The car is loaded up the night before in preparation for every teenage girl’s favorite thing…. the early start.
We wave good-bye to the house as the car pulls out
of the driveway…
First priority is the drive-thru for our morning’s allowance of caffeine and sugar.
Desperate times call for desperate measures… like borrowed sunglasses.
If you have any doubt as to my true feelings regarding eight lane expressway driving, check out the white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.
Meanwhile everyone else engages in their favorite drive-time activities…
You gotchur studying,
There’s knitting,
and then there’s ‘ninnin!’
At the halfway point we take a little pitstop,
and stretch our legs.
Thankfully we have our own personal gentleman to take care of all those big heavy doors.
Hug-walking is our speciality.
So is goofing off.
A quick stop to purchase swimtrunks for a certain nameless someone who just remembered they forgot to pack theirs.
“OOOOhh…. look at the pretty house!”
“Mom, can we please hurry up?”
The bridge means we’re almost there.
“Mom, thanks for not being mad about me forgetting my swimtrunks.”
Grampa’s workshop means we’re really almost there…
It’s Nana’s house…
and
we’re
here!
Wowie. thanks for letting us ride along! Looks like the ninnin' is coming along! I thought your parents lived fairly close to you. How long did it take? I'm so glad you had a lovely weekend. Looks like the weather was perfect!
mam
Yay! I love arriving. You should see my knuckles on the highways. Liddy used to give me a really hard time until she started driving. Now she hands me the keys for the bits she doesn't want to drive. lol. Yep. I get all the really good bits: unsigned freeways, peak hour traffic, roadworks ~ anything that means Lid might have to put the brakes on & go slow! lol.
mam… well, there's about 3 hrs of actual drive-time, but when you allow for pitstops and other "quick stops" and factor in slowing-down-to-look-at-pretty-houses that adds at least another hr, maybe hr and a half. in other words, not a drive i want to make every week;) and you're right, the weather was *perfect!*
ganeida… your liddy sounds like my louisa! she'll say, "it's an easy drive- you just have to make sure you're in the right lane" yep, spoken like a true non-driver, lol:) i am so bad at big city driving, i enlist a compassionate friend to drive me and amelia to her appointments with the specialist… and oh, how i do appreciate that friend!
You're my kind of driver! I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I used to, but I'm not a very good passenger either, unless I can settle down with a good book. I don't get car-sick from reading, so that's a good thing.
That *was* a really pretty house!
mam
Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Looks like it was fun, and especially getting some r&r time at your folks. Have a great time!
lol. I drive by signposts & employ a kid to read them because I can't read them at distance early enough! I hate big city driving.
mam… i actually love driving in certain situations- like when there aren't a lot of other cars around or rural type roads, but man-o-man all those lane changes, exits and onramps and such-like make me a nervous wreck!
did you click on the house picture for a closer look? it is sweet:)
yaya… it's always nice to go a'visitin':)
ganeida… yes! isn't it helpful to have additional readers on board?! i'm always afraid i am going to land myself in some desperate neighborhood somewhere and not be able to extricate myself. it's never happened, but i'm always afraid that *this* will be the trip where it will, lol.
Oh, I know that sick feeling because I've done this … well the neighbourhood was ok but I was sooo lost & when I stopped to ask directions no~one had even heard of any of the suburbs I needed; & of course it was early closing & no~one had any maps. Typical. I've also been so lost in Brisbane I've backtracked to come home only to find the exit I needed! Never did figure that one out! I like long drives on the open highway & I prefer to drive because unlike Mama I do get car sick. Very, very carsick.
That house is super lovely BTW.
oh ganeida, once i did get terribly lost too… not in a desperate neighborhood or anything, but i ended up on the complete opposite *side*of*the*city*! never could quite figure out how i managed that, but hey, i must just have the talent, right?;)
about the house… i *know!* every detail was just perfect! the kids were saying, mom this is embarrassing- taking a picture of a stranger's house. i told them, with a house like this, i'm sure they're very used to it:)
Hi there,
Your example really inspired me to handle the next "i-forgot-this-or-that" with my kids with as much grace as you did. What a nice reaction! I tend to ask pointless and fruitless questions like, "Why didn't you pack the suit? …Answer me?" Thanks for the inspiring post, just being yourself. : )
Ash
ash… you just say the sweetest things, my dear!((hugs))
Beautiful. That would make a great picture book to give to the grandparents. xoxo, hil
hil.. that is a seriously great idea! xoxo yerself;)
That was such a fun ride. Thanks for taking us along.