Aug 2003:
I wasn't around my dad a whole lot when I was pregnant with my other two kids; I lived an hour from my parents. So when Dad proposed driving us out to White Rock, BC in order to meet my nephew, I said yes. Dad agreed to make as many stops as I needed, and we took off.
The first day went well, other than we discussed stopping somewhere for lunch; I saw the Dairy Queen sign and insisted that's what I wanted. We ordered; I took one bite of that foot long hot dog and started retching. I spent the rest of our break in the bathroom, and couldn't even eat my chocolate sundae. For dinner in Sioux City, IA, we ate at a Perkins, and I devoured a Chef Salad. For the rest of the trip, I ate chicken salad, Chef Salad, and fettucini alfredo. I also took an afternoon nap, and Dad was kind enough to let me have the restroom first every morning. We traveled to Mitchell, SD and went to Cabella's; Wall, SD and got our free ice water (I'd learned about Wall in the 5th or 6th grade and always wanted to go there!). With the unexpected detour to Wall, we missed out on Mt. Rushmore, so ended up waving at the exit. The kids were a little upset with me for pleading for the stop in Wall, lol! I also discovered they had tried to wake me up when we approached DeSmet, because Dad was going to take me to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. But since I couldn't be awakened, Dad kept driving.
We rode the carousel in Missoula, MT, and made a quick stop in Spokane, WA to see an old friend of Dad's, who was out of the office at the moment. Dad left a message and we were back on the road.
We arrived in White Rock and spent three days touring the town, dipping our toes into the Pacific Ocean, holding my sweet new nephew, and one day I took my kids to a water park. And was disappointed I couldn't join in the fun, since there was no lazy river. Then my sister's vacation time was up, so Dad and the kids and I took off for three days in Yellowstone, then an overnight stop in Cody, WY. The trip to Cody involved going through several 'free range' areas, so it was very common to see livestock on the roads. We also came upon a traffic accident, just when I needed a bathroom break. As we waited, the need worsened, and we noticed many cars turning around. Dad consulted his map, and though he was concerned about being stopped by a police car and ticketed for driving the wrong way, he turned around and drove me back to the closest exit. We did encounter the police car, and I told Dad to tell him he had a pregnant woman who was in dire need of a pit stop. We didn't get a ticket, but was told the accident was causing a 2 hour delay. I was very thankful the exit was only a few moments away!
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and the spouse was happy to have us home again. But a week later, he ended up in the ER for heat exhaustion and dehydration. And when the nurses discovered I was pregnant, they brought me a dinner tray so I could eat while they pumped D full of liquids.
School began, and I looked forward to going into my office and working on book #7, due to the fact it would most likely be a few years before I had any sort of writing time again, other than nap time.
Next Month: K defends my honor and vehicle issues.
2 comments:
Sounds like an exciting trip. I'm glad you got to spend the time with your dad. That's so important.
It was! I think I put those photos on a CD; this was about the time they started phasing out the 35mm film. Unfortunately, they're buried in storage somewhere. For Dad's Christmas gift, I bought a large photo frame and the kids and I made a collage of several of the pictures. Dad laughed when he saw it and said, 'Now I know why you kept insisting I be in so many shots!' It now hangs in the main bathroom and even has its own light:) Mom said he was really touched I took the time to do that.
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