The Road Trip Ends
Greetings to everyone.
Our trip to Arkansas came to an end about 6:30 PM when we came rolling home, haggard and tired. Xavier's week of so many firsts came to an end at the same time, though he likely wanted it to end about nine hours earlier.
Some of his firsts:
- Xavier can cross off visiting Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas from his bucket list.
- Xavier found his first tick, enjoyed fireflies, played with very large beetles, rampaged through the Ozarks, explored his first cave.
- Xavier caught up with Grandma Penny, and met his Grandpa Dave for the first time.
- He met his two great aunts and uncles Lynn and Don, and Katherine and Johnny.
- After an extended discussion, and counting on our fingers, we determined Xavier also met several third cousins: Anna, Michael and Trista. He also caught up with his cousins Jason and Sierra.
And special Kudos to Aunt Chelle! Her riding in the back seat with Xavier during the driving legs of the trip kept Xavier entertained, sparing us all his ear-piercing screeching and cries of constrained boredom.
All in all, a fun trip, and a nice first test of how well Xavier would tolerate longer car rides. The only thing about the trip I would change is not backing into a tree with the rental car.
Xavier Goes Spelunking
Greetings to everyone.
Well, not really spelunking, but Xavier did tour a famous cave named Little War Eagle Cave. The cave has history. A distillery during the Prohibition Years, a hide out for Billy the Kid, Pioneer home and home for American Indians to list a few uses. Hollywood even filmed part of a movie inside.
One would think that this vacation and so many "firsts" for Xavier, Dad would have his camera handy and taking scores of pictures. Strangely, no. The only picture taken with Xavier is this one. We waited for the tour tickets to be purchased, and Xavier played with a rat. Not a dead rat, not a real rat; it was a plastic rat used to decorate the waiting area.
When he was finished playing with the rat, he placed it back on the rock he found it on. Then, looking at it, he realized it was not positioned the same as when he picked it up. He adjusted it a few times until it rested like he found it. (I don't know where he gets that from)
The tour of the cave was interesting. Xavier did not want to stay in his umbrella stroller, so we parents needed to pay extra attention to Xavier's romping about than to the guide. The cave had many streams running through it, and many drop-offs, and several pools.
We hoped to see bats (the tour brochure listed them), but we learned the bats roost back in the deep cave, through a crevice too narrow to get through. However, Tropical Depression Bill's effects had driven a few Gray Bats into this cave (these are not normal denizens of this particular cave). The picture does not really show them clearly, even with the help of a photo editor. As the bats did not move, Xavier found them uninteresting.
Xavier's First Firefly
Greetings to everyone.
We drove in to Eureka Springs and drove around the Historic Downtown. We also had the expectation of eating at Bubba's BBQ (we planned that yesterday after seeing the sign, but the plans fell through). Alas, we did not eat at Bubba's today (although we did drive passed it and located it, so one step nearer our quest).
After touring the Historic Downtown via car and stopping at a fudge shop, we found the Farmers' Market many of the other family headed out to see. We pulled in and walked around. Xavier, as always, was happy to be out of his car seat and running around collecting comments from strangers: "What a cute little boy", "He's so cute" and "How old is he" were common. We found several of the family there; even picked one up who wanted to go with us.
After the market, we wanted to spend more time in downtown Eureka Springs as well as do some of the activities in the area: take the train ride through the area, go to a drive-through zoo, explore a cave, visit a winery. As the morning grew late, however, we decided to head back to the cabin for Xavier to nap. His late-night (11:00 PM to 12:30 AM) bed times took their toll in the early afternoon, and we wanted to keep/get him back on his schedule. A tired Xavier is an unhappy experience for everyone.
We found ourselves taking lunch on the way back in a local pizzeria. Though convenient, we would recommend against it. With the beginnings of the effects of Tropical Depression Bill moving through the Ozarks, it started to rain about the time we got to the cabin. We had quite a bit of rain in the afternoon.
The bugs in Eureka Springs know it rains a lot, so rain does not slow them down much. As the late afternoon sunlight faded to the grays of evening, the fireflies appeared. Several species of them sparking brief flashes. After dinner, Xavier and Dad sat outside and watched the lawns glisten with the intermittent spark of bio luminescent light.
Xavier was fascinated by the insects for quite some time. Dad explained many things, but he did not seem to care. He would point and say "oooh" at their flashing, especially when one flashed right in front of his face.
We captured a couple to examine. Xavier took a momentary interest in them, then decided he wanted to go splash around in the puddles the rain created. Still, every night after, Xavier would point and comment on the flashes of light winking out in the darkness.
Xavier's First Tick
Greetings to everyone.
We awoke late in the morning today. Xavier got to bed late, and did not want to sleep in his plush pack-n-play. He stood in it, crying with some panic near the end. We supposed he felt alone and abandoned in the cabin, even though we were right outside the room. This was all strange to him.
I went in with a bottle and let him lay with me. He went to sleep shortly after, but in our not nearly Queen sized bed, not in his pack-n-play. There (bed hog that he was) he spent the night, relegating Mom and Dad to the mattress edges all night.
