On the road again!

Kara's preparations for the trip with the babies brought back memories of trips I made with children.

I was very much influenced by my Aunt Naomi. She used to come home to Grandma's house for long visits when Uncle Ed was out on a ship. She drove all the way from California once with little ones. She said two truck drivers approached her at a gas station early in the trip. They noticed she had been following the same route they were taking and was alone with the children. They asked her where she was going. When she told them, they said drive between us and we will take you there! They drove with her all the way to Missouri! I just thought if Aunt Naomi could do it, I could too!

From Shreveport there were the trips to Missouri. I went once with only Nancy Christ (she was about 8) and Matt (3). That was when Grandma had breast cancer surgery. On the trip home I stopped at a McDonalds in Jacksonville, AR. I ate a burger with onions and was oh so sick by the time I got back home. It was a very long trip. That was just the beginning. I was sick for about 8 more months--every day. No wonder Kara is not a fan of 7 UP or graham crackers!

I made trips home to Missouri from Tulsa, Dallas, and San Angelo also. I developed some rules for travel with small children. We drank water not cokes! Stops for gas were made when the children were awake! I did not drive until I was low on gas and then look for a station. I got gas around nap times! Snacks and lunches were scheduled. We sang songs. We could get a lot of mileage out of Kara Lee has a mother ( father, brother, friend, cousin etc.) and Delores is her name-o set to the famous "Bingo is His Nameo" song. We memorized scripture, names of presidents, and did all sorts of things to entertain. Wow! No DVD players in the car so we had to make our own entertainment.

It was a long, long way from San Angelo! I learned to drive 3 hours 4 times or more! I would think of it as from San Angelo to Dallas--Dallas to Texarkana--Texarakana to Little Rock--Little Rock to home!

I really have more good memories of trips than unpleasant ones. Guess that speaks well for my children. Besides all those trips with just mom, there were family vacation trips and trips to visit relatives. All that together time in the car made for some memories!