Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Our first official cross country family road trip.  I'm grateful for all of the memories we will share always.  It was good.  Good times.  Good memories.  All Good.

  Itineraries, cruise directors (Coach) and mostly favorable weather conditions. We were on the road only an hour later than planned.  It was still dark out, but the skies were bright with brilliant bolts of lightning.  As we drove south, it started to pour.  The Loop was shrouded in fog and looked surreal, like the setting of a sci fi movie.  The rain stopped in Illinois, and then somewhere in Indiana the sun started to peak through the picturesque cloud cover. 

The seamless journey.  T. Bone and Miss Bit strapped themselves in, turned on their overhead lights and started to tackle a week's worth of homework despite the fact that it was only 6 o'clock a.m. on a Saturday.  They took frequent breaks to eat good food like McD's (breakfast and lunch for one of us), to take part in roadside scavenger hunts every one of which Coach won, to sing along to The Beatles (his request) or Jack Johnson (her choice), and to watch movies like Twister while we drove through the stormy heartland.  Don't worry we shelved Jaws and waited to watch A Perfect Storm until we drove home.  There was no fighting.  There were lots of games and also plenty of discussion.  I loved the road trip.  I enjoyed the experience far more then flying.  Of course, I only did a fraction of the driving although I did volunteer repeatedly.  The cost was only marginally different with the price of gas and my desire to stay in reputable, bed bug free hotels along the way, but we saw so much and learned more.   

Seeing part of the great US of A.  Eventually the flat, muted farmland of Indiana gave way to the lush green rolling hills of Kentucky.

We started passing white picketed horse farms instead of wind farms...it was a welcome change.

We managed to arrive at Mammoth Cave (not too far from Louisville) an hour before our scheduled tour.  That was 550 miles in less than 8 hours with numerous quick stops.  We all enjoyed learning about the 392 miles of mapped cave as we traveled by foot along a mere 2+ miles of it.  At one point, the ranger turned out the lights and we now have a new understanding of pitch black .  It's so dark in the hallows of the cave that the animals who reside there have evolved without eyes or pigment. These tidbits of information proved there is much to learn outside of the traditional school room and made us feel a little less guilty about taking the kids out of school for the trip.  I value education tremendously, but I think real life experiences trump book learning every time.

 

We explored narrow labyrinths by twisting and turning, ducking and diving.

We marveled at the centuries old stalagmites and stalactites ever careful not to touch them knowing that would halt their amazing formation.

Devices. After spending the night in Nashville, we were on the road Sunday morning eager to get to Florida's gulf coast.  Coach turned on the van, which I now lovingly know to be a true family room on wheels, and the first song on the radio was Only The Good Die Young.  That Billy Joel tune reminded me of my Mom even before she died young and they're good memories, so it was a happy sign.  While the rest of my family plugged in the dvd, I pad or I touch, I relived my youth thanks to the good, old air waves.  I sang along to Lover Boy, Prince, Madonna, Foreigner and Jackson Brown.  Going back in time proved to be a great time passer.

 

 

Religion (wherever you find it.)  We also learned about the Bible belt as we drove through southern Tennessee.  Roadside signs preaching salvation were everywhere.  Hell is Hot, Heaven is not Here, Well, You Did Ask For a Sign, God Answers Knee Mail, Life is Short...Eternity Isn't, Let's Meet at My House Sunday Before the Game and Stop, Drop and Roll Does Not Work in Hell were among my favorites.

Alabama left us feeling like we were really in the deep south.  Most everything was rundown and for sale.  Instead of rampant signs of salvation, the roadside was dotted with for sale signs and campaign signs.  The state looked so depressed, and I left with the feeling that these people have had enough of this stagnant economy.  There were lots of trailers, flea markets and boiled peanuts for sale.

Trying new things.  T. Bone and I had our first ever Sonic experience and we were not fast fans.  Coach and Miss Bit settled on tacos, and for her it was like the second coming.  The first is chicken nuggets from pretty much anywhere, which by the way she ate for pretty much every meal out while on vacation except for breakfast.  She's going to publish a guide to nugget eating so stay tuned if you are headed that way.  That Bit is a cheap date and she's easy to please.

Grandparent greeters.  We arrived in Panama City Beach coincidentally just as Grandpa was crossing the parking lot so he helped us unload and steered one of the carts to our home on the 19th floor.

Grandma welcomed us onto the balcony where the very first thing we noticed  was the breathtaking view of the sun setting.  We are all grateful that they invited us to enjoy their condo with them.

Miss Bit changed into her suit straight away and kept one eye on the ocean while we unpacked reminding anyone who would listen, "I've been very patient!"

The beach was clearing for the day, but that didn't stop us from heading down to swim in the gloaming and toast being together in such a beautiful place after a safe, long drive.

Beauty to behold all around us.  We were up bright and early our first morning: before 7:00, but after sunrise, and all the mornings to follow.  Miss Bit was on ocean patrol straight away.  She spotted two dolphins just off the shore playing in the surf.  That was cause for excitement all around, but by the end of our stay it was no longer novel simply because we were lucky to see so many dolphins every day.

