 |
| Oscar Wilde |
We left the condo by the agreed upon time of 10:00 a.m. and
then proceeded to weave our way out of Louisiana via a “scenic byway.” Our
purpose was to avoid I-10 and I-12 at all costs and we did accomplish that
goal. Unfortunately, our little
“alternative route” added another hour to our drive because we happened to jag
where we should have jogged on one of the myriad of turns I plotted through the
Louisiana plantation country.
Allow me to again say that driving through Mississippi and
Louisiana is not for the navigational novice.
I had an atlas, a state map given to me by an elderly woman at the
visitor’s center and my cell phone with Google maps and I was checking all
three constantly to ensure we were on track.
GPS is not helpful because it seems, at times and maybe just for fun,
the locals intentionally change the road signs – adding numbers and even towns
that don’t exist on maps anywhere. I’m
convinced this is purely to confuse the tourists. Much in the same way stop signs in small
towns are just for out-of-towners. 
By the time we reached Alexandria, we were so far behind
schedule that we broke one of our rules – the one about stopping every two
hours. Hunkering down, we pushed through
the storm and the
northeast part of Texas stopping only when absolutely
necessary and to quickly chow down on a hamburger at the Whataburger in
Marshall. We finally made it to our
McAllister destination just before 7:00 p.m. and crawled out of the car to our
room grateful the day was over.
Isaac wanted to swim so he and I spent about an hour more of
quality time in the hotel’s recently vacated indoor pool. None of us was speaking much, the toll of the
day and the push to our destination working itself out in various ways. When we finally woke up the next morning –
Ross and I had a little difficulty moving properly. Too much time sitting in one position had
atrophied our limbs. These are things
that one
simply cannot recover from easily the older that one gets. Consequently, we broke another one of our
rules….we didn’t go to church.
 |
| Dos Margaritas, Henryetta, OK |
Once we finally managed to work a little limberness back
into our arms and legs, we got back in the car for the final drive home. To make up for church absence, Ross found a
local radio station covering a local service and we listened to that. This time, after the immediate and intimate
reminder of WHY we stop every two hours to stretch, we stopped every two hours
to get out, walk around and stretch a bit.
The stops weren’t sexy – mostly truck stops and gas stations – but we
did manage to have a relaxing lunch at Dos Margueritas in Henryetta,
Oklahoma. Great service, wonderful food. We got home around 4:00 p.m., just in time to
unpack, settle in and catch the KU vs. WSU game on TV.
Another successful vacation on the books. As we grow closer to having one in college, I am thankful that the boys still enjoy taking a time out each year to hang with their mother and father. We always vote at the end of our vacations on our favorite parts of the trip. My favorite location of the trip was definitely the cabin in the woods and the activity I enjoyed the most was the tour in the swamp with Coerte. Sam's favorite location was the houseboat and couldn't decide if the swamp tour or hanging out on Ship Island was more fun. Isaac's favorite location was the houseboat and his favorite moment was holding a baby alligator in his hand. Ross' favorite location was the condo on the beach and said, "It was a brilliant vacation from beginning to end." High praise indeed. Spring Break 2015 has ended. Time to begin dreaming for Spring Break 2016.
 |
| Spring Break 2015: A Job Well Done |
