Solo Road Trip

Heeding to Cyndee's insistence that I attend my family's reunion in Texas over the 4th of July weekend I began preparation for making a solo 2,200 mile, 6 day road trip.  After talking it over, it made more sense for me to rent an economy car and drive it while leaving Big Gulp with Cyndee.  It was a no-brainer to do 2,000+ miles in a 32 mpg gasoline vehicle rather than a 12 mpg diesel truck.

The reunion was also a good opportunity to fill in some of the gaps in our genealogy research as well as print reports of the information we had for those that were interested in it.  But this meant packing a computer, 20" monitor, all-in-one color printer, copier and high resolution scanner.  And of course all the assorted cables, power cords, extension cords, multi-outlet surge protector, etc., etc.  You get the idea, the sub-compact rent car was loaded to the gills with all that stuff plus my clothes, a big ice chest and two giant pies from Sam's Club.

Historically we have split the drive from Georgia to Texas into two days.  We typically made it to Arkansas for our overnight and then made it to our final destination in the late afternoon of the next day.  But in those days it was a family of four in the car or towing an RV or both.  This time with just me and car that I swear came from the clown tent of a Barnum and Bailey circus, I was making good distance.  Until that is, the overturned truck and hazardous material spill.  I-40 was shut down in both directions for six hours.  I came up on it in its final hours but the wait to get on the detour was two hours.  I knew I should have taken a bathroom break in that last town.

Even with the delay it was still daylight as I approached Oklahoma City.  A quick phone call ahead and I snagged a discount room at a Will Rogers International Airport hotel.  The timing was perfect, rolling into the parking lot just as the last light of the summer sun was fading.

After a pretty good night's rest and an early start, the four and a half hours between OKC and Borger was done by lunch time.

The next several days were spent prepping the barn, visiting with family, seeing old friends and sitting out one heck of a brief but incredibly strong storm.

Genealogy Central in the Barn Lounge
A wi-fi router was set up to communicate between computer and printer/scanner.

One of the group activities was a trip to Palo Duro Canyon to see the play Texas!, a long standing tradition whenever the clan gathers in the panhandle.

Clan McFarlin down in Palo Duro Canyon for a Night of Theater

Cousin Dan Nelson gave a narrative of one of our storied ancestors from the Adams bloodline.  Henry Smith Adams lived through an impoverished childhood and made it through the civil war, but just barely.  He spent four days propped up on a tree waiting for medical help after getting his eye shot out.  He chronicled it all making it possible to trace his decades of moving from farm to farm in the south and mid-west and of course his service in the Union Army.

Barn Turned Genealogy Seminar Center

Three days of a continuous buffet of BBQ, burritos, cobblers, and pies was not good for my calorie, salt and sugar intake but I loved every minute of it.  It is done now and the cleanup has started.  Time to put the barn back in working order.