us know where to go for shelter), so we grabbed the cat and made a run for it.
We hid out under tables in the laundry room while praying and waiting out the storm. Thankfully the storm passed quickly and we survived to tell about it. 😉
The third night we spent in Kansas City, and then finally made it to St. Louis on day 4. We spent a few days exploring St. Louis with our good friends the Santo Tomas family.
We knew the Santo Tomas family when we lived in Fernandina Beach. Rachel & I got to know each other in our homeschool group co-op back then. They are a military family and also live in their RV. They are now stationed in St. Louis, and it was so nice to catch up with them there.
St. Louis is amazing with so many awesome things to see and do! If you’ve followed me long enough, you know I am NOT a city person and typically avoid cities at all costs. However, visiting a city with another family that is familiar with the area, and had access to a shuttle that would do the driving for us, made visiting this city easy and fun.
Our first stop was the Gateway Arch, a must-do in St. Louis. We rode to the top of the arch in the little pods.
Inside the pod heading up to the top of the arch
View of the city from the top of the arch
View of the Mississippi River from the other side of the arch
At the top of the arch
My beautiful friend Rachel
The kids
After visiting the arch we went to the City Museum, another must-do in St. Louis. This museum is a several-stories-high giant playground that is fun for both adults and children.
Even the adults have fun!
Another day we visited the St. Louis Zoo and Science Center, both are free!
We had such a great time visiting the Santo Tomas family, we were all sad to leave! I think we’ll be seeing more of them next year though, so instead of saying “good bye”, we say “see you next time!”
After we left St. Louis, we spent a night near Nashville, then the next day arrived in Georgia to visit my sister and brother-in-law for a few days. Then we headed on to Florida and parked (or moochdocked) at the Reyes’ house for a few days.
Hurricane Dorian was heading to Florida at this time, and we had plans to arrive at Disney’s Ft. Wilderness Campground on Labor Day. We kept an eye on the hurricane while at the Reyes’ house, while trying to decide if we needed to leave Florida or not.
Imagine! We just drove such a long way from Montana, only to get back to Florida just in time for a hurricane! Did we come back too early? Stay tuned for that story next.
4 Radical Roadschoolers and a Fat Cat 