El Paso or BUST!!! Day 2

Day two started well. The night before we decided to drive through to Memphis. I was upset, because I had wanted to stop and eat BBQ in Nashville and see the Sensuous Steel: Art Deco Automobiles at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts  

This would make a nice 2 hour break in our driving, but what to do with the pets? It wasn’t  far enough of a drive to justify stopping for the night, so change the plan.  Spouse was right (don’t tell him I admitted it though *wink*), we couldn’t do these things since we had the pets with us. I love my furry babies, they are family members and a great addition to our life – during a cross country move they just add an extra layer of fun to the adventure. Also since Mooshu is kept in the pet carrier all day I was worried about pushing his day past 7-8 hours – one can only hold it for so long, then I would be looking at a cat bath again and frankly I like the skin on my arms.  So through Nashville on I 40 to Memphis, the state was lovely for driving as we came out of the Smoky Mountains and into woods and farm land. Other than the continued songs from Mooshu which came and went without reason, the day was uneventful and we arrived at our hotel. This evening’s adventure will be at a Drury Hotel in Memphis TN.

I had not heard of this hotel chain, they offer a dinner buffet, with 3 adult drinks for each adult. They bill themselves as a family hotel, “The Extras Aren't Extra at Drury Hotels!”.  We needed to make it there before 7:30 to take advantage of the dinner. We still own a home in NC and need to continue to save for mortgage payments. Let me take a minute to explain how the military pays us – we get a housing allowance which you can use to pay for housing (like we did in NC), but if you live on Post in their housing they take that amount of money out of your pay. Once we sign for housing at Fort Bliss they will take that money out of our check, it makes sense but it means really tight budgeting for us once our safety is gone. I am good at saving but I don’t have 12 months of mortgages saved, so bring on the included dinner buffet!!! We made it by 5:30, so we could unpack the car, set the pets up in the room and breathe for a minute before dinner.

Drury Inn of Memphis was nice looking, right off the Highway, had a grass area for Hemi - with doggie bags, (this past year I took my tree hugging to a new height and got really good at bringing my own cloth bags, alas when it was time to move we really needed plastic bags – car trash, kitty litter, dog . . .well you get the idea).  The dining area was just like a breakfast buffet area at most hotels, but with a small bar. It was pasta night, with salad, baked potatoes, and hot dogs. It was a pretty nice spread for the money, my favorite part the 2 glasses of Zinfandel I had – AHHH relaxation. I did notice that there were rather small children everywhere, which is what I figured, accounted for EVERYTHING in the dining area being sticky, but with wine everything gets better! Back at the room I didn’t even notice that Mooshu was sharing his opinion of our hotel choice.  I announced to no one in particular that I was going to sleep and they needed to find our next hotel.  Hubby took Monkey to the pool and enjoyed the hot tub, they got some exercise and found a different way to relax.

Hemi and Mooshu felt it was important for me to wake up early since I went to bed early, their first wake up call was at 4:30, so by 6 AM Hemi and I took a long walk in an empty grassy field across the street from the Hotel. It was good for both of us to stretch and get some fresh air. I returned to the room and started packing and waking the family. We went to breakfast in shifts so Hemi wouldn’t be alone, I still worried about him barking and disturbing others.  Over breakfast I asked about our next hotel, and got blank looks, so together Mike and I had a working breakfast, finding a place to stay on the west side of Dallas. This was a good thing since the sticky was getting to me, I was dreaming of a bucket of warm soapy water, rubber gloves and a sponge. Seriously, EVERYTHING needed wiped off!! Mike found a Navy Lodge at the Naval Air station at Fort Worth TX, so we were off on the third day of driving aiming for west of Dallas.

Leaving Virginia - El Paso Or BUST!!!

This move has been a mess!!   Our home, which I love, has not sold. It is a traditional home on just over half an acre built in 1995 – but with a remodeled kitchen (I LOVE my kitchen!!), new bathrooms and an established neighborhood with trees and wooded lots, great schools – well you get it I love my house. Area builders have several new developments near our home, small lots, no trees or grass yet, open floor plans, super close to your neighbor – but same square footage same basic price. So there are many houses on the market and so far the lookers want new and no yard over my amazing home, the fools!! The kids and I have had a hard time with the move – it’s only 10 months; El Paso schools are terrible-and that is being polite;  we like trees, this is the desert; it takes me a year to stop getting lost I won’t make that hurdle here; and well we were happy. BUT we love our soldier so we have moved, a little pouty about it but we are packed and loaded and ready to drive cross country.

