We’re back!

I am a couple days late with this concluding entry to the blog because the wonderful simple life of the road collided harshly with the reality of home life.

We started the morning in Las Cruces, New Mexico. At the hotel breakfast, we carb loaded for the massively long drive we were about to embark on. Experience tells us to expect to cover an average of 50 miles an hour. This allows for breaks, gas stops, and driver changes. With almost 700 miles to drive, that equates to about 14 hours. The silver lining is that we regain an hour when we enter Arizona. But it’s still 14 hours.

I must admit, I had worried that our 19 year old van would at some point give us trouble. I just hoped it would be in a city and not on some desolate road in the middle of nowhere. But the van performed wonderfully. We used cruise control often and almost never exceeded 65 miles per hour even though the speed limit was 80 in many places.

The drive home was incredibly long and unevental. We spent our time reading back the blog, watching Iron Man 3 on the tablet, and just wishing the drive would end.

The day was so blah that I didn’t take a single photo.

I think the only highlight occurred in the 110 degree heat of El Centro. There we found an almost empty In-N-Out. Our last time eating at In-N-Out was at least 46 days ago.

Ashley had this annoying habit of cheering loudly with each milestone. A yelp when we entered California. A squeek when we entered San Diego County. A scream when she recognized our off ramp. And a loud yell as we cruised down the driveway. At least someone was happy.

In all, the trip covered 7,668 miles. There were only 2 car issues. We picked up a nail in a tire in Dayton. And we continue to find other worldly orange sand in the van’s crevices thanks to the sand storm in Utah. That’s it.

My first task was to get our 23 year old water heater running so we could take some well deserved and much needed showers.

Needless to say, I ran into issues that prevented me from getting us hot water. I really don’t like naming names when I’m responsible, so I won’t.

I was feeling angry because this type of thing doesn’t happen during a Big Trip. It only happens when you get home from a Big Trip.

As my blood pressure climbed to levels unseen for weeks, I received a text from Jeremy. He wondered if we had made it out of El Paso. I thought that was a strange question. Then he asked if I had seen the news.

Walmart was virtually the only store we visited on this trip. Not to sound overly dramatic, but we drove past the El Paso Walmart on Friday. It can be seen from the Interstate. We even considered staying at a motel a couple miles away on the same street. We only moved on because it was early enough to make it to Las Cruces.

The thought of this horrible, senseless act made us sick and sad. It also made me quickly realize my troubles with hot water were very petty.

We are praying for the victims, their families, friends, and loved ones.

Wow. What a depressing way to finish up this blog. I mention all of this because there is a point here. Probably a lot of points.

The thought that comes to my mind is that life is unpredictable and life is fragile. It’s another reminder of the importance of finding those things that make you happy. And spending time with the people you love.

When you think about it, that is the true meaning, purpose and definition of the Big Trip. It’s not about the number of states, theme parks, or national parks visited. It’s not about dipping a toe in two oceans. It’s not even about the number of Jr. Ranger badges Ashley earned. When you get down to it, the Big Trip is about creating happy memories with the ones you love.

The challenge is to try to make every day a Big Trip day.

We started this day in Abilene, Texas – 1,163 miles from home. In those 1,163 miles, there are only two important landmarks that we must visit. And they are a mere one-tenth of a mile apart.

We continued west on Interstate 20 until we reached Odessa, Texas. It’s hard to imagine that the only two things we need to visit in over a thousand miles can be found in Odessa, right?

Our first stop was the last Fazoli’s we would be passing on Big Trip 4. For lunch, we dined on spaghetti, ravioli, pizza, and salad. And who can forget the amazing unlimited bread sticks?

Right around the corner from Fazoli’s, we discovered a full sized replica of Stonehenge.

The original Stonehenge took 2,000 years to build. This one took six weeks.

I always wanted to see Stonehenge. This saves me the trip to southwest England.

The rest of the day was consumed with driving.

