On your mark… get set..

 

Poke along… 

although we’d planned for months and had our packing done, we could NOT seem to get out on time. Starting almost an hour late is never a fun way to start out, but we didn’t lament it.

I started out in the back row with the two little girls, and John drove with Tab shotgun. 

Around 9PM Stewart and I took the front row and John tried to sleep.  I say tried because nine people in a van is not the Waldorf Astoria.  PFT.  It’s not even Motel 6.  But he grabbed some sleep as did the others – Tab on the floor.  At 3AM I scooted back to the floor in the back and John took over with Nigel as his copilot.  It’s not easy, but it’s part of the adventure.  It’s fun to wake up in the morning and be states and states away.  At around 8AM we pulled into Brother Juniper’s in Memphis Tennessee.  I’d found the restaurant on TripAdvisor weeks earlier and a call from John encouraged us that we’d have a good chance of Stewart finding a delicious, safe meal.

My black bean burrito was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever, ever had.  I’m going to rate it higher than cruise ship breakfasts, only because you rarely get Mexican breakfast options on a ship.

Johanna and Katriel shared a plate of Cinnamon Roll Pancakes.  I purposefully did not try it. 

Katriel got a little wiggly by the end of the meal and the waiter noticed her and started a conversation.  From about ten feet away, he lobbed a small butter packet to her.  She laughed with glee and picked it up and SHOT IT BACK.  Her toss had the perfect arch and caught every one of us by surprise.  HIS Baseball, here she comes!

With happy tummies, we piled back into the van and moved on to our first activity…