Road Trip...Day 43 - Day 45

Day 43...Oct 27

I was up at what I thought was 5:00am. Feeling rested and ready for the day I got dressed and headed downstairs. That was when I noticed that it wasn't 5:00am...it was 3:00am! Lucky for me we don't have any real important plans for the day. Kristin goes to work by 9:00am, she takes Karis with her. The boys will be in school and of course, Nick leaves for work by 5:00am. Kerry and I will have the day to ourselves. 

If you have been following this BLOG you'll remember back on day 6 (Sept 20th) when an 18 wheeler spat a rock at us, chipping our windshield. We decided to find a place in Prattville to have the chip pressure filled, to prevent running cracks from developing. After speaking with the shop owner, we all agreed that it would be best to wait until we got back home, just in case we get dinged again. Nice guy...good advice...

Nick has an artisan well near his house so off we went to get his empty water bottles filled up. 

We offered to make supper tonight...spaghetti is on the menu. While Kerry cooked the sauce I spent my time packing up our things one last time ... 

Tomorrow morning we will leave for Memphis Tennessee. I have to brush up on my Elvis impression.

Kerry got a call from her old friend Diane Diggs. This was the girl who was with Kerry on the night we first met. Diane also hosted our wedding reception in her beautiful home. Fond memories. We will be visiting her in Arkansas on our way west.

With laundry done and bags packed and supper almost ready, Kerry and I got to spend a few quiet hours resting and contemplating this odyssey thus far. Once the gang got home, Kerry tended to the meal preparation, 

Nick napped, Karis watched the Cat in the Hat, Kristin helped Jared with his homework while I helped Landon with his. Landon did much better today compared to last night. Out of 37 flash cards with assorted words on them, last night he got 17 wrong...today he only missed 5...Way to go Little L Dude.

Day. 44...Oct 28

We were up at 4:00am and headed downstairs where Kerry and I each had our own couch in the living room. We were sleeping peacefully while waiting for Nick to stop in and say goodbye on his way out to start his work day. It was a short wait. After we all kissed and hugged, he left and Kerry and I went back to sleep, this time waiting for the rest of the clan to begin their day. Soon enough the time came for us to pack the few remaining things we had into the van and say our final goodbyes. After Jared and Landon were dropped off at school, Kristin returned home just as we loaded up the last bag. It was a bitter sweet loving departure as we all waved to each other as we slowly pulled out of the driveway and onto the road ahead...Next stop, Memphis. We were finally heading west...towards home.

We stopped at Costco in Birmingham to gas up. This was the cheapest we pad for gas so far...$1.76 per gallon. We also picked up a few essentials as well...crackers, wine, granola mix and of course, my frozen latte mocha freeze.

By noon I was feeling like I could use a rest stop...nature calls! The GPS was saying that the next rest stop was 70 miles ahead...that won't do. We took the next exit and drove a few miles along an old country road. This is where we discovered Barbara Ann's Place. Not being the kind of people who walk into a place, use the restroom and leave, we decided to split a hamburger for lunch ... I asked her to put the veggies on the side to make it easier to eat on the road and that is just what she did. A small bag with sliced onion, a small bag with sliced tomato, a small bag with lettuce, a small bag with sliced pickle and one hamburger on a bun, cut in half, wrapped up hot in foil. It was good. On our way out I noticed a crock pot with a sign that said BOILED PEANUTS...Really!

We continued on our way to our first stop of this phase of our journey. By 2:45 we were pulled into an RV park just two blocks from Graceland in Memphis.

 Once the van was setup for the night we took Rosie and walked over to the world famous Elvis attraction. All I can say is, "What a dump!" This part of town is run down and looks like a place where one wouldn't want to walk their miniature poodle at night. 

After fact finding we headed back to our campsite for some dinner and Internet time. Tomorrow we return to Graceland by 8am to insure we get on the first Graceland tour in the morning. Rosie will stay in the van, on guard duty back at the campsite.

Day 45...Oct 29

The next day...Instead of my going to see Graceland, I came up with a better idea...

At 8:00am I walked Kerry over to the Graceland ticket booth. After purchasing her a single tour ticket we sat in an Elvis diner and had a healthy breakfast of coffee and fries. We split the fries and the coffee was terrible...but it filled the tummy void. Once Kerry's tour was about to start I walked back through the hood, back to our campsite. My plan was to prep the van for travel, shower and shave...and then surf the web for awhile while waiting for Kerry's call telling me her tour was complete. Van prepped and secured, check! Shave, check! Shower, check. Just as I was about to fire up my iPad I got the call. She was done. 

