Day of Suffering

It's really best that I have no photos of Thursday June 19th. Let's just say I never did get to digest my dinner from the night before. I put a brave face on it and we set out from The Dalles. But by 1 pm I had had enough. Really--I'd rather give birth than travel that stomach-bug-in-a-van-with-5-kids road again (which would possibly bring me to the same scenario with 6 kids. . .but I don't claim to be logical).

We found a hotel room south of Spokane. John took the 4 elder out to lunch, then swimming in the pool ouside our door. I lay on the bed moaning, then slowly recovering. Thalia became ill that evening. We went to bed wondering "WHO WILL BE NEXT TO FALL?!"

Tune in tomorrow. . .

Finally!

It was Wednesday June 18th. There was a Uhaul to pick-up and pack. But we begin our look back at 2 am. That was when Arveragus sat up in bed and puked all over me. Nice! Then again at 3. Then an east coaster called at 5. . .I had no more sleep. With help from friends we got on the road at 6:30 PM. Did I forget to mention Thaddeus joining the throw-up party? He only puked 2 times, then slept a lot--which was merciful.

We drove up The Gorge, and stopped at Multnomah Falls--very lovely. We were careful to never have to put the van and trailer in reverse--as that is a bit harry!

I DID cry crossing the Willamette--thinking of what could have been if things had gone better with the school. I was also processing the trip out west, which I have a certain amount of PTSD over. John's presence on the trip east was appreciated EVERY SINGLE MOMENT by this here woman!

We didn't even cross the boarder that first day. Had dinner in Hood River, and slept in The Dalles.

Comming Soon

Photos and stories about the trip across!

The Final Push!

When I talked to John from Spearfish (love that name) Wyoming on Friday morning , he said I was only 1200 miles away. Also, that Paul (Bro-in-law) was willing to drive him up to Spokane to meet us on Saturday. This was too much for me to bear. SO CLOSE. The planned detour to Mount Rushmore became untenable to me. I parted ways with the Bakers, heading to the mountains alone. They were kind enough to shout for me to stop since I was leaving the trailer door open in my haste. . .that would have been a story!

I was on the road by 10, and nestled into a Best Western in Livingston, Montana by 7:30 pm. The last hour or so was very hard. The cross winds were terrible, and I could see old ice on the highway. My nerves were frazzled by the time we stopped.

That night in the room I worked hard at appreciating the kids. Reading books, saying prayers, kissing sweet faces. All the while thinking "It's too bad we will all die in the mountains tomorrow." I was really on the verge of a breakdown. Only the thought of seeing John kept me going.

What a difference a good night sleep makes! We were out by 6AM. Pitch Dark. Mountain passes, cross winds, ice--the works! But I was handling it fine and so were the kids. Breakfast in Massoula (13 degrees F!), lunch in Spokane, John at the rest stop south of Spokane at 2:41 PM Pacific time, November24, 2007! YEAH!

We got a room in Kennewick for the night ! We were all SOOO happy to be together! ALIVE! PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!

Thanksgiving on the Road

From the beginning I said we would have Thanksgiving dinner at Denny's. . .and we did. It was close enough to a turkey dinner to count. Note to self: the next time we have Thanksgiving at Denny's the boys can share a dinner plate.

I don't quite know how the wait staff reacted to our entrance--12 kids and 3 adults, at 8 pm on Thanksgiving. I hope I gave a good tip! At this point I was living on adrenaline and coffee, and the will to survive. I have few clear memories. When asked, all the children were thankful for Daddy. My internal reaction was "What am I? chopped liver!? I'm the one driving you ungrateful wretches across the country. I'm keeping us alive, changing diapers, and putting
a cheerful face on this insanity!"

Yeah--I was a bit tense. . .but we did have fun, and I was Thankful for my husband and children. Still am.

Birthday

I'll just skip Tuesday the 20th of Nov travel day. It involves a lot of Chicago rush hour--and I'd rather no revisit it. . .

Wednesday was MC's 12th Birthday. I was trying to resign myself to telling her to just wait till Oregon to celebrate. . .but I'm not good at waiting!

At the hotel that night we all hit the pool at 9:30 pm. By 10:30 we were on our way to Walmart to pull together a birthday celebration. We bought presents ("Don't look Mary Catherine!"), a cake, and everything we needed for her chosen taco dinner. We were eating, opening presents and singing happy birthday by 12:30. (Don't point out that it wasn't her birthday anymore. . it was in Oregon!) We were ALL AWAKE--including baby.

Not surprisingly this was the only night we got a complaint from the hotel. While I was cooking in the kitchenette I failed to register that the boys were jumping from the be to the floor like ping-pong balls. Not so good for the person below us! I outlawed jumping, and the festivities continued. I hope MC remembers this birthday--I sure will!

Lost Plastic Cards

Some plastic cards are more important than others. Filling up before hitting the road on our second day I was holding one plastic card called a "Credit Card" (this is a misnomer--it is really a "we-want -you-to-owe-us-money-for-the-rest-of your-life Card). Somewhere in the bustle of waiting for a clear spot, showing off my Amautik to the interested women in the next car, and getting Tadeu a snack I misplaced the card. If you know me, you know I am not ever very far from panic. . ."If I can't find that card we are turning around and staying in Maine forever!" I think I said that out loud! Mike put my fill-up on his card as Shelby and I continued to ask St. Anthony look for the card, which was found in one of the snack bags, where I had put it when serving Tad (that's pronounced "Taj" like Taj Mahal).

Later--at 10 pm, in Erie Pennsylvania, I left the road weary kids in the hotel room to find our lost toothbrushes. At this point there was only 18" of debris on the floor of the van. I left the room with another plastic card--a "Key Card". This one is named appropriately--I'd need it to get back in the building through the back door. After 15 minutes of anxious searching I found a few toothbrushes. I started to climb out of the van, but realized I'd lost the key card. (This was to be the first of many. . .)I had 5 babies to get back to, so I didn't waste time looking. I went to the door and prayed it wouldn't be locked. . it wasn't! Yeah! Mary Catherine kindly opened the room door for me--avoiding the bad joke "Did you hear about the nutty woman who locked herself out of her hotel room? Yeah. She was really upset because all her children were inside."

Somehow I forgot to take pictures of these memorable events.

Back to the Beginning

On Nov 17 we had 20 people at the house to give us last hugs and kisses. Sondra spent the night with her babies and made everyone an awesome breakfast. It was hard to leave these generous people! Off we went, though! At that point I was so intent on being with John that I would have driven to Mars!!




Our traveling partners, the Bakers, met us in Topsham and, after a 3 hour delay, we hit the road. Three adults and 12 children. The children quickly settled in to some calm and quiet driving time. . .not!

(Yes, everyone was buckled while moving!)

Wireless high-speed is My Friend!

Here I am sitting in my cozy Pacific NW apartment, enjoying blogging for the first time in almost 2 months!

I have MANY trip stories to share. And MANY new digs stories to share. I'll do one at a time, and keep to blog edicate by not having LONG BORING posts.

Trip tale for the day: On the high plateau of Wyoming, mere hours from being with John, Thaddeus got a piece of chewing gun stuck up a nostril. After several minutes of Mary Catherine trying to get him to BLOW his nose (he still sucks in!) I pulled over. I hate that earthquake feeling the van gets when HUGE TRUCKS pass at a million miles an hour! The gum disappeared within a few minutes. Probably began it's 7 year trip through Tadeu's intestines!

Oregon trivia of the day: How do you think one would pronounce this name: Champoeg ?