Ashley spent part of the drive reading a book to us. It is her required summer reading and the book is Short.

But for most of the drive, she watched Yo Gi Oh videos while playing on her 3DS.

As we crossed another time zone and picked up another hour we lost weeks ago, I started reading the blog from day 1. We had already forgotten many of the finer details that make a trip like this special. And the terrible parts now made us laugh.

As I read, Ashley stopped me and remarked that she feels like she really grew up this summer. She probably meant that turning 11 is the start of her transition to the next phase of her life.

But I took it to mean that all the unique, one-of-a-kind experiences she encountered during the trip made her a different person. She’s more worldly. More knowledgeable. Able to tackle obstacles. Sleep anywhere there is an inflated air mattress. And certainly happy to ride any roller coaster in the world.

As we continued to drive for hour after hour, I considered my health. I feel great. My stamina is good. I’m getting no headaches. I can walk miles in the heat and humidity. I don’t have any of those funky back and neck and knee pains that can make it hard to sleep. I rode hundreds of roller coasters without suffering any discomfort. I’m sure I’m jinxing myself, but I have not felt this good in years. Except for one thing.

For years, I worked behind a desk. I could sit for six, seven, eight hours at a time and never stand up. Not any more.

After about 60 minutes in the driver’s seat, my backside starts throwing the white flag. The pain grows with the passage of time to the point it is almost unbearable. There is no position that helps. I even got a seat cushion. So I guess I am forced to admit I suck at sitting.

We finally reached the western border of Texas. According to Google Maps, our voyage through the lone star state covered an astounding 819 miles.

We entered New Mexico and drove to our final destination, Las Cruces. We managed to travel 500 miles today.

We are a mere 663 miles from pulling into our driveway. It looks like we may be going for it tomorrow.

Hello!

I am the lovable thing called Kuppy. I heard that Donker wrote yesterday’s blog, so I thought, “Why can’t I do this too?”

So I don’t know much about the motel, but I do know that they went back to the amewsment park.

Apparently it was a very hot day, because when the humans returned they were super sweaty.

Then they traveled to a sandwich place and I suppose they ate there. But, that was just lunch. Who cares about lunch right now, I’m stuffed.

After that they drove for hours and hours and hours.

They stopped at an RV park before they finally figured out that they couldn’t camp here.

They drove to Walmart and stood around for a while. Ashley showed me this picture and I’ll say that, that is very much an everyday low price.

They arrived at a hotel and I actually got to get in. You see, I haven’t been with Ashley much because she says that she doesn’t want to lose me. That’s fair.

Welp, I gotta go, I have to play Mind Meld with Snoopy. Good-bye, farewell, I don’t hate Donker.

Someone got lazy agin. Then someone else got lazy. It is up to me to do some ritein. Sukuse my spellin. It ain’t to gud.

My name is donkers. When I put my name in the fone it changes it to dyslexia. I don’t think that’s verry nice. Tho it kinda funny. Hee haw.

I tuk a self piktur in case ya don’t no wat I look lik.

It is hard to do wen ur noz is so big.

My favorit time is nite cause I get to sleep wit Ashly. But shes always a flippin and a floppin and I get kicked out of the bed. But at least I ain’t never got left behind like the slippers.

I love clothes washin day. I git to do foldin and roll around in warm clothes. Wat’s best is I git outta that van for a bit.

I reckon I’m s’posed ta tell ya bout the day.

I woke up on the floor of the tent. A peeple grabbed me and put me in the car. Hours and hours and hours later, a peeple grabbed me and put me in this here hotel room. I wuz sleepin in Ashly bed until I got kicked to the floor.

I hope you liked my writin. It’s hard to type with hooves. Gud by.

Oh. Ashly says ya have to tell bout her day. I will luk at the pikturs to see what she did.

Ther wuz a lot o drivin and someone said somethin about Dallas. Mite a be a TV show tho. I dunno.

They stopped for grub. Maybe it wuz here.

