The sole purpose of this trip was to attend a family wedding, so there was not much time for sightseeing or non-wedding activities. Actually, I wasn't even sure how to categorize this trip. Often, when we take trips for family events, I do not count it among our travels. In fact, just last weekend we took a trip up to Wisconsin to attend a graduation in Fond du Lac and that trip was not something I considered to be among our blog-worthy travels. It seems that I have no set rule for what gets tallied among our travels and what does not.
Nevertheless, this felt like a road trip.
We left Friday afternoon and drove straight down to Dry Lake Campground located in Murphysboro in southern Illinois.
We prefer to follow Our Road Trip Routine which means we would travel during the day and arrive at our sleeping accommodations before dinnertime so we can find a place to eat and then unwind. However, since this trip was not for leisure, we had to do what worked, which meant leaving after the kids got out of school on Friday.
We did stick to our routine of stopping every 2 hours for a short break to stretch legs, snack, potty, and get gas (if needed). I had packed us dinner in the cooler and we had intended to stop at a rest area with picnic tables. Unfortunately, the rest area as we neared our 2 hour mark was closed for renovations and it would be nearly 45 minutes to the next one. We ended up at a truck stop. We spread out a blanket and had a picnic on the stretch of lawn in front of the parking spots. The kids ran laps back-and-forth, we filled up the car with gas, all went potty, and got back on the road in about 35 minutes.
Another 2 hours later, we were driving through a small town and we stopped at town center park (no playground, just an open green area with a gazebo). We only stopped for less than 10 minutes because we were just 45 minutes from our destination and it was getting late.
We got into Dry Lake Campground after dark, got our luggage into the cabin, and pretty much went straight to bed.
The campground seemed to be geared more towards long-term campers who park their RVs there for the entire season, possibly even year-round. I did not look into it much, so possibly there are some sites for simple weekend camping trips, I am not sure. There is a cabin on site that had been reserved for our family of 5 for the two nights we were there.
The cabin was larger than I had anticipated. There was a full size bed and two twin beds. We had brought our travel cots for the girls. There was also a small TV and DVD player in one corner with a loveseat, chair, and recliner. There was a table with 4 chairs and a kitchenette area with a stove, microwave, refrigerator and all-purpose sink. All of this was in one large L-shaped room. In a small separate room was a toilet & shower. The cabin was made of reclaimed wood and plywood with a cement floor. It was quite modest but a great step above tent camping.
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| Dry Lake Campground in Murphysboro |
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| Fishing At The End Of The Boat Slip Next To The Cabin |
The kids enjoyed shore fishing (though they caught nothing but weeds), running around the big open areas, climbing trees, and looking for critters. They found turtles, a lizard, and a rather large snake that apparently made his home in the wall of the cabin. He never bothered us but I can admit that I did get a mild case of the heebie-jeebies with that knowledge!
The wedding, the main reason for our visit, was very lovely and was held on the deck overlooking the lake with a reception held inside the multi-purpose building. We were so glad to be there with family for their special day.
Sunday morning, after a little more (unsuccessful) shore fishing, we got back on the road to head home. Our first stop was for lunch with some family as we passed through Mt Vernon. Our second stop was at the outlet mall in Tuscola. We often make this one of our stops on the way to/from our many visits to southern Illinois. We went potty and had a snack, picnic-style. Then the kids played at the playground with daddy while I ran into one store. I had a great coupon expiring that day and a gift card I had held onto for months; I was thrilled to be able to get a fabulous deal on a couple new shirts for myself. We got back on the road and made one more potty-stop before we arrived at home.
And that was the end of this quick little road trip.