Our morning started out well, so well that while laying in bed, with Lily cuddled next to me sleeping, Lola next to her, and a baby doll and sippy cup floating around, I fired off this email before getting out of bed.
8:05 am – Good Morning!
Loran and I are up, our goal is to leave sooner than yesterday! Our driving day is less too. We got to the hotel late enough that all cribs were spoken for. Since we had two beds, we each took a girl. Ella had a hard time calming down enough to go to sleep with Loran (too excited) but then slept like a champ. Lola jumped between the two beds so as to split her time sleeping with both girls. Lily found this to be fantastic because it's her first time sleeping with a cat. So fantastic that she spent the 5am hour giggling about it as she pet Lola. Other fun sleeping Lily facts: she cries in her sleep, talks in her sleep and now...walks in her sleep! I woke up to her walking around the bed, I grabbed/tackled her and she crumpled into a pile, completely asleep. I'm a little less rested... :)
Breakfast with Loran's friend Eric, then we hit the road south. It's not any warmer, yet.
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As noted, we had breakfast plans at the home of Loran’s high school friend Eric and his wife, Liz. Also, as noted, sleeping with Lily was a little less restful than sleeping with Ella. I now don’t feel bad for keeping Lily in her crib longer than Ella, after the sleepwalking around the hotel bed, I think it’s better for everyone. Loran and I got up and started getting ready for our second day of driving, the girls were giggly and happy, bouncing around the beds and ready for more adventure.
Adventure is what we got. Sort of. Loran was looking out our window and noticed something unfortunate. Several cars in the parking lot had their windows smashed, and unfortunately, ours was one of them.
Panic! Due to our late-night arrival, we didn’t unpack the entire car. It was late, we were tired, so we only brought the “necessities” which still necessitated several trips. There was still a lot left in the car, including, our safes containing jewelry, important papers like passports, birth certificates, social security cards, etc. And with those safes, were the keys to each safe, tucked safely into the lock of each safe (so we wouldn’t lose them!) And, our extra set of car keys in the center console. The car was still there, so the keys were most likely also still there…but the safes!
Loran went down right away to check the situation. The safes were safe! He didn’t initially notice anything missing, just the broken window. Even my iPad had been found, but then left on the seat. The police had already been out and left a report for each car, so that was nice to have started. Loran was on the phone with auto glass companies. Since it was a Saturday, headed into a holiday weekend, we were a little nervous, but after a few calls, we did find a place about a half hour’s drive away that could take us and had our window in stock.
Loran set off on his chilly, windowless drive. The girls and I passed the time by having breakfast at the hotel where each girl proceeded to spill their juices all over the table. I was a little frazzled and barely holding it together. I was so thankful that we were all safe. Everything that mattered was in our hotel room when the incident happened, and that’s all that really mattered. The window was easily fixed. None of our really important belongings were taken. It was still so violating to know someone would break into our car, touch our things, and could even do so without feeling guilt when seeing two car seats and knowing you’re stealing from children. Meanwhile, other hotel guests around me were on the phone with local glass companies and also in the same boat, so we weren’t alone. Loran was also surrounded by hotel guests at the glass company who’d also made the chilly drive.
The girls really enjoyed their time in the room. They were busy as can be. Loran had their toys in the car with him, but they busied themselves by making up little games, playing beauty shop (with lots of blankets and pillows so it looked more like convalescent home), bouncing on the bed and drawing on the hotel stationary. Even the cats got a little girl-led pep talk before we set out.
Loran noted while he was gone that our food bag had been taken. Then as I was loading the girls into the car once he returned, I noticed the DVD players were gone (with our Toy Story DVD). This set me off. Sure, take our snacks, whatever. But to steal from children?! Seriously?? Our duct-taped DVD players?? I’ll never understand the feeling of entitlement that some have that they can just take from others. We pulled over in a parking lot to survey the remaining contents of our car. We then realized that a garbage bag containing some of the girls’ Christmas gifts had also been stolen. More defeated feelings flooded in. I just stood there bawling. I was also pissed. Had anyone crossed me, I felt I would punch them in the face. It’s just so violating. I also noticed a boot mark left in the dust of my door, like the door was kicked shut. That made me even more angry. I also wanted to get all CSI on them. Loran also reminded me that it could have been from the auto glass guys as they had all of the doors open while they vacuumed out the glass. How low are you that you would steal from little girls?
