I have to begin this trip with saying I am very impressed with Daddy and his abilities at traveling...and Mama's ability to go, go, and go without stopping!
We left LC last Thursday afternoon and headed to Atlanta to start our trip with a Braves game. I felt like I was riding with Mark because Daddy said we needed to pull over for a "snack" about an hour into the trip. Ben got his usual oreo flurry from McDonalds, KB got a double cheeseburger, Mama got a strawberry creme pie, Daddy got an apple pie, and I got a frozen lemonade.... I list all of this to remind us that a good trip is measured by the food we eat! While McDonalds isn't on our menu for a meal during the trip, the snack started us off just right!
The Braves were playing the NYMets and we arrived early for batting practice, pictures, and a little pitching and hitting practice for Ben. Even though the Braves lost, we had a great time and I see many more Braves games in our future! By the way... for you money crunchers like me... you can't beat the family four pack!
After leaving the game, we headed to the hotel to meet up with Mark and get ready for our day of travel. Mark took Mama and Daddy to the airport Friday morning while the rest of us got dressed for our flight. My family traveled all day! We ate lunch in the Memphis airport.... of course we had to have BBQ, and Ben ate noodles.... he is stuck on those right now!
I love this picture of Ben and Mark... constantly following him and trying to be just like him... Oh be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, and be careful little tongue what you say.... we are working on that!
Mark was tired for some reason....
Can you see the happiness on their faces.....
After the misery of the boat ride, we headed across the street to Casa del Rio....the oldest restaurant on the riverfront... ( I think)... We ate real salsa, real Mexican food, and real birds ate with us... needless to say... it was pretty hot and miserable during that supper too!
These two right here analyzed each outfit and person who walked by... needless to say... I was glad I was with them and not walking by them!
Did you see that?
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Saturday we spent
the day touring the city… we walked to the Alamo and hopped aboard a hop on –
hop off tour. It was nothing like the
New York ones, but it was a good way to see what San Antonio had to offer. At lunch, we stumbled on Tex’s Sports Bar…it
was air-conditioned, had the golf tournament on, and no waiting! Ben fell in love with our waitress… she
waited on us hand and foot! If Ben didn’t
eat noodles on the trip, the alternate meal was wings… He says none compared to
Miss Sheila’s… they were good and he begged to go back every time we walked by
there!
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We headed back to the hotel and swam,
relaxed, and enjoyed the pool. For
supper that night, we ate at a restaurant called The River’s Edge. It was delicious and included a big piece of
chocolate cake for dessert! After supper
we enjoyed a play at the amphitheater…. KB thought she was a better dancer than
some of the performers, but we still enjoyed the play! A little culture and education must be
included in each trip!
I would love to
see Lincolnton do something like this… the Kiwanis club does this every Friday
and Saturday night in the summer and the proceeds go to the Children’s
Ministries… what a great idea! I thought
it was a great performance!
Sunday morning we
decided to visit the Alamo… we didn’t attend a church service, but the Mission
was famous and we had to visit it! Daddy
said he needed to go because he wanted to see where John Wayne died… and I
wanted to make sure that Pee Wee Herman’s bike wasn’t still in the basement….
(both movie jokes…ha ha !)
For Sunday lunch,
we headed back towards the hotel to drop off Daddy and we ate at his favorite restaurant
WHATABURGER… I have heard stories from the time I was little about how the
What-a-burger in Augusta would stay open for the McCormick basketball teams… I
have heard Mama complain about the stinky onion smell it leaves in the car… I
have to say…IT WAS DELICIOUS! I am not
sure if there are any still left in Georgia, but it was quite tasty!
We dropped Daddy off
at the hotel and the rest of us headed to “Broadway”…not really, but the
Broadway hit “Flashdance” was being performed at the Majestic Theater. We decided to go. I have become a fan of plays and any
opportunity I get I want to see them! I
think it interests KB too with her heart for dancing!
Our favorite meal
was Sunday night… we went to Texas Land and Cattle! I’m in love with a wedge salad now and Daddy
found a bone-in Ribeye! I think we
waddled back to the hotel that night because we were so full! I felt about this place like Ben felt about
the wings!
Monday was my
favorite day… I have always loved Sea World… I knew when we were going to San
Antonio that this was on the top of my list of things to do… besides…we had
spent the last few days doing all the cultural things… Another reason I loved
it was I knew that Daddy was going to have a “scooter”… we have been picking on
him for almost ten years that he was going to get a rascal one day and follow
us around… Well… we got him one for Sea World…with an umbrella… and he
outlasted us! He only got out of it to
go the bathroom! He was had it made in
the shade! Needless to say… Ben and KB
had a great time and we stayed for almost eight hours… we were beyond exhausted
when we got home! Because we were so hot
from the day we ran down to the river and ate a salad at Charlie Wants a Burger…
it was good… and Daddy and KB got a BLT to go… and they said it was
delicious!
This is at nine-o'clock at night... he was starving after Sea World and needed a snack of wings!
Tuesday we rented a car and headed to
Corpus Christi, Texas… we have been to the Gulf Coast before, but we wanted to
see it from that side… It was amazing to see the land and the farming with the
interstate in the middle… it is truly indescribable and must be seen… it won’t
fascinate most, but to see cacti and flat lands like these compared to our
roadsides was pretty neat…
Thank goodness for
YELP… while there, we decided to eat some gulf coast seafood… It was our best
lunch by far… the shrimp were awesome and Ben had gumbo that was good, but it
wasn’t as good as Ms. Katrina’s!
We made it back to
San Antonio and headed to the Rivercenter Mall before supper. Trying to get souvenirs for all those back
home and find an outfit for a picky teenager was a feat in itself! But we did it!
Monday night we
chilled out at the hotel and watched Ben literally climb the walls!
Wednesday…we shopped
during the morning, packed our bags to move to a hotel closer to the airport,
and ate one last lunch on the river!
Wednesday afternoon
we relaxed at the pool…ate 18 grams of fat in a warm chocolate chip cookie from
the hotel, and mooched off of Mark’s supper from Pappadeaux’s…. Mama and the
children looked like vultures!
Lunch at the Iron Cactus... Please notice how many pictures it takes to get a good one... I love my children so much.... 
We headed to bed
early and got up at 3:15 AM to leave for the airport by 4:30 AM…. Our final
stop was the Chic-fil-A Dwarf House in Atlanta… so cute! As I am typing and downloading pictures…
everyone in the house is asleep… WORN OUT!
I am so thankful
for the memories my children will have of their grandparents on this trip…
Daddy and his funny ways, Mama fussing because we have to stop and wait on him,
and most of all… that they say thanks for taking me to this or that! I am blessed to still have my parents,
blessed to be able to take these “educational” trips, and blessed to be back in
my own bed with snoring, talking in the sleep, and a laundry room full of dirty
clothes!
The McKinneys are “makingmomemories”
and having a fantastic summer! We aren’t
quite ready to take the wheels off our butts yet… a few more trips here and
there and school will be starting right around the corner!
As we were pulling by the BOE this afternoon on the way home... Ben sent me this text... I love that is it is misspelled, I love that they are normal fighting children, and I love that we back in LC! :)
