This is so many days late, but I’ve been having such a rough time getting back into the swing of things after getting back from our trip. And because I know people are/were interested in how it went, but it would take WAY too long to write about it in detail, this is the mad-dash rehash of our midwestern tour. (I will put many pictures in to try to make it more interesting.)
Wednesday:
- Awake at 3:30 to drive to the airport in Charleston. Drink 30 oz of coffee and get VERY WIRED.
- Fly from Charleston to Chicago.
- Fly from Chicago to Milwaukee.
- Sit in Milwaukee for a long time because our flight was delayed.
- Find a used bookstore in the airport.
Bookstore where?
Renaissance Books
- Fly to Minneapolis.
- Collect our rental car and call Nathan and Co.
- Meet Nathan & Co. and Erica & Ltd. at Erica’s house and have a fun-filled picnic dinner.
- Play with nieces and nephews and lots and lots of balls. Play in the park.
Fun with plastic balls
- Eat s’mores with Erica.
- Go to bed after being awake for about 20 hours.
Thursday:
- Get up to go running with Erica and plod my way through 2.5 miles for the first time in many, many months.
- Ache for the next 2 days.
- Shower, dress, and drive away.
- Chat with Erica and pass things to Chloe until we get to Eau Claire.
Chloe, show me your teeth!
- Have a delightful lunch with Mom and Dad.
- Go to Goodwill to find shoes for Chloe and buy a hat and purse.
- Drive to Grandma’s house.
Grandma's house
- Have a delightful dinner with Grandma and Dee and stay up late chatting.
Friday:
- Get up and have a big breakfast with Grandma and Dee.
- Sit around chatting and working out genealogy and enjoying company.
- Shower.
- Take Chloe to the park and have fun running around.
Chloe on the playground
- Eat lunch.
- Go through my wedding book with Grandma, pointing out people she didn’t know.
- Say good-byes and drive away.
Group shot with Grandma and Dee
- Drive to Knoxville, IA.
- Get lost.
- Get un-lost.
- Hug Grandpa Doug and other people in the dark and not know who they are.
- Get settled into the camper trailer and meet Justin’s aunt, uncle, and cousin.
- Sleep on a mattress covered in plastic, with heads lower than our feet and get a sore throat.
Saturday:
- Get up and chat with people in the trailer while breakfasting and getting ready.
- Wander down to the pond and meet a couple more people.
- Wander down to the barn and say good morning to Grandpa Doug and Great-uncle Bob and a few other people.
Barnett's barn
- Wander down to the tent and meet Great-uncle Jerry and help him wipe down chairs for lunch.
Reunion tent
- Meet a couple more people.
- Run into town to grab some things from Walmart (a pillow, throat drops, hot dogs, a fan)
- Make it back to the farm in time to meet a whole bunch more people, grab a few sodas, and stand around chatting for a little bit before lunch.
- Have an unfortunate run-in with a gust of wind in a billowy top and face questions about whether I’m pregnant. Quelch that rumor as quickly as possible.
- Eat lunch.
- Sit around chatting with people.
- Sneak off to take a nap.
- Wander around the property of a distant cousin who raises lilies and hostas.
Randy's hostas
Randy's flowers
Purple flowers
Stone stairs
Grass driveway
Lily
- Jump in the pond for a swim before dinner.
- Meet a couple more people while swimming.
- Go to dinner in a different outfit than at lunch. No billowing.
- Meet even more people.
- Cheer for the talent show.
Grandpa Doug on harmonica
- Cook s’mores.
- Chat with people until dark.
- Watch the men clear up chairs and tables in preparation for inclement weather.
- Move trash bags to the side so they wouldn’t wash away.
- Walk back to the trailer in awe of all the lightning bugs.
- Die of heat while trying to sleep, even with the fan blowing, with a sore throat and feet higher than our heads and a loud plastic wrapper on the mattress.
Sunday:
- Wake up, breakfast, shower, dress. Feel very groggy, head-stuffy, throat-achy.
- Go to the high school for lunch because of the expectation of rain.
- Cram 130+ people into the high school cafeteria.
Barnetts in the high school cafeteria
- Meet a few more people.
- Eat delicious lunch.
- Release a microphone to the masses.
- Hide in the bathroom for a little bit.
- Walk around the school with Justin a little bit.
- Leave messages on Gillian’s phone.
- Drive back to the farm.
Barnett rock
- Go sit at the barn out of the rain and talk with people.
- Walk back to the pond and watch Justin go swimming while I sit on the dock under an umbrella.
- Change into dry clothes. Call Gillian.
- Chat with people for a little longer.
- Go see Gillian.
- Chat with Gillian and play with her children for a while. Forget to take a picture.
- Leave so the kids can get to sleep. Go out for dinner.
- Watch fireworks as we drive home.
- Go to sleep with sound of rain and cool air blowing.
Monday:
- Wake up, breakfast, shower, dress, pack.
- Throw everything into car.
- Wander up to the barn to chat with people.
- Wander around old homestead house and take pictures.
Git offa my lawn
Outside his childhood bedroom window
Outhouse
Wooden steps
Water wheel
The reason we made the trip
- Sit back down and chat some more.
- Finally say good-byes and drive off.
- Stop for lunch and move our luggage into the back seat.
- Repack everything so it fits into one suitcase while Justin drives.
- Meet Sara at Cheesecake Factory, but walk across the street to Barnes and Noble to work up an appetite.
- Catch up with Sara and wander around the store.
- Go back and have a delicious dinner.
- Wander around the mall a little bit before saying good-byes.
Tickle shot
- Drive to Erica’s house and keep her up late while we finish packing and getting ready. She braids my hair.
Tuesday:
- Get up a little before 5:00 to pack up, put up the beds, and head to the airport.
- Arrive on time, return the car, check in, make it through security, and only sit a little while before boarding.
- Fly to Chicago.
- Get adopted by an 80-year old woman looking for help getting to her gate.
- Stay more calm about the shuttle bus to another concourse and the time crunch of our layover because of that angelic woman.
- Get to the gate just as they finish boarding and get right on the airplane.
- Fly to Charleston.
- Collect our luggage, find the car, and drive home.
- Pile everything inside the house.
- Shower and curl up to relax.
- Fall asleep and sleep for about 15 hours.
And as a bonus! Wednesday:
- Relax all morning.
- Go to our financial advisor appointment and start making good plans.
- Go to the grocery store.
- Get a flat tire leaving the grocery store.
- Watch Justin put on spare tire.
- Go home and unload the groceries and tidy the kitchen while Justin sorts the luggage into dirty laundry hampers.
- Eat a late lunch.
- Take the car to Tire Kingdom.
- Buy a new tire.
- Go home.
- Find out that Justin’s old boss and coworker had shown up AT THE HOUSE to ask why he hadn’t been answering his cell phone.
- Laugh delightedly that he no longer works there.
- Relax for the rest of the evening.