We kept this detail of our trip quiet, as we didn’t want to worry anyone. We weren’t staying in a bad part of town, Overland Park is a really nice suburb. It was just one of those things that happens anywhere. We weren’t hurt, we were just set back a few hours on our trip and morale was low for awhile. Our breakfast with friends turned into us stopping by their house for a little while to say hi. The girls were able to run around in their backyard with their cute little dog, and fed it way too many treats. The stop was a good boost for our moods. Loran changed our hotel arrangements for the night to a hotel near Oklahoma City, otherwise, we’d have had another long night.
So much for our early start. We stopped at a Target in Wichita, KS for a new DVD player and headphones for the girls and some snacks. The guy in electronics was really trying to push the extended warranty on us. Loran handled it with grace, meanwhile, I wanted to yell out, does it cover theft? Because we’re replacing our DVD player because it was stolen, not because it broke. (the duct tape was just to reinforce the straps that hold it on the seat back). I was still a little on the edge.
Loran and his cuddly rest stop buddy.
As we drove across Kansas, I found the terrain to be strangely beautiful. Certainly void of trees, but there were hills and ridges and interesting valleys. I was expecting it to be completely flat and boring, but Kansas is quite beautiful.
We stopped at a town called Guthrie where we enjoyed some BBQ and a fun little restaurant called Stables. Despite the name, it was less horse themed than I had imagined it would be. It was decorated like a TGI Fridays, but all of their stuff was legitimate Americana, not just cheesy décor. They even had a cigarette machine, with the pull handle that I remember from my youth. That made me feel old. Back on the road, we tuned into the Alamo Bowl where our beloved(?) Longhorns were playing Oregon State. As we were listening on the dark roads of Oklahoma, we noticed something familiar in the commercials, and then the stations call letters. AM 1500 KSTP…out of St. Paul. Still a preset on my car radio, we were picking them up loud and clear, with the exception of a hill or overpass. A little slice of home.
Our new home for the night was the Sleep Inn, just off of 35. We watched the end of the Alamo Bowl where the Longhorns came from behind to win in the last minutes of the game. That was pretty exciting! A much better night for everyone. Ella had her own bed, Lily had a crib and our car was completely unpacked and in our room!
Our Day in Email Updates
2:37 pm – Kansas Less Flat Than Expected
Christy is doing a great job of driving us through central Kansas. This is my first time in Kansas and it is less flat than I imagined. Our arrival time at our hotel (allowing for a stop shortly at Target in Wichita) is 6:09pm, just a few minutes after the 5:45pm kickoff of the Alamo Bowl in which the Texas Longhorns are playing. Accordingly, Christy has her Longhorns sweatshirt on.
6:11 pm – Oklahoma!
We just entered Oklahoma. We are listening to the Alamo Bowl - on KSTP am1500...thanks to night and flat land. A little bit of home. The girls are doing great, they had a lot of fun playing with Eric Brown's dog in the yard and fed it so many treats it was full! It is now very, very flat.
9:10 pm – OKC
The girls are in the bath and we are all tucked into the Sleep Inn just outside of Oklahoma City. Easy drive today, no traffic, no falling snow - unlike yesterday. We stopped at a great restaurant in Guthrie, OK called Stables. It was less cowboy/horse themed than the name would allude. More like pieces of Americana - like a TGI Fridays, but the decor is authentic. "Our" Texas Longhorns just pulled ahead in the Alamo Bowl with a couple of minutes left. Go team.
Tomorrow we'll actually get an early start...
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