Most of the other family were scheduled to arrive throughout the day; we were the first ones there. We decided to drive into Eureka Springs and have a look. Once more, we employed IRMA (the name we gave our Garmin GPS device), who quickly found a way to get us onto the back roads and non-obvious paths.
On the way into town, we passed a sign advertising "Bubba's BBQ." We thought with a name like "Bubba's" and being in the South, we needed to try it. We planned to make it our lunch. As it turned out, it would become a goal and then a quest to experience lunch at Bubba's this week. It would not be today we dined there.
We drove through the historic downtown, but decided we needed to return to the cabin so we could get Xavier back on his nap schedule. It was at least thirty minutes back to the cabin, and we still needed to stop for lunch and hit a grocery store to buy some things for the family feast tonight.
We ate lunch at a local Mexican restaurant in the same center as the market. Xavier had already fallen asleep, but woke up as soon as the car came to a stop. While waiting for our meal, Rebecca looked down and saw a little pinhead sized critter slowly moving across Xavier's head.
It was a tick. Xavier had spent the morning before we left playing outside. The area of Arkansas where we were has ticks, all year 'round except when it freezes. We asked the same lady who helped us with directions yesterday "what kind of bugs do you have down here?" Her answer was something like "the usual and a few ticks."
We got the tick out; it had not set itself in yet, so it was easy enough to pull once Rebecca could get her fingers to hold it. After lunch, it was back to the store for various tick repellent items, and a set of tweezers.
It rained the rest of the day. Xavier slept back at the cabin. I studied the art of tick removal in case the need arose again.
In the Ozarks at Last
Greetings to everyone.
Our start today for the last leg of our Ozark Expedition got a late start.
After eating breakfast at the hotel (and taking with us some fruit and milk for Xavier), we headed to church. In Wichita, it's not only the traffic which moves a little slower. The service began at 10:00. We were out just before noon and then we needed to lunch. We ended up heading back on our journey about 1:00 in the afternoon.
We had chosen a hotel near the highway so we could get on it and go. However, we chose to trust our Garmin GPS device, and we entered in the address of the church we attended. Garmin decided the highway idea we had planned was not optimal. Not knowing the area better, we blindly obeyed the directives given by that gimmicky gadget (more on our Garmin-led adventures are forthcoming).
Our Garmin (which we later named IRMA: the "I" for irritating) decided that we needed to leave Wichita via the most scenic route possible. She added an extra half hour to our trip right out of the gate. By the time we arrived at our cabin, we were convinced people pay Garmin services to direct people their way.
Finally getting on to the 400, we drove, and drove, and drove. Then, a friendly sign welcomed us to Missouri. Our travel headed south, and true to form for this trip, IRMA found the most indirect, winding, scenic way into Arkansas. We drove for an hour on winding roads and 20 MPH speed limits. All of us were asking "are we in Arkansas, or are we still in Missouri?"
Eventually, we crossed an invisible line demarcated by a non-spectacular sign welcoming us to Arkansas. IRMA continued to guide us through the turns and trees (yes, we were in the Ozarks now, and there are lots of trees). "In a quarter mile, turn left onto County Road 34" she instructed.
That lead us from a paved road onto a gravel road. Certainly, we were in the sticks. "In 100 feet, turn right" she directed shortly after whatever sunlight was still shining in the mid-evening skies was choked out by the increasingly dense trees which pressed in against the one car width road.
We took the advised right, something like a 6% grade down a winding path which may or may not have had a turn before some cliff edge, then stopped the car. We decided IRMA was leading us on a "Deliverance Trail" and we may have heard the not-too-distant sound of a banjo being strummed. We found our way back to the paved road. Rebecca called the camp ground where we rented our cabin.
After some explaining, and clarifications, the lady on the other end of the phone call said, "Well, you are in the sticks, aren't you?" You know you're off the reservation when in the backwoods sticks of the Ozarks, someone refers to where you are as "the sticks."
Our drive ended in a heavy downpour, but we did get to our cabin shortly after, again having to undo some of IRMA's directions. The cabin was nice. It had a large bathroom, utensil-stocked kitchen, living space with satellite TV, and decent bedroom.
It also came with some large spiders and other bugs. The spiders were Daddy Longlegs, but nothing like what we know here in Colorado. The Longlegs we encountered were three and four times the size, quite literally the size of Rebecca's hand; they figured once the front door was open, they could just come in as they wished. Often, that meant dropping down from the door header onto the person passing underneath. Rebecca used up half a can of Deep Woods Off (large size) on the doorway to help keep them at bay. That worked for a few hours, but then the rain. And then, more rain. And then it rained some more.
The bugs did not phase Xavier, who was just happy to get out of the car and run around. The first thing he found were the TV and DVD player remotes. As the microwave was reachable from his height, he thought the microwave cavity a better place to store the remotes. Also, because the microwave's keypad beeps, Xavier pushed buttons and started the microwave. Fortunately, Dad was already en route to save the microwave and the remotes. The microwave spent the week in the bathroom so we could lock it away from Xavier (who, at every opportunity, found his way into the bathroom where he either turned on the tub water, flushed the toilet or played with the microwave).
