The first leg

In my own defense, THIS is a picture that came up when I googled "Road Trip" images. And also, I wanted to give my zero readers an image of what I truly look like on my current road trip.

McG is 8...someone said what a wonderful memory for her and I...her first real road trip. But how much will she actually remember? So I figured I should get something down. I mentioned in yesterday's post how much I love road trips. Getting in the car and driving...one of my absolute favorite things to do. I'm not going to say I'm a big travel person overall. I tend to feel very displaced when I get home after being gone and I can't say I like my memories spread out all over the place, but the actual act and process of getting in a car and driving...absolute heaven! So we rented a car. Showed up with our reservation and left the lot...an hour and a half later, when people who were supposed to return their cars the Sat before actually started showing up. (This was Monday morning!) But the trip to Cincinnati was smooth. Even having to drive through Illinois. But it's all America and maybe the rest of the world looks like this, but I like to pretend that it's just us. Now anyone who knows me knows I'm not a great patriot by any means, so it's odd that city skylines and dilapidated barns and trailer parks with broken down cars in the front yard, green rolling hills and bleak looking industrial parks and bland, pedestrian suburbs fill me with a sense of wonder and love of this country. I've never claimed to understand it, I just try to go with it.

I wanted to show McG some places I grew up, places I hadn't been in 20 years or more. (How is that possible?!). So we hit the open road towards Cincinnati. McG was obsessed with telling everyone she was going to "5 states!" If you count Missouri, she now has. We got to Cincinnati and I realized that we had lost an hour and began to grumble at the stupid car rental people who did NOT change the clock in the car. Later I realized hey! we are in a different time zone! Okay, moving on...

But we had the experiences of the disgusting road side bathrooms, even using a men's room in 1 case when I seriously thought I was going to explode.

We hit the school, the apartment, the house just over the river in Covington. We did not partake in any famous Cincinnati chili, as I have moved away from my murderous carnivorous ways and McG said she didn't like chili or chili dogs, so we passed. My mother will never forgive us, I think!

So we rounded out the day with a trip to Florence Mall (Florence Y'All for any natives) where I tried tofu (see previous post) and McG, in an attempt to expand her horizons on her first ever road trip, partook of McDonald's Chicken Nuggets!!!!

We ended the day at the Motel 6 in Florence KY. The Motel 6, it turns out, with no air, so they suggested we open the window. The window with no screen, right next to the elevator. The window that anyone could walk up to and reach into if I open it more than 1/4 of an inch. The elevator that dings really loudly, regardless of the window being open or not. The Motel 6 in the general vicinity of the area 3 armed and dangerous convicts were last seen I found out this morning. The Motel 6 with the slightly seedy people walking up and down the stairs. And as I found out this morning, The Motel 6 with zero hot water. No matter how long you let it run.

And I'm not saying any of this with any sense of bitterness or regret. (Okay, a hot shower would have been nice!) This is what I'm going to remember, all these things that make it special. This and the sing a long to the High School Musical 3 soundtrack as we passed the exit to Terre Haute, IN. I'm going to remember eating tofu while my daughter put stickers on her McDonald's Toy. I'm going to remember her in a pair of huge, heart shaped sun glasses in Effingham, Il. I don't know what I'll see or remember about today, Day 2, the last Day. The day we head out to Indianapolis to the Children's Museum before heading home. But it's a road trip. I know I'll remember something!