Day 19 - June 18, 2011

Day 19

June 18, 2011

 The ride between Kansas City and Wichita was spectacular!  Seriously breathtaking.  It was nothing but the interstate and miles and miles of rolling hills and open space, for a far as the eye could see.  Lush & peaceful.

      Rich met us at the Oklahoma City Marriott, which seemed like a really nice hotel.  Alas, it was not meant to be - no connecting rooms - so we ended up at the Courtyard, which was fine.

     We were all so excited to see daddy.  We spent a little time by the pool, but man was it hot.  Thermometer in the car read 112 degrees!!!  A dry heat, but still hot.

     For dinner, we drove over to Hefner Lake, which was beautiful.  There were a couple of restaurants on the lake and live bands playing.  Who would have thunk - in Oklahoma City?  We ate at the Hefner Grill and dinner was amazing.  After dinner, we walked along the lake.  It was so windy (but still hot!) that there were white caps in the (man-made) lake!  There was also a lighthouse on the lake and it was so pretty, with the sun setting behind it.

Kansas City - Oklahoma City    

336 Miles/ 4 1/2 hours

Oklahoma City Courtyard Marriott

Day 18 - June 17, 2011

Day 18

June 17, 2011

Okay…we are in Kansas City (really Overland Park).  LONG freaking DAY! Left St. Louis at 8:15…by 9:15, I was on the side of Interstate 70…it was almost Pitch Dark…swear to God.  Phone DOA…Semis and buses pulling over….truly didn’t know what to do.  I used Onstar…to find out if there were tornadoes in the area, since I had no access to weather via phone or Rich. (Don’t know why I didn’t turn on the radio…blonde moment).  All they could tell me was that the Missouri River was flooding…I said I was nowhere near the river…they called Rich…then I asked the bus driver…he told me to keep driving…if I see a tornado…drive the other way…okay…I’ve seen videos of cars flying…but whatever dude. So I kept driving…trying to stay calm for the kids. Black, black, black & then the rain started….sheets…om...g, SoFL has nothing on the Midwest storms…in the middle of this…my phone rings…Lisa…she had a “feeling” something was up…I always suspected she was a “witch”, with her feelings...and the only person in the universe that was able to reach me from 8-10!

Anyway, we made it safe…eventually…to the Kansas Speedway.  Hunter was in heaven.  Then we went to the hotel. For all you who say I am the best mom ever…I’m faltering…tired.  If another bottle of lotion, shampoo, gel, conditioner, or whatever explodes in my ziplocks, I’m gonna lose it.  Barrett and his “Rubba dubbers” have us all banging our heads…and Cammy has the stinkiest feet I’ve ever smelled, since I lived with my dad and brother.  I haven’t exercised in weeks and I’m sick of road food. I’d say “Calgon take me away…but the tub doesn’t look all that clean.  Tonight…I’m gonna have that 2nd glass of wine…order room service and dial up a movie.  Stick a fork in us.

On the upside…we get to see daddy tomorrow…yeah!!!!

St. Louis – Kansas City, KS

240 miles/4 hours, 30 minutes Day 18

Hotel: Overland Park Marriott, Rm 205

Day 17 - June 16, 2011

Day 17

June 16, 2011 

                 We arrived at the hotel around 12:30.  We were able to check-in early and then we hit the streets...running:)!  Lots to do.

                First stop was the Gateway Arch, which was very cool to see in person.  We went to the "underground" museum on Westward Expansion - very interesting.  I wish I'd had more time to spend at the museum. There was a chronological, year-by-year, exhibit for the historical events of the 1800's.  Unfortunately, there was a very long line to ride to the top of the arch, so we skipped it.

                We walked over to the "Old Court House", which every city seems to have.  Then we journeyed over to Bush Stadium, where the Bo Sox won the World Series in 2004!

                Our next stop was the Budweiser Brewery for a tour.  At the beginning of the tour they announced that adults would get taste some beer at the end of the tour.  This led to two funny quotes:

          1) Camden:  "Mom, I'm going to steal your beer, because I love beer!"

          2)  Hunter, after I tried to get a picture of the four of them:  "Come on mom,                      

                 hurry, you know you need that beer."

                After spending some time exploring Forest Park, we were all hot, tired & hungry.  We headed back to the hotel to freshen up.  The hotel is part of the old Union Train Station, that was built in the 1890's.  It was very grand and very cool.  The terminal of the station is now a mall and the hotel is built over the space where the tracks once were.  Behind the hotel was a man-made pound, surrounded by restaurants.  The kids really wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe.  When we got out to the terrace leading to the pond area, it was such a pleasant surprise.  It was a huge atrium with paddle boats and a live band playing on a floating dock.  It was so much fun!  Perfect ambiance...food and service, not so much.  Early to bed, to get ready for Kansas City.

Memphis - St. Louis   290 miles/4 hours

Marriott Union Station on Market Street, Room 2322

Day 16 - June 15, 2011

Day 16

June 15, 2011

We took our time in the morning, since we had a short drive to Memphis.  We ate breakfast at the Whole Foods Market and stocked up on snacks.  Two hours later, we arrived in Memphis, after crossing the Mississippi for the second time of our road trip.

