July 9, 2019

Family Road Trip 2019 - Day 2

On the morning of  day two we left Eureka Springs and  headed into Missouri. 

Our first stop was Springfield, Missouri and the largest and first Bass Pro Shop ever built. 

Martin Truex Jr. Championship trophy 
What was left of Austin Dillion's Daytona car from 2015. 
Eli fell in love with this little 4-wheeler. 
Dale Earnhardt's 98 winning Daytona car. 
Lots of baby gators!
My two little clowns! 
We found Alaska in the parking lot! 
(We always play the license plate game on long road trips) 
After a couple hours exploring Bass Pro Shop (we didn't even see it all) we loaded up and headed to Kansas City, Missouri and Lego Land! 
The tired Dad bench 
The boys racing the cars they built. 
We rode all the rides a few times, played in the giant play area, and then spent a lot of time building giant forts. 
Cason's fort! 
Emory's fort!!
Kansas Motor Speedway built out of Lego's.  
Downtown Kansas City 
The Wizard of Oz
Kansas City Chiefs field 
After a long time at Lego Land we found a BBQ restaurant that was recommended on the gluten free app we use to find restaurants Cason can eat at. So we loaded up and went to check it out. When we got there the line was out the door so we thought it must be good. After an hour wait in line we were able to order. The food was worth the wait, Bradley and I both thought it was the best brisket we had ever had. The walls were covered with BBQ awards for their pork, which we didn't even try but we did learn they ship their meats and will be ordering some in the future. We also bought some of their french fry seasoning, which was also really good. 
After dinner we found our hotel and got some much needed rest! 

June 30, 2019

Family Road Trip 2019 - Day 1

Thursday, June 13th we left bright and early and headed out on our family road trip. Other than driving to Walt Disney World several years ago, this was our first real multi-state road trip. We headed up HWY 259 towards Oklahoma and spent most of the day driving through the hills/mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas, with Eureka Springs, AR as our destination. 
Eureka Springs is like stepping back in time just a bit, as there are not any modern day hotels, but tons of small motels. We stayed at the Land O Nod. 
This was our room, 109. You parked right in front which made for unloading the van very easy! 
The room keys. 
After unloading and resting for a bit, we headed to the Passion Play. We had booked a Holy Land tour, dinner, and the Passion Play. 
The kids in front of the Passion Play. 
The was a replica of what a well might have looked like in Bethlehem, Eli was a huge fan of it, mainly because he wanted to throw coins in like at Jalapeno Tree. After the tour we headed too the restaurant for dinner. The food was very good and they even made a gluten free meal for Cason. It was a buffet with several different choices. Bradley said it was the best meatloaf he had ever had. 
The stage/set where the play takes place is huge. After checking out the set we headed to the Bible Museum and gift stores. 
Emory loved the museum because she was able to see and make connections to what she has been learning in school. I even had to send her 4th grade teacher pictures! She was pretty excited. 
The Passion Play didn't start until 8:30 pm,so while we waited for it to start we watched the sun set over the Christ of the Ozarks statue.  
Scenes from the Passion Play. 
The play was very good and everyone enjoyed it. Eli made it through about half of the play before falling a sleep. 
Day 1 was very long but overall we all had a good time. We made it back to the motel a little before 11:00 pm.