On the road again...volume 2

August 15-19---We left Wednesday around noon for a ten hour drive to Lumberton, North Carolina, which actually took twelve hours after stopping for rest breaks and dinner. By the time we arrived, checked into the hotel, unloaded the van, and got into bed it was almost 2 a.m. (losing that hour to EST was killer!!). Rick and I were exhausted but the kids had their second wind. It took only a short time to get them into bed. Rick had to be at work bright and early (our reason for going to NC). Luckily, the kids slept in---8:30 a.m.---I was excited!!!! You can imagine the cabin fever we had after being in the van all Wednesday and then stuck in a hotel room all Thursday because Rick had the van. Would you believe there is no indoor playground in that town?!? Even Pontotoc has two indoor play areas. When Rick got in from work we found a nice outdoor play area at Sonic. We had never seen a playground at Sonic before. Friday morning we packed up the van and headed to Greensboro, NC to spend the weekend with Rick's dad and stepmom---only a three hour drive to their house. Jackson would close his eyes, count to three, open his eyes, look at Anna Catherine and say "Here I come...found you!". Her reply was, "Jack, we're in the car! Count again!" They also played the "knock-knock game". To play this game, one of them says "knock-knock". The other says, "who's there?". That's all. Then they both laugh hysterically. This went on for quite a while---oh, the fun we have in the van!

Papa Gator and Nana Sara have a very nice home in northern Greensboro. They were worried about the kids falling down the stairs while Rick and I were worried about the kids breaking everything from the floor to 5 feet up! Our children have a problem with running in the house. It is very frustrating for Rick and me at our house so you can imagine how nerve-wracking it is when we're at someone else's house. Anna Catherine and Jackson were amazed by the fact that they could go up one set of stairs, run through the rooms on the second floor, and come down a second set of stairs. Then they would run through the rooms on the first floor and do it all over again. It made for an interesting game of hide-and-seek.

Friday evening we went to the Greensboro Children's Museum. The kids had a blast. The first thing Jackson saw was a Thomas the Train play table, which he played with nonstop for two hours! He eventually played with a second Thomas set and a few other toys. Anna Catherine had fun playing in each of the different play areas. The goal was to wear them out after being cooped up in the van, and we achieved it. Then we went back to Casa Crawford for a wonderful dinner consisting of shrimp and corn bisque and jambalaya. YUM, YUM!!!

Saturday morning we left as early as possible for the North Carolina Zoo. It is an awesome zoo, the best I've ever seen. The N.C. Zoo is the nation’s largest walk-through natural-habitat zoo. Its African and North American exhibit regions span more than 500 acres with more than five miles of walkways. The kids had a very good time and were completely exhausted after spending almost six hours walking trails and looking at animals. Once again...mission complete!!

Sunday morning we packed up once again and hit the road at 11 o'clock. It only took us 13 hours to get home (thank goodness for CST and getting that extra hour back!!). It was a long trip but it was worth it. We had a great time and are looking forward to going to the Emerald Pointe Water Park (listed as one of the top ten water parks on the Travel Channel and featured on Good Morning America) and the Natural Science Center on future trips to Greensboro. Thanks Papa Gator and Nana Sara for a wonderful weekend!!!!