Heading out to Notre Dame!

So, after all the preparations, we finally headed out to Notre Dame after dinner on Wednesday, August 20th.   I drove the three boys, and Chris headed out with the two girls.   We planned to meet to spend the night together outside of Pittsburgh, but we ran into them after about 3 hours of driving at one of the Pennsylvania Turnpike rest stops!!



We arrived in Monroeville at midnight, and then we all fell into bed.    By the time we got up the next day, and got on the road, it was almost 10:30.   The Ohio turnpike is just gorgeous, with beautiful, clean rest stops (they even have showers for truckers to use--honestly, I think I would use one if I needed to--they were really nice!  We stopped at lots of these Ohio rest stops!)

                                                        Hanging out in Ohio rest stops!


Then we arrived in Indiana.   I'm not sure I've even been to Indiana, and I'm not saying anything about the state, but the rest stops along the Indiana turnpike (Route 80) in Indiana are dirty, small, and have no food choices except McDonald's or Burger King.   Honestly, the Indiana people just have to drive over to Ohio and see how to run a rest stop.    We decided that we aren't ever going to Indiana rest stops anymore.  Also, the road was bad--The highway is small, with pot holes--just terrible!!  Luckily, it wasn't long before we arrived in South Bend.


I have never been to Notre Dame, but I have heard so many stories about it.    When we pulled up, at 5:30, the marching band was out practicing (honestly, the marching band was out practicing every time we drove by that field, all weekend long-there is a reason they are so good!!), and I heard a few bars of the Notre Dame fight song--I immediately got choked up, but they would be the last tears I shed all weekend!!