Day 2555. After 4.5 hours of sleep, my alarm went off at 7 am. We got up, and I started packing right away. Once I was done, we went downstairs to have breakfast. Back in the room we finished packing, Randy loaded everything into the car, then we all got in. At 9:10 am we started our long day of driving but also our last day of driving.
Because of the kids misbehaving last night, they all had no tablets in the car. So we played games, they fought, and I let them watch good Christian shows on my phone. I also couldn't help it and had to close my eyes at one point and fell asleep briefly.
At noon we stopped for the first time to go to the bathroom but we also bought a little bit of food to hold us over until eating at our friend's house later. We then continued driving south. At 3:10 pm we pulled up at our friend's house, exactly 6 hours after having left the hotel.
I hadn't been to her house in years, and she had never met the kids before so she was excited to meet them. We went into her garden where the kids met her chickens. They watched her get some eggs out, and they got to feed them worms. Then they hopped onto the swing and had fun, as did Sammy.
Then we went inside the house where my friend showed them the room I stayed in when I was still single and stayed with her. It was now a princess room so Tammy liked it very much. And Sammy loved the oversize Minnie Mouse he stayed around until we left.
We then went into the living room where Emmy showed what he can do. It was the longest I've ever seen him stand on his head. It must have been something like 30 seconds. And Tammy kept doing somersaults.
It was already 4:30 pm, and we hadn't eaten, so we sat down at the table to eat her wonderful home-cooked meal. They all ate well, and they all had dessert after. We also had a great time catching up and talking with each other, and the kids all loved my friend. She asked them to call her Grandma, and especially Emmy was really drawn to her.
And then she came with three cards in her hands that she handed to them. They were birthday cards. When they opened them, they each found $20 inside; Emmy's expression on the picture says it all. They all said they were going to spend it in Disneyland tomorrow, while Tammy also asked me about sending it to Mali.
We returned to the living room where I shared some Mali stories with my friend. By that time I was really tired. We then prayed briefly and said our good-byes. It was 7 pm by the time we drove off which was much later than planned. It was a very good thing that other friends of ours had canceled their dinner plans with us.
We had another 2+ hours to drive to Santa Clarita where we had stayed the very first five days of our 8-week USA trip. Now we only have 3 days left before returning to Austria, so we have come full circle. We made one stop to refuel, then continued on. THe kids were getting very tired but I found a good show that entertained them; I was trying to keep them from falling asleep so they'd fall asleep right away once we'd arrive, and I succeeded.
It was 9:40 pm by the time we finally arrived after a long day of driving. Randy unloaded the car, and Tammy was the first one in bed and asleep. The others needed a little longer but also fell asleep quickly. I then got myself some tea and turned my computer on to work on the pictures and my report. Now it's 1 am, and I've been fighting to stay awake.