I drove to a prearranged spot just next to those famous Graceland gates and waited. Once she boarded the van we  headed over to the Bass Pro Pyramid for a walk-a-bout and lunch. If you have never heard of the Memphis Bass Pro Pyramid you should  definitely Google it. 

After lunch we headed over to Beale St. and walked around checking out shops and atmosphere at the same time. To me, it seemed like a worn down tired Bourbon Street. Sad sad sad...

We had seen enough of Memphis. We jumped back onto the 40 West and hunted for the perfect camping spot. We found one in Little Rock Arkansas. Yes folks, we crossed yet another State line bringing our States-Visited-This-Trip number up to 29... still plenty more to go before we're done. 

We found, tucked away, Burnes State Park and since no one was in the office, and our phone calls and messages were unanswered, we sort of self served ourselves to a quiet, isolated site in the middle of a forest. As the sun descends giving way to night falls darkness, we finish our iPad responsibilities (Kerry with a game and me, theses notes). Nighty night for now

Road Trip...Day 40 - Day 42

Day 40...Oct 24

Both Kerry and I woke up feeling much better, but far from normal. Daisy visited with us before heading out for her 11:00am soccer game. She will be back some time after lunch. 

Brandon and his buddies Marcus and Alex spent the night and were heading out to get ready for the Home Coming event at the high school. Daisy was running around like crazy getting ready herself.

When Brandon left just after lunch Kerry and I said our final goodbyes. He would be sleeping at a friend's that night. He held on tight within our goodbye embrace. His friends stood silently, watching, not laughing. Kerry's farewell was equally emotional.

By 5:30pm Daisy was putting on her home coming final touches, as if she needed any. Pacing, exploding with anticipation, she was bursting to see her boyfriend Leon standing in the doorway. Soon...but not just yet.

Finally, he arrived and exploding with Daisy-energy was a Pavorotzi event of camera flashes. Her dad Justin, Grammy and me, Grampy, all armed with our digital imaging tools spent the next 15 minutes snapping, directing and re-positioning. It was AWESOME!

He called me Grampy

It was off to bed now for a much needed sleep. Our bags were packed and all we needed was a restful night, a quick loading of our luggage into the van tomorrow and after breakfast wheels will be rolling once again.

Day 41...Oct 25

We were both up early to say our goodbyes to Steph, Justin and Daisy. Brandon wasn't home (sleep over) so we would not see him anymore this trip. Sniff sniff!

Daisy and her folks had to leave early for church so our morning goodbyes were swift but sweet. Or last thoughts as they left the house was "Our Daisy has blossomed...and it is kind of scary." 

By 10:30am we were once again wheels rolling, heading back up to Nicks place in Prattville Alabama. We stopping for lunch and as we entered Prattville we stopped again to explore a county fair being held in one of the city parks. It was a good excuse to get out and stretch our legs.

When we arrived at Nick's both of his cars were there but the house was quiet and seemed empty. We soon realized they were all up stairs napping. So what did we do? Went into the living room, kicked off our shoes and napped ourselves. 

Once they all got up they were quickly off to an event at the church. Kerry and I got some more rest while anticipating their return. It was a great way to end the day watching the kids go to bed and sitting with Nick and Kristin for some quiet chat time.

Day 42...Oct 26

Rain is pouring down outside and that's okay with us. We are feeling lazy and only have two chores to do today. Nick texted me asking if we could pick up some items they needed for supper tonight. We also needed to go and get our oil changed. The engine. Service light came on yesterday warning us that our oil life was down to 15%.

 Since there is no Jiffy Lube in Prattville we decided to go to the Walmart Auto Center (I never realized that Walmart actually had an Auto Center). While waiting on the oil change we got to do the grocery shopping we needed to get done...2 birds down with one stone. 

We got to babysit Karis while Kristin went to meet up with Nick at his work. She would be gone for a few hours, picking up the boys from school on her way home. We had some wonderful granddaughter-Grammy/Grampy time. 

After dinner we sat around the TV watching Dancing With The Stars. Once our bedtime tea was consumed, Kerry and I headed for bed for a much needed sleep...still healing.