2,600 Miles in 5 Days

Ryan drove 2,594 miles and I drove 6.  Yes, I drove 6 of the 2,600 miles, but I was a heck of a good copilot with my incessant air braking, stellar radio station selections, and in general healthy food supply.  I would never have made the drive by myself, but luckily I married a man who can drive.  I’ve learned to be a decent copilot who never sleeps, can read in the car and is more than willing to provide entertainment given that I am not in a pivotal point in my book.  Back to the trip…Why would anyone willingly choose to drive 2,600 miles in 5 days?  Well, if ticket prices are outrageous and you have a little boy that needs to see his papa and stepmom, you hitch up your bootstraps and drive.  Believe me, all the body stiffness and pain from a silly ticket for going 10 over, disappeared the second we saw Little Man’s smiling face!  He was waiting for us in the street and led us to his house on his bicycle!  It was cute.  He was really excited! 

 

Our first night wasn’t too eventful because we were exhausted.  We found a hotel, got some Mexican food and passed out!  It was lovely to sleep.  The next day we had!  Little Man got his hair cut, we went to the mall and he showed us all the guns he wants for Christmas (but will not be getting), I got a pair of jeans, and then we headed to Amana Colonies.  

 

The Amana Colonies were fun!  We bought honey sticks, ate fudge, drank beer and root beer respectively, took lots of pictures, walked around and had a nice afternoon.  The Amana Colonies remind me of Amish Colonies in Lancaster, PA.  It’s a religious communal colony that’s virtually self-sufficient.  Little Man had a good time palling around with me and Ryan.  We are still kind of cool in his eyes, which is nice! 

 

 

 

After the colonies, we headed back to the hotel and I took a nap.  Not really sure what the boys did, but I definitely slept a bit.  Traveling is rough on my body.  That night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and it was bad.  The wings were too hot, I spilled an entire glass of cold water on my lap, the restaurant was freezing…it was unanimous that BWs was a bad choice. I really needed a cup of soup and a side salad, but hot wings were consumed instead.  After that we got ice cream… why you ask?  We have no idea.  Once again, bad choice.  Off to bed it was with our sick bellies. 

 

Saturday was good!  We got up, packed our room up and went to see Gravity!  Awesome movie!  I totally, 100% recommend seeing it in 3D!  Ryan and I loved it!  Jared definitely liked it and thought it was cool, but immediately informed us that he never wants to be an astronaut.  Ryan and I just chuckled.  

 

Saturday afternoon was wedding time!  Ryan’s friend from when he was in his late teens/early twenties was getting married and we all attended!  His bride was beautiful and the party was fun!  The 6 miles I mentioned that I drove earlier…they were from the reception to the hotel.  I behaved myself.  Someone I love dearly didn’t.

 

Sunday was a sad day.  It was our last day with Little Man.  We all knew.  There was a general heaviness in our hearts and we weren’t nearly as perky as the days prior.  We made the most of it by golfing at Little Man’s 9-hole course and getting pizza!!  The course was covered in leaves, so it was challenging to find your ball even if you were in the middle of the fairway.  It wasn’t a stellar performance for any of us, but really not for me.  I pretty much played a horrible 9-holes.  That’s what happens when you never play, like ever.

 

Before saying goodbye, we walked around the track at Little Man's school.  He is in middle school, but the middle school is with the high school because the town is so small.  He loves it of course!

 

 

We said goodbye, hugged, bawled our eyes out, and then hit the road again. Goodbyes are horrendous.  They kill all of us.  We can’t wait until he’s back with us, but for now Skype is our best friend.  He really needs a strong father figure to keep him in line.  All children need a consistent firm hand during their preteen, teen, and post teen years. Little Man is 11 ½ and in full swing of his preteen years.  Fun times!  We’ve all been there.

 

Much love.