We are finally home. After spending last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday driving we have made it home. We left Tuesday night after going to press with the paper and took off, eager-spirited and everything, for San Antonio Texas.
We were excited. This was going to be the longest trip of my life. I have only been to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Washington D.C. and if you know your U.S. geography, you know that to get to Texas, you have to go through a few states. More states than I have visited in my life combined.
Leaving Minnesota for Texas we had to grapple with the fact that we were leaving home for a couple days and we were going to be all on our own. Well we must have blinked because before we knew it we were passing the “Welcome to Missouri” sign. My sister said, “They say if you blink, you’ll miss Iowa.” She couldn’t have been more right.
The drive down didn’t take as long as my brother expected. I told him my phone said the drive time would be about 17 and a half hours. It said we would arrive at noon on Wednesday. He said, “So you’re gonna get here at about six.” I assumed he misheard me and he clarified that he expected us to get there at night.
He must have been thinking back to his trips where he stopped to smell the roses, or at least the drive when he took time to lose his wallet in Kansas City. Speaking of Kansas, that was the next state on our way to San Antonio.
Kansas City is not actually in Kansas. Can you believe that? I knew that it wasn’t, but to drive from Kansas City Missouri to Kansas was kind of crazy for me. It was the middle of the night at this point. Jessica was passed out in the passenger seat and I was feeling pretty good. I had my coffee next to me and I was ready to drive all night- at least what was left of the night.
Kansas took about as long as Iowa and before we knew it we were in Oklahoma. And boy, that state went fast. For the first time in my life I found my way onto a toll road. I guess you could say, “Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore!” We were a long way from home, but it really didn’t feel like it. With over half the drive remaining, the easy part was behind us.
Driving through Oklahoma was both long and short. The toll roads had their advantages: less traffic and faster speed limits. “We were burnin’ like Crisco,” my brother commented on the way home, and it applied here. After we got through Oklahoma, we were well on our way.
Once we got to Texas I deemed it necessary for a nap. We stopped at one of the grossest gas stations I have ever visited and after we took off I slept, but not for long.
About an hour later, “Gosh darnit, what are you doing!” Followed by some expletives, I was thrown forward into my seat belt. We had finally hit traffic and my sister’s road rage. We were about 100 miles outside of Fort Worth, and after about 10 minutes of traffic my sister and I had switched seats. It was about 7:30 in the morning and after another hour of traffic, we got some breakfast. Another first for me.
My first McDonald’s breakfast. We went in and tried to order off of this large touch-screen device. “Let’s just go to the counter,” I said, “It’ll be easier.”
“No, I used to work at one of these places. I know what I’m doing,” Jessica replied.
“Well have you ever used one of these machines?” I asked
“Shut up and order,” Jessica said. After we typed everything in it was time to eat. Or in this case, figure out how to pay for our food. The machine directed us to the counter. After finally getting our McGriddles, we were back on the road. I still don’t know exactly what to think of McDonald's breakfast food, but I find myself craving that spongy egg and pancake bun. It was strangely satisfying.
The rest of the way we only stopped for gas and to use the bathroom. Roughly two hours later we were finally in San Antonio. About an hour after that we were at Nathan’s apartment.
Come to think of it, we finally had a wipeout accident when we were almost to Nate’s building. Jessica tripped over the curb and scraped her knee. I can still picture it. She almost looked like she could catch herself but the curb caught her first. And then there was Nathan. I think I saw him run for the first time in his life. It almost felt like he was running from his apartment down the stairs to meet us. He wasn’t actually; it was just the feeling we had finally getting to see him for the first time in a year. It’s kind of like Christian, his father, said “You don’t choose to love Nate. You just do. You guys know. That’s why you’re here.”