8. We went to Pullen Park in Raleigh and rode the train and carousel. After a rest in Apex, we went to a little cemetery in southern Johnston County (where Myles lives) to find James's 3rd and 4th-great grandfathers and grandmothers. We found them! It was a really cool experience. We then headed to Myles and Skyla's for dinner and a movie.
9. We went to the Museum of Natural Sciences and the History Museum with a picnic lunch in between. It was really tiring, but fun and FREE! After some time in Apex, we went to Brinson and Ceci's house to swim in the pool and eat dinner. They gave the kids a bunch of toys and books, which is awesome.
10. In the morning, we went to Jordan Lake before it got too busy or hot. It was a perfect day. I have nothing but fond memories of Ebenezer Point. Everyone got cleaned up for church once we got back, and some siblings came over to hang out, eat dinner, and play games. James went shopping for trip food for the way home.
11. I spent the morning catching up on this blog and planning next week. We went to church at 1:30 and were joined by Brinson and Ceci, who couldn't go last week due to work. They hung out for a while, and then Christian and Rachel came over.
12. Our alarms didn't go off for some reason, but we left Apex around 7:30 and made the drive to Claude and Tracey's house near Louisville, KY. We arrived around 6:15 and had dinner with the family. I was able to see 3 of my 5 cousins: Sara, Billy, and Ben, plus Ben's kids. My kids had a wonderful time with their 2nd cousins. Watching them play outside and marvel at the fireflies was one of highlights of our trip home. We went to bed way too late, but it was a wonderful evening.
13. After a yummy breakfast, we hit the road again and drove to Salina, KS, through tons of rain and clouds. The weather cleared up a bit by the time we got to Independence, MO, where we toured the visitors' center and had a picnic.
14. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we started our journey home with a stop in Denver at the huge Outdoor World/Bass Pro shop. I'll admit that it was pretty cool. We had to make an unexpected stop in a little town in the mountains because our car stalled right after the tunnel at 11,000 feet. :( At this point, I was completely exhausted and could barely drag myself around the little shopping center. To top that off, Lewis threw up on the floor at Wendy's. After an hour of letting the car cool, we were on the road again and finally made it home at 11:30. I was so tired (and somewhat hungry from being too stressed to eat) that I almost passed out.
I'm feeling somewhat better today despite the huge mountain of work I need to do to catch up. I spent 1.5 hours going through pictures and videos already. James is running a few errands (library, grocery pickup) while I take a little rest. We already decided not to take the whole family next year since we've gone 2 years in a row, and even then, we might fly. Though the car trouble was minimal, it was incredibly stressful to deal with. (Remember, the mechanic in KS said there's nothing wrong with the car?) Also, driving in 3 days instead of 4 really wears everyone down. I found myself pretty short-tempered the past few days. Hopefully, I can make a full recovery and commit to visiting my family again sometime in the future. :)
A couple things I forgot to mention: I read a whole series of books while we were in NC, and it was excellent for my mental health. James made sure we got plenty of Southern food during the week (some bought by Grandpa.) We had Cookout, Zaxby's, Bojangles, Biscuitville, boiled peanuts, and Cheerwine (a case of which came home with us.)
It was a wonderful trip, but there's no place like home!
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