Suite Life with Jack and Kate...

Jack, a.ka. Mr. Champagne Taste and Caviar Dreams 

could get used to hotel suites and jet setting (trucking) across the country....  

Yeah, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...  

Too bad the budget is cheap beer instead of Cristal...   

So we woke today in our king bed, 

among the clouds of trillion thread count white sheets...  

The kids lounged in their beds, one floor below, watching cartoons... 

  

We dressed and brunched in the hotel restaurant... 

Jack ordered his own custom omelet and cruised the buffet...  

He likes this life of unlimited food and luxury...  

 

Shod in our comfiest shoes, 

we headed out for some motorcade stalking and museums.  

We were quickly rewarded as the VP's motorcade whizzed by...  

Tom got instant street cred with one of the White House guards 

when he flashed a brand new Heat Armor challenge coin.... 

They are like pins at the Olympics or Disney....

The security guys trade them, internationally, too...

 The White House was beautiful, even with a sniper on the roof....

We saw Michelle Obama's garden in the South Lawn and a beehive...

 I'm wondering what White House Clover Honey tastes like...

People say DC is humid and steamy and they aren't kidding...  

We sweated like June brides as we trudged to the Washington Monument, 

WWII War Memorial and Air and Space Museum... 

Talk about awesome planes, rockets and spaceships...  

You really need three full days, 

four with kids, to see all there is to discover...  

Kate could care less about Amelia Eahrhardt's red airplane, 

but I wanted to peruse all the fascinating artifacts... 

They were more interested in food and gift shops...  

It really is true that you can't expect your kids 

 to appreciate the culture and history you expose them to...  

You can only hope some sinks in...  

At the American History Museum, we saw amazing exhibits 

about the clothes worn by first ladies,

about the American presidents, 

American wars 

and best of all, a replica of Julia Child's kitchen...  

After reading the story and then the movie,

"Julia, Julia", I was so happy to see Julia's kitchen for myself....  

I couldn't remember where the actress placed the stick of butter

when she visited this exhibit in Julia, Julia, 

but I was a little transported....  

We must have walked miles in the heat 

and the kids held up well, although Tom might not agree...   

We needed more time here...  

I didn't get to see Dorothy's ruby slippers at the Smithonian....  

Tomorrow we head west....

truckin' on the road again.....

That's How I Roll.....

You know, when I gazed lovingly into Tom's eyes,

in front of a fountain, at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas

and said "I do..." little did I know what was in store for me...

A book could be written about the last 10 plus years, 

but suffice it to say that I had NO IDEA 

we would take a  joy ride to and from Washington D.C. 

in our 18 wheeler, with the kids....

I mean, I am Private Benjamin...

  

I don't camp, even with a pop-up camper at the KOA 

(lovingly named "Sh*#t In A Ditch" by a friend)...

It would follow that being within 50 yards of a semi-truck is not on the old bucket list.....

Nope.

  And then I married a man who not only bought a big rig,

but he became licensed to drive one...

Oh my mercy!

  It's not like chicks are hot for truckers like they are for firemen...

No offense to truckers, but from what I have seen

they are not usually candidates for calendars...

  Needless to say, although my husband elevates the hotness factor in the trucking industry,

I have no appetite for being his lot lizard....don't ask...

  So when he broached the subject for a family/business trip

to deliver a vehicle in Washington D.C.,

my first reaction was to declare that I refuse to sleep in a truck stop...

  My second reaction was that this will be one heckuva blog opportunity....

  Ohhhh Yeahhhh....

  So how does one prepare to drive 15 hours in a semi with two kids?

  It's pretty much the same as if you were heading to Yellowstone,

The Grand Canyon or the Ozarks...

  You pack the equivalent of three times their body weight in food.

  You load up on the DVD's and a few goodies in their backpacks

to surprise and thrill them between fights...

  I packed enough food for the Russian army...

  You gotta have the goods for part two of the trip

so I reserved half of the rations in a box for the trip home,

as well as half the movies and a surprise or two...

  The truck pulls a flatbed with the client's vehicle,

along with our car, so we can travel lighter once we get to DC.

  In there we placed the luggage, too.

  In the semi, there is a twin-sized mattress with some storage,

a little fridge and a small TV.

  Trucker/kid paradise....

  I prepared as well as I knew to on my maiden voyage...

  a

Anyone with a brain would have loaded up the truck the day before

and would have hit the hay, nice and early before the big trip.

  Nah....that would have been too easy...

Instead, we had primo seats to see U2 at Soldier Field.

  No doubt, it was an awesome show,

  but after the full hour it took to leave the parking lot,

coupled with Tom, in his beer-induced state,

fleeing the car to assume the mantle of Chicago Traffic Authority,

only to join us after we used words an eight year old should not hear,

we finally got home after midnight...

