Road Trip Day 10

It's day 10 of the road trip and our daughter has started to ask if we can go home. She is still enjoying herself (for the most part), but in the evening when she's tired and a bit fussy, well, she's wanting to be able to sleep in her own bed. It's a feeling with which I can relate. Though I am, of course, never fussy {ahem}, I do prefer my own bed. It's purely a comfort thing. Although our relatives, and the hotels, who've hosted us have fine sleeping arrangements, the beds are never quite right - too soft, too hard, too wavy (that would be the waterbed at my sister-in-law's in Houston), etc.

So, the trip so far.... we spent 2 days on the road arriving in Allen, Texas on the 3rd day of our trip. We spent the next 3 days there visiting one of my wife's brothers and his family. The highlight of the trip, for the kids, at this point was a visit to the natatorium. I didn't even know what the word meant, but suffice it to say that our kids thought it was heaven. Pools (with slides, fountains, and loads more for the kids), hot tub, rock climbing wall, exercise equipment.... I wish they'd build one of these near our home!

Other highlights, for me anyway, were the meals (my brother and sister-in-law know how to cook - they began tantalizing me with parts of their "menu" before we even left home) and staying up way too late with my nephew playing Risk (the Lord of the Rings version). Way cool.

New Years Day saw us back in the van on our way down to Houston to visit my sister-in-law and her family. Along the way I called my brother at Ft. Hood and we made plans for him to visit us in Houston. The kids had a great time playing with all their cousins, while we had time to catch up on things with the adults. I also learned that it's probably a good thing I've never played Everquest. My brother-in-law is seriously into it (he's online, gaming with 3 computers/characters simultaneously). He showed me around the game a bit, and I got enough of a taste of it to know that I'd definitely be addicted to it.

We planned to leave for home this morning, but after a call from my father-in-law (he can be mighty persuasive... when he's begging) asking if it wouldn't be too much trouble to head back to Maryland via Florida, we decided to make a detour. So, off to the Sunshine State we went, arriving just in time for the kids to go to bed and for me to share a beer with my father-in-law. So ends day 10 of our road trip.