There was a small kerfuffle with domain registration and now it’s resolved.
But now let me take you on a road trip with our family. (A on that truck license plate!)
We started out early early in the morning! By wondering why we thought we were getting up early early in the morning. But we were loaded and in the car before too long. Three kids, two in the backseat and one in the middle, me in the middle to facilitate passing stuff, and dad in the front driving. (Look, COWS!)
We kept busy with road games like “How well does Dad know his music library?” Pretty well, honestly; he didn’t get which Pachelbel organ concerto we were on but he knew his spaghetti westerns and his Lenka quite well. And he’s got Weird Al nearly down pat except which polka conglomeration is which. (We come by our eclectic music tastes honestly.) (J in Jewelry! What? I’ve been on J for fifteen minutes!)
Snacks are usually crackers and oranges and occasionally gummies or cookies but as soon as the sweets appear they’re requested repeatedly. (WINDMILLS!) We go through water bottles fairly steadily and refill at gas stations and rest stations along the way. The kids get to be introduced to the old wood-and-metal play equipment at rest station (I suppose some of them still hang around at some playgrounds but most of the playgrounds these days are the big castle types or the plastic equipment.) (Mommy, I’m gonna be on your team now. Wait, you can’t do that just because you’re not winning.) I’ve got a bag of activities- coloring and maze books, car games, a labyrinth ball, travel Hungry Hungry Hippos, magnets that spin on a track, a logic game, and a small magnetic board game that I didn’t really want to open because the pieces are small and will spill everywhere. So I told them to wait for another trip and the pieces spilled everywhere anyway. Yay. (HORSES!)
As we drove from basically the top of the USA to the bottom, it was interesting to watch the seasons change from essentially early spring to early summer. The trees grew steadily greener and the grass steadily lush-er as we progressed. Trees covered with flowers passed then grew fewer as blooming season had already passed. And watching the progression of wildflowers from small violets to bluebonnets and even some cacti kept me occupied as we traveled. (Train! It’s carrying windmill blades!)
We decided not to push the whole trip in one day so we stopped about 3/4 of the way there to find a hotel. The kids were thrilled to sleep on a bed that was in a couch! And get breakfast with waffles! And lucky charms! The cereal was picked clean of marshmallows and then the 3 year old declared herself full. (Q! Q in Equinox! Where are all the Quality signs? Does Oklahoma have no quality at all?)
Of course it’s not always smooth sailing. Kids keep lying down on the seat or propping their feet up in front and not getting why that’s frustrating to parents worried about what happens if we crash or just stop suddenly. The classic “Stop touching me! Hey I was playing with that! When’s my turn? Do you have anything fun to do? Why can’t I have more cookies? I’m boooored!” continues though mitigation efforts keep it at low levels. Mom realizes she should have trusted her mother’s packing list more despite “Oh we probably won’t need those” thoughts. (GOATS! I found goats!) And of course catching colds and needing medicine or cough drops on the road isn’t ever quite fun.
But we have some cool experiences too. Finding new places to eat and try new foods, like a Greek sampler or an indoor market of small food shops with ramen and sushi and Brazilian pastries and vegan chili cheese tots. Of course, the ramen wasn’t “the ramen I usually have” so despite the fact it was quantifiably better is ignored. And the Greek food is too different. And the tots were just not touched. Eh, as my dad used to say, “entre menos burros mas paja” so Mom and Dad got to enjoy the spoils of picky kids. And of course, actually visiting family and getting to watch the eclipse together would have made it worth an even longer trip with grumpier kids.
And with that, I will close with a final word: Why are all the Zoo signs here before I can find a Y? Alas. Maybe I’ll find an Amazing billboard later on.
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