Christmas Road Trip

On Saturday, December 22, 2012, the Mills family headed out for Charlotte, North Carolina to spend Christmas with Dishon's side of the family.  Although they're originally from East Rutherford, New Jersey, Dishon's brother, sister, and mother have all moved down to Charlotte, and we have lots of nieces, nephews there, as well.

We left the house at about 4:45 a.m. We took Dishon's car - the more modern one with the seat warmers (I LOVE the seat warmers!), but it was touch and go for a while, because his car is also smaller than mine, and we weren't sure that everything would fit.  We had all the necessities - DVD players, and LOTS of movies, Interstate bingo and travel games, etc. After some adjustments - putting toys in smaller bags, leaving my pillow and Serena's large stuffed cat behind,  shoving my toiletry bag under Serena's feet - we were on the road.  Being a morning person, I took the first leg.  My intention was to stop at the Cracker Barrel in Sturbridge for breakfast, but since no one was on the road at that hour, we got to Sturbridge before Cracker Barrel was even open.  We stopped, instead, at a Panera Bread somewhere in Connecticut for breakfast a little later on (for those of you who have yet to discover the iExit iPhone app, you have to get it! You program your favorite restaurants, etc. into the app, and it alerts you when you're approaching the restaurant from any highway.  Very cool!). It had to have been on 84, because we had decided to take 84 to 81 down to Harrisonburg, Virginia to rest for the night. It was pretty cool, because we were the only ones in the restaurant. We continued on, and I expected to see signs on overpasses in honor of those who died in Newtown as we passed through that section of Connecticut, but I didn't.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch instead (not sure where, though - maybe somewhere in Pennsylvania).  Being at Cracker Barrel during the holidays is magical! It's already a cozy place, but even more so with the ornaments - I got this really cool rocking chair ornament, and some cute earrings.

Dishon and I started listening to the Divergent audiobook by Veronica Roth.  Very gripping!  It was so nice to see the kids' reactions to all the cows and mountains the further south we drove. The only downside to our travels that day was getting stuck on the two lane route 81 because of an accident, and once the road opened up again, seeing a sign that said there was another accident just ahead of us. We pulled of to switch drivers, which is where we truly realized that we were in the south.  A couple overheard us talking about the traffic, and gave us an alternate route that would save us time.  No disrespect to folks in the northeast - you all know I'm a Brooklyn girl, but southern hospitality is a real, comforting, and refreshing thing . . . Folks in restaurants just strike up conversation with you spontaneously, and the pace is much more easy going. So we saved a little time on route 11, and could see the tractor trailer, ambulances, and fire trucks from where we were, because route 11 runs parallel to 81.  We got back on the road, and arrived at our hotel shortly after that.  We stayed at the Residence Inn in Harrisonburg, VA, and had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse.  Although our hotel was very nice, we pretty much went right to sleep after dinner.

Road Trip Serena

The next morning, we ate at the hotel.  One of the things I like most about the Residence Inn is the complimentary breakfast - a real breakfast - not that continental stuff :).  Fell in love with the coffee cup lid. Not sure what was up with that . . . I just know that we got some new disposable coffee cups with the same type of lid when we got back home, and I was happy about that.  We headed out and had lunch at Cracker Barrel again.  We arrived just as folks were getting out of church, so it was pretty crowded, but we sat in the rocking chairs, and played with the cutest little boy while his family was also waiting to be seated.  We also discovered a song that SO fits Dishon's perspective when it comes to Serena dating in the future - Rodney Atkins' song called Cleaning This Gun.  My sensitivity to gun violence because of what happened in Newtown aside for a second, the title really speaks for itself, but here is the chorus:

Come on in boy sit on down
And tell me about yourself
So you like my daughter do you now?
Yeah we think she's something else
She's her daddy's girl
Her momma's world
She deserves respect
That’s what she'll get
Now ain't it son?
Y’all go out and have some fun
I'll see you when you get back
Probably be up all night
Still cleanin' this gun

Any of you who know Dishon can see him listening to this song, and saying, "That's exactly right!" Thankfully, although there's a little boy in Serena's class who loves her, she is very practical, and isn't into boys yet.  Dishon's response? "God gave me the little girl I need." LOL!

Taurean

Isn't he adorable?

