Lessons Learned on the Road

Lessons Learned on the Road:

Always get in front of the storm

There is always road construction in Wisconsin

Rush hour in Atlanta is all day

Free breakfast and happy hour make the Embassy Suites the best bang for the buck

In Alabama, you can buy a single can of beer while gassing up your car

The wretched smell of St. Louis is beer, not urine

There are A LOT of Adult Superstores on the interstate

Beware when feeding a toddler, small teeth can and do break skin

If you blow hard enough, you can get a raisin out of your nose

Relieving one's self in the car is easier said than done

The last 90 miles is more difficult than the first 900 miles

Family road trips are GRRRRRREAT!

Midwest

April 3 - Awoke in the suburbs of St. Louis and headed for the Gateway Arch. Tickets were sold out until noon so we were unable to take the Journey to the Top tour as Minneapolis was a good 10 hours away.  Have been on the road for a total of 3, 868 miles and 73 hours.  Time has its way of passing.  Joel's aunt once told me, the days are long but the weeks are quick.  I tend to reflect on this statement a lot, especially during the past 12 days.  Yes, there were times that the road seemed to go on forever, without a hotel bed in sight. But how quickly time does pass.  It is hard to believe that March 22nd at 4:04pm we left for our family road trip.  There are have been some tears, and stressful moments. But mostly big smiles, hugs and memories that will forever stay with us.

Sweet Home Alabama

April 2 - After making our way through Florida and part of Georgia, we headed Northwest to Montgomery Alabama where we spent the night.  Woke up to the surprising delight of the deep South and continued warm weather. Made our way to the first White House of the Confederacy where Jefferson Davis resided and was greeted with a "man there are more Yankees that come through here..."  After a brief pitstop we took a tour of the Civil Rights Memorial where we were reminded of the troubles and strifes of black Americans.  Signed our names to the wall of tolerance pledging our commitment to stand up against social injustices and were back on the road.  Drove through part of Mississippi and landed in Memphis Tennessee where we took a brief tour of Graceland.  Stopped at the Lorraine Motel where we viewed the balcony of room #306 where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot.  Jumped back on the road for St. Louis.  What a day!

Heading Home

April 1 - wish it was an April Fools joke, but no such luck.  We are headed home today.
Enjoyed one last breakfast at the Embassy Suites before piling everything and everyone into the car.  We made a pit stop to see Bryan's new apartment and say our final good byes.  He has chosen to stay down in Delray for awhile where he will begin looking for a job and set up home indefinitely.  After many hugs and a few tears we drove away from Delray with the sun to our back.

Florida is a large state.  We have now been in the car for nearly 10 hours and are in Tallahassee headed for Montgomery, Alabama where we will spend the night.  It feels bad to say we are cold in the 70 degree air, but 10 days of 90+ degrees will do that to a person.  Joel and grandma are excited to be able to list to the Twins game on the radio during our drive.  The one good thing about baseball season is it seems to mark the start of warmer Minnesota weather.