Marie:  I forgot my camera.

Tabitha: I forgot the charger for my camera.

Stacy:  I forgot the license plate game board

Stacy:  I forgot my visor

Stacy:  I forgot sunscreen

Stacy:  I forgot swim diapers

John:  I forgot all the printouts of safe places to eat

And just in case I wasn’t already in the running as the winner…

Stacy:  I forgot my wedding band.

Really…

Actually – it stopped being funny midday Saturday.  I’m not some novice traveler.  I can pack in my sleep.  I’ve got my go-to Florida Packing List down to a science and can tell you our minute-by-minute, meal-by-meal, outfit-by-outfit plan from every trip for the last one-and-a-half decades!  “I’ve got this.”

Road Trip 2015 – I’m a big loser.

Details… I missed so many details.  Sure, I made sure we booked hotels that accommodated our party of 8 in such a way that I wouldn’t have to tiptoe around with a flash light to make my early A.M. hot Dark Chocolate Sensation.  But then I packed the hot chocolate that requires MILK, not water.  Oh – and the instant coffee packets I picked up to make it My Way… left them at home.

I’m not being funny.  I’m not being melodramatic.  I blew this.  I sincerely enjoy traveling and all the planning and prep that go with it normally enhance my experience.  This trip… I just keep being reminded of all the ways I didn’t measure up. 

The worst part (so far!) is that both Stewart and Marie have written projects they wanted me to proof-read.  I’ve been putting them off and told them I’d read them whilst I had all that down time in the van on our road trip.  Friday, Stewart put his screenplay, “The Monster Among Us,” and Marie’s book, “The Return of the Jaminns,” on my new laptop.

You know – the one I NEVER INSTALLED OFFICE ON!

So – instead I am typing another blog entry.  (Into the now user-interface-less Windows Live Writer that I will have to cut and paste into Blogger into the hotel room.  If I remember to bring my mouse in from the van.)

At least we slept well?

Okay – I’ll type a blog about the hotel.  It rocked.

Ecclesiastes 7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

When you’ve been 630 feet in the air you work up an appetite.  We were pretty tired, had had a mighty breakfast, and really wanted to get to the hotel to swim.  We opted against lunch and just mowwed (is that a word? blogger says no) on muffins, cereal bars, juice boxes and cheese sticks.  The cranky-factor was high and we just worked on making time across the lovely state of MO.  (I think I could live here.  Looks like a flat version of NY.)

Around 4:00 P.M. CST we decided we needed to feed the animals nourish our family and I did a search for a KFC (which they’ll be delighted to hear some lady just associated with the word nourish).  We found one and because I have more time than sense I even did a TripAdvisor review of the place.  They had a BUFFET.  A KFC BUFFET.  I’m not a big fan of KFC, but I love buffets.  Why?  I’m glad you asked.  I’ve had WAY too many experiences in restaurants and at theme parks where you can talk to a kid about food choices, but because they can’t SEE exactly what you are talking about you don’t always know if they are really going to eat it when it gets on a table in front of them.  With a buffet you’ve more-or-less got a WYSIWYG situation.  Granted, after they taste it, they may balk… but you just GO GET SOMETHING ELSE.  Now, some folks counter with buffets being a hassle for parents because they have to get up and down and up and down many times and do not get to actually sit and enjoy their food.  I see this as a faulty argument.  I think of it as burning the calories as I eat them. 

OH – and the best part — $8.49 for John, Stewart, and I, and $4.99 for the middle four.  Katriel was free.  AND drinks were included.  Less than $50 for 8 people.  Nice.

We stopped at Walmart (where they had a height restriction for vehicles entering the parking lot).  Apparently truckers are not wanted in Oak Grove Walmart.  Why did we stop at Walmart?  BECAUSE I FORGOT THINGS!

Our hotel was just 30 minutes away and, baby, did it rock.  The manager had emailed me on Friday with a question about our reservation.  It seemed their system had us down for TWO suites, each with a king-sized bedroom, a 2 queen bedroom, and sofa bed in the family room.  It seems they weren’t able to offer us two suites with exactly that set up and he had some suggestions to offer us instead.  Well, we are larger-than-life, but we don’t need quite that much space.  I contacted him and explained we only needed one suite that size.

When I checked in a lovely employee Lisa said, “I see you talked with Michael about the room changes.”  She went on to explain we have two connecting rooms.  One with a king bedroom, full-bath, and kitchen/livingroom, and another with a 2 queen bedroom, full bath, and kitchen/livingroom.  And because of our inconvenience  (???) HE TOOK 50% OFF our charges.  We ended up with plenty o’space for — $97.00 USD.  Total.  Not each room.  Michael, dude, you rock.  

The hotel was beautiful.  And I hate hotels.  I’m sure I’ll explain why in one of these posts sometime.  My kids were loving the digs.  It was just a very nice place. 

 

 

 We lugged in only what we needed (which still required two trips) and donned swim suits.  Then our 8 road-weary bodies made merry in the salt-water pool and hot tub. (Okay – okay – I for sure did not get in the pool. It wasn’t freezing-freezing, but I require some pretty warm water temps or sunshine high in the sky to swim.)  But I found something I could get excited about. 

 

 

 

 

 

MAN we look TIRED!  LOL.

At 7:45 P.M. we called all out and as we needed to drip-dry, we circled some chaises and chairs around and did family bedtime prayers in the pool room.  We scooted back to our rooms and melted into the crazy-awesome beds.