Jim and April's Roadtrips

When we started this website, our purpose was to provide a way for friends to follow us on our trips and to share some of our photos with them.  That has been a problem from the start.  To begin with, when we are traveling, we don’t really have much time for posting.  We are on the road for six or more hours a day and spend evenings editing pictures or just relaxing after the long drive.

Secondly, we don’t travel every week, or even every month.  That leaves us with long periods of time with no new subjects for posting.  We could just give up and take down the site, but we aren’t ready to do that.  So, I’m trying to come up with travel related ideas to fill in the gaps. Originally, we had thought to do that with local weekend trips.  However, with the advent of 12 little Indians in our lives, that hasn’t really happened either.  Most of the time, we are just too busy living to spend much of it traveling.  

So, I’m open to suggestions if you have any.  My current thinking is that Jim spends a lot of time lately chasing trains.  He could make a short post once a week about where he’s been or where he’s planning to go and post some pictures of his excursions.  I haven’t mentioned this to him yet, but it was my first thought.  He’s also made several trips this past year on other photography related adventures that he could write about.

For myself, the furthest that I travel most weeks is to the church and back five days a week delivering children to preschool and picking them back up.  That will change somewhat when school is out though.  There will probably be trips to the parks and the zoo.  There’s the family reunion in Ohio.  Still, not a regular thing that could fill a blog.  

 However, one thing I do all year round is get ready for our big trip in the fall.  Jim’s Combat Camera group meets somewhere in the country for their annual reunion and I design a trip around that location.  I plan the route and research interesting places along the way.  In the past, we’ve spent up to three weeks on the road with the 3 day reunion somewhere in the middle.  I’m thinking I could share my research.  Who knows, you might decide to visit some of the spots I look into yourself.

This year’s reunion is in Colorado Springs and we are probably just going straight there and straight back, a week at most.  This is an economizing measure because next year, we are planning on skipping the reunion for a trip to Europe.  That one will require a lot of research.

Jim has wanted an excuse to go back there ever since he got out of service.  My grandson Brad is stationed in Germany, at present, and Jim sees this as his opportunity. The only parts of Europe I’ve ever longed to see are Ireland and Scotland, but I am an aficionado of mountains and i’ve heard they have some good ones in many parts of the continent, so I’m willing to give it a try. 

I’m hoping that, one way or another, we can come up with, at least, one post a week.  Stay tuned for a potential schedule.  

My oldest granddaughter is getting married in May.  She is borderline between “thrifty” and “Scrooge.”  My beautiful twenty-something single mom has begun to sound like a baby-boomer when she complains about the prices of everything from a cup of coffee to nice clothes.  This is the same girl that used to buy $50 flip flops because they had the Nike logo on the sole.   Of course, that was before she spent the last couple of years surviving on her own.  

Her plan was to find a dress online and order it.  Her mother, knowing how unlikely that was to fit properly, drafted me to help her figure out the size.  I thought, knowing that “off the rack” probably would need altering, it would be better to buy something at a local establishment where they would be able to make any necessary adjustments.

I looked online and found a formal/wedding shop in Richmond, KY where she lives.  I called them before hand and was assured that they had wedding dresses starting at around $100 and did alterations in the store, plus everything was supposedly “on sale.”  The person on the phone said, if we came in right away, there would also be time to order a dress, if they didn’t have anything she wanted in stock.  

I made an appointment and we planned the day.  Jim and I would drive from Madisonville to Richmond (about a four hour trip each way), pick her up from work and make an afternoon of it.  First the wedding dress, then to Peddlar’s Mall  to look for a crib, and Walmart for a high chair.  Unfortunately, it turned into a “God laughs” situation.  

The sales person, in the wedding store, said it was too late to order and be sure of getting it in time for May.  I know I had told the phone person the wedding date before she mentioned the possibility of ordering, but I neglected to get her name, so I let it slide.

Next, we’re told, they can’t, presently, do alterations in the store because they are too busy.  Instead, we were given a flyer for someone they recommended.  Ok, she comes recommended and the flyer says she had 30 years experience.  I can deal with that.

