Officially, our journey began with our trip to Memphis. While the trip was extremely uneventful, the kids expressed extreme displeasure with the situation within the car. They dubbed it the "torture machine" and argued a solid hour outside of Memphis. However, once we arrived in Memphis, we checked into our hotel and promptly hit the pool. Our only regret is that we never made it into the Rendezvous BBQ. Too long a line.
The next day started way too early. At 7:30AM we hit the road. We had over 8 hours to drive and we are definate wimps about driving. The first decision we made was to do away with the map and follow "Ruby" our trusty GPS. She's got a sassy British accent and we love to upset her. She indicated the fastest way to Kansas City would be to head across the middle of Arkansas and Kansas. Although Charles was wary of Ruby's decision making ability, we enjoyed the route through northern Arkasas, up into Springfield, MO and then up to Kansas City.
We experienced a low flying crop duster just feet above our car, we puzzled over the etymology of Koshkonong, Mo., (Charles insisted it was Norwegian, while I went for the Native American experience), and we prayed that the Dramamine would hold until we hit Kansas City. It did!
We drove directly to our hotel on the Country Club Plaza of KC. This has been my favorite shopping area since I was a catalog librarian at K-State many years ago. Within minutes we hit the stores. Northface, Rolex, Restoration Hardware.
And then the family reunion began. Charles' sons Dai and Ian showed up with kids in tow. It always surprises me how the kids instantly get along so well. Blood is thicker than water. After a wonderful dinner on the plaza and a couple hours of the kids swimming, we said goodnight.
I would recommend the Courtyard Marriot on the Plaza to anyone. It was the most comfortable, accomodating hotel ever. Charles let us sleep until 8:00 before demanding we arise. We ate breakfast and drove westward toward Manhattan Kansas - the Little Apple. The rolling Flint Hills were as beautiful as I remembered. Green, verdant, and glorious. K-State has grown so much since I worked there. But I was able to locate my old house, and the library. We attempted lunch in Aggieville, but the children had become petulant and we hopped in the car and roared off.
Instead we had a Mexican lunch in Marysville, KS, hometown of Charles' mother. Since he had no recollection of the town, the tour was rather uneventful. Next came the most boring section of the drive thus far. From Marysville to Grand Island, NE was filled with grain elevators and railroad yards. I spent the time studying for my upcoming courses at Marymount, with an occasional glance at the map to make sure we weren't headed to Milwaukee.
So now we rest in Grand Island. The Holiday Inn Express is brand new with a pool (we grateful - it's 101 degrees out) and wireless, and cable of course (Harry Potter entertains). As usual, Sam will sleep on the floor (he considers it a badge of honor that he never gets a bed) and Dominos delivers. Because I'm not leaving the room until the AM.
Sam: it has been a long and tiring drive and i don't have much to say so i'm just going to some it up, that picture up there is a picture of my brother jacob, my half brothers dai and ian, my neice lexy, my nephew xavier, my sister emily, ian's wife gwen, and my mom and dad. It is horrible being in that car all squeshed together in that back seat of that stupid clown car. My advice don't drive a vw jetta halfway across the country. Our stops have been great.
No comments:
Post a Comment