Road Tales Day One

I love a good road trip.

I know which of my friends are road trippin' soulmates, and which are not. I love you all the same, but this is just what I love. Endlessly organizing details, special trips to the store for treats and surprises, maps, reservations, and the thrill of the game.

This morning these autobots rolled out at 9:30 for what was supposed to be a straightforward day of picking up Gramma in Dallas, stopping for dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Texarkana, and finishing with a leisurely swim at the hotel in Arkadelphia. But what day ever fits neatly into its expectations?

In the first 100 miles of our trip, we stopped four times. With more little people in the car, we just have more reasons to stop! By the time we arrived in Dallas to pick up Gramma from her hotel, I could have been done for the day. But we were only halfway to our destination.

The second half of the trip proved more draining than the first, although we only stopped one time in 250 miles. Perhaps because of that. We didn't make it to my personal reward checkpoint of Outback in time for dinner, so had to settle for Chili's. Chili's probably ranks second in my "Most Reliable Food" list, so I didn't mind too much.

And sometime after dinner, with three hours of driving still ahead of us, Miss Lulu got D-U-N with the whole business. The last hour of the trip was a bit of a nailbiter for the rest of us, except Rooster who fell asleep in the restaurant and stayed that way almost to our destination.

Tonight we sleep in Arkadelphia. I learned last year that while Arkansas will always be the home of Big Rig dealers, Mobile Home dealers, pickup trucks with campers, and Wal-Mart, this state also sports some of the most beautiful roadside trees anywhere in the US, and the best peaches ever. If I am lucky I will find some at a roadside stand in the morning.

Well I was planning to wax poetic about the thrill of road tripping. But the simple logistics of getting time to blog, and downloading photos to share, have taken all my time. Maybe tomorrow I will take the time to explain why I love Outback so much. I left you a little clue, see if you can find it!