It’s sad thir sign fell down.

Food musta ben gud tho cause they was grumpy and now they happy.

Then they go to another place and stayed for a looooong time. I think it was here.

Prolly I theme park. That’s all these peeple do. Dyslexia can’t complain tho cause they got me at nots bery farm. See dat? Dum fone gone messed wit my name.

They rode dis.

And dis.

And dis.

And they eated dis.

Ashly sat in dis.

Donkers stayed in the van. The hotel wuz nice cause it wuz abowt one million degrees in the van.

I here we are comin home soon. I hope so. Cause ther is nothin better than gettin kicked outta yer own bed.

We have made it to the end of week 6. To be honest, Kathy and I are ready for six more. Ashley, on the other hand, dreams of clicking her heals and magically returning to the Fantasyland that is El Cajon.

I was trying to figure out how there is such a disconnect between parents and child. I think I may know what it is.

This trip is the simple life. There are no worries, no stress, no time commitments, no responsibilities. It is 100% Hakuna Matata.

Want to stay another day at Busch Gardens? Do it. Northern Mississippi not your cup of tea? Keep on moving. You get my point. It is simplicity in its simplest form.

Ashley’s simple life can be found during summer break in her bedroom. Wake up at 10. Hide under the covers with the tablet until noon. Only get up because Mom says to. Eat, get dressed, do something you don’t want to do for a few hours. Then it’s back to the bedroom with that wonderful unlimited Wi-Fi and tablet. Go to sleep when you want to and repeat. It’s Ashley’s version of simplicity.

As soon as school starts, that ideal life is gone.

It may take her ten years to figure this out, but this trip has given her one thing that she will own for the rest of her life. Memories. The same way she won’t let me forget the crushing defeat I suffered yesterday, we won’t let her forget all of the great things we have experienced.

We do want Ashley to have a little bit of her ideal summer. So we are cutting a very straight line back home. We got on the I-20 West in Atlanta. It will turn into the I-10 somewhere and then the I-8. Then home. Simple.

We started the day in Vicksburg. One of the more important Civil War battles ocurred right here and the battleground has become a National Park. With our park pass, we get in for free.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to watch the movie about the battle. Vicksburg lies on the Mississippi River. Control of the river was important because it allowed for easy movement of men and supplies in support of the war effort. The Union had control of the river to the north and south of Vicksburg. Lincoln considered Vicksburg the key to winning the war.

War is awful. Thousands died. The prosperous city lied in ruins. After 47 horrific days, the Union won the battle and the river.

The Civil War would continue for another year and a half. Many consider the Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg the turning point in the war.

After the movie, we took the driving tour of the pristine battlefield. The entire tour is 16 miles. Like Gettysburg, the grounds have hundreds of monuments to the people who fought and commanded the troops here.

We left Vicksburg with a better appreciation for the Civil War. Within minutes, we were driving over the Mississippi River and into Louisana. It was another driving day.

We stopped in Louisiana only once, three miles from the Texas border to get gas.

As we started our 650 plus mile drive across Texas, we found a place for dinner called the Golden Chick. Their featured item is chicken tenders. For sides they have southern favorites such as ocra, green beans, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. The meal was quite good.

Ashley studied the receipt and noticed at the bottom it said, “Have a blessed day.” Nice.

As we started toward the door, we found a cross design in the wallpaper.

Ashley remarked, “They would not have the guts to do that in California.”

An hour later we had reached our destination, Tyler Lake State Park. It is a beautiful, wooded park with a man made lake.

The campground was virtually empty. We enjoyed a short hike along the lake and the sunset.

Back at the tent, we played some DS before going to sleep.

Happy birthday, Kathy!

The birthday girl got to call the shots today.

The day started with a very delicious breakfast at the hotel. This followed the now traditional southern treat known as s’morning.

Kathy’s birthday wish was to drive straight to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Pretty much what every girl wants for her special day. It was a 276 mile drive, but we were up for the challenge.

