Final Trip Blog
I CANNOT believe this is my LAST blog for our cross-country trip!! In a way it's flown by. In other ways it has been SO long!!
As I am typing we are on the New Jersey Turnpike. I NEVER thought I'd be happy to see it - but I'm thrilled! Especially since there is no traffic. It's STILL raining - three days now - but I'm just glad it's not ice or snow (sorry Jessica).
So our decision to leave OK City early and bypass Little Rock and Memphis seems to have been a GREAT plan. We heard that OK City got slammed with snow, Little Rock got slammed with ice, and the weather got bad in Memphis and Nashville after we left there. The weather was relatively good at Dad's and we got there just in time for dinner! I cannot even begin to describe HOW good it was to have a nice, homecooked meal. I slept like a ROCK last night in my old bed. Don kept the boys downstairs with him, so I had a restful night. I woke up feeling ready for the drive home.
We decided to alter our path one more time. Instead of going I-81 north and I-78 east, we decided to get on I-66 in northern VA and then take 95 north/New Jersey Turnpike. What a smart move!!! All of the snow and ice has STAYED to the northwest of our travels for the past 3 days. Other than the bit we hit in OK City, we've avoided all but the rain. We got to northern VA in no time at all and had some dry weather most of the way. We hit I-66 and hit some more dry spots. The closer we got to DC the more it rained. As we traveled the rain got heavier and heavier, but we saw no snow or ice.
In Baltimore we saw a sign that said I-95 north was completely closed at exit 51. We saw the flashing warning lights telling us to listen to the AM info station. We decided to get to 895 and bypass Baltimore. Another smart move. When we got to the Delaware bridge we heard on the radio that all lanes of 95 were closed in that area from a horrific accident with a car fire. By then we'd reached Jersey and breathed a BIG sigh of relief. We are currently about 45 minutes from home. The closer we get - the more excited we're all getting. We already called ahead and made plans for dinner with Don's parents. There is no way we'd want to cook tonight and absolutely NO chance of us getting take-out from somewhere (Other than a NYC pizza). We made really good time on the way home despite the rain and I am SO thankful this journey is ending safely.
Someone asked me to make a list of things that I learned from this trip. I'll try:
1 - NEVER rely solely on your GPS. USE A MAP!
2 - Kids come up with the funniest and sometimes smartest things to say.
3 - You can't expect your kids to eat when you take them to a restaurant that has a train going around on an overhead track.
4 - Ravens are not scary. They are very smart, funny and awesome birds.
5 - The Grand Canyon is a very scary place to take young children.
6 - Always have a backup plan when you are traveling.
7 - National Parks are best when visited in the off-season. No crowds. No traffic. Lots of friendly workers who are thrilled to see you.
8 - Eating out is not a great thing after all. Homecooked meals are always best.
9 - Moab, UT is one of the only other places in the world (other than NYC) that has a great Italian restaurant. REAL Italian.
10 - 4 and 5 star hotels are not necessarily better than 2 and 3 star ones. Some of our favorite hotels were only listed as 3 star but were FAR better than the couple of 4 & 5 star ones we stayed in.
11 - I am not meant to be a wanderer. Living out of a car/suitcase is not fun. I think I really liked the OB philosophy of "everything you need you can carry on your back" after all.
12 - Kids can be true road warriors. They REALLY enjoy the adventure.
13 - Bald eagles are incredible no matter how many times you see them.
14 - 8 hours a day is the most you should try to drive with toddlers.
15 - Just because a hotel says it has an indoor HEATED pool does NOT mean it will be warm to swim in!!
I'm sure I'll come up with more later, but that's a pretty good start.
THANK YOU - for reading my blogs and making comments; for the calls, emails, texts and messages that you have sent along my journey; for pushing me and pulling me across that finish line; for just being the best friends and family in the world. You are all priceless. Love you all. As I end this journey I am more and more thankful for each and every one of you who helped make it even more special. Until the next journey....
As I am typing we are on the New Jersey Turnpike. I NEVER thought I'd be happy to see it - but I'm thrilled! Especially since there is no traffic. It's STILL raining - three days now - but I'm just glad it's not ice or snow (sorry Jessica).
So our decision to leave OK City early and bypass Little Rock and Memphis seems to have been a GREAT plan. We heard that OK City got slammed with snow, Little Rock got slammed with ice, and the weather got bad in Memphis and Nashville after we left there. The weather was relatively good at Dad's and we got there just in time for dinner! I cannot even begin to describe HOW good it was to have a nice, homecooked meal. I slept like a ROCK last night in my old bed. Don kept the boys downstairs with him, so I had a restful night. I woke up feeling ready for the drive home.
We decided to alter our path one more time. Instead of going I-81 north and I-78 east, we decided to get on I-66 in northern VA and then take 95 north/New Jersey Turnpike. What a smart move!!! All of the snow and ice has STAYED to the northwest of our travels for the past 3 days. Other than the bit we hit in OK City, we've avoided all but the rain. We got to northern VA in no time at all and had some dry weather most of the way. We hit I-66 and hit some more dry spots. The closer we got to DC the more it rained. As we traveled the rain got heavier and heavier, but we saw no snow or ice.
In Baltimore we saw a sign that said I-95 north was completely closed at exit 51. We saw the flashing warning lights telling us to listen to the AM info station. We decided to get to 895 and bypass Baltimore. Another smart move. When we got to the Delaware bridge we heard on the radio that all lanes of 95 were closed in that area from a horrific accident with a car fire. By then we'd reached Jersey and breathed a BIG sigh of relief. We are currently about 45 minutes from home. The closer we get - the more excited we're all getting. We already called ahead and made plans for dinner with Don's parents. There is no way we'd want to cook tonight and absolutely NO chance of us getting take-out from somewhere (Other than a NYC pizza). We made really good time on the way home despite the rain and I am SO thankful this journey is ending safely.
Someone asked me to make a list of things that I learned from this trip. I'll try:
1 - NEVER rely solely on your GPS. USE A MAP!
2 - Kids come up with the funniest and sometimes smartest things to say.
3 - You can't expect your kids to eat when you take them to a restaurant that has a train going around on an overhead track.
4 - Ravens are not scary. They are very smart, funny and awesome birds.
5 - The Grand Canyon is a very scary place to take young children.
6 - Always have a backup plan when you are traveling.
7 - National Parks are best when visited in the off-season. No crowds. No traffic. Lots of friendly workers who are thrilled to see you.
8 - Eating out is not a great thing after all. Homecooked meals are always best.
9 - Moab, UT is one of the only other places in the world (other than NYC) that has a great Italian restaurant. REAL Italian.
10 - 4 and 5 star hotels are not necessarily better than 2 and 3 star ones. Some of our favorite hotels were only listed as 3 star but were FAR better than the couple of 4 & 5 star ones we stayed in.
11 - I am not meant to be a wanderer. Living out of a car/suitcase is not fun. I think I really liked the OB philosophy of "everything you need you can carry on your back" after all.
12 - Kids can be true road warriors. They REALLY enjoy the adventure.
13 - Bald eagles are incredible no matter how many times you see them.
14 - 8 hours a day is the most you should try to drive with toddlers.
15 - Just because a hotel says it has an indoor HEATED pool does NOT mean it will be warm to swim in!!
I'm sure I'll come up with more later, but that's a pretty good start.
THANK YOU - for reading my blogs and making comments; for the calls, emails, texts and messages that you have sent along my journey; for pushing me and pulling me across that finish line; for just being the best friends and family in the world. You are all priceless. Love you all. As I end this journey I am more and more thankful for each and every one of you who helped make it even more special. Until the next journey....
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