Paducah! It has such a fun sound to it. Paducah, Kentucky. That’s where we’re staying tonight. We surely have turned into travel wimps, because we could have made it home tonight, maybe before midnight, but we chose to stop anyway. It sure has been nice. Being on the road, stopping every hour or so, and making slow progress, is really tiring. So finding a motel that has high-speed internet and an indoor pool is really nice. And I must confess, I was cheered even more when I spied the waffle iron in the breakfast nook. Woo-hoo! I can’t wait for breakfast!

Today we said goodbye to Michael’s sister and her family. They were so hospitable and kind to us. We really felt welcomed. Then we traveled as best we could to Paducah, KY. (I just wanted an excuse to say that again. Paducah!)

We finished listening to “Pudd’nhead Wilson”, and then we quizzed the older kids on the story. It was fun to review and see how much they had heard and understood.

For lunch we decided to be brave and try the southern restaurant chain “Krystal“, but after sitting in the drive thru and studying the menu, we chickened out and drove to McDonalds. We just didn’t know what to order at Krystal! Maybe next time we’ll work through our fears.

After we got to our motel and relaxed for a bit, we went to Texas Roadhouse for supper. Oh yes, it was definitely not a cheap meal. But it was a lot of fun. The children just couldn’t believe they really were supposed to throw their peanut shells on the floor. The rolls were delicious, the sodas flowed freely, and the food was good. The children seemed to really enjoy the special treat of eating out.

Now we’re back in our room and four of the kids are supposed to be going to sleep. Michael is still in the pool area with the older two kids. The younger ones were loathe to leave the pool before everyone else was going to leave, but I insisted that they had been in the water long enough. If nothing else, Judah was scaring me witless.

Tomorrow we go home. What a wonderful sentence to type! I’ll post my final travel blog tomorrow.