We we to Kansas City on Saturday to spend time with some family. It was great to meet my cousins' kids in person. We have seen pictures since birth--but I hadn't met them. One is 3 months older than the Hawaiian Princess and the other 4 months younger than her. It was fun watching the little ones interact. The Racing Princess was the oldest, so she flitted from little too little one to dominate some attention. It was a great visit.
So we left Kansas City on Sunday morning---it was supposed to be clear all day. Well reality and the weather channel did not coincide. It was sleeting/snowing/raining/hailing as we left KC. Yeah, that happened most of the way through Missouri.
We stopped for the night in Caseyville, Illinois so that Daddy could watch the Superbowl. Good thing we did--or he would have been angry to have missed that 4th quarter.
So Monday morning, we got up and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We were seated next to this nice gentleman who stops there regularly for his morning coffee. Well we were commenting on how there are Cracker Barrels all along our route, so he asked where we were going and we told him we were in transit for the Army going from Hawaii to Virginia. Turns out, he had been drafted for Vietnam and was assigned to 25th ID outta Schofield Barracks, Hawaii--only he got shipped straight to Vietnam to join 25th already over there. He even has the "strawberry" as the Tropic Lightning patch is nicknamed tattooed on his shoulder. Daddy has one as well, so they swapped a few stories and what not. Then the gentleman had to go to work and thanked Daddy for his service to our country and left. Our waitress then comes over to let us know that he paid for our breakfast.
God bless our Vietnam veterans. They served our country, sometimes a bit unwillingly, and returned with scars (some visible, some not) and yet were not welcomed home, not loved by our country and not treated with respect. Yet they are often the first to thank Daddy for his service to our country and they even thank me for standing beside my husband as he serves our country sometimes very far away from the girls and I. Thank you Vietnam Veterans for serving our country when you did even if it wasn't your choice. Because you did what you did and endured the hardships that you did when you returned, you set the stage for public response that we see today that, in my experience, has been mostly positive even from people who don't "support" the war.
After our delightful breakfast, we endured some pea soup fog at the beginning of our trip. We stopped in Metropolis, Illinois briefly to take photos of a giant Superman statue for the Racing Princess who truly enjoys all superheros. More driving--I slept through the mountains--went through part of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and back into North Carolina. Again at the end of our trip, the fog was thick as pea soup--Daddy was horribly tired of driving with no cruise control. But we made it to destination for tonight (at 2 am EST)--we are in his brother's house for the night (even though brother is in Afghanistan) and we will enjoy some time with family before heading onto Virginia tomorrow.
2 comments:
Love the documentary of the Fullerton cross country saga!
in case you have not checked email, let Kenzie know Rhys prayed she would make friends and not be lonely.
God Bless our troops present and past!
I. MISS. YOU.
I'm so glad you made it safely to NC. I've been meaning to call but, by the time I remember to do so, it's late where you are.
The pictures of the girls are great - I'll have to show the kids this afternoon. They've been asking about you.
Ohana group wasn't the same without you.
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