We also had to remove the knobs to the oven and stove top. Xavier found these before the microwave had fully moved into the bathroom. The knobs went on only when we needed to use the stove.
Road Trip To Arkansas
Greetings to all.
Today, the arduous journey to the Arkansas Ozarks began. Interestingly enough, our rental vehicle is a Dodge Journey.
This trip is a family reunion for Rebecca's mother's side of the family. We have been planning and saving for this trip for more than a year. As the time neared, we studied air travel and car travel. Car travel, by far, had all the advantages. One of our biggest concerns was, of course, Xavier and how he would travel on such a long trip, either in a plane or a car seat.
We packed the Journey with our luggage and other of life's necessities. One suitcase for each person. I knew I had (way) over packed (I'm out of practice!). We did not know if we over packed for Xavier or not. When Aunt Chelle arrived at 9:00 AM and her luggage was added into the SUV, we were ready to go.
Our first leg of the journey was to Wichita, Kansas. We did not want to make the twelve hour drive in a day, and we planned to take several rest breaks for Xavier's sake, as well as our own. Who wants to ride in a car with a screeching two year old?
Xavier did extremely well. Having a person in the back seat with him, we think, really helped keep him entertained and not thinking about the fact he was strapped in to a rear-facing chair.
We arrived a little after 6:00 PM. Checked in to our hotel, then headed across the street for dinner at Chili's. After dinner, we returned to the room and went to bed. It was an exhausting day. Xavier slept with Mom and Dad on the king-sized bed. Once the lights were out, he was asleep very quickly.
Xavier First Bunny Release
Greetings to all.
Xavier got a new toy this morning, a water table. He played with it most of the afternoon, spending most of the day outside. Mom went about much yard work, while Xavier busied himself with the water table.
By the end of the afternoon, Xavier grew tired of the water table, Instead, he discovered a small rabbit (our yard is infested with these critters) and chased it up and down a fence line. While Xavier tormented a young bunny (definitely of mid May vintage), I pulled weeds from a flower bed along the house.
I looked down into the window well, and there were four small bunnies, all about four inches long; one easily fit into the palm of my hand. None had been out of the burrow very long. The window well proved too deep for these to escape on their own. How long they had been there is hard to guess, but likely a couple of days.
They were easy enough to collect. We put them into a small cardboard box, then packed up the family and drove down to the greenbelt area half a mile away.
This is one of those times I wish I had listened to myself and brought a camera. Neither Rebecca nor I even brought a cell phone along. Very disappointing not to have pictures, but still a great experience.
Xavier stayed close, curious about the box Dad carried. When we tilted the box up, the bunnies all scratched and pressed to stay inside the box. The scratching noises piqued Xavier's attention all the more.
And then, one bunny slid from the box into the grass. Xavier's eyes went wide and he "ooo'd". The bunny did not run off, but froze right where it slid into the grass. Xavier came around and squatted down next to it. He studied it, inching closer. Then, he reached down and gently petted it on its head with the tip of his finger. The bunny did not move. Xavier moved to stroking its head with his whole palm.
Eventually, the movement within the box by the remaining three refocused Xavier's attention to the box. Even more excited, now that he knew what the box held, he helped Dad set the rest of the baby rabbits free. Two ran, but the third hunkered down like the first, letting Xavier pet it too.
Now, when in the back yard, Xavier sees a rabbit, he tries to chase it down, hoping to pet it.
The Purple Charger
Greetings to everyone.
Rebecca was out of town this weekend, leaving Xavier and Dad to go bachelor. This morning, we decided to hit the grocery store and pick up some Father's Day cards, butter and a can of chocolate frosting (Dad wanted to bake some brownies).
With Xavier in the shopping cart guiding the way, we found the cards, then quickly identified where to get the butter. The frosting eluded us, and we had to backtrack twice.
As we swung through the toy section, we rounded a corner right into an end cap of Hot Wheels. Xavier, until this point, showed little interest in anything other than riding in the cart. He saw the display and squealed so loud with joy, I am quite certain they heard him on the other side of the store.
I told him he may chose one, then let the squirming boy down. He circled the display, pulling blister pack after blister pack and handed them to me. He did not pull them at random. No, there was definitely a pattern to his choosing.
He stopped filling my hands at six choices. I reiterated the rule: you get one. I flipped through them one by one. He examined it, and quickly made a decision about it, which ended being "put it back on the display."
He ended up choosing a purple, 1969 Dodge Charger 500. He hugged it all the way to the checkout and onto the car. I let him keep the blister pack containing the Charger as we drove home. He happily cooed over it, and made "vroom, vroom" sounds.
We got caught at a light. As we sat there waiting for it to turn green, across the street a purple car pulled up to wait at the same light. As I looked at it, thinking it's the same purple color as Xavier's new Hot Wheel, I noted another fact about it. It was a Dodge Charger. The only difference between the one across the street and the Hot Wheel, so far as I could tell, was the one waiting at the light had a heavy turbo installed on it.