Dear Anne E. Body,
Morning from the City of Music! I am sitting in the dark of our hotel room, and trying not to wake the rest of the family. I managed to make myself a cup of hotel coffee and open my computer all in the dark before I sat down to write. Looking between the clock on the microwave and the alarm clock, it is either 5:55 or 6:55 a.m. But I am pretty sure it's 5:55 a.m. because I think when we traveled west from Atlanta we crossed into another time zone, but don't hold me to that as time can get all mixed up with traveling so much.
We are about 6 weeks into our 8 week road trip. It is fun--I don't regret it and would do it again--but I do often loose track of what day it is, what time zone it is, and when I wake up for the first few seconds of the day I wonder "where am I?" before I get my bearings. In our routine-less life of travel we oddly have worked ourselves into a little routine, especially on this leg of our trip since we are trying to get from Atlanta to Denver in 5 days, so it is a lot of driving and sleeping at different hotels each night.
On drive days, we try to drive just about 4 hours tops. If we have planned the drive well, then it means we leave just around lunch time. That way it gives us a nice slow and easy start to our morning - allowing us to eat breakfast, play and relax before packing up and getting into the car. Then we try to find a place to stop along the way that is fun for the kids to allowing them to play and run around. Some stops are more exciting than others, for example we have seen things from the world's largest frying pan and the world's largest buffalo (although not at the same location... ha ha, although that is a good idea and might boost tourism if they put the large buffalo into the frying pan). But we also have seen more legit things like Lookout Mountain, which was the location of the Battle of Chattanooga. Our stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee has been my favorite sight seeing so far. It was such an unexpected blessing. Allan planned it as it was a national park and it seemed like a good place for the boys to run. Lookout Mountain really gave me eyes of understanding to all of those classes and studies on the US Civil War growing up. From the top of the mountain you really could see so much all around you, the structure of the city and the flow of the river. The trees were beautiful and created a dance of shadows through the leaves as we winded back and forth down the mountain. The grand houses on top immediately set my mind into the land of "what if..." as I tried to imagine what it would be like to see such a view everyday and come home to such a southern style looking house all painted white with black shutters.
When we stop we try to grab some lunch or simply eat the snacks we keep stocked in our car. After our stop we climb back into the car and pass out the electronic devices with the downloaded movies for the kids, and they watch quietly in the back 2/3s of the van. If we are lucky, then Allan and I find a cup of coffee somewhere to go and enjoy a "coffee date" in the front 1/3 of the van. Classical instrumental music will be playing on the radio if Allan set the dial, but top hits from the 80's and 90's (you know the ones you can sing along with all of the words) will be playing if I set the dial. This is one of the times I miss the Philippines as I think of what great radio stations they have, true karaoke on wheels.
Once we get to our hotel destination, Allan checks in and unpacks the van, while I take the boys to the room and they do their ritual jump from bed-to-bed, while having a pillow fight and wrestling match to christen the new-to-us hotel room. While the boys are "exercising", I check out the room. I look to see if they have powered creamer or liquid creamer for the coffee. I see if the door can stay open on it's own, to make bringing in luggage easier, but alas only one hotel we have stayed in had a room door that stayed open on its own. I make a mental note that if I ever own my own hotel I would install doors that stay open. Then I check out the layout of the room and see where the most practical place would be to place every one's luggage. Some rooms are planned better than others, and I do get a little bit of excitement when it is a well planned room. Lastly I pull out toiletry bags for each person and arrange them at the bathroom sink, and I line up our shoes by the door. When I am done, I plop on the couch and flip to HGTV if I have the TV remote. The best hotel rooms, in my opinion, are the ones with a door between the sleeping area and lounge area because this means late night dates with my husband after the kids fall asleep, a precious opportunity indeed! My HGTV watching doesn't last long, as Allan and I start to make dinner plans between any leftovers, car snacks, take out options, and any in room cooking we can do to make it feel like a dinner at home.
We have had our fair share of hotel stories to share. One night while everyone was sound asleep I crawled into bed and tried to fall asleep. Just as I was falling asleep someone banged on our door. It was about midnight. Then this person used a key and actually opened our hotel door! Thankfully I previously read the little guest service binder in the room, which advised to always deadbolt and security latch your door, so the security latch stopped him from entering our room. But it did not stop me from screaming! I screamed with all of my might, so much my throat was sore the next morning. Allan bolted out of bed in a start and stumbled around in confusion. My screaming scared the intruder and he went away. I then re-bolted the door and put luggage in front of it for the rest of the night. Oddly and thankfully the boys slept through it all.
The next night we were still staying in the same town, so we decided to switch hotels because there were other things about that hotel that just didn't seem right. The next hotel was much nicer. We splurged for a room with a door between the beds and the lounge area. After the boys were asleep Allan and I were enjoying one of our after-the-kids-are-asleep dates, when all of a sudden the fire alarm went off! Super loud buzzer noise and bright white strobe like lights flashed all over. We scrambled around to figure out what was happening. Allan checked on the kids (which again slept through it!) as I went out to the lobby to confirm it was a false alarm. Then we joined the kids and went to bed. A few hours into the same night, around 2 or 3am, again loud banging on our hotel door. Everyone was again sound asleep. I thought maybe it was my fears from the previous hotel so I tried to ignore it. But when I learned it was real I woke up Allan (this time with just a little bit more grace and self control than the other night). He woke up again in a start and went to the door, using the security latch he cracked the door just enough to ask who it was. At which the stranger simply said, "Oh wrong room" and stumbled away. So needless to say these events have made sure that one of the kids I do is to keep an eye on the deadbolt and security latch of our door and keep it locked at all times.
Anyways.... our hotels and drive days are just half of our road trip, which is just the in between parts to get to the main half of visiting and staying with friends. But sharing about that will just have to await until another letter, as now my family is awake and it is time to shower and start packing so we can make it to our next destination. This trip true is memories in the making and we are thankful and enjoying ourselves, even in the midst of seemingly appearing hardships.
Love Your Friend,
Sandi
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