Thanksgiving - Day 2

I woke up early - wanted to see how the weather was developing. It didn't look good: there was a major snowstorm forecasted for early AM on the 24th. After verifying we had a hotel reservation for the night (in Alkeny, IA) and grabbing some breakfast to go, we got on I-35 (0745L). There was very little traffic, which was good. Played a "road-rally" game with Mollie, assigning points for lots of signs and landmarks. Made good time to Kansas - stopped for some fuel near the border (South Haven). Got on the toll-road and didn't have to stop at all this time (fuel prices pretty high). Enjoyed the scenerey in the Flint Hills. Off the toll road near Emporia, made great time to Kansas City - drove through the city this time. Weather was great and we had some nice views of downtown and the Missouri River. Unfortunately, there was some major construction as we crossed that slowed us down (new bridge). Luckily, I got a work phone call while we waited... After clearing the traffic and city limits, we stopped for lunch at Arby's in Kearney, MO (1300L). They had these funny toys in the kids meals called "Little Miss Daredevil", "Mr. Happy" and "Mr. Strong." Drove for a couple more hours until we needed gas - stopped in Eagleville, MO. Temperatures had definitely begun to drop... Nicky pointed out a horse tied up near the gas station - with an Amish buggy across the street. Upon closer inspection, we saw that the ground was covered with baskets and jars of preserves. Braving the cold, Nicky jumped out of the car and began haggling with the bearded gentleman. I filled up the tank about 100 meters away and watched her hopping around - she forgot her coat! Even I'll admit it was chilly (around 0 degrees C), so I'm sure you can tell that Nicky loves to shop... New basket (and jam) in hand, Nicky rejoined us. Soon after we got back on the road, we got a call from Trish (responding to our earlier inquiry about the possibility of arriving in Minneapolis tonight) - she said it would be fine. We immediately canceled our hotel reservation and pressed North! Weather was crisp and clear - lots of farms. Got through Des Moines around 1530L (not too difficult). It started to get dark around 1700 - right around the time we stopped for dinner in Clear Lake, IA. The kids mentioned they didn't want the "same old, same old" food, so I stopped at a place we've never tried: Culver's. It turned out to be delicious - both for their butter-burgers and the frozen custard (pumpkin flavored!). Everyone really enjoyed the break from the road. I could feel the excitement building - the kids were really looking forward to "getting to Thanksgiving." We made really good time to Minneapolis - there was very little traffic (surprising with the incoming storm...). Snow was everywhere - we even saw a ski slope with lots of people enjoying night skiing. We got to the hotel (Hilton near the airport) around 2000. It was freezing by this point (-10 C), making it really fun to unload the car. We got our stuff to the room and then proceeded to Bonnie's room (Presidential Suite). To our surprise, nearly everyone was there! Had we know about that, we would have planned all along to get there on Tuesday - I'm glad the weather made it happen. Stayed up really late chatting and visiting...