Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Waterstraut, Party of FIVE

Memorial Day was kind of crazy for us. Originally, Olivia had planned to come back in June. But, plans changed, and she was spending Memorial Day weekend in Chicago at a gaming thing, and then heading home. She booked her flight home and let us know... but she didn't know we had plans to be in Ohio that weekend. And she was coming home at midnight Monday night/Tuesday morning- after we planned to drive all the way back from Ohio that day (mind you the airport is on the other side of our house, so it was adding time). We debated what to do- I didn't want to ask anyone to go get her because of the time. Most everyone we know had to work the next morning. So, we thought about how best for us to be the ones to get her- maybe start home on Sunday and finish on Monday? Calib did not like the idea. He wanted as much lake house time as possible. So, I told him we could just get up at 5am to give ourselves plenty of time to get home. But, if we did that, he had to be the one to go get Olivia from the airport at midnight. And the deal was struck. So, there we were at 5am, heading out from the lake house. So long, Lake Waynoka. 


By the time we got to the Kentucky state line, it had gotten much lighter. 


And Calib was still asleep! 


Our first Buc-ees stop was was breakfast in Richmond Kentucky. So far, we hadn't encountered much traffic, which was good. I was so worried about how bad it would be on Memorial Day after it took so long for us to get to Ohio on Thursday. We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches, and some coffee, plus some gas, and hurried on our way. 


And then it got pretty foggy. Not too bad on the road, but the mountains off in the distance weren't even visable. 



And Calib was still asleep. I actually figured this was good- since he was the one having to go get Olivia. 


Before long we hit the Tennessee state line. One of my favorite rest stops along the way, though we didn't take the trail this time, I did walk back and forth along the walkways while Asa was in the bathroom.. 


...and Calib was still sleeping. 


I will note, it was still a little chilly for my tastes (My complaint for going to Ohio in May- it's still pretty cold. Lots of hoodie wearing- unheard of in May around here). 


The thing about the trip to Ohio is it's not too bad going through Kentucky or Tennessee, just a few hours for those. But Georgia, man, Georgia is a whole effin day! Calib, still proudly sleeping through it though. 


Our next two Bucees stops were crazy. Cars lined up out to the main road. People with ear pieces directing traffic IN THE BATHROOMS. Tons of lines. But, we were in and out decently fast for lunch and dinner, and continued on our way. Luckily for us, traffic was never all that bad. 

We made it to the Florida State line a little before 5, about 11.5 hours after we had left the Lakehouse. With stops, that's not terrible timing. Of course, traffic picked up as soon as you enter Florida, but it was never stopped or anything. 


And just before 8 pm we made it home to sunny, warm, Blue Spring Drive. Hayden, and the pups were all very happy to see us. Calib was happy he had a few hours before going to get Olivia. 


I did tell Calib if he was too tired to get her, we'd go. He insisted he was fine, and Hayden would go to make sure he stayed awake and safe. I will say, Hayden did an AWESOME job holding it down at home. The house was clean, the dogs were happy, my sheets had even been washed. And then he came out to help us unload the car. Stellar guy right there. And then he even went to the airport with Calib to get Olivia. She landed on time, and they all arrived back home at about 1 am. But, in some respects I am my mother's daughter, and I wanted to make sure to get a picture of all FIVE of us! Can you tell who has been up for 20 hours in this picture? I sure can. Still, great to have everyone back together under one roof. And Olivia loved her new room surprise, so it was a total success. 


Next up: Calib turns 23! 

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