Road Trip, Day Ten

One of our primary motivations for taking a 3,000+ mile-long trip was to see Tom’s only living grandmother, “Bubbie,” who lives in Staten Island, NY. Between an infection and a GI bleed, circumstances worked against us, and we were unable to see her or have her meet the baby. It was frustrating for us, and we hope she will be able to see us in August when we visit again.

Another unexpected change in our trip was the fact that Tom’ dad and stepmom came up to Staten Island from West Virginia at the same time we were planning to drive back to see them. We decided to meet them for breakfast in New York (thank you, Zayda and Nana Jani), and then we altered our route to drive into Roanoke, VA for the night.

We love a good deal, and we had some winners with hotels from hotwire.com, but Roanoke was coming up with prices we weren’t willing to pay. I decided to try priceline.com. I bid $40.00 and my bid was accepted at a Quality Inn.

After some confusion over the room (lesson learned: always be VERY specific when you check in about exactly which kind of room you want!!), we landed in a nice, warm, king bed, nonsmoking room. (Long story short: our first room was freezing, had obviously been smoked in or possibly used as an in-room campsite complete with bonfire, and was enormous, including two full bathrooms and a sleeper sofa, in addition to the regular king-sized bed. They called it the “family room” when we inquired at the desk. Yes, it would have worked perfectly for a family of 8-10 who all liked to light up in bed!!)

Our next destination is North Carolina. I’m really starting to miss my apartment…and my new house! Oh well, it’s a vacation, right?!? (Tell that to my toddler!)

Road Trip Days Seven to Nine

We took a much-needed rest from driving in New Jersey with Christy’s family. Christy was raised without a TV, and her family still enjoys “Amish” forms of entertainment, such as board games, hiking, and sitting around (gasp!) reading books. Mema (grandma Wendy) pulled out all the old toddler toys for Jocelyn, and Papa (grandpa Bill) gave her foot-rides. By the end of our stay, she was saying, “Mema Papa house” repeatedly. I know she enjoyed all the attention from aunts Megan and Susan and uncle Steve. We also met Megan’s boyfriend, Peter, an old friend of the family from grade school.

Jocelyn was also fascinated with the snow, which had been on the ground a few days and was turning gray. She said, “ice, ice!” I told her, “yucky ice,” trying to explain that this is not the type of ice you eat. From that moment on, every time she saw snow, she said, “Yucky ice! Yucky ice!”

I cooked dinner one night, and the garlic we used was so strong, it gave the whole fridge a new scent (bleh!!). We also visited the Liberty Science Center in NJ, right across the river from NYC and just around the corner from thre Statue of Liberty. Jocelyn’s favorite part of the museum was a kids’ room with plastic balls and the lock on the stall in the ladies’ room. It’s a good thing she had free admission!

Our time in New Jersey passed all too soon…but we’ll be back with Christy’s family soon when her brother from New Zealand visits in August.

Road Trip Day Six

We spent Day 6 of our road trip resting at my (Christy’s) parents’ house in New Jersey. The entire area is covered in snow and ice, and it’s a little surreal compared to the 70 degree temps Texas is having right now. (Why does Christmas have to fall during the winter? *brrr*)

In the evening, my maid of honor, Sue, came over and we talked for a good hour and then hit a favorite old diner in the area. New Jersey diners are a reliable standby if you want ANYTHING, from waffles to gyros to taylor ham (a weird hybrid of Canadian bacon and ham) to disco fries (thick-cut french fries with mozzerella, gravy, bacon, and whatever else the cook decides to throw in!). A “diner” in any other state would be suspect at best, a greasy spoon at worst, but the diners in Jersey are clean, respectable, and very tasty. You can order dinner, or you can just linger for 4 hours over the same cup of bottomless coffee (most diners are open at least till 3 am, if not 24/7). I have many fond memories from the various diners I have visited in the past.

Road Trip, Day Five

After a quick visit with Tom’s dad and stepmom, we left West Virginia for New Jersey. The car looked like a white mess after we drove through the Cumberland Gap area, where they salt the roads heavily to prevent ice formation.

