Week by numbers: My big fat family road trip

0: Times I ever thought that when I moved away for good at age 14 that I would eventually go back to visit with a husband and two sons.



1: Family wedding that never happened. (1: Heartbroken bride who slumped to the grass, sobbing, which I never want to see again. Ever.)



1: Beautiful neighboring city.







1: Perfect afternoon on the South Shore, climbing sand dunes and enjoying a calm Lake Michigan.









1: Perfect evening on Navy Pier.







1: Family member who saw too many trains for a family trip. (That would be me.)











1: Crazy little volunteer firefighter brother who sneaked the Man-cub and Junebug out for a spin in the town's fire truck and scared the whole volunteer crew, who thought they'd missed something.



2: Boys excited about penguins, as usual.







3: Excellent museums that aren't like any others.









7: States. Florida -- my home. Georgia -- land of peaches, pecans, "boiled p-nuts," red clay, carpet factories and lots of hills. Tennessee -- where people seem to love fireworks, vehicles are mounted high in the sky for advertising, and there are beautiful mountains I'm not used to driving through. Kentucky -- where you find horses, caves, lots of hills and a thick Southern accent. Indiana -- a state covered by corn and soybean fields, and towns that advertise two-for-one cemetery plots. Illinois -- similar to Indiana, but it has Chicago. Michigan -- land of lakes and forests and friendly, efficient people, some of whom don't accept cards for payment.

2,000: Miles. Give or take. (Ahem. Husband corrected me. It was 3,180 miles.)

???: Love for family.

It's good to be home.