We all met in the Lobby for one of those infamous hotel free breakfasts. The eggs were cold. Yuk. But the waffles you make yourself saved the day.
After checking out we stopped at a Starbucks so Kel and Christina could get a coffee boost. Meanwhile, Chris and I went to the little market next door and got some ice for the ice chests.
Finally on the road, we passed right through Laurel. Sorry. No HGTV cameras caught our journey (that we know of).
The next big town, however - Meridian - was chosen as the site for our Mississippi Joyride run. Sadly, however, they had no Joyride. The worker had heard of it, and their online site said they had it, but he had never seen it before. Oh well. They will try for it on their way back through there. Maybe Alabama.
Oh! And I forgot to mention that Micah is doing a karate tricking move, and Josiah is doing a back flip in each state. Pretty impressive (especially inside a CVS on a Joyride run. But I KNOW they wouldn’t do THAT…).
We did unlock two more states before the day came to a close. Alabama and Tennessee. Woohoo.
Weirdly … we almost stopped at a Whataburger for lunch. Whata you doing outa Texas?? There was something sacrilegious about eating a Whataburger outside of Texas. So we went to Zaxby’s instead. Chicken shack stuff. Not bad.
Next we decided to test our luck with a bathroom break/ Joyride Run. That meant Target in Birmingham, Alabama. Well, actually it was a place called Trussville. And guess what? Success! Great Joyride run. They even had the one I’ve been looking for - Gummy Busters. And they didn’t disappoint. The sweet tart flavoring toned down the gumminess inside enough that my teeth didn’t object too much at all. I have found my joyride fav. Thanks, Alabama. Oh, and Micah and Josiah did their flips in the parking lot. Check off Alabama.
Our road through the mountains carried us into Georgia briefly, then finally into Tennessee. That took us to the vrbo house we stayed in in Knoxville (See what I did there? I always enjoy using prepositions back to back).
The house? Oh, the house. Not very impressive. Plumbing issues (I attacked those). Closet doors off hinges (left those alone). TV didn’t work (borrowed batteries from walkie-talkies). Electrical issues (burned out light bulbs with no replacements or lamps that didn’t work at all). Damaged ping pong and foosball tables. Noisy floors. Overgrown grass.
My favorite was the little sticker on the fridge explaining the ranking system for granting stars to vacation rentals. Check it out:
5 stars - I enjoyed my stay here (this should be the minimum - maybe 3 or 4. This is reserved for exceptional experiences)
4 stars - There are many issues to fix (whoa. “Many issues” still gets you a 4? Nope)
3 stars - Major problems with my stay (“major problems” comes in with a 3? How?)
2 stars - This should not be listed (now you’re in “many issues” territory)
1 star - I left early it was so terrible (how about we make this a 0 star and leave the 1 for “at least the bed was comfy” or “at least we didn’t have to call the fire department”)
The kids made the best of it, though, and seemed to have a great time. so we followed their example. And now … on to D.C.!
Galatians 6:9 says, So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
Father, it was a long day, so we really appreciate you being there with us. Amen.
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