Other than a few traffic snags (one due to an accident on the side of the road in Maryland, one due to plain old New Jersey overcrowded highways), we made great time and arrived at my parents’ home in NJ around 5:30. They have a steep driveway that slopes downward, and Tom rode the brake all the way to the bottom. I’m glad we didn’t punch a hole in the garage…there was some serious ice left over from a big snow storm last Friday.

After dinner, the whole family gathered for the traditional game of Catan. We broke out the Seafarers expansion, and everyone learned a new strategy or two. As usual, everyone went to bed wayyy too late…welcome home, everyone!

Road Trip, Day Four

We spent the fourth day of our road trip driving from KNoxville, TN to Morgantown, WV, where Tom’s dad and stepmom live. It was great to have a warm meal, a free bed, and lots of love for Jocelyn! It makes me want to be a grandparent when I watch the faces of the grands in Tom’s family.

Although we don’t use our heter much in Texas, you would definitely need it in West Virginia. The temperature fell to a frigid 4 degrees overnight…brr. As I have said before, Texas has turned me into a giant wimp. Any temp below 55 is chilly to me. ; p

Road Trip Day Three

We spent the third day of our trip seeing friends (Tom’s best man and his wife) in Knoxville. The four of us, plus two little ones. headed out to the mall to A) ride the Christmas train and B) play in the super-cool play area there. Jocelyn and I were both pretty exhausted, and I think it showed. ; p

Thankfully, we were able to return to our hotel for a 3-hour nap break, and by the time we saw our friends for dinner, we were feeling revived and pleasant. Valerie cooked a wonderful dinner, and the four adults played Catan while the kids miraculuosly behaved. No end to small mercies!

Road Trip Day Two: Knoxville, TN

Our second day on the road was a mixed bag. The driving was very smooth, Jocelyn was wonderful, and we only encountered a little rain right at the end of the drive. We spent dinner time with friends and then attempted to attend a Christmas party/home group with those same friends. (Not recommended with a cranky, hyper toddler!!)

We had some hotel points racked up from the time we spent evacuating from Hurricane Ike, so we got a free night at Comfort Inn and Suites West in Knoxville, TN. I mentioned to the the lady at the desk that we would love to stay another night, but it was just not in our price range. She took my paper, wrote a figure $30.00 less than retail, and said, “How would this rate be for you?”

I almost cried. I’m so happy we don’t have to stay in two hotels in the same city!

To add to the wonderfulness of it all, the room was completely dark and soundproof, and everybody slept like a rock. : ) The breakfast buffet was also a thing of beauty to a famished pregnant lady!!

God is so faithful.

Road Trip Night One

We spent the first night of our road trip in Meridian, Mississippi. Let’s just say the hotel left something to be desired. At one point I had a dream that I was in labor and woke up woth a horrible backache. (Not in labor, thankfully!) Later, one of our illustrious neighbors left his dog in his hotel room (right across the hall), and the poor thing cried and cried for an hour. Then aforementioned neighbor returned to the room and started singing to the dog (yes, I said singing) in a drunken voice…”It’s time to get on the road again…” or something like that! By 6:20 a.m., I was ready to just get up and start my day. *sigh* I’m sure I’ll find humor in this situation…later. Right now I just wish I was still in bed. ; P

Full Plate Blues

We have been soooo busy of late! Here are the predominant items on my upcoming calendar:

1. Closing on our first home December 17th
2. Leaving the next day, December 18th, on a 3-week road trip to visit EVERYBODY!! (Yes, we are certifiably nuts.)
3. Returning on January 4th to finish painting, packing, and other general insanity
4. Attempting to move up our move-out date (we were going to wait until January 31st, but now it appears that we may be able to move sooner with no penalty…apparently somebody really wants our apartment!)
5. Incubating baby #2 (starting to feel a little better…thanks everyone for your prayers and kind concern)
6. Collapsing in a tired heap when it’s all over!

As the old song says, “If we make it through December, we’ll be all right…”