Discouraged, but determined, we navigated to the wedding dress area, two walls lined with white dresses in plastic bags.  They were sorted by size and her section was about 6 foot long.  There was nothing on a manikin, just wire hangers on a rod.  Her long suppressed inner snob rose to the surface, “This looks like they brought them down from someone’s attic and put them out for a yard sale.”  

We found nothing for less than $350, most of them were in the $1000 to $2000 range.  Our price range did not extend that high.  We were prepared to spend $300 or $400, maybe even a little more, but the dresses for that price were short and my baby girl had set her heart on a full length one.  

Maybe she would have been willing to compromise if she hadn’t already seen one online that she loved for less than $200.  Our concern with ordering it had been finding someone reliable, locally, to do any necessary alterations.  At least, that was solved.  We had the phone number and information of the Alteration Lady.  

The online store said the dress would arrive by the middle of March, if ordered within the next twelve hours.  The Alteration Lady’s flyer said she needed, at least, 30 days to avoid “rush job” fees.  We decided to take our chances on everything coordinating and fled the “yard sale presentation” store.

At Peddler’s Mall, where we had bought a bassinet and several other baby type items on previous occasions, we found no joy either.  Other than a couple of antique wooden high chairs without trays, the only baby equipment they had, at present, was strollers.  This didn’t seem like too big a deal, the crib isn’t really urgent, it was just frustrating.  

That’s when things really “went south.”  Walmart, the mega-have everything, one stop shopping “big box,” was out of high chairs!  This was, more or less, urgent since it was to be a birthday present for her little girl.  I had promised to buy it and I wouldn’t be back before our Journey turned one.  

Meijer’s saved the day.  They had a good selection and we found one that satisfied both sides of her personality, practical and not overly expensive, but still nice and suitable for a boy or girl.

The high chair was bought and we had also found a pair of boots for little girl.  There’s still lots of shopping and preparation to do for the wedding but, once I found and ordered a veil online while driving home, the most important part is underway.  I’m sure the process will require more visiting back and forth, but it will all be worth it.

 

Apologies for not posting sooner. We have been on the road since September 1st. The first couple of days were long and nothing much happened. Then we spent two days at Colorado Springs with my grandson, Brad, and his family.   While there we visited a Pueblo and the Air Force Chapel.  We left there with them on Friday for Moab, Utah.

Here’s a quick pick of photos up to that point.  I promise to catch up over the next few days.  We are currently in Reno, Nevada.  We leave in the morning for the Donner Pass, following the railroad.

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Everyone has their own idea of how to get ready for a trip.  My usual packing method is to count the days I’ll be gone and take an outfit for each day, then add a couple extra in case of emergencies and a couple in case the weather changes (long pants in summer, shorts in spring or fall).  Oh, and one dress up ensemble, pajamas, maybe a swimsuit and my favorite bathrobe.  Then I need a bag for toiletries, make up, a curling iron, vitamins, and emergency supplies like aspirin, antacid, bandages, antiseptic, antibiotic cream….a raincoat, umbrella, extra shoes.  Followed by the laptop, a bag for books, my tablet & kindle, writing paper, pens, chargers for my tablet, kindle, and cell phone, a power strip to plug them all into because hotels seldom have enough outlets.  

My brother, Jim, (a veteran traveler of the bachelor persuasion) had been in the habit of, not so subtly, hinting that I pack too much stuff.  He has a new perspective lately though.  Many of our road trips the past couple of years have included small children. 

Traveling with toddlers takes packing to a whole new level.  Last weekend we took three of my great grandchildren to Ohio with us for a family reunion.  That includes two boys aged 2 and 2 1/2 and an almost one year old girl.  

So, two sizes of diapers….count on about half a dozen per child per day.   Three or four outfits each per day plus pajamas, bath soap, swim gear (floaties and swimsuits), sun block, hair brush, toys, story books, sippy cups, bottles, a port-a-crib, strollers. Snacks for the ride and an ice chest for fruit juice and milk.  Even without all the paraphernalia, the necessity for space to accommodate  three car seats means taking two cars.  

But seeing the world through the joyfully amazed eyes of little ones makes it all worth the trouble.