Somehow, our reasonable 11-hour trip took us more like 14...but we made it, late last night, safe and sound in our Red Roof Inn. Some thoughts on the trip:
- Illinois is still miserably dull.
- If Indianapolis is in any way cool, we saw no part of such hipness during the half-hour or so we were trapped in construction-causing traffic going through it. Rotting old warehouses, storage facilities, and repair centers of every shape and color were the highlights.
- Woke up early this morning (Sunday) to go to the Paul-Dazet house and surprise Meme and Papa. I was so looking forward to that moment!
- Went to a rock-n-roll church for the first time. Paul pastored and was very natural, and Mark's speech was raw and touching. I had to bury my head in Neil's shoulder at one point.
- The Big N' Tasty at McD's makes for a delicious mayo/onion fillet.
- Always bring a cooler on a trip when you're not sure if the hotel has an in-room fridge even when the website says king rooms do come with it. (Damn you, tiny-print "where available" line!)
- The Dazet's patio overlooking their backyard and creek far down is incredible. We had a great time tonight just sitting out there and chatting, all seven of us.
- Resisting Stacy's white chocolate blondie brownies with white chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream=willpower I didn't know I possessed.
- Ditto, to a lesser degree, for the cheesy garlic biscuits at Red Lobster.
- I totes forgot to call Dad this evening--I kept saying all day "Oh, just wait til after dinner when I know he'll be home," but then once at the Dazets, all plans went out the winder. At least I was the first post on Joe's wall. Currently trying not to be jealous that he got more birthday posts than I did.
- Idea on the road: next week, I'm making a salad with blue cheese dressing, topped with more buffalo crispy chicken strips. Oh I am excited! (Neil would like ranch and no buffalo sauce, thank you.)
- I got absolutely nothing read this trip except a few pages of EW from two weeks ago. That's okay though. I'm allocating an hour or so a day to reading from now on.
- Ooh, I just heard thunder! Unless that's a plane. Are we near an airport? Anyone?
- I failed at oopsie-roll making before we left--disappointing, as I had intended on bringing some with me so I could eat my McD's without a knife and fork. But I know exactly what I did wrong. And I think Dad can help me correct it. Thank god for him.
- We decided that rather than stay here one more night and leave early Tuesday morning, that we'll leave sometime tomorrow evening and drive for some hours and then stop. I like this idea--I like driving at night tons more than in the morning, and it'll make the main driving day a little more bearable.
- I just checked Youngstown weather for tomorrow, and it said there would be a few showers. Weather.com also gives a helpful tip above the forecast which reads "Fix damp basements." As if you could just get that done real quick before the few showers predicted for the day, I guess. "Honey, it's gonna rain today, so I'm just going to pop downstairs and fix that pesky leak slowly coming through the cement surrounding the entire basement. Won't be a minute."
- Betsy just wrote a long juicy e-mail offering to gift us with gorgeously decorated cookies for the informal reception! I am so thrilled--I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the Cake Question, since we'll have such fabulous Em-cuppies the week prior, but this solves that problem beautifully. Thanks, darlin' B!
- Our hotel keys are unlike anything I've ever seen. They are in the shape of an actual key, sort of, but the thing you stick in the lock is just like a little card--not unlike a flash drive.
- The ice machine is about two steps away from our room. Awesome for keeping the cooler stocked conveniently; less awesome when it's accessed at 3:00 in the morning by ice moochers similar to ourselves.
- Stopped at a Meijer store somewhere in Ohio yesterday. I wanted pickled stuff (no luck), but found a no-sugar/carb chocolate dipping sauce I can't find in Columbia. I can't ever see that store without being reminded of Awful Urbana.
- I can't wait to try some new recipes when I get home!
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