We've Arrived

I was about nine years of age when I saw many of the folks from this family reunion. It is as if I never left. 

I think it is time to eat now. With my family.

Whirlwind of Activity

I thought I had posted more this weekend, although now I see a few drafts that never completed posting. Sorry. I will blame the internet of the wild (here in the Poconos). In the past three days, I have ate a massive amount of food, talked, laughed, played games, ate some more, bowled, kayaked, played some more games, helped make food, talked, ran, sat in a hot tub, played more games, and then ate dessert. This family loves with food, lots and lots of food.

There always seemed a mix of a family, some here and some there- everybody enjoying doing things with others. It was fun. I am exhausted from all the fun and glad I had a chance to spend time with these folks. Blood-relatives or not, a warm and accepting group of people who love (in this case, my family) help make the world mo' better.

Breakfast Confession

If you knew me while I was a teenager or young adult, you'd know I did not eat at McDonald's. Ever. In part because the smell reminded me of car sickness and in part because gross. I went a solid 13 years with only a few fruit and yogurt parfaits during family road trips.

I especially don't eat fast food now. Overall, I generally follow a diet that doesn't allow me to eat processed foods, or dairy, or grains/gluten... So no McDonald's, right?

Wrong. What makes me sacrifice clean eating and face potential gastrointestinal distress? A combination of the Monopoly game and my compulsion to complete collections of things.

Look at the grease on that bag! That delicious, savory, heart-stopping grease! So far, I "won" a free breakfast sandwich, am 2/3rds of my way to "winning" $20,000, and have had several days shaved from the end of my adventure-filled life.

Moonshine Country

We completed Day 1 of our travels, rolling through east Tennessee, Virginia, a brief stretch in West Virginia, and stopping in Maryland. After having just finished watching a movie about moonshining in West Virginia during the Prohibition, all I could think as we passed through that countryside was "where do they keep the stills?" We didn't encounter any moonshiners, but we did see an Appalachian Mountain icon:

You never know who you might run into at rest stops! 

We found a Motel 6 that kept the light on for us as we pulled in about 11:30 local time last night. Zzz. I believe we all passed out within seconds of our heads hitting out respective pillows. 

We grabbed some of the complimentary coffee from the motel lobby and rolled out about 7AM. What did I say to convince my beautiful, non-morning-person of a sister to get up so early? That a brief visit to Gettysburg before our final destination at the Poconos would be awesome. She and her awesome husband agreed. I know, I know. You thought I was the only nerd. Turns out I have cool siblings, too.

Pennsylvania, here we come!

Road tripping and Family Reunioning

And we are off!

My dad's family is having a reunion this weekend, so my sister and her husband and I are trekking from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to re-un (or to union since "re" indicates we have done this before?). Sadly, my husband and mother can't make it (and Dad is still in Afghanistan), so we are going to represent. I love road tripping and hanging with family, so I am looking forward to this weekend. I haven't seen many of these family members since I was in the third grade. Maybe I'll put a question mark on my name tag and see if anybody can guess who I am...

Anyways, I will attempt to document the weekend here the best I can, especially for the long distancing family members (this means you, Dad). Bring on the next 11.5 hours in the car! Mom made a batch of chocolate cookies for sustenance and I have a sock monkey travel cup filled with coffee for additional fuel.

Woop!!

- Posted from my iPhone