Sorry it has taken me so long to write again. I’ve been really busy and finding time to sit and write, and wait for pictures to load, has been near impossible.
We had a very successful trip overall, given all the things stacked against us, like two ten hour car rides in a weekend. We left around 8:30 on Friday morning, and stopped several times. My last post is whiny about the kids, but in fact I was the real problem, having to pee every half hour. This is no joke, no exaggeration. It was awful and stressful for me, because parts of 84 and 81 are quite barren. However, we managed, and there was only one moment when I had the cup ready in the back. Sorry if this is too vulgar, but there is no messing around in that sort of situation!
Phare slept a total of forty minutes the entire trip there. She only really fell apart the last ten minutes, as we approached the hotel. Wayne and Sue were there to greet us with new puppy Charlie, and seeing them was so refreshing that the day’s events seemed to melt away for me. We checked in, only to find out we had a full bed and a pull out sofa. Major bummer. Toby decided to take the floor. Still, the hotel was perfect for kids, equipped with a very nice indoor pool, ping pong table, and mini golf course, all inside one big play area with fake palms and everything! Noah was all set.
We headed to Gail’s house for take-out, and it was wonderful to finally see her. She looks great, she’s peppy, smart, and gets around just fine. I don’t know what I expected for someone who just turned ninety but not that! Being able to spend time with her was really enjoyable, and I felt so honored by how interested she was in us and really treasured my conversations with her.
On Saturday we hung out in town, drove by the house Wayne grew up in, went to an indoor market, ate crabcakes, bought candy, and just generally enjoyed ourselves. I miraculously took a nap in the afternoon while Phare slept in the playpen in Gail’s spare bedroom–I think that’s the first nap I’ve had in months! On Saturday night Wayne and Sue took everyone out for a birthday dinner for Gail, at a restaurant called the “Blue Moon Cafe”. Delicious! Thank goodness for Grammie Sue and Nancy, Wayne’s cousin. Phare adored them both and they took many turns keeping her occupied and entertained, including watching the Kentucky Derby playing on the TV at the bar. Luckily dinner was at 5pm so we generally had the run of the place. The evening was great, and afterwards we went back to Gail’s to hang out and enjoy our last moments together.
The worst part of the weekend was Sunday morning. We managed to get a new room Saturday night with a King bed and pull out, yippee!! What we didn’t know was that someone left the alarm clock on. This clock was set for 5am, the volume turned up all the way, and set to a rap/hiphop station. Needless to say, we were all up at 5am, with Phare crying in fear. I couldn’t find the snooze or off button, so it seemed to play for several hours before I found the volume button. We were all, of course, sleeping so well. It was the first morning in a long time that I haven’t woken on my own at an ungodly hour, just because I’m not a good sleeper. Figures.
It turned out to be a blessing because we left earlier and got home earlier. Phare and Noah had a great trip back, and I only cried once, mostly due to fatigue, but also a little bit of the predicted “can’t- stand- your spouse- on- long- trips” syndrome. Overall a great success and I’m so happy we went and so happy we were able to spend so much time with Gail, and Wayne and Sue.
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