I had in my mind a perfect family picture planned of us in front of the RV sitting in the middle of Time Square. This is as good as we could get. Yellow faced and all! They absolutely would not let a motor home into the city with out a ($500 min) fine! It was better that way. I couldn't draw out the goodbye any longer. More on goodbyes later. Here is the cliff notes version of our trek. Side note: McKay and Lyla were thrilled about living in a "house car". McKay thought we were moving in for good. Especially since it was arguably larger than our NYC apartment. He was devastated when he realized that we had to turn it in and move in to a real house. Sad day.
Our first stop was DC. We got there late and pulled into the church parking lot. Eli cleared it with his Bishop so that we could camp there that night. The following morning was NOAH'S BIRTHDAY! We were awakened by the carbon monoxide detector at 5am. We thought maybe the battery was dying so we just reset it but it kept persisting so we evacuated in our pjs into the freezing cold and called the fire department! It all cleared out and all was ok.
Weird!
Anyway, it was an alarming start to Noah's big day. I asked Noah what he wanted to do for his birthday. He smiled and said "drive across the country in an RV!" He booked that beast to overlap his birthday and LOVED driving it! I was behind the wheel for maybe a total of 1 min while Noah went to get rid of a weird spider. He drove and drove and drove. It was amazing. He is amazing. Everyone needs a little Noah in their lives. Really. I am a lucky girl.
So for his birthday...We locked up the gate of the parking lot and headed to Eli and Julie's for some homemade Jackson Souffle (also known as German Pancakes) with a nice candle on top. We love these guys so much. Hanging out with them made it a special birthday for Noah.
We decided to take the southern route for a few reasons. One, to see some of our favorite people along the way. Two, to chase the heat. Three, by chasing the heat we got to keep the water on (they winterize them in the north during winter to avoid frozen pipes). So heading south, our next stop was to visit Sam and Lindsay Eyre in North Carolina. My big regret on the trip was not getting a picture with them and their family. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I just got nervous or something! It was so fun to visit with them for a while.
Then we made it to Atlanta, Georgia to see some great friends Seth, Katy and their 3 kids. They are a total blast. Seth was a missionary companion of Noah's. Great guy. Great family.
Back on the road. Life on a "house car" was not a bad deal. Stopped on the highway in traffic for a couple of hours. Oh no worries. I'll just whip us some mac and cheese for the kids and put Lyla down for her nap. Oh McKay needs to use the little boys room. Great! don't forget to flush. Getting a little antsy. OK lets go wrestle in the back or get some crafts out. Heck we can even slap on a movie and take a nap lying down. Feeling dirty. Great. Go take a warm shower! Noah kept driving and driving. We would stop, have dinner, and then put the kids to bed around 7:30 and then start driving again. Then I'd go sit up with Noah and talk until we got too tired. Then we would look for the next Walmart and go park next to some fellow campers and snooze away until sunrise. This is where little guy slept.
This was Noah's and my bed.
McKay and Lyla got the master bedroom!
This is where Noah logged in over 3000 miles.
Fourth stop was New Orleans. Neither of us had been there so it was a neat stop. We drove that sucker right into the center of the city and ate dinner at a famous oyster bar. It was neat to drive right through and think about all that has happened there.
Fresh from the sea onto the plate.
The kids were getting a little tired so we brought the party inside.
The next morning we made it to Houston to see my family. It doesn't get much better than family. The house car was a hit for them as well.
These kids sure have a blast with their cousins.
I think my mom was nervous about her sprinkler heads! I was too!
There he is, driving away. I love that man. Lyla put a band-aid on his "ouchie." He had a little pimple. Driving across Texas was the longest leg. Recon we hit the most Walmart parkin' lots 'cross Texas.
Then to New Mexico. The Carlsbad Caverns were AMAZING. I had been there many years ago when I was young and just couldn't pass up showing the family. It was one of my most memorable vacations as a kid. McKay has been imaginary "spee-lunking" with his uncle Tal in our NYC apartment several times and thought it was to neatest thing known to man. So imagine his excitement when he actually got to see real stalactites and stalagmites. He was going crazy!
We were working on becoming Jr Park Rangers and Lyla's pencil slipped into some water. YIKES!
Needless to say, McKay was the only one inaugurated.
We pushed it a little too much sometimes with our sweet 2 year old. She definitely needs her sleep!
More of life on the road.
I LOVE these kids!
We got a great deal in Phoenix. 4 for 1! 1 and 2) We got to spend time with Noah's sister Shawni, Dave and family, Noah's brother Josh. It was so fun to get caught up with them and chat over some of Shawni's signature cookies.
These kids sure love their cousins.
3) Then we got to see some of my amazing cousins. What an incredible group.
4) And finally we got to see our great friends the Koplins. Brandon is another mission companion of Noah's. Joan had her baby boy 1 week later! They are a total blast too (in-case you couldn't tell by the picture)!
Then we hit California! We'd never seen wind energy quite like this before. It was a site to behold.
These two are saying, "Mom hurry and take the picture with the fake dinosaur. We are freezing out here!"
And finally, packing up our belongings.
So far... I think we are going to like it here! Have I already said that? :)
