Eight states, two weeks, and one cold to share adds up to a pretty complete family road trip. We are finally home. It's good to be home and in our beds, though I have to say as crazy as it would seem traveling as far as we did with two kids we had an excellent trip. I'll try to give the best "long-story short" as I can.
We rented a Toyota Camry for our trip which saved us on gas but I was disappointed on the size. According to the rental place it's the biggest car they have that isn't an SUV. My VW Passat has more room in the back. With Bailey's DVD running and Foster's mirror hung we made our first trek to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. And we got lost. I had printed out directions from google maps just in case our GPS wasn't working. We followed the GPS which took us to the wrong location because the Pisgah Inn doesn't actually have an address on Blue Ridge Parkway, just the closest mile marker. Anyway, should have followed my printed directions. Got there a little later than expected and I almost threw up from all the winding and twisting it took to get up there, but the view was totally worth it. It truly was majestic. Our room had a balcony overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jeremy and I vowed to come back for a stay, only without the kids. We had trout that night for the first time and it was good. The next morning we woke to crisp, cool, mountain air and made our long decent through the mountains to Tennessee. It was such a beautiful drive. I enjoyed driving those twisty roads more than riding which again was making me sick. We were pleasantly surprised by Nantahala National Forest and it's rapids flowing along side of the road. We made it to our friends the Bryants in Winchester, TN in time to enjoy their neighbor's farm, animals and homemade Pirate Punch. Bailey had a blast feeding the horse, chasing the chickens and petting the goats. The next day we spent time visiting with our friends before heading to Jackson, TN for the night. Matt took Jeremy to the Jack Daniels distillery in Linchberg while Michelle and I caught up on our "why it sucks to be an OSI wife" talk.
The kids were so great in the car. Bailey was content to watch movies, munch on snacks, and sing songs. No complaints. Foster slept most of the time. Whenever he would fuss Jeremy or I would jump in the back between the kids and feed him a bottle or talk to him until he fell asleep again. He was happy as long as the car was moving. Nursing him took too much time, so I ended up giving him bottles while we traveled and pumped at our destinations. By the time our trip was over I was only pumping once a day. I'm not even nursing anymore. Oh well, I was planning on giving it up by November anyway.
Back to the trip; when we got to our pre-reserved, via Internet hotel in Jackson it was late and we were tired. To our dismay our room was a rat hole. Old sheets and blankets with holes they were worn so thin, and dingy brown mattresses. The neighborhood was scary as well as the shower. We went to the local Walmart for supplies and dinner only to find our sandwiches to be so disgusting they were uneatable. We couldn't even enjoy the OU football game because the bad T.V. screen was shaking and spinning. To top it off, Bailey came down with a cold that night. We were happy to leave that place and decided from then on we'd just stay at Holiday Inn's the rest of the way. Off to Arkansas we went where we met up with Jeremy's Aunt Susie and Uncle bill in Russeville. We had a delightful visit with them at our hotel, and they enjoyed meeting and playing with the kids. That night Bailey's cold was the worst and kept us all up all night with her cough and stuffy nose. Poor thing. I had no doubt we were all doomed by that point to get sick. From there we drove to Sulphur, Oklahoma to see Jeremy's long time best friend Travis and his wife Kristy. Though rainy, and a bit cold, it was another beautiful drive through the hills, south of the Ozarks. The leaves were starting to change and I didn't realize AR and OK could be so lush and scenic.
Our visit at Travis's house lasted two days. They lived out in the country with lots of land and sky. The thunderstorms were dramatic and while I lay awake in bed I thought about being swept away by a tornado. Thank goodness the kids slept right through it. Travis had two puppy pointers and a cockatiel. Needless to say Bailey spent the whole visit playing and talking to the animals. No attention needed. We were fed very well with home cooked meals. In fact Jeremy and I gained about 8 lbs. each on this trip. Travis took us on a tour of the Chickasaw National Forest where he worked and the stinky sulphur spring. Beautiful old forest with creeks over flowing from the rain and a lake. We saw a deer act like nothing we'd ever seen. It darted back and forth like a playful dog trying to play with the other deer. Wish I got it on tape. It was a great visit. Collin, Travis's brother, even made an appearance and I hadn't seen him since the wedding.
Next was Alva, our main destination, where Jeremy's parents and sister are. There wasn't much to do in Alva but that was just fine because we enjoyed just being with family. Besides, it got real cold. We even saw some sleet one night. Bailey loved playing with Grandpa Roy and Grandma Rosemary who she affectionately calls Grandma Roses. Aunt Shayla was a natural at holding and feeding her baby nephew. Once again we were fed well, and once again Bailey was completely entertained by their four cats and very fat beagle. Jeremy and I got some very much needed time out without the kids. We went to the bar of course and celebrated Shayla's 21st birthday. Should have seen Jeremy dancing to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Total goof.
Did you know in Oklahoma the alcohol content of beer is only 3.2% and you can't bring a baby into a liquor store because they are under 21! Learn something new everyday. Obviously I tried to bring Foster in and was promptly dismissed. So I waited outside while Jeremy shopped for Shayla's birthday "right-of-passage" present. "Foster! You know you can't buy that without I.D. Shame on you. Bad baby!" Jeeezz, anyway.... We took the kids to the Henderson's and the Jones's (Travis's parents) for visits. They were so great with the kids, playing on the floor with Bailey and holding Foster. Everywhere we went, everyone we visited, it was so relaxing for us because the kids were either entertained or had free rein to "just be." Yeah! Halfway through our four day visit in Alva Foster became sick. Mostly he had a cough but his gas (maybe from different water) was most painful for him. It was nice to have family around to help out.
As quickly as we came it was time to say good-bye. It was a very tearful good-bye because just as we were getting to know each other again we knew it would be a while before another visit. But it does make those visits all the more special. On the road again we stopped in Stillwater to visit with Jeremy's old friend Amy and her husband Jay at the beloved Eskimo Joe's restaurant. Had to pick up more cups for us and the Bryants. The burgers are awesome too.
We drove till we got to Muskogee where poor Foster was at his worst and we got little sleep, but at least we got free breakfast at Holiday Inn. The next day we kept driving until we got to Memphis. Another sleepless night. Foster is choking on his drainage and Bailey is getting sassy and grumpy from lack of sleep and lack of attention. We head on over to Winchester for another stay with the Bryants who feed us amazing chili. Michelle even stayed up with me during first shift with Foster which was a nice change. The next day we were suppose to go over to Chattanooga to visit the Aquarium and stay the night in Atlanta, but with Foster coughing all over the place we decided to just head straight for home. We made it home by 9 p.m.
For the most part we only drove 5 hours or less a day (except for our last leg home). So the driving time was not very stressful at all. I'm glad we didn't bring too much stuff because we got tired of loading and unloading the car over and over. Jeremy brought gifts of homemade beer to our friends for their hospitality. And all our visits with people were completely kid tolerant. Foster is still recovering but at least we can start getting him on a schedule. I've recently been showing signs of a cold but I don't think it's hit me full force yet. So that's it. We had an amazing trip and I'm so glad we decided to drive. We saw so much. I guess my attempt to make this story short failed. Stay tuned for pictures.