Coach and I headed out for an early morning walk on the beach.  These daily walks to one pier or another were the highlight of my vacation.  I felt energized waking up to the sounds and sights of the sea.  And early, there are other walkers, but mostly dolphin, rays, sandpipers, gulls, pelicans, egrets and crabs.  All of these creatures delight Miss Bit.  She loves to catch them if she can or even just observe them from a afar.  She is completely in her element, and we all whisper of what might become of this intersection of animal love and ocean envy in her future.  This was especially true after she saved the baby swordfish a seagull deposited on the pool deck.  She hopped out of the pool in a flash, picked up the little fish lickety split and ran willy nilly to the gulf to set him free.  She's still talking about it. It was also true after she begged to crab every night after dark.  Truth be told, they creep me out, but she picked them up, let them crawl all over her, talked to them ever so sweetly and then kissed them goodbye.  I sometimes wonder whether we are really related.  T. Bone had a lot of fun tossing the football or riding the boogie board on the wavier days, but he had to keep moving and tired of the sea and sun long before his fish of a sister.  He's my mountain lover especially with his snowboard beneath his feet. 

New adventures.  The kids both agreed that para sailing was big high fun.  Once on land, T. Bone tried to subdue his smile as he offerred a single word, "Awesome!!"  Miss Bit asked with complete seriousness, "When can I do that again?"  They went in tandem and had quite the ride: 10 minutes and 3 dips long.  The bonus was a ride to and fro on the banana boat.  Coach and I were patting ourselves on the back for money well spent.  We were pleased that she took a risk we weren't sure she'd feel ready for and also that it was enough of a thrill to give him an adrenalin rush.  On the last day, we realized that the five foot fish swimming back and forth about five feet from T. Bone was a shark.  T. Bone wasn't about to interrupt his football game for any fish shark or not.  Swimming with sharks wasn't on our vacation agenda.  I was just glad we were about to head to the pool and then head home.

Peace, love and understanding. I was happy that the kids got along so well and proud of the many compliments we received on their behavior.  It didn't much matter that we forgot to bring any games.  They made up their own like racing in the halls from floor to floor, or they joined in for junk food bingo at the pool. Mid-stay they traded bunks without complaint.  She crawled in the top and he snuggled in the bottom.

Everything.  So the days all held the same wonderful components: walks on the beach, swims in the ocean and then the pool, dips in the hot tub, family time, playing, shelling, crabbing and catching geckos, dinners out with the beach as a back drop, fresh mahi mahi, tuna, shrimp, crab, and grouper (or burgers and chicken nuggets for the kids), happy hour toasting the sunset on the beach, patio or the deck of a boat, early to bed, early to rise.  It was good.

Travel.  Truthfully, what I'm most grateful for is sharing this experience with my children.  Time together to travel and see the world is so precious.  It's worth the premium.  It reminds me of why we work hard and justifies sacrifices.  Seeing something new through the eyes of those most precious to me, brings me satisfaction and joy beyond measure. 

Pictures.  I take lots of pictures, but I don't consider myself a photographer.  Some of my favorites probably perplex other people, but if I get one good photo a day, I consider my time spent a success.  I'm thankful for all of these...

I took many pictures of gulls just hoping to get one like this.

I haven't been in Ron Jon's since I was T. Bone's age.  No we did not buy these "ja man" get-ups, but we should have.

Wearable geckos.

"hermies"

No macho ride on the banana boat.

T. Bone wearing Coach's glasses and Miss Bit in mine.

One big ray combing the shore.  There were many.

1.5 miles to Pier 54.

Margaritas mid-day

Sandpiper sandpiper running in the sand.

A hat call...

To the beach.

Another beautiful day.

I cannot tire of this view.

A lone pelican mid flight...prehistoric and regal at once.

Hang loose!

Crane on Shell Island.

Sibs sharing a seat.

T. Bone is first to catch a gecko and takes first in the conch blowing contest too.

Miss Bit sporting her aqua, purple and neon green hair wrap.  Grandma's is the Irish flag and mine is predictably pink.

Shade from the sun.

Going home.  The length of our trip was perfect.  We didn't overstay our welcome or give T. Bone ample opportunity to be bored.  We were a little less eager and excited on the way home.  That's just the name of the game.  

We left on my Mom's heaven day, which proved to be a blessing for me.  Cross country driving is like meditating.  I did much communing and cleansing.  The cathartic end of the day was at a little family owned pizza joint where we honored our family Friday pizza night tradition as well as Nanny by ordering a pie with extra cheese.  We toasted my Mom with Miller Lites and root beers, and it somehow felt just right.  Just right means that I could feel her smiling down on us.

We made record time from Nashville to Illinois (yes I was finally driving), and then we sat in traffic for an hour in Chicago.  @#!!

 last stop for burgers and shakes somewhere in Indiana and still smiling. 

We made it home at 6:30 and were seated in front of our neighbor's t.v. to cheer on the Badgers by 7:00 game time.  

Team Wags was savoring a winning vacation...sadly our Badgers lost.