When the odometer in our Chevy Equinox clicked over to 4,455 miles as we pulled into our driveway at 10:30 last night, I realized that it had been one heck of a road trip!
We wrapped up our fantastic vacation over the weekend with a Blackhawks vs. Stars NHL game Friday night. Our Chicago Blackhawks didn’t seem very interested in playing and lost 5-2, but we all enjoyed the night, despite the outcome.
Saturday we all enjoyed an afternoon of good food and walking about the streets of the historic district of Fort Worth’s Stockyard Station. A delicious steak dinner at Cattlemen’s Restaurant preceded our visit to the rodeo at the famous Cowtown Coliseum that evening.
By the time it all wrapped up around 10:00, we were worn out and ready to make our way back to our hotel in Dallas, about thirty minutes away—under normal circumstances!
As is usual for us, though, we ran into all sorts of road construction, making the unfamiliar highways and byways all that more unfamiliar. Luckily, we managed to make it back OK and plopped into bed by 11:00 (actually midnight, with the time change).
Settling in to sleep was important, since our long drive home the next day would begin early. The rest of our group were to fly home later in the day on Sunday.
As it turned out, Carolyn and I pulled away from our hotel after breakfast shortly before 8 a.m. and enjoyed the light traffic flow on a sunny Sunday.
About an hour into our drive, we received a text from our son, saying that their flight to Chicago’s Midway Airport had been cancelled due to severe fog in the forecast. They were forced to remain for another day and night. As such, we would arrive home before them.
And so our homeward journey took us north from Dallas and into Oklahoma and then on into Missouri.
Once we crossed over the Mississippi River near the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, I felt as though we were home, even though we had a good four-and-a-half hours yet to drive. But there’s something comforting in being in familiar surroundings once again.
Upon arriving home in northern Illinois, we pulled into the garage, closed the door behind us, and left everything in the car, agreeing to unload in the morning. A quick check of the house showed that all things were “good,” so we wasted little time in scurrying into bed and for a most wonderful night’s sleep. The old bed never felt better!
Before I fell off to dreamland, however, I flashed quickly back over the past seventeen days and nights and realized just how special it all had been. We had travelled to so many places, and racked up so many miles, and found so many special things in every one of the places we visited. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Now that’s a good way to fall asleep!
Down Many Roads... 