Thursday, June 30, 2016
Journal Entry for Saturday, June 4, 2016
Today was the second and final leg of our journey to get back home. We traveled from Bartlett, TN to Acworth, GA. It would be a fun, but long, drive back home. The road home is always longer. I don't know why, but it just is.
Before we even got on I-40 Eastbound toward Nashville, Ben threw a major fit. At first, I thought he had a dirty diaper and that it was giving him problems. We checked his diaper and found that there was nothing in there. So we decided to get back on the road and proceed as normal.
The next set of pictures up above are the entire family (and me off camera) eating chicken and drinking drinks. Ben was having fun playing with the sugar and salt. He even poked a hole in his cup of tea. We got him a new one. I ended up eating some hot Nashville Chicken Strips, and boy I felt the burn in my mouth. I loved it and I would eat it again. Next stop: The Chattanooga Area.
Above this final paragraph are pictures of Ben and Blake playing at a McDonald's in East Ridge, TN before we go home. We travel back onto I-40 Eastbound, and then we go South and then East on TN840 for 50 miles before we return to I-24 Eastbound. We get back onto I-75 South to head back home. First, we stop at a McDonald's to get some food and some high quality play time with the kids. After that, we finally cross the Georgia State line and it is a straight shot down I-75 back into Acworth. I don't know when the next vacation will come along, but when it does, I'll document it for you.
Before we even got on I-40 Eastbound toward Nashville, Ben threw a major fit. At first, I thought he had a dirty diaper and that it was giving him problems. We checked his diaper and found that there was nothing in there. So we decided to get back on the road and proceed as normal.
The first eight pictures above this paragraph were ones that I took outside of Pringles Park in Jackson, Tennessee. We're making good time Eastbound on I-40. We were on our way to the Nashville Area to find something to eat. We needed a place to go, and Ben needed a place to play as well as a place to eat. The bad news was that there was no McDonald's that was close enough to where we were that had a playground. Ben was getting Hungry and we needed to stop somewhere soon, playground or no. We stop at a diner in Bucksnort, TN for lunch. I love the name of that town: Bucksnort.
The next set of pictures up above are the entire family (and me off camera) eating chicken and drinking drinks. Ben was having fun playing with the sugar and salt. He even poked a hole in his cup of tea. We got him a new one. I ended up eating some hot Nashville Chicken Strips, and boy I felt the burn in my mouth. I loved it and I would eat it again. Next stop: The Chattanooga Area.
Above this final paragraph are pictures of Ben and Blake playing at a McDonald's in East Ridge, TN before we go home. We travel back onto I-40 Eastbound, and then we go South and then East on TN840 for 50 miles before we return to I-24 Eastbound. We get back onto I-75 South to head back home. First, we stop at a McDonald's to get some food and some high quality play time with the kids. After that, we finally cross the Georgia State line and it is a straight shot down I-75 back into Acworth. I don't know when the next vacation will come along, but when it does, I'll document it for you.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Journal Entry for Friday, June 3, 2016
Today was our first of two travel days heading home. We all began our first leg from Locust Grove, OK to Bartlett, TN. Before we did that, my wife, two sons, and I paid my mom one more visit before we got out on the road. I got to see mom in her home. She was so happy to see all of us. Blake loved seeing her. Ben wanted to turn the lights on and off. Kelly was happy to see my mom too. She also had to referee our boys so that the didn't get into anything they weren't supposed to.
It seemed like it was taking forever to get to Springdale and Fayetteville, Arkansas this morning. We took the Cherokee Turnpike (US-412) until the turnpike ended, and then it continued on like a regular old U.S. Highway complete with traffic lights. It seemed like an hour passed before we could get onto I-49 and head south toward I-40. We were getting a groove once we got to Fayetteville. Ben was content with his Paw Patrol on TV; at least I thought he was. Before you know it, Ben started to pitch a major fit. He had an epic meltdown right before our ears. We had to make not one, but two traffic exits in order to find the nearest McDonald's. I cannot get into the details of it because I felt the stress of trying to appease my family. I do not care to relive that again.
We got moving after we found a McDonald's to eat at, but it had no playground for our boys. We headed south onto I-40 and headed Eastbound towards Little Rock and later on, Memphis. Before we passed through Little Rock, we stopped at a Burger King in Conway, AR. It was our second visit there in the past week. We ate, played on the playground, and I chased Ben throughout the restaurant. We tried the BK Hot Dogs, and I liked them more than Ben did. I think Blake passed on those at this time. I went for the easy buy, a 10-piece Chicken Nuggets for $1.49. They tasted good to me. The best part of my trip is playing with my sons on the playgrounds of fast food establishments. I do my best work when I'm with my family.
