Our day started around 5:30 with coffee and showers, and we hit the road by 7.

my honeys
my honeys

I started out driving, we stashed Glenda in the back, and off we went.

Our first 4 hours was spent just getting to the western edge of Tennessee, past Memphis.  We chatted about their childhood toys, crazy-ass drivers, feminism, the US criminal justice system including prison, traveling and its importance, our weird affinity for airport terminals, drunk-sobbing, the Lewis and Clark expedition, the deplorable state of our food supply and America’s eating habits, mainstream advertising, the horrifying nature of tarantula hawks, and that was just the first leg.

After Memphis, we took on Arkansas.  We stopped for gas just outside Little Rock:

Ya gotcher Arkansas Redneck Pride, then you gotcher REneck Pride.
Ya gotcher Arkansas Redneck Pride, then you gotcher REneck Pride.

We hit a lull just as we were getting to the Oklahoma border.

Still can't resist a sleeping baby
Still can’t resist a sleeping baby
Back seat baby
Back seat baby

Conversation picked back up again on the last push into Oklahoma City.  New topics included guinea worms, philanthropy at what price, death by drowning in the context of Noah’s Ark, the surprising audacity of a billboard for a buffet at a restaurant called “Chair Crushers”, the Swedish chef, child discipline techniques, the absolute magic of books, the concept of checking your privilege, and school lunches.

We came in to our hotel to the sound of Busta Rhyme, checked in, and headed right back out to the nearest restaurant.  We’d been snacking on nuts and cheese and fruit in the car all day, so we were glad to sit down to chips, salsa, and beer.

Modelo, salt, and lime
Modelo, salt, and lime
My new go-to, ceviche, and this was perfection: ripe avocado, shrimp, just spicy enough
My new go-to, ceviche, and this was perfection: ripe avocado, shrimp, just spicy enough

I can’t end this entry without telling about the experience we had just as we were finishing dinner.  All 3 of us saw, well, really, one of the biggest bugs we’d ever seen…crawl across the floor at the restaurant.  To be fair, it was NOT a roach – it was a giant beetle, with long legs, rather slow, black – not exactly a rhinoceros beetle, but big and black and shiny.  We tried to get his picture, but he scurried under a high chair and we lost him.  Remember the family motto:  Life is an adventure.

Tomorrow – our boys!  Eliott is flying in to Denver and driving to meet us, Ben and Kirsten are already at Sam’s house.  Next blog from Salida, Colo-rippin-rado!

Thanks for reading!