  So much for the early am departure...  

About two hours behind schedule,

the trucks were loaded onto the flatbed,

the cab was packed with kid food, bags, blankies, pillows

and other essentials and this convoy got under way.

  I decided to channel Daisy Duke on this first day for fun...

 

So Day 1 has ended and here is what I have learned:

  There is a whole lingo and ettiquette to become aware of...

  Other truckers are called "Driver", not "Good Buddy"....

  The latter is a derogatory term...

  "Hammer down/lane" is either the gas pedal or the fast lane....

  "Front Door" is the leader of the convoy...

  "Full Grown Bear" is the police with a civilian along the side of the road...

  and "Covered Wagon"  is a trailer with an arched tarp...

  Yeeee Hawww!

    I learned that you can avoid lunch at the drive thru

if you pack TONS of food.

  Those two kids snarfed more food than the Bulls do at Morton's after a game...

  Kids will find any reason to bicker,

even on an adventure

and they will crap up a space with cracker crumbs, wrappers, socks, toys

and Kleenexes before the truck leaves the parking lot.

  I learned that truck stops have cool stuff and gnarly bathrooms.

  I learned that my daughter will choose to foul the one bathroom stall

with the sign "Out of Order", out of the 20 stalls available....

  I learned that even if the roadsign says that there is an UNO Pizzeria at the rest area,

that does not in any way, shape or form mean

there is a nice Uno's restaurant that you know from home,

with waitresses and salads, in that rest area...

  The fact is that there are UNO's Pizzas, 

however, they exist in the form of dried out mini pizzas,

boxed under a heated light at "The Doggery" fast food joint...

  If you have ever enjoyed pizza from Uno's,

you will quickly realize that these wads of dough resemble cafeteria food at your kids' school.

  The other dining choice was Burger King...blech...

  I learned that road trips with kids are challenging at best,

whether in  a station wagon, SUV or semi,

but hitting the road can be cool, sitting way up high...

   The kids are sleeping and Leno is on...

The beer is cold in Breezewood, PA...

  Tomorrow we hit the road, bright and early...

This is not a bucket filling day,but it was memorable....

And...They're Off!!!

 
Yesterday was a bit of a cluster.....  

I wanted to re-sod the front and back lawns, 

Tom wanted to nurse his cold 

and the kids were bored... 

The only thing worse than a bored kid 

is a hungry kid...  

Actually, it's the same kind of pain 

since they bother you incessantly 

to either feed them junk 

or to play with them.  

Since neither of us was up for a game of hopscotch, 

things got a little miserable 

until I convinced Tom to ride to the park 

for some good old fashioned fresh air and jungle gyms.  

But today, I had a plan...  

A good, take-the-whole-day kind of plan... 

A plan that would be fun and cheap...imagine that!  

Periodically throughout the season, 

Arlington Park has Family Day... 

Tickets come with programs, kids are free 

and the meals for kids are a deal, too...  

There are kid activities, petting zoos and pony rides...  

The kids and I haven't been there before, 

so we loaded up the family truckster with snacks, 

blanket and lucky hopes 

and drove the 45 minutes to Arlington... 

If you haven't been there, 

Arlington Park is beautiful 

and it was a perfect day...  

As luck would have it, 

one of our good friends is a head chef on premises... 

Chef Ricardo (Ricky) DeLeon is one talented chef 

and a great guy... 

He reserved a table for us, under shade, 

so we didn't have to camp out Ravinia style.  

After a quick lunch, it was time to place our bets...  

Now let me preface this whole story by saying 

that in the morning when we told the kids 

about the plans for the day, 

Jack protested loudly that he DID NOT 

want to sit around watching horses run around a track....

BORING!  

He created a huge argument 

and dampened my excitement for the day...  

Fast forward and he is reading the odds 

on the horses and had his dad place his $2.00 bets...  

After betting for "Magic Bullet", 

he and Kate raced down to the rail like bullets to watch the action... 

Boring my a$$.......  

And when his horse won in the 4th race, 

earning him nineteen whole dollars, 

Arlington became the greatest place ever... 

"When are we coming back, Mom??"  

I may have created a monster....  

It truly was a fun day as a family 

and we were surprised to find out 

that Chef DeLeon comped our lunch, 

vodka lemonades and all....  

That was awesome and so kind.....  

Even if that hadn't happened, 

Arlington Park is a great way 

to have a terrific family day on a dime...

I knew I'd be too tired to cook when I got home 

so I made this casserole in the morning:

From Paula Deen & Friends, Living It Up, Southern Style;
Hot Chicken Salad

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
• 2/3 cup crushed potato chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.