I'd booked a Marriott hotel downtown, but once I got there, I kept driving...it looked scary.  Actually, all of downtown did.

We ended up at the Airport Courtyard, which had been slammed on Trip Advisor.  They were on the money.  The woman who checked me in was the worst!  The hotel was surrounded by an electric security fence & was in serious need of renovations.  But whatever, we were going to Graceland:)!

I loved Graceland.  I've read so many books and seen so many Elvis movies, I was in heaven.  For all the warnings that it’s "small", I thought it was pretty cool (especially when you consider the time period in which the house was built and inhabited).  The kids were great and Hunter & Audrey loved it!  The headphones for the audio tour helped.  They all got rewarded with ice-cream at the Elvis ice-cream shop:)!

Our hotel was in an unsafe area - very few dinner options.  I ended up driving 20 miles to a commercial/retail area.  We had a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday.  The kids made me keep telling them stories about when they were babies.  It was fun, until I ran out of stories:)!

Little Rock - Memphis, TN

157 miles/2 hours, 50 minutes***

Memphis Airport Courtyard by Marriott

Day 15 - June 14, 2011

Day 15

June 14, 2011

We all woke up in better moods...much calmer.  I promised myself it would be a better day & it was!

Very nice drive to Little Rock.  The Arkansas country side is beautiful!  Lush, green, peaceful!

Little Rock is beautiful...I was impressed.  Very clean & looked like fun!  The downtown area would be perfect for Rich & me...lots of restaurants and bars.

The Clinton Library is right downtown, next to the river.  Modern architecture & kind of small (compared to what I remember about the Kennedy Library).  It was interesting, but definitely a "swayed" version of (modern) history!

The Oval Office & Cabinet Room were cool.  They also had an Elvis Photo exhibit...great prep for Memphis!

After the library we drove to the "Old State House" (all these Southern cities seem to have them) and the Modern State Capitol.  The temperature topped out at 100 degrees...so we headed to the hotel.

The hotel, the Best Western Governors Suites, was so charming!  Very pretty, very clean.  The room was great, too.  A double, with a living room and a mini kitchen.  Perfect.

We hung by the pool, which was awesome and empty, except for us.  Then we went to dinner at Lone Star.  The kids loved it and cleaned their plates, plus...they ate for free!  How cool is that?

Vicksburg, MS - Little Rock, AK

221 miles/3 hours, 30 minutes

Best Western Governors Suites, Rm 213

Day 14 - June 13, 2011

Day 14

June 13, 2011

Okay - today's journal entry is heavily edited!  Apparently this was a BAD day - I was all spit & vinegar in the hand written journal.  Wowza!  So the following is just an evidence based, factual version of the day’s events - all emotion taken out of it!

We left Mobile rather early, because we had lots scheduled for Vicksburg & I wanted to have enough time.  We stopped at Krispy Kreme & then drove, mostly back roads to Jackson, Mississippi...then an interstate to Vicksburg.  About 10 miles east of Vicksburg, we came upon the immediate aftermath of a horrible accident.  It was terrible.  There were many cars involved - a huge fire...the smell was awful.  Another 5 minutes and we would have been stuck...gave me a little bit of perspective.

Vicksburg was under water 4 weeks before our visit...seriously under water, from the Mississippi River overflowing...so I was nervous as to what we'd see.  The water had eroded and things really didn't look too bad.  However, we were pretty much the only people in town!  (a blessing to be sure).

Our first stop was a "historical Antebellum Mansion"...their claim to fame was that Jefferson Davis's daughter lived there at some point.  Rip off.  Two minute, self-guided tour, for $20.

Then we drove "downtown".  We couldn't see the Mississippi, because the flood wall was so high - so it was sobering to think the water had exceeded it.   The Old Train Depot,  which had been photographed many times in the preceding weeks, with at least 7 feet of water engulfing it - appeared bone dry.  Amazing.  They had workers and trucks surrounding it...with the big Obama sign out front - "America's Recovery & Reinvestment Act"...interesting!  4 weeks!

Next stop was the old Vicksburg Courthouse, built in 1850.  Very cool.  We were the only ones there - so we got to spend some time & learn some things.  For instance - in that courtroom, Jefferson Davis sued the US government to get his plantation back, after the government seized it, following the Civil War.  In 2011, my four kids yelled, fought, danced and frolicked on the historical floor of the courtroom.  IMO, cool.

Final stop, the Vicksburg Battlefield, which is huge (sq miles) btw!  It was sooooo hot though, we drove it, just passing by the many, many monuments to the many, many regiments who fought there.  We did get out of the car to see the USS Ciaro - a Union battle ship that was sunk in the Mississippi during the Civil War and raised in the 1960's, reconstructed and displayed, adjacent to the Battleground's memorial Cemetery.  Gave me chills...

We checked in at the Vicksburg Fairfield Inn.  Disgusting (although the staff was very sweet).  Dinner at Kroger...nobody was talking...rough day...early to bed.

Mobile, AL –Vicksburg, MS

229 miles/3 hours, 30 minutes

Hotel:  Vicksburg Fairfield Inn, Rm 120