After a near perfect first day on the road, I went to bed optimistic that our cross country road trip to California would truly become the best trip ever. I should have realized that it was a bit early to be that hopeful.
I awoke the next morning to three kids with one thing on their mind; California. And they didn’t care how touching the memorial, how cool the roadside attraction, or how much their bellies were grumbling, they wanted to run their feet through the golden sand on Venice Beach and they wanted to be there at that very moment.
My husband and I had no intention of committing to a 22- hour drive despite the protests from the backseats that road trips were really a legal way for parents’ to torture their offspring. Yeah, it was shaping up to be THAT kind of crappy day.
A stop at the Oklahoma City National Memorial diverted their attention as we quickly slid out of the Suburban and went our separate ways.
Lunch consisted of lunch fixins’ I picked up at Walmart as my guys tried unsuccessfully to find Redbox movies to rent. We devoured our lunch meat sandwiches in the parking lot as we sipped on Pepsi from our Tervis tumblers.
Refueled and refreshed, we pulled back on I-40 and forged our way towards the Lone Star State. We hadn’t gone far when my husband’s stomach began to rumble. I probably don’t need to tell you that is not the sensation you want to feel in the pit of your stomach when you’re on a long road trip. Or any road trip. After a quick stop at a gas station, followed by an almost immediate stop at McDonald’s where we were clearly the outsiders in town, I knew this pattern could not continue. I ran into Walgreen’s to purchase some Pepto Bismal.
Our unexpected break had done nothing to improve the atmosphere in the vehicle. I began to have visions of turning back towards home, but was not going to be defeated. The kids’ moods brightened as we made a quick hop off the highway to see the Conoco gas station in Shamrock, Texas. The building that is featured in Disney’s Cars movie and they briefly reminisced about their younger days, and their fascination with Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater.
The lighter mood didn’t last long, as once again, my husband’s stomach began to rumble, causing us to pull over at a rest area for a much needed break.
My kids took their time reading the interactive displays inside and I admit, on this stop, I was ready to go before they were. I stepped outside to shoot a few photos and they picked me up when they were finished.
Back on the road, I set my sights on Groom, Texas which held two treasures that I really wanted to see; the Leaning Water Tower and the Giant Cross.
It was here that the temperature in the vehicle heated up as the squabbling turned ugly and my family divided in two camps. Those who wanted to stop at the Giant Cross and those who wanted to kill those who wanted to stop at the Giant Cross. Once we stepped out of the vehicle, and began to view the displays at the base of the cross, that anger subsided. It’s hard to hold a grudge when you’re standing in the shadow of the cross. We silently slid back in our seats and continued our journey contemplating what we had seen.
To my disappointment, we bypassed the Big Texan, where I had planned to stop for dinner. My husband’s stomach had finally settled, but he wasn’t ready to test it with a 72- ounce steak. We made our way down the highway and left our mark at the Cadillac Ranch. If you read that post, you’ll know that things didn’t go as I had planned at this stop either. I was beginning to see a pattern emerge.
It was at that point my husband decided we needed to get this road trip over as soon as possible. We drove for hours without stopping, until we desperately needed to get out of the vehicle to stretch our legs.
We finally stopped at Denny’s to grab a bite to eat and drove all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico before calling it a night. I slumped into the bed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, eager to curl up against my husband and fall fast to sleep. Instead, we slept in separate beds, he with one of our sons, me with our daughter because our other teen refused to share a bed with his brother, a trend that would continue for the next eight days.
What challenges have you faced on a road trip?
Day Two Expenses:
Gas/Toll Charges/Parking Fees: $138. 41
Food: $57.51
Lodging: $23. 01 (minus a $100 Gift Card that I’d saved for this occasion)
Entertainment: $0
Misc.: $5.02 (Pepto Bismal)
Total: $223.95
Total miles traveled: 664
© 2013 – 2016, Tonya Prater. All rights reserved.
