Detroit

June 8- 10, 2015 Days 6-8

Lambertville, MI – Detroit, MI

81 miles/1.5 hours

Aunt Kelly’s House

I’m starting to get nervous about the weather. This morning we woke to grey skies and I finally looked at a weather report – rain, rain, rain – for the next week. The Cochran cousins had school this morning, so as soon as they left, we packed up and headed north to Aunt Kelly’s.

I must admit, I experienced bittersweet emotions as I drove into Ed and Kelly’s neighborhood. I don’t know when I’ll stop feeling as if I’ll find my brother waiting for us when I pull up. The silence that enveloped me when I entered the house is all the reality check I needed. So quiet, and yet, I still felt like I was coming home. This house will always, in my heart, be my brother’s. I think the kids feel a connection, as well. Barrett had the biggest smile on his face as he entered.

Kelly was working, so we made ourselves at home. Barrett set up camp in Edmund’s old office, Audrey took control of the remote, and Hunter and Cammy headed to the basement. I made myself a cup of coffee and settled in at the kitchen table for a day of writing, reading, emails, and bill paying.

Kelly came home late, but was greeted with lots of love. She looks fabulous. She’s grown her hair out and it’s beautiful. Kelly and I poured some wine and caught up while the kids ran around trying to get our attention.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

We all slept in (except Kelly) this morning. When we did get up, Hunter went for a run and I walked (my foot is still bothering me). Audrey made us breakfast (scrambled eggs), and I convinced the stinky ones that perhaps it was time to bathe. 

Audrey had left her big Care Bear at the Cochrans and Jan generously offered to drive it up, since she had to pick up her mom at the Detroit Airport. We made plans to rondevuex for dinner, and Audrey and I headed to the Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, to do some shopping. I love the Twelve Oaks Mall – I think it’s my favorite mall ever. After shopping, we had dinner with Jan, Jackson, and Elizabeth at J. Alexander’s. Kelly was going to join us, but got stuck at work. 

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Today the weather report is calling for wicked thunderstorms. I was planning on another dreary day, but the weather Gods had mercy on us and it turned out to be a gorgeous. I was getting excited about going to the Tigers game, but also nervous, because the daughter of Kelly’s best friend was babysitting Bear and Camden. How did I put this delicately? Barrett’s been “off” with his bathroom habits since we’ve been on the road. He likes his private time and well, he’s had none of that. All I could imagine was him unburdening himself while under the care of pretty nineteen year old, and then needing, shall we say…help in the bathroom. I took one for the team and sent Kelly on to the game with Hunter and Audrey. I curled up on the coach with a new book and Sweet Home Alabama on the TV.

P.S. I made the right decision to stay home.

Lambertville, MI - Days 4 & 5

June 6, 2015 – Day 4

Monroeville, PA – Lambertville, MI

261 miles/4 hours

Chez Cochran

Oh, Momma woke up this morning in the throes of a major allergy attack. I’ve encounter feathers somewhere in my travels and/or it’s something regional. Ugh. As a result, I was feeling sluggish, which made our drive back across Ohio tough. Especially since it was overcast and all Turnpike driving. Boring!

We arrived in Lambertville, MI (a suburb of Toledo, just over the state line) at 2:45. My cousin Jan greeted me with her latest creative libation, Hippy Juice. I drank slowly, as the children (Jan and Jeff have three) all got reacquainted. The sun was out in Michigan and the kids wanted to swim, so Jeffy and I took the kids up to the neighborhood pool. Although the sun was out, it had done little to warm the water. It was so cold! The kids didn’t last too long.

Jeff cooked out – and we ate like kings. My allergies got the best of me, so I turned in rather early, around 9:30. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open long enough to read! Barrett and Cammy were also members of the early-to-bed club.

Speaking of reading – that’s a good Segway to tell you about a great book I just finished listening to. The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, is a story loosely based on England’s William and Kate. I loved it. It’s clever, funny, and juicy! Highly recommend.

The kids playing volleyball.

Uncle Jeffy

Audrey with her cousins Susannah and Elizabeth.

June 7, 2015

Lazy, lazy day. Pool time, bike riding, volleyball, NASCAR, movies, eating and reading. That’s all she wrote for today, folksJ!

Quote of the day. Cammy: “I don’t know where you grew that attitude, but you need to plant another seed!” After Hunter uncharacteristically mouthed off to his mother.

Chilly swim day, but they're tough!

My little dude.

