Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Day 69: St. Louis, MO to Port Washington, NY
We managed to hit the road at the reasonable hour of 8:25 this morning. I think we were all oddly excited about this last long day in the car. After about 6 hours or so, Ron and I both voiced the same crazy idea: Let's skip the hotel room in PA and just drive the whole 1,ooo miles to my parents' house on Long Island. After conferring with the kids about sleeping in the car with their sleeping bags for a few hours that night, we were all in agreement that driving through was the best option.
Doing this marathon drive meant we had to break my cardinal rule about no fast-food, though. We inhaled dinner at a KFC somewhere in western PA and got back on the road. We settled the kids in their sleeping bags a few hours later and then Ron and I took one more shift each. We finally pulled into the driveway at 2:30 am. A very long day, but we will all be very happy about it when we get home tomorrow afternoon instead of late at night as originally planned.
Doing this marathon drive meant we had to break my cardinal rule about no fast-food, though. We inhaled dinner at a KFC somewhere in western PA and got back on the road. We settled the kids in their sleeping bags a few hours later and then Ron and I took one more shift each. We finally pulled into the driveway at 2:30 am. A very long day, but we will all be very happy about it when we get home tomorrow afternoon instead of late at night as originally planned.
Day 68: St. Louis, MO
I was a little behind in updating the blog, so this entry probably seems a little out of order since Ron's real-time posts of our drive from St. Louis appear after this entry. Oh well.
Jonah got two of his biggest wishes today. We visited the St. Louis Arch and went to a major league ball game. We'd been thwarted in three previous attempts to attend an MLB game this summer, so he was thrilled that it finally worked out. Busch Stadium is right next to the Arch, too, so we could combine both activities in one trip. The drive to the Arch took a little longer than anticipated, so we had to skip all the museum displays in order to be on time for meeting some more college friends at the Cardinals game. Our stay on top of the Arch was like Clark Griswold viewing the Grand Canyon, but the kids didn't seem to notice. I think they thought everyone sprinted to the front of the line for the descending tram after looking out the windows for 30 seconds.
Our speedy visit allowed us to get to the ball game on time where we met up with three more friends from our Virginia days. We couldn't all sit together through the whole game, but we played enough musical seats that we all got to visit. It would have been nice to hang out longer, but there's only so much you can cram into one trip. Jonah seemed to enjoy the game, as did Elli, but she was ready to leave early with Dave when his son, Owen, had had enough. Elli was definitely more interested in playing with Owen than hanging out at the Cardinals game.
Dinner was a decidedly relaxed affair which allowed the kids to play as much as possible. The adults enjoyed reminiscing about "the good old days". It's a bit to sad to think that I'm old enough to have "good old days", but there you have it.
Tomorrow is going to be a long drive as we try to get as close as possible to my parents' house before crashing at a hotel. It's hard to believe the trip is almost over. We've had so many wonderful experiences and really bonded as a family. I hope the kids will remember all the happy memories and not focus on how long we made them sit in the car.
Jonah got two of his biggest wishes today. We visited the St. Louis Arch and went to a major league ball game. We'd been thwarted in three previous attempts to attend an MLB game this summer, so he was thrilled that it finally worked out. Busch Stadium is right next to the Arch, too, so we could combine both activities in one trip. The drive to the Arch took a little longer than anticipated, so we had to skip all the museum displays in order to be on time for meeting some more college friends at the Cardinals game. Our stay on top of the Arch was like Clark Griswold viewing the Grand Canyon, but the kids didn't seem to notice. I think they thought everyone sprinted to the front of the line for the descending tram after looking out the windows for 30 seconds.
Our speedy visit allowed us to get to the ball game on time where we met up with three more friends from our Virginia days. We couldn't all sit together through the whole game, but we played enough musical seats that we all got to visit. It would have been nice to hang out longer, but there's only so much you can cram into one trip. Jonah seemed to enjoy the game, as did Elli, but she was ready to leave early with Dave when his son, Owen, had had enough. Elli was definitely more interested in playing with Owen than hanging out at the Cardinals game.
Dinner was a decidedly relaxed affair which allowed the kids to play as much as possible. The adults enjoyed reminiscing about "the good old days". It's a bit to sad to think that I'm old enough to have "good old days", but there you have it.
Tomorrow is going to be a long drive as we try to get as close as possible to my parents' house before crashing at a hotel. It's hard to believe the trip is almost over. We've had so many wonderful experiences and really bonded as a family. I hope the kids will remember all the happy memories and not focus on how long we made them sit in the car.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Day 67: Denver, CO to St. Louis, MO
We actually both arose promptly at 5 am this morning, threw our remaining few belongings into bags, finished loading the car, ate a small breakfast, and snuggled the kids into the backseat with their pillows and sleeping bags all in 40 minutes. A very efficient start to the day considering the early hour.
