Trip Recap Part II

Day 10 - Charlotte, NC (Wednesday)

Pool Pool Pool...everybody to the pool. The girls wanted water and nothing was going to stop them. We were in Charlotte for a day of unwinding, so the LW sent me off to tour Speed TV world HQ with her sister Cyndi, who works there. It was cool and if there were grandparents and more cousins there, I'd probably end up working there just to sweep floors or something. I managed to stay out of the way for the most part while watching things happen and I even got to sit at Dave Despain's "Wind Tunnel" desk. Good stuff. My sister-in-law works with some fun people.

Day 11 - Charlotte to Folly Beach, SC (Thursday)

The Lard's got home and we loaded up, headed for the beach. It was a crazy drive through S. Carolina (passed while doing 80mph), but we made it and immediately had to get the kids over the dune and out to the water. The house was across the street from an empty lot, which provided us with a clear view of the waves from the balcony. It was perfect. If you haven't seen the photos, let me know and I'll send the links.

Day 12 - Folly Beach (Friday)

Morning Beach/Afternoon Clouds. Perfection repeated.

Day 13 - Folly Beach (Saturday)

Beach all day. Once again, perfection.

Day 14 - Morris Island and back to Charlotte, NC (Sunday)

Time to go? Already? We visited the Morris Island lighthouse after a rather warm walk and headed out. We got to pass by the suspension bridge. It's really somethin' to see. We made it back to Charlotte and had a great dinner with Aunt Cyndi and SuperDave.

Day 15 - Charlotte to Eddyville, KY (Monday)

Up and out early, so we could get some time on the road. The kids slept through the treed hills and into Tennessee. We stopped to have breakfast and it was on with the day. On the way home, we stopped at Cracker Barrel twice for breakfast, and while expensive, it provided a little bit of slowdown for the kids. We pulled into Nashville to meet someone and drop off some prickly, well-traveled succulents and were back on the road out of town. I didn't listen clearly enough to the LW, (no really?) so we ended up on the wrong highway out of town and had to double back....sheesh. Finally we got that fight out of the way and were cruisin' into Kentucky. The LW was on the laptop when things settled and found a nice place in the "Land Between the Lakes" region. I'd never heard of it, but the LW learned later from her mom that they had stayed in the area when she was a kid. We pulled into the Palisades Resort just in time to let the kids spin out for a bit. The first thing they saw was the pool. Hmm.... We let the kids run around the room for a bit and figured that there was nothing else to keep them busy until lunch. The LW and I were totally wiped out by this time, but I dragged my butt into the bathroom with my suit and got ready. They all came off of the floor and started bouncing up and down when I stepped out of the bathroom ready for swimming and asked, "Who wants to go to the pool?!". "MEEEEEEEE!" from the trio and we were off for about an hour. Later we went into town for lunch and ice cream, then off to the park. More pool time rounded out the day.

Day 16 - Eddyville to Lone Jack & Gardner (Tuesday)

The kids slept through until sunrise and we were well on our way into Illinois. We took a break in Mt. Vernon for breakfast, then headed on. Mid-morning found us in St. Louis and a discussion came up about the arch. The girls said that they knew people who had gone up in it, but had never been there. Well, that just was not going to work. The LW found directions, got us to a primo parking spot, and we were off. It's sad to see the TSA style searches at national parks, but after what recently happened, I see why and appreciate it more. The girls had a great time in the pod that takes you to and from the top, but I was nervous. 630' in the air provides a really good view and we all soaked it up before heading back down to the really nice museum. The girls wanted something from the store..the candy store in the museum, so the LW took care of that. Soon thereafter the baby breakdown happened and we all huffed to the car aggrevated. It was pretty smooth sailing all the way into Lone Jack save for some heavy rain on the way that ran me down to 40mph, even with rain-x.

Day 17 - Gardner (Wednesday)

Visited with Grandparents. More fun with cousins and Annabelle.

Day 18 - Gardner (Thursday)

Visited with my Bro while Cady was under the weather.

Day 19 - Gardner to Tucumcari, NM (Friday)

Took 54 from Wichita after riding the interstate. Everyone should run 54 if they have the chance. Beautiful scenery. I found that the worry about "where's the next stop" wasn't there like it is on the interstates. There was a town with at least a gas station every 10-30 miles and it didn't really slow us down. We did stop in Greensburg, KS to see the place. It was a fun diversion and they have some really cool playground equipment there next to the Big Well. We pulled into Tucumcari after a beautiful day's driving and stayed at a Route 66 motel. Yes, just like in the movie 'Cars'. CP loved it.

Day 20 - Tucumcari to Tucson, AZ (Saturday)

The last day was a fairly easy run through some beautiful NM scenery. I don't think that I'll jump on I-25 again. The run from Las Cruces to Tucumcari is nice. We stopped in Carrizozo, NM for breakfast and loved looking around the little town. We even bumped into some locals who shared a bit of town history with us. I figure in 20 years, you won't be able to afford a place there. Word will get out about it. After Las Cruces, we were back on a fast road and the little diesel was happily back up to 75-80mph all the way to T-town. It was a good trip and I'd do most of it over in a second.