In the MegaBus

During the past week we have spent sufficient time in our "MegaBus", our 12 passenger van affectionately referred to as Tawantinsuyu.  You are probably wondering why we named a large white van such an incredibly long and hard-to-pronounce name.  MegaBus is the name of the bus company in Pereira, Colombia, while Tawantinsuyu is the Quechua word which the Inca used to refer to their empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.  There is an ongoing debate in our family as to whether the name of the van should be MegaBus or Tawantinsuyu, and so both names are used interchangeably.  

Last Wednesday morning we packed up our MegaBus and headed 9 hours south to Illinois to visit Nic's oldest brother and the rest of the Olsons for Thanksgiving.  With 12 grandchildren ranging in age from 1 to 17, it is always a wonderful time when we get together with them.  There was lots of food, games, giggles, and relaxing.

After stuffing ourselves and our suitcases back into Tawantinusyu, we headed north into Michigan to spend the week vacationing at a hotel while Nic worked, leading a project at Tennant Company in Holland, Michigan.  We are so thankful to be able to be with him here instead of home missing him.  In addition to doing a bit of homeschooling, we have had time to relax around the pool, play card games, snuggle up and watch movies, reconnect with friends from our first adoption trip to Colombia, and explore Holland a little, hiking to their "big" red lighthouse on the shore of Lake Michigan, stumbling over sand dunes at the beach, and visiting the imported windmill that was used in the Netherlands as a look out during WWII and whose blades still have evidence of bullet holes.  Since I don't have the cable to upload any of our fun photos, I'll have to add those when we get home.

Today is our last day of vacation as we will make the long drive home tomorrow.  It has been such a treat to tag along this week and enjoy a change of pace and a change of scenery.  I am so thankful that our kids are super-travelers.  They love long van rides in Tawantinsuyu and are always up for an adventure.  Being on the go always makes me especially thankful upon returning home.  There's no place like home!