We had a nice lunch in Meridian, Mississippi. While we ate salad, sandwiches, and pizza, we busted out the DSs for some Mario Party.

We played as teams. Kathy and Ashley against me and a CPU. I maintained a huge, dare I say insurmountable, lead with just a few turns remaining. I’m talking six stars to zero.

I felt kind of bad beating the birthday girl so badly, especially on her birthday. But I was determined to win decisively.

But then those darn girls started stealing my stars. And I was losing them to Bowser. And I don’t really know what happened, it is all kind of a blur.

At the end, the girls walked off with the epic come from behind win. Ashley assured me she would never let me forget this game.

The highlight of the day was getting gas for $2.30 per gallon.

We finally did make it to the motel in Vicksburg. We decided not to risk camping as there were reports of thunderstorms (they never happened).

Our motel sits right next to a Civil War battleground. But it was too late to visit. Maybe tomorrow before we leave for Louisiana.

We got to our room, sang Kathy happy birthday, and ate cake.

We relaxed in bed and watched Captain America through the laptop.

Cassie called to wish her mom a happy birthday and to relay the goings on back home.

We are amazed how much we have learned on this trip. Even on a day that involves just driving. For example, on this day we learned Birmingham, Meridian, Jackson, and Vicksburg are places we would never want to live. Never. Ever. EVER.

Just to be safe, let’s cross the entire states of Alabama and Mississippi off the list.

This morning we said good bye to the Confederate paradise that is Stone Mountain.

While eating her normal breakfast meal of cereal, Ashley wondered out loud what could be done with the ingredients used for last night’s s’mores.

We kicked the idea around a little and decided there had to be a way to enjoy a graham cracker, a chocate bar and a marshmallow as a breakfast treat.

The light bulb went on and a new morning dessert was created: introducing the s’morning. It is a s’more without toasting the marshmallow.

You may be wondering, how is it? Let Ashley show you.

She liked it!

Our next stop was Six Flags Over Georgia. This is the only Six Flags park we have not previously visited. We were pretty excited to check it out.

We were hoping for another near empty park with very short lines. Those hopes were dashed before we even entered the turnstiles as the line of cars to enter the parking lot was 20 minutes long.

We shook it off, grabbed a map and selected a few coasters to ride that were were unique to this park.

Even though we adjusted our expectations, we found it difficult to stand in lines for upwards of an hour.

We rode four coasters and decided to just eat lunch in the park. But the restaurant lines were longer than the coaster lines. So we jogged back to the van for lunch.

Taking Ashley’s lead, Kathy invented a new food item: cold dog with avocado.

I don’t do selfies, but if I did, my face would tell you it was fricking amazing.

For dessert, we dined on more s’mornings.

Refreshed, relaxed, and reinvigorated, we tackled Six Flags for the afternoon session.

This park’s signature attraction is a dark ride called Monster Mansion.

The ride resides in a southern plantation house.

The ride vehicle is a small boat.

The place is filled with friendly monsters. There seems to be a story line here but I never figured it out.

Ashley spent the whole ride waiting for the big drop that never happened.

Next, we rode a 300 foot tall spinning swing ride.

Because of the enormously long lines at every attraction, we focused on this park’s one-of-a-kind experiences.

As we were on the verge of leaving, we walked past a shooting ride called Battle for Metropolis. The same ride is found at many Six Flags parks. But the line looked short, so we broke our rule and we gave it a go.

Unfortunately, the line moved incredibly slow. We got stuck in an indoor queue with no air conditioning and seemingly no air for an hour.

When we finally boarded the ride vehicle, we found the ride missing many important special effects. At the end, we just wanted our hour back.

The good news is that we in fact got our hour back. Just a few miles down the road, we crossed into the Central Time Zone which meant we got to move the clock back one hour. It is not often you get an hour back.

We stayed the night at a Best Western in Birmingham, Alabama.

