Truckin'

Well, we have been driving for two days and have made it to Sooth Carolina.  I must say that, as a result of being stuck in a van with four sons and a husband for hours at a time, there have been multiple moments when I have have closed my eyes and envisioned taking a vacation all by myself next year.  There has been arguing, yelling, hitting, annoying, tattling, whining, throwing, crying, complaining and threatening.  We even managed to lose Elijah's shoe somewhere in Tennessee (which means a trip to K-Mart in the morning).

Even worse than the car ride, though, is the arrival at the hotel.  No matter how many times we tell them that people may be sleeping in their rooms, my boys run, screaming down the hallways.  In spite of our insistence that the hotel room is a designated calm area, they jump from bed to bed, throw pillows at each other, wrestle, yell, hide in the closet, bang on the walls and slam the door.  Within ten minutes of entering a hotel, my stress level is at an all time high.

However, both the towns of Lexington Kentucky and Asheville North Carolina have offered free, fun, awesome  places where my kids could burn off their energy, and where I could re-connect with those loving feelings that made me want kids in the first place.  What both towns have had are public fountains that people can play in.

Yesterday Lexington was HOT!!!!  When we rode into town it was a sultry 93, and at 8:00 PM it had gotten down to a stifling 89.  We bought ice cream and found a park where the kids could run around - but after a short time we were all feeling just plain hot, sticky and dirty.  We decided to drive out to see some of the famous Kentucky Horse Stables - but we never got that far, because, as we were driving through town, we saw IT.  The first thing to draw our attention were some absolutely beautiful horse sculptures:

But, it was what we saw behind the sculptures that was really exciting.  There was a huge fountain, and the fountain was full of people!  We immediately pulled over, and jumped right in.  It was so cool and refreshing, and the sweltering Kentucky day was transformed into a beautiful, sultry Kentucky evening.

We played in the fountain until after dark, happy and laughing, then returned to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Today we found a similar joy in Asheville.  We went out for ice cream, and the shop owner said that there was a fountain downtown where kids could play.  Since my husband and I were at the ends of our ropes, we hightailed it to the downtown area.  And there, in a village green surrounded by mountains, were streams of water shooting out of the ground.  The children rushed over and played, again, for hours.  

So, not every moment of traveling with family has been beautiful and wonderful, but the joyful moments have made up for the miserable ones - tenfold.  Tomorrow, its more driving (uuurg).  But then we will reach our final destination - The Ocean.  I expect that will make up for everything.