Ah, the open road in a closed up minivan filled with 4 of the Weasel Children, both of their parents, countless hamburger wrappers and the smell of burning diesel or did Boy Weasel forget to shower this morning? , for a 10 hour cross country haul to Grandmother's house we went.
* Yes, We left 17 year old Eldest Weasel......home alone because she had to sing and dance to Bob Seger in her underwear through the house work obligations.
The extended family time in the car gave plenty of opportunity for Mr. Weasel and I to pass down generational traditions, such as yelling, "Stop poking your sister", "Keep your hands to yourself", and even the grand pooba of family road trip cliche phrases, "Don't Make Me Turn This Car Around!".
At one point I threatened to leave Smallest Weasel on the side of the turnpike if she asked "How much longer until we get there?" one more time in the next 10 minutes (This question had been posed by her approximately every 5 minutes since the first hour in the car).
Speaking of the turnpike, around hour 6, just when I am starting to get punchy, I usually don't get stabby until around hour 9. while cruising through Ohio, heading east mind you, Mr. Weasel and I spot this:
Sorry that it is sideways, but notice that it says SEA-CHI right above the pronouncement of U.S. Mail. This guy missed his exit 6 hours and 2 states ago! This clears up so many questions about the U.S.P.S. It's a wonder we ever get any of our mail. Anyway, I found the sight amusing and thought that I would share it with you.
We don't get out to my in-laws part of the country very often, but when we do it is nice because not only do we get to visit family, but being only 10 minutes from where Mr. Weasel and I met in college, we get to see many old friends who still live in the area.
Along with the added bonus of my brother in law and his family being in town town simultaneously, we had lunches and dinners with old friends, attended another friends wedding, where we ran into many more blasts from the past.
Sunday morning it was time for Mr. Weasel and I to pack up the car and head home. The Weasels would stay on and have their own special vacation with their grandparents. It just so happened to be our 18th anniversary and we decided to drive home, via Cleveland, to do what else........have lunch and visit with yet some more old college friends. Lunch turned into dinner. Dinner turned into an overnight stay.
The next morning we continued our relaxing trek home, stopping for outlet mall shopping and eventually dinner, when a thought had come to me; We had not planned a special anniversary trip or organized any formal plans to see the people we did. We just had a date and location for a wedding that turned into the ultimate reunion with both family, friends and each other. I couldn't have planned a trip this good if I had actually planned it.
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