Road Trip Day 1

Wednesday, August 5^th (which was our 15^th anniversary)

We pulled out of the driveway at 11:50 am…approximately 2 hours later than I’d intended…this is typical for us, so not an indication of a catastrophe.  Six of us were loaded into the 2003 Dodge Ram Quad Cab…which we took because, upon our return, it would be (and it is currently!) up for sale and Ruth was sad about that.  This meant we had A LOT of togetherness while on the road.  We had a reservation at a hotel near Little Rock, AR, so that meant we had approximately 400 miles to drive. 

We ate lunch in the car (from Texas Burger, but not the same chain that I grew up with…I’m pretty sure – this Texas Burger’s claim to fame is that they sell Nolan Ryan beef hamburgers) and everyone was pretty good in the truck.  Mary napped, we listened to music, the kids played on their Kindles and with the sticker book I gave each of them later in the afternoon. 

As we drove through Marshall, TX, Richard noticed a clanking noise coming from the right front of the truck.  We pulled into a dirt parking lot and he had me drive while he stood outside to listen.  He thought it might be a bad rotor.  As luck (Divine Intervention) would have it, we were right next to a mechanic shop.  Richard pulled around and asked if he could borrow a floor jack.  One of the mechanics brought one over and helped Richard (with power tools) determine it was just that the brake was missing some spacer to keep the brake pad from hitting something or other…the gist is that it is not a big deal!  This is a relief! 

We got back on the road and made it to our hotel around 7:00 and unloaded ourselves. We have packing down to a science.  We have this BIG “contractor’s box”:

I pack each child’s day of clothes (shorts, shirt, socks, underwear) in a gallon Ziploc.  We brought 4 days of clothes, so there are all of these gallon Ziplocs in this container.  Richard and I pack loose things (like socks and underwear) in gallon Ziplocs, but our clothes are, otherwise, folded. We can get everything into this big box…which has a pull-out handle and wheels.  We also had a pack-n-play and a bedroll (so all 6 of us can sleep in one hotel room).  Each of the children had his/her own “car bag” that they had to bring in.  Amazingly, we can get all of this into the hotel room in one trip. 

I always felt a bit duplicitous as I’d get out of the car and go check in.  Then, a few minutes later, this huge brood of a family walked in pulling this huge box, etc.  We are a large presence!

After we got the truck unloaded and the beds all set up, we found a local Italian restaurant at which to eat.  I think we finally got to bed around 9:30…maybe closer to 10:00.  Our room had 2 Queen beds…Richard and I in one, Luke and Paul in the other, Ruth on the bedroll and Mary in her pack-n-play.  We decided that the kids would rotate who slept on the floor and whoever slept on the floor got to push the elevator buttons. 

The next installment will include Thursday, August 6^th – the road to St. Louis!