Audie & Beansie, pedaling it old school!

Pittsburgh

June 5, 2015 – Day 3

Columbus, OH – Pittsburgh, PA

257 miles/four hours

The Brown House

We got an early start this morning, because we had a date with some roller coasters! We rolled into town at noon, and after Patty (a friend from my Lauderdale days) picked her kids up from school, we were Kennywood-bound!

Kennywood is an amusement park that offers fun for all. There are super-scary rides, but also a kiddie-land. For our first ride we chose the Jack Rabbit, which is middle-of-the-road in terms size and scariness. It’s a wooden coaster and looks quite rickety, but still…we dared. Everyone rode, including Little Man, who didn’t like it last year. Well, guess what? He still doesn’t - and was very mad at me for urging him try it again. Very mad. In fact, he never quite recovered from all day. Mommy fail.

The sky opened up on us around five – it poured! We ran to the car and went to dinner at Red Robin. Once again, aside from Camden’s tongue-lashing, it was an easy day. Who are these kids?

Patty and I caught up over a glass of wine, while the big kids hung outside playing kickball until almost 10:00 p.m.! Ah, summertime up north.  After the rain was gone, it was a beautiful night.

The gang.

Mom & Cammy, just before the roller coaster left the station.

Cammy and Bear in solidarity - on the kiddie coaster!

Mallory, Aud & McKenna, after a water ride. They didn't care about getting rained on!

Columbus

June 4, 2015 – Day 2

Elizabethtown, KY – Columbus, OH

259 miles/4 hours

Columbus Airport Marriott

Our Elizabethtown visit was very short. We had breakfast and before I knew – we were on the road. Thank you Mike and Dana!

It was an easy and uneventful drive to Columbus. I was going to let the kids swim when we got to the hotel, but there was no pool. Somehow, I was not burned at the stake for this. I sent Hunter to the gym, to run, and I caught up on emails, etc.

We met Kristen (Hunter’s Godmother) and her daughter for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Kristen and I caught up – and the kids hung in there (although one of mine was definitely eavesdropping, and I fear, filing information away). Then we walked around Easton Place (much like the Avenue) and spent some time in Barnes and Noble. The ladies bid us adieu around 7:30, because Madison had finals the next day. We returned to the hotel, and went to bed early.

Are you bored yet? Sorry! The beginning of the road trip is loaded with visit to friends and family. Hunter said to me tonight that “it didn’t feel like we were on a road trip.” Adventure is coming, I promise! In the meantime, Mom at least is enjoying catching up with loved ones!

The kids with Mike & Dana

And with Madison - who is now almost 16 and about to be a Junior in high school!!!!

Hunter and Kristen

Day One - Elizabethtown, KY

Day 1 – June 3, 2015

Cumming, GA – Elizabethtown, KY

379 miles, 6 hours 115 minutes

Chilly, overcast and in the low 70s

Mike and Dana’s

They day started off slow for me, because after tucking the kids last night, I had a few more hours of preparation before I finally fell into bed at midnight. At 4 a.m. this morning, an alarm went off in Hunter’s room. One of the kids had set it, because I guess they were excited and wanted to get an early start. Me? Not so much. I was tired and rolled over and fell back asleep.

We ended up leaving at 9a.m., which was late, but it was fine – we missed all the Chattanooga and Nashville traffic. Our drive to Kentucky was very uneventful. The kids were exceptionally well behaved and I was chill. Still pretty tired. For our first stop, we were staying with family friends whom we hadn’t seen in quite a while. We arrived at Mike and Dana’s around 3:15, and they pulled up five minutes later. Despite the chilly temperatures, the kids wanted to swim. Their pool was heated, so it was doable. I caught up with Dana, while the kids swam.

L&B came over for dinner and brought their baby, the sweetest little nine month old. Oh, my heart. I love babies. Cammy, however, does not. When he was younger he’d get very upset whenever I’d hold someone’s baby and adamantly insisted that there not be a fifth Smith baby. He has not changed his stance - and told me so in no uncertain terms. He emphatically stated that “it was torture” to see me cooing over the baby. Audrey explained that I couldn’t help it, because the baby was so cute – and Camden replied, “That’s what makes me nervous.” I reluctantly gave up the baby.

We had a great dinner and talked. After dinner, we went down the street to see Michael, Janelle, and their kids (Rich’s Kentucky family and where he stays when he’s in town for work). Michael is Mike’s oldest child. They have the cutest kids, but I inexplicably forgot to take pictures of all six kids together. They had a blast – but alas, it was much too short a visit.

