We decided we needed a little break, so we took a couple of days off work, and made a plan. We wanted a road trip, but couldn’t decide where to go. Robert came up with a brilliant idea for our mini-vacation:

1. Drive 100 miles east outside of Chicago
2. Bring two dice
3. First dice roll determines direction (Right, Left, or Straight)
4. Second dice roll determines number of miles on that path (multiplied by 10)
5. Must only drive on paved roads
6. Must not backtrack or cross a path already traveled
7. Atlas can only be used in emergencies

Then we came up with some other good ideas for other fun things to do on our trip:

1. Must introduce yourself to at least one person a day
2. Must only order new menu items at restaurants (can’t get the same thing you always get)
3. New roll = new music

We started out driving today at about 9:30 AM, after rush hour died down. It was an adventure-filled day. Robert tried to introduce himself to a toll-booth operator, but sadly, she ignored him and wouldn’t respond. We saw all different kinds of towns, and roads, and parts of the country. We hit a few T-intersections, and hadn’t thought about that for a rule, but decided that another roll of the dice would decide which way to turn. We only ran into two dead ends, but luckily they were near other roads.

At one point, we were on a road without a center line – like a really country road through the middle of farmland in Indiana. The road curved every which way, and it was really only a one lane road…

That was really interesting.

It was really a beautiful drive.

We drove about 361 miles today, and ended up outside of Cincinnati, in Kentucky. We had dinner in Cincinnati at a BIG BOY restaurant – I’d never eaten at a Big Boy. We give it a B- rating. It was fine, but not awesome. Well, the most awesome part was buying a BIG BOY bank to bring home with us. We don’t have BIG BOY restaurants in Chicago, at least, none that we know of.

We can’t decide if we’re going to play the game again tomorrow, or be more focused with our driving, and go somewhere fun, like the Smoky Mountains, or the ocean, or Canada.

Either way, it’s going to be fun! Yo Eleven!