Our Road Trip

5:10-We left the house, loaded to the gills with our loot.  We had to load three coolers, since we had two huge pans of lasagna, three flavors of Boulevard (a Kansas City micro-brew,) soda, a big suitcase, a card table, my laptop, and all of the other little things that a long road trip demands.  Not long into the trip, Brett's dad called, saying that he got Brett's report card in the mail.  Yippee.  Let him yell at the boy, I'm done.  I've been riding his butt for the past 5 years about this, and if he wants to get by on D's, let it be.  Peace.  Breath in, Breath out.  (music= Classic Rock 101.1 the Fox)

6:00-We stop in Kearney.  I can't help it that I didn't have time for dinner before we left.  I was hungry!  Mom can tell you that the women in our family don't leave the house without stopping for food.  The drive thru was crazy crowded, so Kevin said, "screw this!" and pulled out of line, parked, and went in for my dinner.  What a man.  I get to sit in the truck with my shoes off, and he goes in for my food. (music=Elton John)

7:20-You know what those big drinks from McDonalds are good for? Yup, I had to stop.  We found a gas station at Eagleville (home of some of mom's side of the family,) and pulled in.  Set up at the side of the road was an Amish lady and her two small daughters, selling hand made baskets.  Their horse was tied across the road, patiently standing there.  (Buddy would have long since broken the rope and bolted! LOL  I kept looking wistfully over there, so Kevin offered to take me over.  They were packing up for the night, but we were able to buy a small basket for Sue, the hostess of the gathering in Chicago. (music=Kenny Chesney)

8:40-Des Moines, IA.  I had no idea that Des Moines was such a big town! After a quick stop to debug the windshield, it was back on the road.  My friends husband stopped by to spy, errr, I mean *check* on Brett for me.  Since he and his dad both have to work tomorrow morning, his dad thought it best if he just picked Brett up after work.  Brett's never been home alone all night before.  Heck, the kid's pushing 17, but he's a teenage boy, so ya gotta worry.  When Greg called, he said thatBrett was home alone, with the door locked.  Good boy, son. After dark, the trip is starting to get boring, so I called my chat buddy, Shack.  He's all checked in at the hotel, and the more we talked about this gathering, the more excited I got.  Found out a chat buddy that wasn't gonna make it showed up as a last-minute surprise guest!  WooooHoooo!  I can't wait to get there.  Bought two IA scratcher tickets, I lost, Kevin won $2...we broke even. (music=Kid Rock)

10:10-I don't need to tell you what we're listening to after this entry, because this entry is about how weird Kevin and I get on a road trip.  We were doing a radio station scan, trying to find something that was in range, and we could both agree on...no small feat. I hit on a classic country station, and we both busted out singing at the top of our lungs, "Friend, don't take 'er she's all I got...."  I have no idea who sings that, but we both knew every word.  Then we found The Yardbirds (David Crosby) and started singing again, "To everything turn, turn, turn..."  All we need, to round out this musical journey, is Meatloaf, singing "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights."  Neither of us can carry a tune to save ourselves, but we're belting them out anyway!

11:30-<Kevin's turn to make an entry>We're in Illinois! About 70 miles to go. Rachel is now driving, I don't usually stay up this late. (music=Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing)<end Kevin's turn>

1:30-We got to the hotel at 12:55, and there was nobody at the desk.  Kevin yelled "hello?" and a maid went to get someone.  This young flunky came to the desk, and fumbled his way through our check-in.  He fought a calculator for a while, hitting the "clear" button several times and starting over, then said, "$71.20 with tax."  That's probably not far off, but I'll bet you $71.20 that it's wrong.  Kevin asked for a receipt, and he said he'd put it under the door later.  We'll check with the manager tomorrow.

Well, time for bed.  It's been a great road-trip, and it's nice to be here in Rochelle, IL...on the other side of the Mississippi River!  Tomorrow's the party, and I can't wait!