Road Trip Day 1 - Fredericksburg

We left Saturday morning by 7. I had wanted to leave by 5, but my body just wouldn't let that happen. We weren't but 8 blocks or so away from the house when Gabriel shouted out, "This is a fun trip, isn't it?" So funny. We stopped for our only big breakfast of the trip twenty minutes from home in Burleson to eat at Denny's. The kids don't really eat breakfast other than yogurt, waffles, bananas and dry cereal, and were bored before we even got our food. We realized that it wasn't worth the stress of trying to entertain them while we waited, but at least it tasted good for the five minutes that we were inhaling our food! When leaving, Jav took Gabriel to the bathroom and when they pushed the lever to flush, water started spraying all over Gabriel. He was literally soaked when Jav brought him back to the car. I know when I want to stay fresh and clean, a Denny's toilet shower is just the thing. So icky. We changed his clothes, washed his hands, and were on our way. What're you gonna do? It's a road trip!

We slowly made our way south, stopping to let Joel run (literally RUN) at certain gas station/convenience store stops that had big parking lots. One in Meridian has a particularly pretty field with a view and an almost vacant lot next to it. Perfect for standing far apart and letting Joel and Gabriel take turns running to us. They finally both fell asleep twenty minutes from our destination, of course.

A sideways shot of what I looked like most of the trip. I drove a little on the way home. More about that later. The thing I was dreading about this trip was having to see my beautiful state of Texas after falling victim to a drought for the last year. I tried to prepare myself, but it's just so awful actually seeing it compared to imagining. The Hill Country is supposed to be the hardest hit area other than West Texas. We saw no water in creeks, streams or tanks. Nothing. The Brazos was so far down I think you could have waded across at some points. The vultures appeared to be thriving, however.

And here is the reason for our sideways detour to Fredericksburg, minus a few people. This is my Uncle Robert and Aunt Lou. He is the last surviving sibling of my grandmother. We spent many fun summer trips to Fredericksburg staying with them, in the same house they are in today. He turned 90 this year, she is 88. They are both in excellent mental shape. Uncle Robert has some pretty severe physical things going on, especially affecting his circulation in his legs. He can barely get around, which just kills me to see because he was always so active. He played in amateur tennis leagues up into his 70's. He has a somewhat strong hint of a German accent, which I love to hear. She bakes, and is the one who made the homemade brown bread that I've written about before. They are such sweet, sweet people and I want to take every chance I can to visit them.

I'm so glad my boys have met them and heard my stories. Gabriel will remember them. I'm not sure about Joel. One neat thing that happened was that Jav had to take them in the backyard for a little while because Joel was going crazy. When they came back in Gabriel had counted the cement stepping stones, and I told him that was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. My cousin Laurie (their oldest daughter) visited for a short time also.

This picture means SO much to me. It's the oldest member of my family with the youngest. I get really sad sometimes that my grandparents never got to meet my boys, and vice versa. This is the next best thing.

Jo Jo and Daddy. The boys loved motel life. Eating in the same room we slept in, two TV's and one of them almost always on. Heaven! One of the strangest memories I'll have of that first day was just before going out for dinner we happened to catch Bye, Bye Birdie about halfway through on one of the movie channels. We'd never seen it, but were curious about it because of Ann-Margaret's song from I guess the beginning of the movie. It figured heavily in one of the Mad Men episodes, so we sat down to watch a little of it. Excuse me, kids, but What The Hell? Is it supposed to be funny? Does anyone from the town realized that their Idol can't really sing? We just didn't get it. Dick Van Dyke was slightly entertaining, but that was it!

We decided to drive by the Herb Farm where we got married, even though it was closed to visitors other than Bed and Breakfast customers. I wish we hadn't decided to do that. I was devastated to see what the new owners have done to the place. The entire wildflower field that used to have the big windmill in the middle is gone. The space where we had our ceremony is gone. The only garden with herbs growing in it left is the one by the storefront next to the parking lot. Every inch of space is covered with a tiny bungalow type bed and breakfast. The windmill sits in the center of all the buildings. So wrong. The bungalows are so close together you don't have any privacy.

When Gabriel was 6 months old or so, we took him there and took pictures of each of us holding him at our favorite spots, and had hoped to do the same with Joel. We had even entertained the idea of hiring our photographer, who lives in Fredericksburg, to take some pics of all of us there. Now we never will get to do any of those things, and that thought made me start bawling in the car. Sometimes I hate change, especially when the changes RUIN someplace that really had a special spark.

And that ends Day One. Tired. Bed. Sleep.