Road Trip, Day Eight: The End

Five states, eight days, 2,000 miles, and we are home. Some post trip observations ....


-Best barbecue? Kansas City is known for their barbecue; in fact, as you're walking around downtown you can smell it in the air. Mid-week we had lunch at Jack Stack Barbecue and -- oh my word -- heaven on a plate. For someone who is not a fan of barbecue, I was won over. Of course, you still get better iced tea in the south, so I'm not a total traitor.


-Best weather? The ENTIRE trip. Low eighties, no humidity, and nary a rain drop.


-Most scenic state? We logged over 2,000 miles on our van and, hands down, the most scenic part of the trip was through Tennessee. Mountains, valleys, lakes ... gorgeous. Not to say that Illinois and Kentucky weren't beautiful, too, but a corn field is a corn field.


-Best prediction after the fact? Timothy's fortune cookie which stated that a few extra bucks could be floating in his direction. This was ironic in light of that fact we had just toured the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, and upon exiting everyone was given a small sack of shredded money.


-Best photo? No doubt, the one I took of Timothy near the end of our two hour tour of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. My sister in law mentioned that it reminded her of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker. Well, wouldn't you know that one of the originals of The Thinker was there at the entrance of this museum! And Lisa is right ... I can see a resemblance. I also saw a distinct resemblance with Giant Crying which we saw at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

"Boy in an Art Museum"
"Giant Crying"
"The Thinker"

And that's it. Home. Am I glad to be back? Truthfully, no. Reality bites because school starts a week from Monday and I have done absolutely nothing to prepare. No pencils or notebooks, no teacher supplies or backpacks, no school uniforms. Timothy's shorts from last year are veritable hot pants, his long pants are shorts, and his shoes are so holey they can be flip flops. I am in BIG TROUBLE. When we were in Kansas City I did think ahead and purchase Timothy one pair of blue pants at Target. Good, yes? Good, no. The only pair left was a size 14 Husky; the size 14 fits length-wise, but the husky part ... have you seen how skinny our little guy is? But this is how I look at it ... a pair of pants size 14 Husky is better than no pants at all.


Sigh. And then there is our senior who needs to have his senior photos taken, a college sophomore to take to school, a husband who will be traveling the next two out of three weeks, and ...


See? I need another vacation already.