Well we got up this morning at 3:45am and were on the road by 4:30am, our destination, Franklin, Kentucky, home to a nice Holiday Inn Express and a Cracker Barrel. We thought that by picking the kids up out of a sound sleep, that we would be able to place them into their carseats and they would fall back asleep for about three hours but damn if that plan didn't work at all. About 1.5 miles into the trip (not yet to a highway) Ryan had to go to the bathroom so since no place was open, she squatted in the grass and the very main intersection of Midway Road and 635! And from then on, they were up.
Luckily we had purchased Kung Fu Panda II and Shrek IV so they were content to watch movies in "the new car" (my 5-month-old Buick Enclave that I hate).
We drove for about three hours and stopped in Texarkana for breakfast at Whataburger. At our next stop (gas) I realized I'd left my contacts at home so get to wear glasses the whole trip! At yet another stop, halfway between Texarkana and Memphis, we got the kids out of the car and in a tiny field, right on the edge of the highway, we did jumping jacks, lunges, windmills and sprints. It was actually a lot of fun - one of the high points of this very long drive.
Around 12:30 we drove into downtown Memphis (all four of our first time to be there) and ate lunch at the much-raved-about Rendevous Barbeque. It's located in a basement in an alley and while the ambience was good, the food was actually pretty nasty. I can't really understand what the fuss was all about but at least we got out and walked around some. The town was full of energy and we were excited to be coming back in a few days.
Back in the car around 2pm and we drove straight through Nashville, all the way to Franklin, Kentucy (709 miles from home). We arrived at 6, happily unpacked, and went across the street to Cracker Barrel for dinner. While we were waiting for our table we were walking around the store inside the restaurant and after being told several times to stop touching breakable things, Grant dropped a small glass angel on the ground. Nick made him take it up to the register with money to pay for it but darn it if there very nice Kentuckian behind the counter wouldn't let him!
It was close to 8 before we got back to the hotel but we went for a quick swim and soak in the hot tub and indoor heated pool. Ryan immediately made a new friend and they commenced synchronized jumping. Grant, who can't yet swim, just hung in the hot tub but everyone had fun.
I had previously planned this trip out, down to the hour, and today went exactly as planned. Let's see if we can keep it up.
After reading a few library books, we called an end to the very long day at 9pm. I stayed up and read for bit and heard Grant talking in his sleep. At one point he said, "No, it's not yours. I was here first Emily!!" (Emily is his best friend and arch rival from Good Shepherd Butterfly school).
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