We are back home in Houston now. I have not added up the receipts for fuel and food, but at $4.00 per gallon I am sure that it was not cheap. Not to mention the new tires and brakes that I felt compelled to replace in Sarasota. Thanks Papa for the help in that department. The drive home went much smoother that the trip to Florida. There was a little fussing from the twins between Sarasota and Tallahassee, but after that pit stop everyone pretty much passed out and I was left to my book on tape.
In Tallahassee we visited my good friend Jon Bussey and his family. The kids got a little food and had a chance to stretch their legs and the dogs had a good ol time playing with the Bussey's Great Dane, Henry. However, I was a little embarrassed that our dogs were more interested in "dominating" (I guess that is the nicest way to put it. I won't go into the details.) Henry than just chasing each other around the yard. We spent about two hours with the Bussey family and then hit the road again.
Since Kari had problems with her contacts and her new glasses were making her feel sick, I drove straight through the night. I hit a little lull about 3:00 a.m. but after switching to a more interesting book on tape I was as right as rain again. Around 7:00 we had breakfast in the parking lot of a Shell station. Milk and donuts. We must have been amusing to watch, changing diapers, filling bottles, and brushing teeth right there next to the gas pumps. I thought it was all kind of fun. Maybe I am a gypsy at heart.
Papa and Grandmom had a bet to see if we would drive straight through or have to stop for the night. Grandmom won, betting that we would push on through. She was correct in telling Papa that when I get on the road I have an overwhelming desire to just get there.
We rolled into Houston about 9:30 a.m., picked up the other car at the airport and I took the kids home while Kari ran to the store for essentials. Believe it or not I wasn't feeling too bad. I did however crash for about five hours when Kari got home. And I was still recovering a bit yesterday and the kids were a little out of sorts. It seems like we are pretty much back to normal today.
There is still plenty to do around the house. The laundry that has been piling up since before Ike got here and the pool are the biggest projects.
Back to work. More later.