After we ate lunch again, we headed Eastbound on I-40 towards our destination East of Memphis. I got to listen to SiriusXM channel 34 (Lithium). Songs like "Head Over Feet" and "Champagne Supernova" brought me back to my college years in the mid 90's. Some of them were good and bad. The boys were super good in the car and we arrived in Bartlett, TN just before sundown. I watched local news from all the big stations plus the CW before I went to bed. Before I went to sleep for the night, I drank 2 Coors Lights, 2 Miller Lites, and two Jager Bombs. I sipped my Jager slowly. Our friend showed me the way. Now, I dread the early wake-up call that comes with heading back home tomorrow. My sons are going to be my alarm clock.
It seemed like it was taking forever to get to Springdale and Fayetteville, Arkansas this morning. We took the Cherokee Turnpike (US-412) until the turnpike ended, and then it continued on like a regular old U.S. Highway complete with traffic lights. It seemed like an hour passed before we could get onto I-49 and head south toward I-40. We were getting a groove once we got to Fayetteville. Ben was content with his Paw Patrol on TV; at least I thought he was. Before you know it, Ben started to pitch a major fit. He had an epic meltdown right before our ears. We had to make not one, but two traffic exits in order to find the nearest McDonald's. I cannot get into the details of it because I felt the stress of trying to appease my family. I do not care to relive that again.
We got moving after we found a McDonald's to eat at, but it had no playground for our boys. We headed south onto I-40 and headed Eastbound towards Little Rock and later on, Memphis. Before we passed through Little Rock, we stopped at a Burger King in Conway, AR. It was our second visit there in the past week. We ate, played on the playground, and I chased Ben throughout the restaurant. We tried the BK Hot Dogs, and I liked them more than Ben did. I think Blake passed on those at this time. I went for the easy buy, a 10-piece Chicken Nuggets for $1.49. They tasted good to me. The best part of my trip is playing with my sons on the playgrounds of fast food establishments. I do my best work when I'm with my family.
After we ate lunch again, we headed Eastbound on I-40 towards our destination East of Memphis. I got to listen to SiriusXM channel 34 (Lithium). Songs like "Head Over Feet" and "Champagne Supernova" brought me back to my college years in the mid 90's. Some of them were good and bad. The boys were super good in the car and we arrived in Bartlett, TN just before sundown. I watched local news from all the big stations plus the CW before I went to bed. Before I went to sleep for the night, I drank 2 Coors Lights, 2 Miller Lites, and two Jager Bombs. I sipped my Jager slowly. Our friend showed me the way. Now, I dread the early wake-up call that comes with heading back home tomorrow. My sons are going to be my alarm clock.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Journal Entry for Thursday, June 2, 2016
Today would go on to be more challenging than I ever could have imagined. We had trouble finding the splash pad park in Pryor, OK this morning. We went in circles before we finally found it just south of OK HWY 20. Once we got there, Ben didn't want to splash around. I think I wanted it more than Ben did. Usually Ben has more fun with kiddy things than I do. Sometimes I'm wrong on that. Ben found something he wanted to do, and that was to ride on the baby swings.
Ben and Blake had a blast swing up and down on those swings. As soon as Ben saw them, he wanted on one. Ben was totally focused on where he wanted to be and what he wanted to do. He wanted to go on the swing. Nothing, not even me, was going to stop him from doing that. As we were on the swings, I saw two doggies running around the park. I didn't want to get Ben near them because they looked sick and they were strays. We saw local animal control pick them up and haul them into the animal transport vehicle.
After we got done playing in the park and splashing in the splash pad, we went out to lunch in Pryor. The Mid-American Grill was our place to be. Poor Blake: He vomited twice and that ended our lunch over there. We all felt bad about the mess we made and the vomit we left behind. It was time for all of us to go crash for the afternoon. You can barely see our boys sleeping below.
We had ample time to recover when we went out to eat for dinner. We had our first and only meal at Mazzio's pizza. I wanted to try their nachos, but we ran out of time to do that. Ben had his first taste of Dr. Pepper and he had a bunch of lemonade. We enjoyed our pizza, and we even got some french fries too. We gave my mom some leftovers of pizza from our meal.
Ben and Blake chowed down and had a great time. I love these guys and I love feeding them so many goodies. It is one of my favorite jobs.
After dinner, my sister Gena and her husband Jock came over to our room and visited all of us. Ben turned the lights on and off. We enjoyed each other's company and I was said to see them go. It will be a while before we all see each other again. Our journey towards home begins anew on Friday.
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