We promised Ashley she could sleep in.

And she slept.

And she slept.

And she slept.

Finally, at 10:30, we had enough and we woke her up. Her reaction? “10:30 is early.” Then she rolled over and went back to sleep.

At long last, Ashley got up, got fed, and got cleaned up.

We were on the road by noon. Thankfully, our stop was only a few minutes away.

We parked at the trailhead for the hike to the top of Stone Mountain.

Ashley wanted none of it. She protested that there is a perfectly fine aerial tram we could take to the top.

But her mood improved when the first thing we saw was a baby dear and its mother grazing in a thicket.

Around the next corner we found a collection of Confederate flags.

After all, the purpose of this park is to celebrate the Confederacy.

We continued our hour-long hike. Even though the entire mountain is made of stone, there are many trees providing shade which made the hike more comfortable.

Eventually, we got above the tree-line. And the trail got quite steep as we neared the top.

We finally made it. We were standing directly above the giant sculpture of the Confederate leaders.

We also found the tram station and a snack bar.

Ashley celebrated her successful climb with a helping of Dippin’ Dots.

Ashley said that Cowles Mountain could really use a snack bar like this one.

After our descent, we visited the highly touristy retail mall at the base of the mountain.

We got an up close look at the sculpture.

Around the permiter of the park are monuments for the 13 Confederate states.

The tone of the write ups made us laugh. As you might have guessed, they were very pro Confederates and anti Union.

The Civil War was merely a war of independence. The Confederates were brave soldiers, while the Union troops were called raiders.

We celebrated mass at a nearby church and return to our site for the evening activities. A hot dog roast.

We got the firewood at the camp store. There were plenty of fallen twigs all around our tent for kindling. Ashley was happy to donate lined paper that she was supposed to be doing school work on to get the fire started. Within minutes, we had a raging fire.

I’m not sure what kind of wood they sold us, but they should build homes with it because that stuff would not burn. No matter, we kept things going with the twigs and stuff.

After eating plenty of roasted dogs, we moved on to making s’mores.

Cooked to perfection.

Another awesome day was in the books. Tomorrow, we start heading west for the long drive home.

Attack from the dark depths of the blue sea, comes me! Hello, I have returned. Ashley here to give today’s update.

Yes! Someone finally got lazy again!

I woke up with the intention of being super productive, by getting even more sleep. Unfortunately, I had to get up and get myself ready for the long and awfully fun day.

Something I’ve been longing for, for a long time, was about to happen. This something was the long drive that was 30 minutes. Honestly, it was less of the drive and more of the destination, the parking lot. I know, it sounds preposterous, being excited about the parking lot, but this is how I’m going to build the tension.

Of course, what I was even more excited about was the walk. The longish, smallish walk that led to what all this tension is leading up to.

Yes my friends, we have made it to this most ever amazing and glamorous, place. This place is (drums start to play), the Coca-Cola museum.

After paying for the important tickets, we rushed into to the glorious building to be treated by a free small can of Coke. Amazing.

After sipping the heavenly can, we went on a tour. The tour included a guy asking where everyone is from and a 6 minute Coke ad.

Just between the two of us (and all the other people reading this), I really liked the Coca-Cola ad and I’ve never seen a Pepsi ad and I was started to feel guilty about the Pepsi in the ice chest. But not too guilty that I would throw it away. It’s still precious to me.

Anyway, after that we ran to an exhibit that went into depth of the history of Coke. Here’s my understanding about it: So some guy made a liquid that could cure headaches. This guy didn’t sell much, and ended up selling the liquid out to some other guy for $2,300. This other guy made the liquid into what we know today as Coke. And that is the history of Coke.

After that whole history thing was done, we got in line for the exhibiting of the secret formula. The exhibit had you guess what the secret formula is and it taught you about all the different rumors centering this ever infamous document.

Finally, the time came. The times you could see this document were every five minutes, meaning you couldn’t just walk in and see it. We entered the room, and the doors closed behind us as the dramatic music started to play.

