Started out rough, and for good reason- there’s been a lot in our hearts and minds, most of which are beyond our control. So it only makes sense to take it out on each other. 

So we did. For a good chunk of the morning. But then, as we are prone to do, after all the crap has been poured out on one another, we clean up. Then, we move on. 

We traveled through Missouri,  over the Mississippi River, and into Brown County, where it was crazy friggen humid and our site less than ideal.

”We have kids,” I told the lady on the phone, almost three weeks earlier, “so please keep us off the main road.” So she booked us between the main road and another one- literally surrounded by roads. So I asked for another one, then another, then two different ones, until finally we found one appropriate for our family and needs. 

Setting up the tent in the dark, with sweat dripping from my nose, was not what I envisioned our trip would be, but we all slept soundly beneath the trees.  

Just like I remember doing, so many years ago.