Highway Baseball

Hi, it's Alastair again. Today after breakfast, about two hours into the drive, we got stuck on the highway behind a truck that was on fire. To pass the time, we played games, read books, took pictures, and I played baseball outside of the RV on the highway. When the wreck was taken care of, we started moving again to reach the destination for today.

Goodbye,

Alastair

It was an early morning.

I think it is safe to say that the whole family was a little on edge leading up to our departure today. Jll and I were woken up by Adelaide at 2:15 this morning. She couldn't sleep and made sure that no one else could sleep either. I could not get back to sleep easily and tossed and turned for another couple of hours. When it was finally time to get up, we packed the last few belongings into the RV and I had to drive across town for Alastair's bat bag. We discovered yesterday that he left it at Holly Hills Elementary after the last Yankees' game and, luckily, learned last night that one the parents picked it up. I retrieved the bag, saving us the hassle of having to buy Alastair and I new gloves, threw the gloves into the compartment for sports equipment and we headed to church. Sitting through church I had a pit in my stomach and I could not help but ask myself whether hitting the road for the next eleven weeks was such a good idea. Also, given the hiccup with the first attempt to tow Jll's van, I had visions of the thing coming off the dolly as we headed down the highway at 60 miles per hour. I wondered if I had enough car insurance for this adventure. Luckily the service ended before I had too many terrible thoughts running through my head and there was no time to rethink the plan.

After seeing the peeps and receiving one last blessing, we hit the road. Five hours later we rolled into North Platte. We were able to get here on less than three-quarters of a tank of gas. I will need to start gassing up only at truck stops. Not knowing exactly how much gas we started with, I do not yet know our fuel consumption. I do know that if you can watch the needle move as you drive down the highway, that's not a good sign. When we got to North Platte, I drove into a regular gas station and not only did I have a hard time negotiating the lot with a 32' RV towing a Honda Odyssey, but the pump cut me off, repeatedly, once it hit the $75 limit. With a 55 gallon tank, $75 just doesn't cut it.  Flying J, here we come.

Tomorrow it's on to Omaha for lunch with one of Jll's sorority sisters and dinner with Tom and Ann Scates.

The First Day

Hi, my name is Alastair. I am eight years old. Last Tuesday I finished second grade. Today we drove the RV to church. We ended up parking it on the sidewalk nearest to the church. After church we started the five hour drive to North Platte, Nebraska. Us six were having so much fun that the five hours felt like five minutes. I guess it's true what they say, time flies by when you're having fun. First, I played Spot It with my older sister, Addie, while my younger sister, Dagny, wrote her blog post. My other younger sister, Maggie, read books (if you have not noticed, I have three sisters). Then I read seventy-two paragraphs of space facts. Finally, we got to North Platte, where we parked and went to the pool. Tomorrow we are going to have lunch with my parent's friends. They have kids my age. I am so excited. I'll write about it in tomorrow's blog.

Goodnight,

Alastair

McLains on the Road

I'm on a road trip having lots of fun and I'm really excited. I passed a lot of cows on my way through Nebraska. Right now it's night time and I need to go to bed.

- From Maggie

Having Fun

I am on the road, ready to go. I'm so happy to go. My first stop is North Platte, Nebraska. I see a lot of construction on the road. If you haven't noticed. I'm on a road trip. I love it so much. I finished a note to my Nana and Papa. I am having a great trip but I'm missing my family and friends. Now I'm in my bed, a little nervous.

Goodnight.

- Dagny

Finally

      Hi, this is Addie again. Finally after weeks of preparing, the McLains are on the road. Today is the beginning of the 76-day trip. We  passed through the north-east part of Colorado heading up into North Platte, Nebraska where we will stay tonight. All we have done today is passed by fields and cows. Once we got out of Denver, I noticed that the nature out here is amazing. Here is the best part, Mom and Dad let me ride in the front seat. Awesome. I know, right? When we got to the RV part, we went to the pool. For dinner, we had hot dogs, but Mom and Dad would not let me have dessert. Now it is time to sleep in the RV for the first time.

     Goodnight.

- Adelaide

Anxiety

      Hi, my name is Adelaide Grace Mclain ("Addie"), I'm ten and on Tuesday I finished 4th grade. About a weak ago, was the fist time Dad tried to put the mini van onto the dolly that is hooked up to the RV. When he and Mom first put it on, Dad was confident that he knew what he was doing. When I looked I thought it looked great as well. We all hopped into the RV for a test drive. We where heading to Papa and Nana's house which is only a block away. On the way there Mom sat in the back on the bed as she watched out the window to make sure her van did not slide off the dolly while we drove. I kept watch in the rear view camera. Everything seemed fine. When we got to Nana and Papa's we parked the RV and went outside to check the car. This is the part where I freaked out. The front of the mini van was scratched up and all of the ropes had fallen. Now you may be thinking why would she freak out over that. I mean its a car with about 90,000 miles and its just a few scratches. Well the reason I freaked out was that I thought we where not going to be able to take the van on the trip. I don't know about you but this worried me. I went inside Papa and Nana's house to calm down. Papa and Nana have a piano and I found that playing piano soothes me. (I play piano.) After I calmed down I decided to join the family again. When I went outside they where measuring the RV and I was just in time to hear Mom say...

     "Do you think I can get on the roof?" and once again hear comes the anxiety.

      "No," I screamed and as I ran inside crying I saw a glimpse of Mom climbing onto the roof. Once again I resigned to my calming method.....piano. When I calmed down I went outside just in time to see the RV pull away only this time the van was parked on the sidewalk. Mom was the only one that stayed behind. Since then Dad and Papa did homework on the dolly and car, Dad went to get the dolly worked on, and I once again got confidence about the dolly working. I hope I never get anxiety like that again. 

- Adelaide