Westward Ho- Day 2

It was another early morning as the kids woke up too soon.  It would be a 4 state day, so we had reason to get on the road.  But you can’t cover 4 states without a good breakfast!  Down to the breakfast nook, which proved to be altogether too small this morning.  A swarm of teens was there from the previously mentioned youth group, touring Black Colleges.  It was hard to get around the tables and people.  The syrup kept disappearing.  Yes, they had waffles!

But we successfully consumed mass quantities of food, got some money knocked off the bill (it was not CavWife who pulled this one off, though maybe she would have gotten more knocked off, but I got super powers too!) and hit the road a little later than we expected.  We were surprised to find it so chilly (59 degrees), pleasantly surprised I tell you.

The area just west of Tallahassee was very pretty.  Lots of rolling hills.  So NOT like central Florida.  It looked more like Georgia.  But it had the same problem Gainesville had- higher gas prices.  Nearly 20 cents higher.  I know this because we had to get more gas in Pensacola (we couldn’t hold out to Alabama).  By the time we got to Pensacola, it was decidedly less pretty on I-10.

We crossed the line into Alabama- still surprised at the lack of traffic on I-10.  It was not as pretty as it is near Birmingham.  But as we neared Mobile (hometown of the homerun king, Hammering Hank Aaron) it became something to behold just for the novelty.  The highway became a long, low bridge over the gulf.  It was actually pretty neat.  As we neared Mobile, we spotted our destination- the U.S.S. Alabama Park.

I thought it would be a way to spend a few hours not in the car.  Turned out, I was actually right.  CavSon was squealing with delight at the sight of all the planes and tanks.  Even CavGirl was enjoying herself, but she was uncertain about getting on the big boat.  We assured her it wasn’t going anyway, and wouldn’t sink there.  It was very interesting touring the ship.  I learned the sailor’s life wasn’t for me.  Cramped quarters, no privacy (duly noted by CavGirl when we saw the latrine), lots of ducking, and climbing narrow stairs.  But I learned that Cleveland Indians’ great, Bob Feller, served on the Alabama.  Normally I wouldn’t care much about an Indians player, but I met him at a Spring Training game.  Very nice man and a great ambassador for the game even now.  One of the many ball players to lose their most productive years to the War (not to diminish those who lost their lives).

Inverse relationship between interest and hunger

As we moved to the U.S.S. Drum, a WW II submarine, the interest level was dropping.  They were hungry and tired.  Thankfully a submarine is much smaller than a battleship!  But even more cramped!

It was too late for a sit-down lunch, and all those seafood restaurants looked a bit out of our budget for lunch.  So we settled for Firehouse Subs.  Tasty though.  And off to Baton Rouge.  We nixed New Orleans.  It was slightly off route, but the hotels were not really near anything we could see.  More travel in the guzzler to see sights.  It made more sense to head farther west and take some time on the far end of trip.

So we made short work of Mississippi and moved into Louisiana.  Not all that interesting from I-10 at that point.  I took great delight in the sign for Cretin Homes- a builder.  I don’t know how it is pronounced in LA, but I know what it means in English and that is not a confidence-inspiring name.

We learned from the signs that LA strictly enforces the speed limit.  But we saw no evidence of this.  The kids’ naps were cut short by a clueless person who cut in front of me while someone was passing me on the left.  I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision (that’s a fancy word for crash).  This led to an increasing in the whining from the peanut gallery.  The kids were tired and restless.  All of CavWife’s little projects and tricks didn’t seem to work.

I would really want to use this gift from Danny

But we pulled off the highway in Baton Rouge and promptly got all turned around.  I was not finding it visitor-friendly.  And it looked pretty run down.  But, the place where the hotel was is newly developed (I’m not sure how) with big, new homes, shopping centers and more.  The hotel was brand new too.  This time it was a suite, so the kids would get a better night’s sleep (us too!).  But I ran into issues with the internet right off the bat.  And the phone.  So, while CavWife was getting things situated with the car I made the mistake of leaving the kids in the room while I went to the desk for 1 minute.  They locked me out.  Trying not to sound stressed so they didn’t get distressed, it took nearly 5 minutes and lots of angst to get that door open.

This began a very frustrating stretch of time, particularly with CavBoy.  He just couldn’t seem to listen.  Add to that my back was sore from a long day of driving, and I wasn’t loving life at the moment.  I was having a Calgon moment, but substituting my gift from Cigar City Brewery.  I was hoping to find a nice Cajun restaurant in walking distance.  Earlier CavSon was refusing to get back in the car (“no car”), and I understand that.  There were plenty of good chain choices right there, and we settled on Bonefish Grill.  We’d never been to one, and were very impressed.  We may have to go back someday.  Maybe.

The internet issue was never resolved, so we had to borrow the one in the lobby to try and lock down our hotel in San Antonio.  The pony express moved information faster.  It was pathetic.  And delayed my ability to put up these silly little summaries.

Something didn’t sit right with my stomach.  As a result, I was up for about 2 hours in the middle of the night.  Not fun.  Not pleasant.  And my back still hurt.  But at least we weren’t climbing over each other all night.