Dear John,
Here is what results from growing your hair out to make a wig for your wife, getting six hours sleep after driving for 18 straight hours, and being awakened way before you want to be:
And so it goes...
The boss thought that somehow I would have magically gotten the car packed and the house closed up, dog delivered to her vacation buddy, etc., by the time I picked her up at work at midnight.
Not even close!
We departed Saturday at noon. SWMBO was lulled to sleep by the swish-swish of the wipers. It had been a hard week at her job and she was exhausted.
I drove, with stops for meals and pit stops (damn HCTZ - every hour, like clockwork, regardless of liquid input.
I guess it was just as well that she'd put in 30 hours of over time in the previous pay period. A vacation revolving around sleeping in a tent is a nasty experience when it rains every day. Having a cash cushion removed the guilt about staying in motels. Damn good thing, too -- hung it up in central PA around 3 AM Sunday when shadows and deer became indistinguishable. Those who've driven I-80 or the Pennsylvania Turnpike can attest to the wisdom of quitting when you can't tell the deer from the trees.
After six hours of sleep [see photo], we hit the road again and continued west, arriving unheralded in New Castle, PA about one PM. Daughter Number 1 had conspired with us to all arrive simultaneously at the home of Daughter Number 2, who had gotten disgusted with our lack of appearance and communication and had laid down for a nap. Imagine her surprise...
Mayhem ensued for about four hours until tiny voices demanding food overshadowed the nonstop discussion only a mother and two daughters who haven't seen each other in years can generate.
We found an Asian Buffet in Boardman, Ohio, that met the requirements of all concerned. The Mama-San proprietor didn't blink or curse when informed there would be ten for dinner, a good sign. Pops (moi) picked up the tab. It was doable and earned me kudos from the sons-in-law.
Grandchildren were satiated and ready for a post-prandial snooze, so the return trip was blissfully quiet and uneventful until someone decided to check to see if the bowling alley was in operation (it wasn't) which produced a disappointed, pouty child in our back seat.
Back at Daughter 2's home, the great unveiling of the clothing exchange began. Essentially, each participant had one or more lawn and yard bags full of clothing to swap or trade, due to changes in taste, buyer's remorse, size differences, etc. This little game, the Mama bear played with her cubs, while Papa Bear played dolls with granddaughter, worked on a SpongeBob cutout figure with a grandson, listened to war stories told by the sons-in-law and attempted my own post-prandial snooze when no one was looking.
The fun and games came to a halt as overtired children became more and more cantankerous, along with grandparents "discovering" things that needed to be checked at the motel. Heheheh.
Thus endeth Day 1 of the Great Vacation.
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