THEN it begins, we left from G-ma’s resort in VA where we spent just over 2 weeks resting, swimming, and socializing with family. We had a great time and as always Granma was a super awesome hostess. Since it is summer and we would be traveling with 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 vehicles, a dog (good boy) and a very unhappy cat – I was reserving hotels a day in advance. The plan - to take an easy pace; driving days around 5-8 hours of driving time, remember to add 1 hour for the huge production that happens during any stop with this size crowd, so 2 of those a day.

Day one – leave Virginia planning to make Asheville NC. An easy day so we get off a little late, as we head for gas my phone rings, G-pa has our dog bed. G-pa and our dog are besties when together they go running every morning, so he really wanted Hemi (the dog) to have his bed. “Wait for me at the gas station and I’ll bring you the bed, Hemi has to have his bed.” Ok, dad. While getting gas my phone rings, it is a friend I haven’t talked to in over a year, so we are catching up on the hands free and I just drive off forgetting all about dad, until my phone rings again – OOPS!! So I call spouse’s car and we pull off and wait (we were about 5 miles down the road), G-pa delivers Hemi’s bed and we leave VA.

I have driven cross country more times than I can count taking both I 70 the northern route and I 10 the southern route and I have to say I am awed every time. Our country is so diverse and huge with amazing sites and interesting people and towns, it is really worth the adventure to drive it. BUT I have to say it is a better dive if you don’t have a screaming cat in your car. Mooshu is a small (12 lbs.) black cat, and he is pretty talkative all the time, and when you stuff him in a carrier and put him in the van, he likes to share his opinion about the experience. We have had him in the van for up to 3.5 hours and his voice will hold out that long, so I knew this would last at least 4 hours, possibly all day, every day until Texas. Knowing something and living the reality can be very different. I had the dog, cat and youngest girl in the van with me Monkey is 10 and a pretty happy easy to entertain kid, plus this van has a video player – so movies for her NPR podcasts for me, it will be great.

 Except I got so used to the cat screaming that when he stopped I got worried – but Monkey was asleep – no one to check Mooshu. Then the smell hit me, oh no, I am going to get to wash a cat after driving all day. Panic!!! So I start playing this out in my mind, do I wake Monkey up to check the cat? Well, what good would that do? I can’t wash the cat until we get there, so I let it go. Over the next 30 minutes the meowing and the smell would come and go with no real pattern – just the anxiety it caused me. In the end it was something outside that smelled and Moo had not done anything foul.

 We arrived at Asheville, NC in the Smoky Mountains around 5:30 – were settled and in our hotel by 6:00. I wanted to do something – I have set this trip as an adventure and it was early and I had energy and I Love Asheville – but most places were closed, so we took a walk on the trails off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We found a place where there was a short trail and kids, adults, and dog took a stroll in the woods. It was glorious!! I love the forest, one of the girls is even named Forest (after a fashion), it started to rain as we returned to the car – even better, *sigh* perfection. Then we started to search for a place to have dinner. I had hoped to eat at a restaurant – but what to do with the dog?? Hubby didn't want him left in a running van, and I was worried he would bark at the hotel. This discussion took place as we drove around Asheville. There were hippies everywhere, prompting him to declare Asheville the Portland (OR) of North Carolina. I laughed so hard, he was right, and that explains why I love Asheville so much.

(Um, tried to insert a photo, can't figure it out - will continue to try, sorry)

Back at the Days Inn we found ants, gnats, and our sorta clean room too much to bear, so I went to the front desk to get our room changed. Thankfully they had another room, so shift everything upstairs and around a corner. The second room was clean and newly remodeled, but it had the oldest beds. Discussions ensued about how far to drive on day two – I will cover that in the next installment.  We awoke aching and grumpy, but found an awesome breakfast to start the second day of adventure.