Day 5 - Yakking to York
It's bad when one person gets sick on a road trip. It's especially bad when that person is little because along with the sick is the inevitable crying and yelling. It's worse when two are sick and the worst is when EVERYONE in the car gets sick. I woke up Sunday morning and tossed it. I felt awful. My stomach was churning and I wanted nothing more than to be at home in my own bed. But there was a long day of driving before I would make it that far. So as soon as I was feeling somewhat human, we packed everything up, put our upset children in the car and started on our way. I tried desperately to get comfortable so that I could sleep, but it didn't work out to well. So I dozed fitfully for about an hour until Gail started screaming because she was hungry. Jonathan pulled off at a sideroad and then circled around to make it easier to get back on the road. Unfortunately it was also enough motion to make my weak stomach give out again. (I'm sorry Bekah; we used your bowls. But they are nice and sparkly clean again now!)
The trip continued and as I got a little sleep here and a little there I began feeling better. But as I got better, Jonathan started to feel worse. We stopped for lunch at a KFC under the thought that mashed potatoes are gentle on the stomach. Unfortunately I couldn't even walk into the restaurant without feeling nauseous. I don't like KFC on good days. When I've been sick I like it even less. So I stayed out in the car with Abigail so she could eat and skipped lunch. I didn't feel like throwing up yet again. Once everyone had eaten, we started on the road. It wasn't long before Jonathan asked if I was feeling well enough to take a turn driving.
"Sure, honey," I said. "I'm feeling much better now. If you need a break, just let me know and I'll take a turn."
"Well," he hedged, "I just want to know if you want to."
"Jonathan, if you're tired and need a break say so. Don't try to tough man it out."
"I wasn't."
I just raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned sheepishly. "Alright, next stop I'll give you a turn."
Soon I was driving and Jonathan was fitfully trying to sleep in the front seat. His color was off and to add to the misery Gary had started getting sick again. It didn't take long before I was pulling over at every rest stop and exit so that we could either clean Gary up, change Gail, or so Jonathan could be sick. By the time we reached York it was late and everyone was exhausted. Dad and I got out of our cars to deliberate. I told him that everyone in my car was sick with the exception of John. He said that everyone in his car was sick except Eliza and himself.
"There's a Motel 6 across the way over there," I said pointing. "Maybe it would be best if we all stopped for the night and tried to get some rest. I know our family isn't going to make it any farther tonight and I've already called Jonathan's folks to let them know." We had planned on stopping in Topeka for the night.
"I think you're right. I'll follow you over there then."
"Sounds good."
We got back into our respective cars and drove to the hotel. A sign read "The newest rooms in York." As we walked in we could see why they said that. Under renovation, the entire place smelled of wet paint. The manager welcomed us and we paid for the rooms we would need. "All of the usable rooms are upstairs," she said, "because of the renovations."
"That's fine."
We started bringing people and things in. I warned Jonathan ahead of time that it smelled like wet paint. "Just brace yourself," I said. "It's pretty strong." Once everything was in, I really looked at the room. Mom said it looked like 1968 all over again. Everything was either orange or yellow and very minimalist. There were no dressers, no closets, not even a clock. There were lots of plain shelves set up and the TV looked like something out of a scifi novel, melded with the wall with buttons and gizmos around it. A strange shelf had hangers on it and the towels were rolled into a weird orange display in the bathroom. We were grateful for the wood-wanna-be flooring as it was very easy to clean up as people got sick.
Jonathan beelined for the bed and within minutes it seemed had fallen asleep. Gary threw up twice more before also falling asleep. By eight-thirty everyone in the room was peacefully sleeping and I hoped that no one would get sick during the night. I was too tired to try to clean anything up. Luckily, the night passed without incident and in the morning, our last leg would be taken.
The final chapter, Day 6 - Happily Home, will be posted tomorrow.
The trip continued and as I got a little sleep here and a little there I began feeling better. But as I got better, Jonathan started to feel worse. We stopped for lunch at a KFC under the thought that mashed potatoes are gentle on the stomach. Unfortunately I couldn't even walk into the restaurant without feeling nauseous. I don't like KFC on good days. When I've been sick I like it even less. So I stayed out in the car with Abigail so she could eat and skipped lunch. I didn't feel like throwing up yet again. Once everyone had eaten, we started on the road. It wasn't long before Jonathan asked if I was feeling well enough to take a turn driving.
"Sure, honey," I said. "I'm feeling much better now. If you need a break, just let me know and I'll take a turn."
"Well," he hedged, "I just want to know if you want to."
"Jonathan, if you're tired and need a break say so. Don't try to tough man it out."
"I wasn't."
I just raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned sheepishly. "Alright, next stop I'll give you a turn."
Soon I was driving and Jonathan was fitfully trying to sleep in the front seat. His color was off and to add to the misery Gary had started getting sick again. It didn't take long before I was pulling over at every rest stop and exit so that we could either clean Gary up, change Gail, or so Jonathan could be sick. By the time we reached York it was late and everyone was exhausted. Dad and I got out of our cars to deliberate. I told him that everyone in my car was sick with the exception of John. He said that everyone in his car was sick except Eliza and himself.
"There's a Motel 6 across the way over there," I said pointing. "Maybe it would be best if we all stopped for the night and tried to get some rest. I know our family isn't going to make it any farther tonight and I've already called Jonathan's folks to let them know." We had planned on stopping in Topeka for the night.
"I think you're right. I'll follow you over there then."
"Sounds good."
We got back into our respective cars and drove to the hotel. A sign read "The newest rooms in York." As we walked in we could see why they said that. Under renovation, the entire place smelled of wet paint. The manager welcomed us and we paid for the rooms we would need. "All of the usable rooms are upstairs," she said, "because of the renovations."
"That's fine."
We started bringing people and things in. I warned Jonathan ahead of time that it smelled like wet paint. "Just brace yourself," I said. "It's pretty strong." Once everything was in, I really looked at the room. Mom said it looked like 1968 all over again. Everything was either orange or yellow and very minimalist. There were no dressers, no closets, not even a clock. There were lots of plain shelves set up and the TV looked like something out of a scifi novel, melded with the wall with buttons and gizmos around it. A strange shelf had hangers on it and the towels were rolled into a weird orange display in the bathroom. We were grateful for the wood-wanna-be flooring as it was very easy to clean up as people got sick.
Jonathan beelined for the bed and within minutes it seemed had fallen asleep. Gary threw up twice more before also falling asleep. By eight-thirty everyone in the room was peacefully sleeping and I hoped that no one would get sick during the night. I was too tired to try to clean anything up. Luckily, the night passed without incident and in the morning, our last leg would be taken.
The final chapter, Day 6 - Happily Home, will be posted tomorrow.
No comments have been added yet.
