Today we headed out for the long, looonnnggg, loooonnnnnnnnggggggg drive home. It's always the moment when you really question your sanity about taking a trip so far away.
The week has been a great get-a-away. We have covered many miles, traveled through nine states up to this point, and have done some "big" vacation things.
There have also been a few smaller moments along the way that I want to be able to remember and laugh at years from now. We'll call them "mini-moments".
Here are 10 that come to mind:
1) One of the best things about big vacations is having the boys learn about various parts of the country. For example, our youngest thought all the waiters and waitresses in Tennessee had to talk in a southern drawl type of accent for their jobs. He was shocked to realize that was their normal way of speaking.
2) Throwback music. My husband raided our CD collection to stock the car with music for the trip. A better idea might have been to hand the 12 year old an iTunes card and had him load up the iTunes account. Instead, we were serenaded with Rich Mullins, Ray Boltz, Wayne Watson, Michael W. Smith (from 1990) and Fernando Ortega for miles and miles. I'm not sure we've purchased a CD in over 10 years.
3) Florida stoplights - The longest we have ever experienced. No need to text and drive in Florida. You have plenty of time to keep the conversations going at every.single.light.
4) RaceTrac Gas Stations - We really need these where we live. Ten flavors of soft serve ice cream and a toppings bar like we've never seen. Weird to have in a gas station, but we managed to look past that. Yummmm.
5) Always, always, always check the reviews of hotels before you book. This one we actually didn't learn the hard way...sort of. We booked a resort a long time before vacation. Four days before we left, I ended up reading some recent reviews. Elevators broken, restaurant closed, swimming pool dirty, terrible service...there was not one positive review in the last three months. We canceled, scrambled, and found a new one. A little more money, but we were so thankful we switched.
Except for...
6) Florida water. Gross. The water at our hotel smelled terrible. At first I thought it was just at our location. However, at a restaurant they brought us water that tasted just like our water smelled. No thanks.
7) Funniest Car Comment from the youngest son: "That's what boys do, mom, they go crazy over stupid stuff. No wait...that's what girls do." I'm not sure whether to laugh or be offended.
8) ALWAYS check to make sure there is toilet paper in the stall before using the restroom. Being the only female in the family makes it difficult to call in backup to come in and hand you some. This may or may not have happened to me today.
9) There are scary gas stations that need to be avoided in Montgomery, Alabama. My husband took the boys in to use the restroom, and by the time he had them inside, he was panicking that he left me alone outside. It takes a lot to panic my husband. We got out of there in record time.
10) Toll Roads - Guaranteed to cut your vacation budget in half. Florida definitely has figured out how to fund their roads.
Speaking of toll roads...I have a question. What does one do when the GPS takes you on an unexpected route and you happen to be on a toll road you weren't planning on, and you happen to exit on one of those "Exact Coins Only" toll booths? No change. No toll booth worker. No options. No warning. No nothing. What are you supposed to do?? Hypothetically speaking...of course.
The week is coming to an end. We have one more day of driving, and I am hoping for smooth and boring. After today's traffic issues and monster rain storms, we do not need any more memories to be made.
I would much rather just click my red shoes together and say the magic words...
There's no place like home.
No comments:
Post a Comment