I awoke this morning in Jackson, Mississippi. I am now in Birmingham, Alabama. Tomorrow evening, I will arrive in Atlanta. I could stop there, I suppose, but I'll tell you a little about our day instead. :)
Our massive road trip continues, and I am still loving it, despite a couple of near-setbacks to
day.
As always, we got checked out of our hotel room about 5 minutes before noon (it's just plain hard to do it much quicker with four kids in tow). We wanted to check out the planetarium and/or the art museum in Jackson - both were closed. Unfortunately, we didn't figure that out until we arrived there. To put things succinctly, Monday is not the best day to visit that particular town. The Old Capitol Museum looked interesting (also closed on Mondays - shocker!). We did, however, visit the War Memorial on State Street to see what it was. I made sure to take the kids' pictures next to something called the "Gratitude Train", and I promised myself that I would look it up.
Here's what I found, if you're interested (if not, just skip it - I'll never know anyway):
The "Merci Train" was a train of 48 boxcars (one for each state at the time) filled with gifts given to the American states from the French people in appreciation of the 1945 American "Friendship Train" boxcars which had been filled with food, given by the American people to war-ravaged France.
At the War Memorial, they have these super-heavy metal doors leading into another set of glass doors to get inside the building. Once they open, they fit into recessed pockets like a lid on a box (i.e. no air space between the door and the wall). Unfortunately, my wife didn't know that, and she almost lost the tips of three fingers when opening one of them. No, I am not exaggerating. One of her fingers is in a splint now that I found at Walgreen's for her. If much more pressure had been applied to the door, I think our trip would have ended way eariler than intended. Yikes.
So, we got a chance to see the Natural Science Museum in Jackson, and the kids enjoyed it, although I thought it was going to be bigger, frankly. The outside "maze" that someone recommended was falling apart and muddy inside, but the kids seemed pleased overall.
The baby had a pretty good day, but our timing was a little off with lunch and her nap was delayed accordingly, which made her fussier. Thankfully, my wife earned her PhD in child entertainment years ago, so all was well. ;)
We tried to eat an an authentic local place while in Jackson, but the two places we wanted to try were....closed. One of them closed just before our lunch time - the other one was out of business. We ended up eating a VERY late lunch at O'Charley's near the mall.
Along the way to Birmingham, we realized that we had booked a hotel in the wrong city. That could be a minor problem, huh? My wife was able to book us at the Homewood Suites, which is awesome, since it's a longtime family favorite.
Tomorrow, I think we're going to check out the zoo with the kiddos, then head to Atlanta by around dinnertime. If you're going to RE Tech South, please make a point to come say "Hi" to me. I attended an event recently in Dallas, and only later did I realize that there were a handful of people that I wanted to meet who were there but we didn't get a chance to talk.
Funniest quote from today:
Following our breakfast at the hotel, the lady working there changed the TV channel to the new "The Price is Right".
My son said, "I LOVE watching 'The Price is Right'. It's great to watch dumb people do stupid things for money." So true, son, so true.
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You're a brave man, Jason. Road trips with young children can be a lot of fun and exhausting.
Good morning Jason,
Ah the road trips with the kids..they will have memories..I always remember out trips..you are a brave man for sure!
Jason-Sounds like the Crouch family is having a great vacation. Your daughter is beautiful.
I am so bummed! This morning even before I logged on to AR, I was looking forward to your next post...AND I was going to call it the Crouch Chronicles....But you beat me to it!
Now I'm going to have to rack my brains to come up with another title for your family vacation!
Glad you guys are having a great time and including us along for the ride.
You're a good man Jason!
The three older kids will remember this trip forever!
What more can a kid ask than found memories, there is no greater legecy.
Bill
Crouch Chronicles.... Very catchy. Hope you have a wonderful road trip and get back safe. Great post.
Jason - it sounds like you and your family are having quite an adventure. Your baby is adorable too! Have a wonderful time and keep sharing your adventures with us!
Have fun at the zoo......I haven't been there in years, but spent a lot of time there as a kid. The home I grew up in backs up to the park property. It is a beautiful day to go to the zoo! :o)
Jason - love road trips, even when my kids were smaller. Stopped in Jackson once, it was also on a Monday, and, everything was closed. So, I played golf at a course called the Preserve. Hope to see you at ReTech Thursday & Friday!
Jason , my wife and I out-number our one and only child two-to-one and we still have our hands full on any time to the museum...theme park, Etc. You guys must really have it together to try it with 4 little ones.
Jason, your baby is adorable. Safe travels.
It looks like your family is having a great time. Keep sending the updates
Thank you very much for taking me along on your vacation. I'm thoroughly enjoying the trip . . .and I especially like the quotes of the day. They make me smile! I can't wait to see where we're going next!!
Hello Jason - Sorry to hear about your troubles. But, these are the kinds of vacations that will become very fonds memories. Enjoy life on the road...for now!
Love to hear the family stories and see the pics! And you son's quote is a CLASSIC! I love that stuff! Hope you are well!
Hi Jason...
"I LOVE watching 'The Price is Right'. It's great to watch dumb people do stupid things for money."
I'm with Brandon on this one!
ummm...ok...wife almost loses fingers and you managed with a splint from Walgreens? You either have Boy Scout or MacGuyver skills?!?!?
Jason - Love the photo. I hope your wife's hand is doing better. That was scary.