Family Gathering

Just got back home from vacation, albeit 24 hours later than I expected. The drive itself was pretty hairy but being there was great. I’ve only had the chance to see everyone once every couple of years, so it was pretty nice being there. Terra Christa was as beautiful as I remember, perhaps more so because of all the rain we have been having in the southeast this year. The kids had a great time with each other, and it is pretty cool to see how much the other children have grown over the last couple of years.
I am pretty tired, so will not be posting any photos or videos until tomorrow at some point. I have a couple hundred stills to go through, as well as about an hour of video to cut. Probably have the best photos in there.
The drive there and back sucked eggs, as seems to be the case the last few years. With the addition of Ruth Helen to the family, we decided that the cars were becoming somewhat cramped for roadtrips, so we bought a used van last week. First time I drove it was the day that we left for Virginia. We left after 5pm on Friday, traffic through Atlanta was a bear, and we had to drive through a downpour all through South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. By the time I actually got into the mountains, around Sparta, it was rainging, foggy, and I was doing around 25mph. Finally arrived at around 4am.
The drive home was no better. We pulled out of Terra Christa at some point after Noon, made it all the way up Highway 58 to 77 south, gassed up, and pulled onto the expressway. A couple miles later, the transmission in the van started to act up. I made it all the way to Fancy Gap, VA, about 8 miles north of the NC state line. Spent the night at the Days Inn in Fancy Gap, had the Van towed 400 miles home, and had to rent a car. All I can say is that it’s a good thing that Stephanie taught Summer School this year. Took her paycheck to finance the trip. Still going to have to get the transmission rebuilt, but my neighbor will probably take the price (as well as my other expenses), off of what I owe him for the van, which will almost pay it off.
Well, got that out. As I said above, I will try to get the pics and videos posted tommorow.
Oh. btw, if you ever shop at Amazon for books or gifts, use the link over to the right, it seems I could use the cash right now