Our first road trip

Well, we came home smiling after five days on the road together. We stopped by Birmingham for the night on Thursday to see our families. Keith showed his parents the ring that will be Jennifer's (she made it the entire trip without peeking!).

Our longest driving day was Friday, and we were headed to St Louis when we saw a sign for Fazoli's, which we love! So, we drove four miles off of the interstate to get twelve breadsticks and two lemon italian ices with strawberries. We went to St Louis to watch the Cardinals play the Phillies. St Louis truly is "Cardinal country." The sea of red shirts and hats was overwhelming for us!

On Saturday morning, we visited the Gateway Arch before we left town. We talked about several great angles at which we could take pictures with the sun shining behind the arch. It really was a sight to behold! We were shocked to see so many people there! In the gift shop, we decided that we will mark our tourist visits around the country or world with magnets for our refrigerator. So, we bought a magnet (and a puzzle since we've been into those lately) and headed out of town.

On Saturday evening, we arrived in Evansville, IN. We weren't "in Kansas anymore!" There was lots of corn as we came into town. When we went to Bosse Field to see the game, there were TONS of people around. We were, again, shocked by the crowds, and Jennifer called PO to ask what else there was to do in Evansville if the game was sold out. Just before we could buy our tickets, a woman offered us two free tickets sponsored by the electric company of the area. We accepted the offer, and we joined over 6000 fans to make the third largest crowd in Bosse Field history! This town turned out to be our favorite of all the things we did on our trip. It was experiences like the game "Pluck a Polyp" on the minor league ball field that we will remember! No, we didn't play, but we watched two other fans master their skills!

Sunday morning, we had tickets for the Grand Avenue tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. So, we headed that way, and made it comfortably. We walked more than four miles of the 367 surveyed miles of the cave. It's the largest in the world, they say. After our tour, we hit the gift shop and found a magnet, then we headed for the car.

When we got to the car, Jennifer took out a pillow and noticed water drops on it. That was the beginning of the discovery of wet suitcases and other bags. We headed south since it was still early in the day and we could make Monday's drive shorter, and we stopped in Nashville. The dryer was $1.75 for a load, but it was well worth the cost that kept us from standing for hours with a hair dryer that made our clothes go from drenched to damp.

On Monday, we stayed in Nashville long enough for the traffic to clear out, and we headed home.

We have accumulated lots of stories (maybe some that "you had to be there" for!), and we were both pleased to learn how easily we travel together. We couldn't have asked for a better trip!