With the anticipation building, the walls opened out to show a vault.

WE DIDN’T SEE THE DOCUMENT!!! Let me just say, WE SAW THE THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS OF ALL TIME (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights), AND THOSE DIDN’T HAVE THAT MUCH BUILD UP!!! So yeah, that was slightly depressing.

We then took our picture with a polar bear because my mom dragged me into it.

We saw some machinery make some glass bottles of Coke.

Then we saw the worst 4D movie ever. I would go into detail, but if I did there would be no stopping my angry rampage.

We saw some Coke themed things before heading into a movie theater to see some Coke ads before setting our eyes upon it.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am happy to say that we got to be in a room where we had the opportunity to try +100 drinks under the Coca-Cola name.

We frantically moved this way and that, trying every thing we can.

Let me just say, I will write a letter describing my anger to the person that created Beverly. I had to drink it twice because my dad didn’t get a good enough picture the first time. I hope you’re happy.

I did have lots of fun there. I had a great time.

Here a little story that I think that you will enjoy that happened in the tasting room: In the corner there was normal Coke. So me and your well-known blogger decided to play a trick on Mom. We took a normal cup of Coke and told her it was Fizz-Up from Bulgaria. We explained that it was the Beverly of Bulgaria. She was so nervous. She eventually took a sip and we smiled and told her it was just normal Coke.

We ate the Varsity.

It was good.

Heading back to the car and going to the campsite was just an unnecessary thing to put in.

We headed to sleep. Ah man. My blog is over it was nice to write this, but now it’s over ): . Well nice talking to you. Remember that I’m awesome, you’re awesome, and that seat belts exist for a reason. I love cats, and Good-bye!

Today we bid a fond farewell to the Harty home and their caretaker, Sir Kitty Soft Paws.

Mr. Soft Paws took a very strong liking to me. He purred loudly as he would sit on my lap and sink his very sharp claws into my skin. I was like he was saying, “I really like you but now you much suffer horrible pain.”

We left late, again. Not naming names, but Ashley and Kathy.

The motley crew of animals assumed their seats in the middle row.

We were headed out of town when I said what I had been thinking. We should return to Carowinds since it was already lunch time and we could score a free meal. As an added bonus, Ashley and I could ride Fury 325 one last time.

We finally got to ride in the front row while Kathy evaluated the tenting options in Atlanta.

We secured our lodging at the famous Stone Mountain campground outside Atlanta. It is always nice to know where we are staying before sunset.

We got burritos for lunch and by 2 we were back on the road.

On our way to Atlanta, we stopped at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. While there were no more tours of the plant available on this day, they have a small collection of BMWs to look at.

We stayed long enough to stretch our legs and it was back on the highway.

We drove straight to our campground just east of Atlanta at Stone Mountain Park.

Stone Mountain is a beautiful place. It is a scenic escape from the big city. It has a lake, hiking trails, biking, camping, resorts, you name it.

The centerpiece is the massive stone mountain. Sculpted into the side of the mountain is the likeness of the three best known members of the Confederacy: Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and Robert E. Lee.

Significant political pressure is currently being exerted to sandblast the carvings and remove all of the references to the Confederacy within the park, of which there are many.

There is a nightly laser show that is projected on the side of the mountain. We tossed up the tent and headed to the show.

We saw the show in 2007. It mostly centered on the Civil War. An animation showing the United States being torn into two received the loudest ovation. To us, the reaction was shocking.

Tonight’s show was completely different. It was more of a pop music show. For most of the show, the sculptures were hidden behind all the animations, lasers, and fireworks.

There was one short section of the show devoted to the Civil War featuring Elvis singing “Dixie”.

The tearing of the country in two was removed. It was a bummer because I wanted to see how the audience would react in 2019.

We raced back to the van and we were back to tent within minutes. It was a fun day considering we did a lot of driving. We were all pretty tired.