Road Warriors!

Our long-awaited journey across Middle Earth and back is finally complete. We made it to Pinehurst, NC on Sunday evening August 14th.

But before I start the recap of our trip, first a shout-out to my sister Whitney. After Jon's poor mom broke her leg, we were left without helpers on our cross-country journey since originally they had offered to come along. I asked Whitney if she could do it, and since her student teaching didn't start until the end of August it was a done deal. She saved my life. How else can I say it?? Who in this world would for hours on hands and knees clean someone else's house so we could check out of Vegas, entertain whiny kids in a car for hours and days on end, treat them like her own, make me laugh when I felt like crying, de-stress the stressful situation with constant cheerfulness, and finally, unpack for 3 days straight until 1or 2 in the morning?!? Oh yeah, UNPAID that is. Well, Whitney did. Seriously, she's the most selfless, best person I know. Just thinking of our untimely separation brings tears to my eyes!! She actually made this trip (which I'd been dreading) FUN. We MISS her.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
First stop was 10 hours to Jeremy and Kylene's house in Rio Rancho, NM--just outside of Albuquerque. It was 10 hours of a lot of brown, flat, hot, desert--except for some parts in Arizona around the Grand Canyon. After some exciting Mad Libs (thanks Whit), cross-word puzzles (thanks Lauren), and a long-lasting license plate hunt on Route 66, We stopped in Winslow, AZ for lunch at McDonald's along with the rest of the town (pictured above--as in, that's the rest of the town).

We saw more Native Americans in that one spot than I've ever seen in my entire life. That was Cultural Exposure #1. We made it to ABQ around 9 p.m. and were received with a warm welcome by Jeremy and Kylene.

We wanted to spend a day in their new city so we could check it out and get a break from the car, so we spent Tuesday hanging out. We got to see the ABQ zoo that morning and ride a choo-choo train around the zoo. Zachary was in heaven.

Enjoying our train ride and the backside (?) of the zoo. Poor planning I guess.


We then enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch on the grounds thanks to J and K.

Lucy's favorite animals-- the flamingos, 'cause they're pink, duh!

We also had a delicious BBQ that night (I'm making that chicken tonight for dinner Kylene!) and watched a movie before bed. The kids loved seeing Sophie, and it was so fun to see their beautiful new home. Just wished we'd ended up a bit closer!

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Second stop was 8 hours to Oklahoma City. We made great time in the morning and were able to make it through the rest of New Mexico and into Texas, where we lunched in Amarillo, TX. Um, no offense to any native Texans, but that part of Texas was about as ugly, barren, and bleak as I can imagine land could get. We also swung by a Toys R Us to bribe the kids back into the car, and Lucy chose some Barbie makeup. We sure enjoyed seeing that hot pink lipstick the rest of the trip! We got to Oklahoma City around 7 p.m. and immediately headed for the swimming pool to cool down! We shared the pool with some Mennonites, so that was our cultural exposure for the day (#2).

MEMPHIS, TN
Third stop was 7 hours to Memphis, TN. We started out finishing out the rest of Oklahoma (pictured above) and making it just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas for our lunch stop. Arkansas was a little weird...people were weird... but it was prettier than I'd imagined.

We rolled into Memphis around 5 p.m. and immediately headed for some authentic Memphis BBQ at the award winning "Corky's." We had pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, hush puppies, twice baked potato salad, and bannana pudding. SO YUMMY!

NASHVILLE, TN ~ KNOXVILLE, TN


That night we made the executive decision that since there was nothing but an empty house waiting for us in North Carolina, we'd do a slow burn across Tennessee and spend Saturday hanging out in Nashville, and then drive on to Knoxville for the night. We stopped first though at the hometown of Casey Jones for Zachy's sake (sorry, Elvis' Graceland got bypassed).


We decided since Zachary had been SUCH an amazing little traveller (didn't even cry ONCE) we'd do a pit stop dedicated for him. He LOVED pulling the train's whistle!

Driving through Tennessee on our way to Nashville, it was GREEN and beautiful and hot as blazes!!

My co-pilot Whitney. Duties: Pass LOTS of treats to kids, switch out movies, read books, tickle feet, change I-pod, entertain me and keep me awake, make phone calls to arrange hotels, navigate when the GPS screwed up, etc.

Me, the driver. Duties: WATCH THE ROAD!!

Our sweet little napper hanging in there for the long haul! Duties: Look at his Car's book for hours at a time, watch movies, eat unhealthy crap, nap from time to time, tease Whitney.

Lucy, our CONSTANT chatter box and bathroom potty stopper. Duties: Have to go to the bathroom 15 minutes after we'd already stopped, color, color, color, watch Barbie movies, tease Zach and Whitney, eat unhealthy crap.

Greetings from the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, TN!!


Enjoying the beautiful Grand Ol' Opry hotel. Lucy is mad because we wouldn't buy her a souvenier in one of the gift shops. That's what grandparents are for, right?

Our beloved Whitney!! Can't thank her enough!! That night we slept in Knoxville, TN (but didn't see Dollywood) and woke up bright and early to finish this odyssey once and for all!


And here's what we had waiting for us.... Moving is SO incredibly exhausting, but that's another post altogether. All in all, we enjoyed our cross-country road trip but we're glad to be "home.":)