A perk of getting on the road so early and driving east was the beautiful sunrise. I honestly don't remember the last time I'd been up for a sunrise (thanks, kids, for being late risers!), so it was actually quite a treat. The sky looked like it was about to burst into flame and then the glowing orange orb of the sun peeked over the horizon. A spectacular sight.
We packed a bunch of snacks for the ride and just let the kids eat whatever their little hearts desired. After about 7-8 hours in the car, we arrived in Manhattan, KS where we had a late lunch with a former student of mine, Maura. Maura is a doctoral candidate in I/O Psychology at Kansas State and was able to take a break from prepping her dissertation proposal orals to have a late lunch with us. It was a short, but fun, visit. Hopefully, it won't be another four years before our next one (but maybe not in Kansas).
It felt like Kansas was never going to end, but after 424 miles, we finally crossed the border into Missouri. Another few hours and we arrived at Dave and Catherine's house. We all went to college together and hadn't seen each other in a LONG time. We were a little bleary eyed and exhausted when we got there (860 mile drives tend to do that to you), but we rallied enough to visit for a couple of hours before collapsing into bed. Only one more marathon drive to go!
A perk of getting on the road so early and driving east was the beautiful sunrise. I honestly don't remember the last time I'd been up for a sunrise (thanks, kids, for being late risers!), so it was actually quite a treat. The sky looked like it was about to burst into flame and then the glowing orange orb of the sun peeked over the horizon. A spectacular sight.
We packed a bunch of snacks for the ride and just let the kids eat whatever their little hearts desired. After about 7-8 hours in the car, we arrived in Manhattan, KS where we had a late lunch with a former student of mine, Maura. Maura is a doctoral candidate in I/O Psychology at Kansas State and was able to take a break from prepping her dissertation proposal orals to have a late lunch with us. It was a short, but fun, visit. Hopefully, it won't be another four years before our next one (but maybe not in Kansas).
It felt like Kansas was never going to end, but after 424 miles, we finally crossed the border into Missouri. Another few hours and we arrived at Dave and Catherine's house. We all went to college together and hadn't seen each other in a LONG time. We were a little bleary eyed and exhausted when we got there (860 mile drives tend to do that to you), but we rallied enough to visit for a couple of hours before collapsing into bed. Only one more marathon drive to go!
Day 66: Denver, CO
Ron really slept in today, so we finally got around to leaving the house around noontime. Cara drove us to Sam's No. 3 in downtown Denver for a fabulous brunch. After stuffing ourselves silly, we waddled back to the car for a shopping trip at REI. I had lost my sunglasses at the park the night before and definitely needed a replacement before the next leg of our journey. We discovered that REI was having a Labor Day sale, so we went a little nuts: camel backs for the kids, biking shorts and sunglasses for me, a new headlamp, a saddle bag for Ron's bike, and a schoolbag for Elli. Saved some money and it all fit easily in the car when we re-packed it!
We then attempted to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens, but were surprised to discover it had closed early for a private event that night. Boo! We were able to smooth things over with ice cream and a stop at a playground for the kids, though. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at Cara's, watching tv, eating pizza, and packing up for the second to last long day of driving on our trip. Four more days and we're home!
We then attempted to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens, but were surprised to discover it had closed early for a private event that night. Boo! We were able to smooth things over with ice cream and a stop at a playground for the kids, though. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at Cara's, watching tv, eating pizza, and packing up for the second to last long day of driving on our trip. Four more days and we're home!
Day 65: Corrales, NM to Denver, CO
Our day started out well with another fantastic breakfast by Uncle Kent and Aunt Janet, but took a turn for the worse when we tried to track down Ron's wallet at a gas station on our way out of town. After 30 minutes of tearing apart our car and Janet and Kent searching their house back in Corrales, we had to accept that the wallet was gone. As we re-packed our car at the gas station, a considerate police officer approached to ask if everything was okay. He noticed us pulling everything out of the car and Ron abusing his sleeping bag and just wanted to be sure there wasn't a domestic squabble that needed to be handled. He was re-assured that Ron and I were not about to beat the crap out of each other and commiserated about the frustrations of a lost wallet. Not much more he could do.
There were no other significant mis-adventures on our drive and we still made pretty good time to my friend Cara's house in Denver. We took a short drive to a beautiful park in downtown Denver where we had a picnic dinner and met up with some of Cara's friends. It was fun relaxing and playing some bocce ball with Jonah, but I started to crash. I had driven all day and started to really feel it. I managed to rally, though, after getting the kids to bed and was able to enjoy visiting with Cara over our vacation photos. So glad we don't have to drive anywhere tomorrow!
There were no other significant mis-adventures on our drive and we still made pretty good time to my friend Cara's house in Denver. We took a short drive to a beautiful park in downtown Denver where we had a picnic dinner and met up with some of Cara's friends. It was fun relaxing and playing some bocce ball with Jonah, but I started to crash. I had driven all day and started to really feel it. I managed to rally, though, after getting the kids to bed and was able to enjoy visiting with Cara over our vacation photos. So glad we don't have to drive anywhere tomorrow!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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