Ryan flew out from Olympia to help me drive and to boost my spirits. He's been wonderful, of course. Together in the car, we finished reading one book aloud and started on another. We worked our way through an absurd amount of chocolate, bread, and hard-boiled eggs. We laughed a lot and discussed difficult topics. We crossed this continent we call a country.
Day 1: Fairfax, VA to Alton, IL
We woke up early on the morning of Sunday, December 22nd to breakfast on leftover scones (thanks Dad), cry a little (thanks Mom), hug a lot, and head out. I did the first driving shift while Ryan, not usually a morning person, tried to recover from the early awakening. We knew this would be an all-day drive, so we didn't stop much. My loaded-up little lawn-mower (the new pet name for my car) chugged its way up and down the bumps of the Appalachian Mountains, then across a few of the flatter, inner states to the town of Alton, IL.
Alton is just across the river from St. Louis, MO. Alton is home to a Lincoln-Douglas debate monument, several charming brick streets, a museum about Robert Wadlow, and my own excellent grandmother. She received us with open arms, as you might imagine, and served us split pea soup that she had practiced cooking once already to make sure she got it right. My aunt and uncle who live in town came on over, too, and we had ourselves a little bit of a reunion. Ryan was well liked.
In the morning, we took a three mile walk with my grandma, who had already been on a three mile walk with some of her friends before we got out of bed. She's just that cool. She gave us a tour of the town and the surrounding countryside. She took us over to visit my grandfather. She made fun of Ryan's cute butt. She sent us off with several hard boiled eggs and lots of love.
Day 2: Alton, IL to St. Louis, MO
We didn't go very far after leaving my grandmother's. In about an hour, we arrived at our destination: the City Museum. The City Museum is neither a museum nor a city-run institution. It is the product of a mad genius who decided to build a grown-up sized playground/exploration space/art installation/place of wonder. I highly recommend, if you like fun, that you head there the next time you're in the area. Ryan and I both ended up a little bruised, but it was completely worth it. I hear it's an adults only space on Friday and Saturday nights, which sounds hilarious.
After banging our heads and knees on beautiful art, we hung out with some of Ryan's St. Louis friends and their totally insane collie mix dog. Seriously, he was snapping at people's faces, crawling into their laps, and drinking their alcoholic beverages out of the glasses in their hands. Aside from worrying about the continued presence of the nose on my face, I had a great time. I firmly believe that Ryan has excellent taste in friends.
Day 3: St. Louis, MO to Hays, KS
We brunched in St. Louis. Ryan's friends continued to be wonderful, even with more daylight and less alcohol. We didn't have a destination for that day; the idea was simply to drive as far as we wanted to, and to not have horribly far to drive the next day. In good spirits, we sped off into the flatlands of America. I had learned how to use cruise control two days earlier, so I felt well equipped.
After many miles, the sky darkened. The roads were empty. Lonely. We decided to stop in Hays, KS. With Ryan's handy dandy smartphone, we found the cheapest hotel in town and booked a room.
Let me tell you about this hotel.
It was huge. I mean, it wasn't a highrise or anything, but it was definitely a hotel built for a high-traffic area. Maybe Hays has become less of a destination, or maybe people just don't stay in hotels on Christmas Eve; this enormous hotel was mostly empty. The cavernous indoor courtyards were dark and their ceilings were missing tiles. An external door, equipped with a hotel card swipe point for access, had been kicked open, leaving it unlocked and cracked. The place felt haunted, or at least seriously run down.
I know, it sounds awful so far. BUT! The room was fine. I mean, the light switch didn't work, but the lights turned on at the lamp, the bed was comfortable and clean, the bathroom functioned, and there were great locks on the door. Ryan went out to explore the hotel a bit and returned with excellent news: there was an indoor pool! And it had a slide! And there was a hot tub!
And so we went. The maintenance guy turned on the water slide, which Ryan proceeded to ride down. I soaked in the hot tub, which suffered from several design flaws but still managed to surround me with fairly hot water. The water level was too low, or the jets were too high, because the jets shot out at the level of the water, resulting in the loudest hot tub I've ever heard. The vinyl paint covering the inside of the tub was peeling off in palm-sized chunks, which meant that sometimes you felt something brush up against your foot in the swirling water.
But, hey, it was a great way to end the day. Happy Christmas Eve.
In the morning, we feasted on the strange fare of hotel buffet breakfast, hopped in the car, and got out of there.
Day 4: Hays, KS to Bailey, CO
We listened in the car to my mother's mix CDs of Christmas music, because it was Christmas after all. I repeatedly shouted "Merry Christmas!" at Ryan, mostly while he was driving.
We made it to Denver, sauntered into a schmancy hotel, asked the maitre d' for a restaurant recommendation for a late lunch, took a short walk along Cherry Creek, and arrived at the restaurant to take our seats at our reserved table. (Thanks, friendly maitre d'!) We declared this our fancy Christmas meal and left a generous tip.
Our room reservation for the night was in Bailey, CO, southwest of Denver. Lovely place. Our hosts had four dogs--four!-- and I began to think that this trip was a tour of what not to do with your dog(s). They also had a wood-fired hot tub and a sauna, which more than made up for the high-strung pups.
Stay tuned for We hit the road, Part 2! During which we... take hikes! Wear the wrong shoes! Cook pizza! Meet a man named Mystic Mike! AND MORE!
There might even be pictures!
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