Trip Recap

Day 1 - Tucson to Midland, TX (Monday)

This leg of the trip is pretty plain Jane and we're accustomed to the route. Usually we overnight in Van Horn, but on this trip, we figured that we'd push it a bit to get a short day into Dallas. Pushing it worked out and we managed to find the Midtown Hotel on the web. Their website is really nice and the photography makes it look great, but the place seemed like a worked over Super 8 that they forgot to finish remodeling. It wasn't anything glaring, just little detail stuff around the edges. The beds were really nice and that was the saving grace of the place. The piles of tile here and there combined with the taped off lobby parts and a weak breakfast made this a stop that we won't be making again.

Day 2 - Midland to Euless, TX (Tuesday)

Out relatively early and on the road to Gramma's. We made a stop in Big Spring and were into Euless by early afternoon. CP got to play on the playground and in the pool to burn off some energy. We took Gramma to Chili's as is custom, and I was a bit shocked to see how much of her long term memory has begun to fade. Strange things popped up too, like a supposed allergy to lettuce. It all comes with being on this earth for more than 80 years, but it's hard to see. We had a good time and CP enjoyed visiting with her great grandmother nonetheless.

Day 3 - Euless to Gardner, KS (Wednesday)

By now, the time zone jumping combined with DST was catching up with us. We still had a good day that started off with a breakfast stop in Paul's Valley, OK. It's the LW's father's name, so it's always goofy when we stop there. They have a really nice little park in town by the tracks that has a couple of rail cars that the kids can check out. We ate at a place that was a Denny's at one time, but is now a 50's themed diner called Happy Days. The staff was really nice to CP and we enjoyed our non-motorized time there. We made it into Gardner and all of the usual suspects soon started arriving with the little ones. Mayhem ensued....and it was good.

Day 4 - Gardner, KS (Thursday)

We decided to take a day off of driving to let CP visit with Grandpa. The usual suspects came over again, and, just like the day before, had a blast. In the evening we started rounding all of the stuff up and preparing for the early morning run to Lone Jack to get the nieces.

Day 5 - Gardner - Cary, MS (Friday)

The nieces were groggy and waiting when we arrived at 5am to pick them up. After the requisite craziness, we were off and running. Well, we were driving and the kids went back to sleep. This was our longest day and we knew it. We bet on a few games and toys, but hoped that the newness of the three of them being together in the car would see us through. With a little help from the brilliant LW, it did. We found a great little cafe in Morrilton, AR for lunch and I introduced the kids to fried dill pickles. Yayyy! After a long ride, we decided to stop to let the kids run at the new visitor center in Lake Village, AR. It's as nice as the old one was when it was new, and I look forward to them fixing up the old one as a fishing/picnic place. We made it into Rolling Fork, MS and at at Chuck's Dairy Bar. The kid at the counter asked me if I knew what I was getting when I ordered a Chuck-burger....it was pretty funny. I told him on the way out that the burger was just as good as they were 35+ years ago. This place has dished out great food to four generations of my family and you shouldn't miss it if you're in the area. A dash of fried food and a slaw burger later, everyone was ready to roll. The great grandparents were happy to see all of us and we enjoyed catching up. It was good to be out of the car after almost 15 hours.

Day 6 - Cary to Learned, MS (Saturday)

Today was the day of the reunion and despite the rain and the prickly MS state trooper that hangs out on Hwy61 between Vicksburg and Cary, we made it on time. The church where my great grandmother is buried was the place that was chosen for the reunion. It had a nice adjoining gym and there was plenty of space for tables and for the kids to run around inside since it was raining. My mother's cousin made sugar cookies using my great grandmother's recipe and it was the best food of the day, and that's sayin' something in this crowd. Everyone had a great time and I set up my umbrellas and took photos of everyone who dared step in front of the camera. Afterwards it was off to Bolton to stay with my grandparents.

Day 7 - Bolton to Cary, MS (Sunday)

We missed "Queen Victoria's" birthday party, but plans had been already made to get my dad's side of the family together for lunch to see the three visiting kids. The girls haven't been down to MS much since my bro's divorce and everyone wanted to see them. For some of the folks, the reunion on Saturday was their first time to see my youngest niece. We had a wonderful catfish lunch that came complete with my aunt's hush puppy recipe and plenty of dessert. Both of my cousins were there and it was the first time that I've seen them at the same time in years.

Day 8 - Cary to Atlanta, GA (Monday)

We stopped by Bolton to pick up some stuff that we'd left behind and motored on to points east. My itinerary was shot for this leg of the trip, but it couldn't be helped. We needed to put the restless trio nearer to the beach, or it was going to get ugly. We stopped in Vicksburg at the most disorganized big box store that I've ever encountered just to get some fresh back seat distractions for the trio. Of course, it was a damned Wal-Mart. I can't stand going into their clean and organized stores, so this was a distasteful bit of roadside history for me. When in Rome.....I guess.

We made it out of MS unscathed and into Alabama with only rain. It cleared up when we passed the Mercedes Factory and Talladega Raceway, which incited quotes from the movie. It was a crackup to hear the little one talking about spider monkeys and mountain dew. The back seat crowd was getting hungry near Birmingham, and the call from the back seat went out for Chinese food for dinner. The LW quickly searched for directions to a nice place in the heart of town and we found it. PCS cards and google maps work pretty well...when you're near town. The kids ate a little dinner and we packed their contented butts back in the car for the run into Atlanta.

Aunt B called the LW as we were buzzing down the highway and informed us that the hemisphere's largest aquarium was in Atlanta and that we should see it if we get a chance. Well, we made a chance since the oldest niece is into all things oceanography.....especially whale sharks. We pulled into the Georgian Terrace Hotel around 10pm eastern and were in the pool on the roof shortly afterward...shivering. It was a great view from the roof though! The hotel was good for traveling with little ones since it had a kitchen and laundry equipment in the room. It was a bit rough around the edges, but still a grand space. (note: If you have little ones, don't let them get near the railing near the elevators/atrium. This hotel has slipped by the codes for the 3" rail spacing updates.)

Day 9 - Atlanta to Charlotte, NC (Tuesday)

We all slept well and were off and screaming about watery mammals and sharks the next morning. We found the Aquarium by signs since google maps calls North Ave in Atlanta "N" Avenue. The kids were ecstatic, even though we left the LW back at the hotel to telecommute. Yup, it was me and the three in the Aquarium. We all had fun. The kids got to touch sharks and rays and really enjoyed the new environment. I got introduced to a 4-D movie experience, which was interesting, but involved spraying water on $1100 worth of equipment for entertainment's sake. The oldest niece was the happiest at the big tank. It held hundreds of fish and three whale sharks. It's worth making a trip to Atlanta to see this place. CP gave me the greatest amount of static, but she was wayyy off of her eating and sleeping schedule by this point. After a $35 lunch and $150 in the gift shop (which you have to pass through in order to exit the facility), we were...well....lost. The sun wasn't shining and I got turned 180 degrees around. We ended up stopping to call the LW who found a 7' tall map of Atlanta in the lobby of the hotel and guided us expertly back to pick her up. CP managed to leave her favorite pillow at the hotel.

More days soon....