Road Trip

It has been almost a month since I last wrote on my blog, but it has been a busy month. I lost my job and Beth got married. Marco's parents surprised us and flew in from Germany. It was a wonderful surprise to get to know his parents. Beth got married, all the guests went back to their lives, and Carissa and I hit the road to Illinois.



I was a little apprehensive bringing Carissa this far, but she turned out to be an awesome traveler. We left Wednesday morning at about 6:30 am for our road trip. Our first stop was the other side of Houston for breakfast. We actually only made 4 stops during our first twelve hour day. The time passed quicker than I would have thought. I taught Carissa the red truck game that Alex taught me. This game took us through all the Dallas traffic and into Oklahoma. Carissa, Simba, and Grammy all picked a truck color to spot. (Actually Carissa picked a color for Grammy, Simba, and Carissa.) The first person/stuffed animal to get ten of their color won. Needless to say, that Carissa and Simba beat Grammy every time, but it was an enjoyable way to kill and hour and half.



I figured that once I got out of Texas, it would be cool enough for Shasta to stay in the car while Carissa and ate. Boy was I wrong! We stopped at a Denny's for lunch in Oklahoma, and it was 104. We left the truck running for Shast while we ate. Carissa wanted to work the crane and try to win a stuffed animal. She won a stuffed red bear, we named Red, on her first quarter.



About 3:00 or so, Carissa asked how Pawpaw beat us to Illinois. I told her he had flown in an airplane. She said, "Well, Grammy, why didn't we fly?" I decided it was time to take a Target or Walmart break to get her a new Leapster game. We made a stop and got "Pet Pals". I figured I should start looking for a motel for the night and give her a break. She put that game in, and I could probably have driven all night for all she cared. I drove until 6:30, and I had to stop! We swam, ordered pizza, and I watched a little tv. Carissa continued to play the game. At 9:00 I turned off the tv, Carissa continued to play the game....

To be continued...
LATER