The Vomit Comet: Rolling East

The infamous Scrambled Egg Omelet MRE

Pennsylvania is cold and wet; a sharp contrast to the hot and dry we’ve spent the last several weeks rolling through the south western deserts.

We apologize for the “radio silence” but we’ve been a little busy, and it hasn’t been pretty.

Every night for the last eight has been punctuated by puke or poopin’ to death. In tents, in the van, at friends’ houses, in strangers basements; it’s been lovely.

It all came to a head two days ago in Missouri when Lois ate the “scrambled egg omelet” MRE on the Marine base. Let’s just say, it didn’t sit well. It’s bad when kids are sick. It’s worse when Mama is sick.

Add to that torrential rain pouring relentlessly and a wicked wind with an unpredictable habit of catching the trailer broadside and sailing the van across the highway alarmingly, and it’s been kind of a rough week.

Lois is a little better today (a lot better, actually) and able to take a turn at the wheel for the first time since Dallas, so I have a few minutes to write. Doesn’t this trip sound like SO much fun now? Don’t you just WISH you’d come along! Ha.

Amazingly enough, we’re still having fun. The plans have changed a bit and the trip is ending a day or two earlier than we thought it might, but that’s okay with us. We just couldn’t take the plague to our friends in PA and their six children.

Instead, we spent a quick night in Indianapolis with the Miller Grandparents and are blowing hard with the wind to the east. Lois and the sick half of the crew were quarantined in a hotel over night while the rest of us bunked at Grandma’s, had one more round of the best pizza in the world and hugged hard on aunts, cousins & friends who we might not see for a little while.

Today we’re just driving as far as we can. Headed in the general direction of Scranton, PA and a hotel for all tonight. It’s just too cold and wet to camp; and with pukers, a clean bathroom is more than a luxury. We’ve done so well on our budget that we can afford to treat ourselves tonight. In fact, we’re going to take the children out for their first “eat out” meal that hasn’t involved Grandma’s restaurant. Everyone is very excited about that. We haven’t run the numbers yet, but there are several hundred dollars left in our various funds so we know that we’re below budget over all!

If you’re of the praying kind, less rain, and no more vomit would be near the top of our list. Keep your fingers crossed and we should be back on the farm by bedtime tomorrow night!