Our destinations are not in a straight path to Washington.
We’ve decided on some detours that we want to see. This evening and tomorrow we
will be in Chicago. Yany’s youngest brother, Aldo, moved to Chicago a few years
ago. So we get to see a cool city with an awesome tour guide (not to mention walk
around with cute guys-Aldo, Yany, Kasen).
We flew through Indiana; it was like driving on hwy 287 in
TX up through the Vernon, Quanah, and Childress area. There were crops (corn
not cotton), there was a flat highway, there were 18-wheelers, and there few
convenience stations but not much in the way of a town. The other major difference
was that everything is GREEN and the temperature was 68 degrees-July 3rd-unbelievable!
Gas is $3.34 in IN.
Indiana corn
Windmill farm
I seriously don’t know how women end up marrying men like
their dads. Let’s take the walkie-talkies. I don’t know if that idea was
borrowed from my dad or if Yany has just always wanted to be a truck driver. I
have 2 walkie-talkies in my car because I have an aunt and her nephew who have
a hard time sharing (Alyse and Kasen-I’m talking about you). I also drive the
fastest and use a GPS more frequently so I am in the front vehicle (but zero
sense of direction without a map); therefore I have walkie-talkies “Lead Eagle”
and “Eaglet.” Laney is my navigator/babysitter and usually does the
walkie-talkie since I drive with one hand and have the other arm straight up.
Haley drives in the middle, she’s “Silver Hawk” since she drives a silver
Accord. She learned to drive in Okinawa on the wrong side of the road and has
the least amount of heavy traffic driving. She has somehow gained her Granddad’s
awesome sense of direction that sadly, I did not inherit. Yany is the last vehicle, also has great directional ability, and his code name is “Bald
Eagle”- since he asked my opinion to name the walkie-talkies (he! he!).
Being the seasoned travelers that we are, I graciously gave
everyone $5.00 of quarters in a baggie for toll roads-I assumed we’d come upon
some in Chicago.
Right before we cross in to Illinois-
walkie-talkies
on-check
baggie of
quarters-check
raining as
usual-check.
We are
ready.
We make it through 2 toll roads no problem ($.70 and $1.80).
Next toll road $4.00-oops! I pull out my Mastercard-nope, toll booths in
Chicago take Visa. No problem for me, my business card is a Visa. I pay for
myself and Haley and wait for Bald Eagle. I see the toll booth lady running up
to Haley’s car.
I hop out of my car in
the rain, “I paid for her!”
Haley is handing her
a credit card. “I have a Visa,” Haley announces as she pays for Bald Eagle.
Yany is the one without a way to pay-no Visa and no quarters. Maybe we aren’t expert travelers yet.
By this time I have a little boy that needs to pee. There
are no bathrooms on a toll road. Bald Eagle is yelling at me, via
walkie-talkie, to slow down. We tell him our emergency.
Bald Eagle asks, “Do
you have a water bottle?”
Eyes wide, Laney and
I look at each other. “NO, WAY!” is Laney’s answer.
“I’ll buy you something,” I promise Laney.
Poor Laney is stuck with pee patrol. Not something we had on
her list of duties. Bladder empty and ½ a bottle full, and we never slowed
down. Mark that off of our bucket list (although
I don’t think it was ever on it).
Chicago should be an adventure.
DeeAnn- Military Lifer Wife
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