Michele {Malaysian Meanders} says
December 10, 2013 at 4:45 amI haven’t driven from Texas to California since I was a teen myself. I imagine this might be how a road trip for my family may go. Too bad about your husband’s stomach. We’ve delayed short road trips before when the stomach issues have cropped up while we’re still at home. Once you get going, it’s a lot harder to stop.
Kat B. says
December 9, 2013 at 9:41 pmI would so eat a 72 oz steak. My friend and I used to practice because we always wanted to go to a place like that and win. He was better than me at eating. Great job budgeting your expenses, I love when people break them down to show how much they spent!
Tonya says
December 9, 2013 at 11:53 pmMaybe one day we’ll have the chance to return to Amarillo and tackle that mega-steak.
Mel {MamaBuzz} says
December 9, 2013 at 6:32 pmWhat a day, Tonya! Being sick on a road trip or while traveling at all is definitely not fun, especially when it’s the stop and go sort of sickness. A couple trips back to see family have been that way, once the kids were completely and utterly sick; that was the time I “borrowed” an ice bucket from the hotel. We had nothing else for them, and it was the only thing that made sense. (To this day, I have a hard time using ice buckets in hotels.) Another time, it was me, and we were flying. That was no fun either, but at least we were on our way home.
I love the way you break down your budget/expenses too. All in all, you did get to see some pretty cool places, including Cadillac Ranch! Hopefully, you still have some great memories.
Tonya says
December 9, 2013 at 11:54 pmOh my goodness, Mel! That is awful. I don’t think I’ll ever look at ice buckets the same either!
Colleen - @amadisonmom says
December 9, 2013 at 5:32 pmI love reading about your REAL road trip. Too many times I read about how people have these perfect trips. It always makes the few long drives we attempted make me even more miserable!
I love your photos though. I have dreams of one day driving across the country. I’ve never done that.
Tonya says
December 9, 2013 at 11:55 pmIt’s important to me that people know what’s real. I don’t want them to look at my photos and think that it was all fun and games. Real travel just doesn’t happen that way. Here’s to keeping it real! 🙂
LyndaS says
December 9, 2013 at 2:50 pmWow! I love to travel, but prefer to fly if the option is available. I think we would all get cabin fever being in a vehicle with each other for so long.
Ellen Christian says
December 9, 2013 at 2:05 pmLooks like you must have had a wonderful time!
Megan says
December 9, 2013 at 1:57 pmI love reading about your trip, especially since you saw so many of the same things we did on our trip this summer. I remember this stretch of road very well, because we’d planned to stop for the day in Shamrock, TX (where the Conoco station is), but the campground ended up being shady to the point of scary…quick game plan adjustment in McD’s while we used their wifi to find that the next decent campground was in Amarillo, about 90 miles away (after an already long day of driving with 4 kiddos). Thankfully the kiddos were happy enough with their Happy Meal toys to help pass the time until we could stop for good that evening. We passed the Big Texan on the way into Amarillo, and they send a “VIP” limo (which was at least 30 years old) to the campground in case anyone wanted a ride to eat their 72-oz steak 🙂 Thanks for bringing back memories–I’ll be traveling with teens in 10 years, so it gives me something to look forward to! 😉
Tonya says
December 9, 2013 at 3:16 pmI imagine after consuming the 72 oz. steak, you’d be too sick to drive back to your lodging. 🙂 The 30 year old limo fits right in with the “roadside attraction/tourist trap” theme. My 18-year old really wanted to try to eat that steak- until his sister told him he probably wouldn’t be able to “go” for a week. That was enough to change his mind.
I hope this post didn’t absolutely terrify you about the teen years. Most of the time, they are a lot of fun to travel with. Most of the time. 🙂
Tammy says
December 9, 2013 at 1:23 pmWhen we drove out to the Black Hills in SD our daughter decided that the winding road on Needles Highway was not going to sit well with her… to say we needed to find the nearest mini-mart that sold Febreze and that my niece no longer wanted to ride in our car probably gives you a good idea on what went down (or rather what came up 😉 ).