Mike hired Rich and lured him to Atlanta when we were dating. He was our Atlanta touchstone in the early years and we were the three musketeers. We adore his children – all now adults. When he married Dana we were blessed with even more family. Sadly, I don’t get to see everyone as often as Rich does. Our visit was too short – it was like a whirlwind, really.

That’s all I have. My kids were so well behaved that I don’t have any juicy stories. Bear is a little off, I’m not sure what’s up. I hope he’s not homesick, because we have miles to go before we sleep…

Cammy's all ready!

                                                                       Off we go!

Baby fix!

Dinner time.

Roasting marshmallows!

We're getting ready!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The countdown has begun. We hope you'll join us!

 

The Long Journey Home

Days 30 - 32 

June 26 – June 28, 2014
Binghamton, NY/Tysons Corner, VA/Raleigh, NC/Columbia, SC /Home

First off, my apologies for dropping the ball on the final entries of my road trip blog.  The last days of the road trip were LONG ones and I was wiped out.  I hit four major traffic jams and it wasn’t fun.

On Friday the 26^th, we left Binghamton, New York at a reasonable hour, only to get stuck in central Pennsylvania, somewhere around Hazelton, for an hour and a half.  Consequently, we didn’t roll into the DC area until almost 4 p.m.  Once I got out of the car I was enveloped into the heat and humidity of the Mid-Atlantic region.  Hello summer!  Honestly, it was kind of nice, especially considering I’d been freezing for the previous two weeks.

After I took the kids swimming, we met one of my blogger friends for dinner at PF Changs.  Kristi Campbell (A.K.A. Finding Ninee), is a friend I met on line and we really connected.  Kristi’s been very supportive and we have a lot in common, so when I told her I’d be passing through the area, we decided to meet “for real.”  She brought her five year old son Tucker.  I must say they are both good sports, because you never know what you’re going to get with our crew!  The good news is that my kids were exceptionally well behaved (granted, with the help of technologyJ) and they loved hanging out with Tucker.  Kristi and I got to know each a little better and talk shop, which I loved!  I just wish we’d had more time!  Hopefully our paths with cross again soon at a blogging conference.

Kristi & I

The next day I was not in a rush to leave, knowing that DC rush hour traffic is a nightmare.  We departed about 9:30 for Raleigh.  I was hoping to get in at a decent hour so we could tour the capitol and I had there was a book signing I wanted to attend.  It should have been a four hour drive, but no such luck.  South of DC, we were at a standstill for almost an hour!  Then, after we crossed the North Carolina border, I saw signs warning drivers of congested traffic ahead, with a suggested alternate route.  Thank you, North Carolina – for sending me on a detour into a road construction hornets’ nest that cost me yet another hour.  Grrrr.

 

We arrived so late that I had to scratch the book event I had planned to attend.  In the end, this turned out to be a blessing, because we got to spend more time visiting the Kaufman family.  Deb was my best friend at CNN when I worked there – a life time ago.  She and her husband Marc moved to Raleigh around the time Rich I moved to DC.  We visited Raleigh on our first road trip, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen them.  Fortunately, whenever we do get together, it’s as if no time has passed.  Don’t you love friends like that?  An added bonus – our kids love hanging out, too!

 

Deb & I

We woke up on Saturday, ready for our last journey.  I was ready to go home, but honesty, I always have a heavy heart on our last day.  It’s similar to that feeling you get on December 26^th.  I don’t do endings well.

The capitol building in Raleigh.

 

We drove home through Columbia South Carolina, so we could see the capitol – our 36th capital city and capitol building!  Yes, we are kind of dorky about this.  Don’t ask me why – because I do not know.  After that, we were westbound and down on I 20, heading to Atlanta.  But the traffic Gods were not done with me yet!  We ran into a wall about 30 east of the city.  I am not kidding.

 

The capitol building in Columbia.

 

But eventually, we did make it home! 

Our many bags of dirty laundry!

 

On our first day back, I did seventeen loads of laundry!  I think that’s a record.  On Monday, the Lewis Family arrived from Florida for a visit and then, suddenly, it was the Fourth of July.  Time is flying.  The summer is more than half over and in two days we leave for Michigan.  I won’t document that trip daily, but I will pop by with a summary, as we do plan to explore some more of the Wolverine State.  I’ll also do my annual summer travel stats and favorites as a wrap upJ!