DAY 5: Nashville, TN to Little Rock, AK
12/31 Friday
After picking up a few more things at Wal-Mart, we drove to the local Cracker Barrel for breakfast, after checking satelite maps to determine whether there was appropriate parking etc. Oma and I have been using her laptop and my iphone for EVERYTHING, scoping out parking/driving suitability, finding travel plazas (there's a free map-based app to find the cheapest diesel :) We had such a ball at breakfast: the kids were very charming and charmed, the waitress was all "honey" this and "darling" that in her Southern accent, and I picked up some mini activity books from the country store.
The rest of the driving that day did not go very smoothly. We decided after looking at lists of kid-friendly activities to do # 10 of 945 (http://attractions.uptake.com/tennessee/memphis/family/375471799.html) playground at an elementary school, so we knew we'd be able to get in and out w the RV. It turned out to be a super sketchy neighborhood, house next-door had blown-out windows and grafitti, block away a memorial that we're guessing was a victim if a shooting based on the people hanging nearby. The rest of Memphis that we saw from the freeways didn't look much better, and we didn't want to chance going into downtown Memphis with the RV and getting stuck, so we gave up and crossed the Mississippi into Arkansas. The kids were having a really hard time staying quiet and in their seats that morning and I was extra looking forward to the chance to let the kids escape. We were really bummed - I'd always liked the sound of Memphis - and settled for a rest stop to picnic and let the kids run in the grass. Then Riley accidently hit me in the forehead with a frisbee, and my temporary crown fell out when I ate a caramel. We stopped a little early for New Year's Eve, at an RV park on the shore of the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas. Opa took mercy on Oma and I and took the kids for a hike to a local playground. I made pizza, breadsticks, and apple crumble in the RV's mini kitchen for special New Year's Eve food.
After the kids went to bed, Opa and Oma and I sipped sparkling white grape juice, had cheese and crackers, and plotted out our route for the remainder of the trip. Unfortunately we've been plagued by cold weather, which the kids are loving (or at least not minding) but caught the adults off guard - below freezing temps were forecast for our route no matter how Southerly we drove - Texas? New Mexico? Arizona?!
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