Our travels home started on Wednesday. We planned to take it a little easier than the previous trip that the boys and I made alone. We made an itinerary and set off. First stop: Springfield, IL. My friend Leah lives there. She's a sorority sister and a fellow Army wife and mother. Her husband is currently in the 'Stan as she calls it and I knew it would do us both good to see each other in person. So we planned our trip to make a little out of the way visit. Granted it was short and sweet, but we had some Cheddar's. (When the boys get bigger I will take them to all the great Lincoln exhibits in Springfiend. My grandparents took me when I was young, but I think all of the history would be a lost cause on a 4.5 year old and 2 year old.)
From Springfield, we started our journey south. South and south we went with very few stops. It was a long, long day for both me and the boys so when we finally crossed into Arkansas after journeying through Illinois and Missouri, we were all relieved to see our hotel room in Blytheville. We checked in around 6pm, got our things settled and went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. The kids just wanted to run, but there really was no place and let's just say our restful night wasn't all that restful. So we got up and ate breakfast and moved on.
I had planned my hotel stops ahead and had made reservations for Mount Pleasant, TX for the 2nd night and figured that a midday break in Little Rock might be fun. I got on the handy dandy Blue Star Museum website and saw that the Discovery Museum was on the list. SCORE. Right up our alley and the perfect price: FREE! for us military families. What a great museum! The kids were in heaven. They got to run around and play and pretend and touch and just be kids free from the restraints of the carseats and the DVD player. Ian and Aaron both loved every minute. We could have stayed a lot longer, but I knew that we still had some ground to cover on the road and I needed to plan in some food time. So I asked a lady in the play room and asked her if she could recommend a local joint that was kid friendly. So off across the street to the Flying Fish we went.
The Flying Fish is a little seafood joint and you order your food and then they buzz you to pick it up. The kids meals come in boats which is totally cute! The food was fried and delicious! The kids and I ate and left Little Rock happy and full!
We voyaged on to Mount Pleasant and checked into the Hampton Inn. They gave us a suite room upgrade! (aka a sweet room upgrade! LOL) and we had all sorts of room to spread out and relax. We dropped off our bags and walked to El Chico for some Mexican food for dinner. Then we went back to the hotel, changed into our swimsuits and went swimming in the hotel's lovely indoor swimming pool which we had all to ourselves. Then we all bathed and went to bed and actually slept!! The kids curled right up together. Melts a mom's heart to see her kids like that!
So today was the last leg of our journey. We had big plans to hit up the Dallas Zoo, but when we crossed into the city all the pollutions signs posted said it was ORANGE level and unsafe for ourdoor activities. So we settled for a Whataburger and kept on plugging on. The kids needed a break so I decided to stop at the Outlets of Hillsboro. Not great, but not awful. It was hot, but we did need a break from the car and the shops are at least airconditioned. So we stopped and then piled back in the car. We made one last pit stop for something in Temple and finally made it home to Killeen this evening. Bill was home shortly thereafter from work and we are happily reunited and a little tired.
