So yesterday we got up really early and decided to drive to New Jersey! Actually, we did have a plan--we were trying to catch a space-a flight to Hawaii. It was a total long-shot, because the flight was on a smaller airplane, and they were only tentatively releasing 15 seats, but we thought, hey, let's give it a shot. So we did!
And I have to say, the execution was pretty flawless. We got up and out the door (all of us!) at 3:20 AM with all our stuff! That is a definite record, probably never again to be repeated. Also, Micah and Drew did not have any meltdowns, which was a miracle in and of itself, especially since they got up so early. We got to the terminal at McGuire even a little before we wanted to, which was good because it took forever to get all of us checked in. But we had all the documentation they needed, so yay, everything worked! We met some really nice fellow "spats" (space-a travelers), including one who was the oldest of 6 kids. She and her husband had driven up from Charlotte, NC--a 10 hour drive! Another couple was there from Kentucky. Then there was another lady who was checking in with the other airman, who sniffed loudly, "All those kids on a space-a flight! What a catastrophe!" Oh well, you can't win them all. And at that point, the kids were all just sitting in chairs, eating these bisquick sausage, egg, and cheese muffins I had made the night before, so I guess if she wasn't okay with that, then she was probably just not a fan of lots of kids in general, not just not on space-a flights, LOL.
Anyhow, at some point we heard that the final number of seats going to be available was only 10, which eliminated us right away. I don't know that it was all bad however--the plane didn't have any actual airline-style seats in it. We would just have been sitting on the webbed jumpseats that pull down from the wall. We space-a'd around the Pacific when I was a girl, and I definitely remember sitting on those seats! They are not too terribly comfortable, especially for flying across our country, and halfway across an ocean!
So after grabbing a bagel at the USO there in the terminal, we got back in the van and headed home. The kids were great about napping both on the way there and the way back, but Bob and I didn't get much napping in. Bob drove the whole way up, while I helped navigate and keep him awake, although I did doze off a few times. On the way back, we stopped at Denny's (Grand Slams all around!), which we don't have near us, so that was a special treat. I drove after that, because Bob was really tired, but frankly a heavy meal including 2 big pancakes is not exactly the thing when you are already really tired! What I should have had was coffee, or at least a coke or something. I drive long distances by myself frequently (well, before I had Nathan as a second driver when Bob can't come on a long trip with us!), but I have never ever felt this tired. I had such a hard time staying alert, and I scared myself a few times by realizing I had just closed my eyes for a split second. Needless to say, after I drove an hour or so, we traded drivers once again! I really felt like God was protecting us, to get us home safely, because we were both so tired!
Our plan was to go straight over to the afternoon classes at Rivendell, but instead we just dropped off Caleb and Jonathan for their lit classes, and the girls so they could play with Elena. Christine had already said she would teach economics today, so that was so nice that they didn't have to miss that at least! Bob and I went home and crashed. Napping for a few hours was wonderful! Then Nathan, Luke, and Caleb all went off to Civil Air Patrol--the end of a very long and busy day!
So today we were back to our normal routine, but hey, driving to New Jersey on a lark is the stuff family memories are made of!
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