So I am a little behind on this blog writing thing and I
have a lot of catching up to do! We had a lot of big moments this past year:
first birthday, a wedding, pregnancy, five year anniversary, vacation with
family and friends. Most importantly, I would like to share about the family
trip I took with my parents, Nick, and brother Bobby to visit my family in
Memphis and a very special great aunt who at the time resided in Hot Springs,
Arkansas. So weird to think of that as her home as she, my grandparents, and
great-grandmother lived in Little Rock, AR for the majority of my life. It was
quite the journey, and also my first road trip experience sans hubby with Nick. Through it all, I made many wonderful memories that I now hold dear.
Usually several times a year my parents make the trip to the
Memphis/Arkansas area for an extended weekend to visit family members and
friends. Ordinarily, I am unable to attend because of work related reasons.
While teachers get all holidays off along with extra days here and there, we have
a set of six paid days off and I typically need several of those to cover sick
days! This time was different as I am working part-time and can
choose my hours. So I chose to work Thursday, and then enjoy six days of
traveling with my family. :)
It had been a very long time since I had a done a road trip
with my family. Probably the last time I had piled in the car with them was
when I was 19 or 20 so it would be very different this time around as a 27 year
old adult with a baby and all the fun of the added responsibilities that
brings. I was very nervous to not have Chris with me for moral support and
some co-parenting backup, but I was still really excited for the adventure. We had done many
road trips with Nick before, the longest being our 2 day drive to Michigan and
back, so I generally had an idea of what to expect. I definitely was not going into this blindly!
Still, I responded as any new attention-to-detail-oriented parent would by
packing every known thing I could think of that would make him
comfortable and HAPPY. Plus an itemized list to make sure everything came back with us. My main goal was keeping him quiet and happy on a 12 hour car trip. I think I can safely say I succeeded in doing so:
This little boy is one happy traveler!
We would be gone Friday, March 7-Wednesday, March 12. This
would allow us 2 days to get to Memphis with one overnight stop, a day
and a half in Memphis, and a day and a half in Hot Springs although we would
technically be staying in Little Rock for the night. The week leading up to the trip I was getting concerned because this was the time when they were having major
travel delays in the air and on the roadways due to snow and overall bad
weather. In fact, the major interstate used to travel between Memphis and
Little Rock I-40 made national news for a huge traffic jam pile up that left
travelers stranded for a full day.
Luckily for us, this would all clear up by the time we were to be making our trip (sigh of relief).
I was beginning to think this was a travel theme for us. When we did our road trip to North Carolina the national parks were closed the first part of our trip.
Luckily for us, this would all clear up by the time we were to be making our trip (sigh of relief).
When we first got into Memphis we were able to do a little
sight seeing and drive by some of our old homes and places that we used to go
to. My dad moved there when he was young so he usually takes us by the houses
he lived in and his old school East High School. East High opened up in 1948
and has a lot of cool history behind it and it is just a beautiful building in
general. Here are some pictures that we took on our little tour of home:
East High School
Dad's Alma Mater: Class of 1973
Dad's Senior Portrait
Our home on Corsica
Then: August 1989
Now: March 2014
My Dad's childhood home on Philwood Avenue
That night we enjoyed our tradition of meeting up with my
mom’s sister Marty and her husband Joe at the southern comfort restaurant
The Dixe Café. It offers a very home style meal with entrees such as chicken fried
steak, shepherd’s pie, shrimp, and catfish, served with any side you could
think of including fried okra. And of course a big basket of fresh baked rolls
and cornbread to share. They also have a
pretty sweet dessert menu including a variety of shortcakes, puddings,
cobblers, and a banana split. One of my favorite entrees is the Vegetable Heaven
where you can choose 4-5 sides and get a nice sampler of all your favorite
veggies plus mac ‘n cheese if you love it as much as I do!
Here are some pics of our yummy eats:
complimentary rolls and cornbread
catfish + fried okra
veggies
catfish + fried okra
This wound up being a very special night because it was the
first time Aunt Marty and Uncle Joe were able to meet Nicholas who is the first
great-nephew on both my mom and my dad’s side of the family. She could not put
him down!
Aunt Marty and Nick
The next morning we attended worship service at our family church St. Luke’s United Methodist. This is where my grandparents, great-aunt,
my parents, and of course us kids when we were little attended church growing
up. It is also the same place where my parents were introduced to each other
for the very first time! Little did they know that in 1979 they would marry in
this church and have three children baptized here along with 2 nephews.
This church has a lot of special history for our family and I always enjoy
visiting here. Plus, with so many extended family members and long-time friends you never know who you are going to run into!
the front of the church
the sanctuary pre-worship
the balcony
A Look Back...
my parent's wedding day (June 16, 1979)
1989
singing in the Children's Choir
(I was one of the shortest ones, front row- L on the end)
the Sunday School buildings
Napping with Aunt Marty. Church makes someone sleepy :)
After church, we were able to join my Aunt Paula
and dad’s brother Uncle James for lunch at a favorite Mexican place of theirs- Los Compadres. The restaurant also offered a separate menu featuring a variety of Cuban dishes. James and Paula enjoyed being able to visit with Nicholas and were excited to announce
that they would be grandparents themselves in the fall as my cousin Ross and
his fiancée were expecting!
Uncle James with his first great-nephew
On our way out of town we went through the heart of Memphis and drove by the famous Sun Studios where Elvis recorded his first album.
Next stop...Little Rock!
No comments:
Post a Comment