We arrived in Charlotte at around 3:30, unloaded all of our stuff, and enjoyed time with the family.  We hadn't been down there in about three years, so it was really good to see everyone.  Of course you know that kids grow up, but when you've known a child since they were little, and haven't seen them in a while, it's amazing how they grow!  So beautiful.  We got to meet our 15-month-old nephew for the first time, and he is the most darling little boy.  I hadn't held a baby in a long time, and he let me hold him right away, which was so nice! :)  Serena and Cairo enjoyed playing with him, too.  Dinner was great (although there was an incident - Dishon's niece makes a great fried turkey.  Serena and Cairo agreed, and they both, though it was more Cai than Serena, stripped all of the skin off of the turkey and devoured it. They were like the Bumpus dogs from A Christmas Story! The family was shocked, and not too pleased ;), and we got to spend time with our oldest nephew on Dishon's side.  The next day we picked up a few things from Walmart and hung around the house.  Dishon and I are both homebodies, so just being around family was good.  We tried to make it to Dishon's brother and girlfriend's house in Kings Mountain, NC, but by the time dinner was ready, it was late, so we stayed at his mom's house.

We spent Christmas day in Kings Mountain, and it was wonderful.  They live in a house that was formerly a plantation, so it was interesting to see the cotton fields, and the bell that was used to call the enslaved in from the fields. The house was so cozy!  We especially enjoyed the sun room, and watching A Series of Unfortunate Events. Christmas dinner was great, and we got to take lots of pictures.

 Our nephews drove with Dishon's mom to Kings Mountain, but they had to leave early, so we had the pleasure of having Dishon's mom ride back to Charlotte with us.  She fell asleep in the back seat with the kids, and Dishon and I continued listening to Divergent.



The next morning, I woke up not feeling very well.  I was sick all that day - fever, chills, runny nose . . . thankfully I had already picked up some cold meds and those really good Puffs tissues with Vicks a couple of days before, because Serena hadn't been feeling well.  I just laid around, napped, watched TV, etc.  It rained and rained the day after Christmas, so the kids didn't go outside.  It was colder than the weather reports had said. The rest of the week was pretty much like that - hanging around the house, talking with family, eating good food - Dishon's mom gave us some jewelry that she's been wanting to pass on.  I also copied some pictures that Mama had that we didn't.  She has SO many family pictures on the walls!


On Wednesday, I hung around with Dishon while Mama took the kids clothes shopping. She picked out some cute clothes for them, and Cairo is in love with his new fleece jacket.  On Thursday, Mama had some folks over from her church for a luncheon.  It was great to meet them, since we weren't there for a service, and they have been so supportive with prayers and resources for our church plant in Randolph - the Redeemed of Christ Church (ROCC).  I actually got to meet the mom of one of my college friends.  I didn't even realize she'd be there! :)

 On Friday night, Dishon's niece and great niece were back from their visit further south.  His sister, her husband, and her friend came over, too, as well as his brother, brother's girlfriend and the baby. His niece and nephew live with Mama, so they were already there.  In addition to having a very satisfying meal, Dishon's sister and niece, who both have their hair locked as well, gave me some oils and lock jewelry for my hair.  I love being adorned :).

The next morning, Dishon's mom cooked breakfast for us one last time, and we hit the road.  I was a little nervous about the trip, because it seemed like we might be driving into snow, but our trip to College Park, Maryland was perfect (with the exception of a weird detour trying to find lunch in Delaware).  We spent the night with our good friend, and her hospitality was incredible.  Great conversation, great food . . . wonderful. She introduced me to this new Chai tea that I fell in love with.  It's on its way from Amazon.com on Monday! :)

We headed out to NYC on Sunday morning, and arrived at around 4:30.  We stayed at my parents' place with my sister and her three kids.  Again, more great food, laughter, hugs, conversation, and Mommy's cakes and peach cobbler!!!  Turns out my parents have found a house they want to buy on Staten Island, and, after cutting her locks off, my mom has locked her hair again! She gave me a really cute little stuffed reindeer and lots of cake for the road.  Looks like my whole family is hooked on Scandal as well! :)

We left on New Year's Eve morning, also my parents' 37th wedding anniversary, and had a great trip back home, stopping at Red Lobster in Connecticut on the way and enjoying some cheesy biscuits and some pretty good seafood.  The trip couldn't have been more wonderful!  It's good to be home, but I miss being together with everyone, especially with no family up here in Massachusetts.  Serena and I are going back to NYC in a few weeks, though, to celebrate Gabrielle's birthday, and we'll see his family again in July for the family reunion.

Happy New Year, everyone! :)