The Trip, in parts

Part One: The Drive Out (or off, you could say)
We left around 3, JP's parents arrived at 1pm, so we got a nice visit with them, and I made sure they knew the kids' rules. I even wrote them down so the kids wouldn't try to buffalo them. I wanted to have a full tank of gas, so we could figure out our mileage, so we stopped at Holiday before we left town. Now, I'm going to go into great detail here because it will matter later. As we pulled up to the pump, I asked mom to fish out one of the "BOGO" pop bottle caps, so I could get us each a cold one for the road after I finished pumping gas. I got out, topped off the tank, it was only $19 and change. When I opened the driver's door, to grab my billfold and the cap from mom, she wasn't there. I popped my head up to see her coming out of the store, 2 bottles of pop in her hands. She's so sneaky, she went in and paid for the gas, I thought... I THOUGHT. I thanked her and we got in, buckled up and were on our way.
We were somewhere between Detroit Lakes and St. Cloud, cruising along nicely on Hwy 10, I was in the left lane, passing some schmuck, when suddenly I see a cop coming up quickly on my backside. I hurry to finish passing, and tuck back in, to have this trooper wizz past me, lights and sirens full blast. (Wow, glad he's not looking for us! We said) Another mile or so down the road, and we saw what he was in such a hurry to get to. We were on Hwy 10 east, and over in the westbound lanes, there was a white truck, driver sitting in it, pulled over on the shoulder. A cop car behind him, one cocked sideways in the left lane, pointed at the truck, and another cop car had been down in the ditch and come up the embankment, nose pointed at the truck. There were a total of 5 cop cars and every officer was in the driver's door of their vehicle using the door as a shield, and had their guns drawn on the driver of the white truck!! OH, WOW, what excitement!! We talked for miles, wondering what he had done.
We stopped around midnight somewhere in Illinois for "breakfast" at a truckstop. After a yummy filling meal, the waitress brings the check, and mom and I both grabbed for it.
Me: I'll get it
Her: No, I'll get it, you've paid for all the gas
Me: No, you paid for the first one
Her: what? No I didn't
Me: In D.L., when you got the pop?
Her: No, Nik, I just got the pop, I thought you used your card at the pump
Me: Haha, very funny
It went on a few more times of kidding/not kidding, and when she didn't start laughing, it really sank in...Oh My Gawd, we drove off without paying for our gas. But it was midnight, we were 2 states away, what could we do? I decided to call Ray at home the next day and beg him to run down and take care of it. Of course, the second we hit Wisconsin, it became a felony, a federal case.... We had a good but nervous laugh about that, I'll tell ya.
Part Two: The Relaxation
Something about being out there is so calming and relaxing. Like time ticks at a slower pace out there. Sit for hours and chat and shoot the bull, and wow, a full day is gone... And that's just fine. I had brought my laptop, but didn't even touch it. Mom and i also brought our knitting, never touched it, except to pull it out to show it to Grandma. She's got a dog now, and a cat, too. The dog's name is Shelby, and she is smart as a whip and sweet as pie. George, the cat is fat and bizarre. He pulls kibbles of food out of his dish one at a time with his paw. Drags it out, lets it fall on the floor, then bends down and gobbles it up. But he is friendly, and loves attention.
We did steaks on the grill, with asparagus and sauteed mushrooms, salad and breadsticks. Grandma's son Red, and his wife Jackie came over for supper, and we sat and shot the bull some more. Of course mom had to let everyone know that I was probably going to jail when we got back home. She refused to see her involvement in the drive off. She wanted to play the part of the innocent bystander, but we all know that she is a seasoned veteran of thievery and was a willing accomplice in the great theft of $19 worth of gas. After all, she has been known to steal shrubbery, and monkeys... Using my toddler son as an accomplice on that one. Innocent bystander my ass...
Part Three: The Drive Home
We headed out Sunday morning. Mom had to work today (Monday) at 9, so we figured with a 14 hour drive, we should get going in the morning so she can get some sleep. Everything was going pretty good, we were making good time, paying for our gas each time, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks. We were in Wisconsin somewhere, driving along I-94, heading West. Suddenly we could see everyone ahead of us hitting their brakes, and everyone was getting into the left lane. We followed suit, not even knowing why yet. We came around a curve, and all we could see was smoke ahead. Something was burning near or on the road up ahead. Traffic was down to about 30 mph, perfect rubber necking speed, and as we went past, we could see that it was a truck, a little blue Dodge Dakota. It was pretty much engulfed in flames. The owners had been able to drag the sofa and loveseat off the back end before the fire really got out of hand. There wasn't much the police could do, except watch it burn and keep traffic away and moving. We just marveled at all the cool things we had been privy to on this journey, such interesting 'never before seen' in real life stuff.

It was a good trip, we got to see Lake Michigan Friday morning, just before light, and my camera got 2 pictures then flashed the "change batteries" light, then died... What a pisser. We also got a short visit from Fuzzy (real name unknown), Grandma's youngest son. He is a super nice guy, but he is dying of cancer, and mom suspects that will be the last time she will see him. It's really sad, he's just a sweetheart.

Now that that's over with, my next milestone, next mark of time passage is next week, I start classes. After that, one week later, the kids start theirs. Then it's my birthday, then Emma's. Then Alex's and then Halloween, Thanksgiving and then we can start getting giddy about the love of my life returning to me, if even for a short time.

BTW, Holiday Gas Station has been paid, they did not call the cops, they had no information to give anyway, they did not know it was me, and they were very grateful to be paid. No harm, no foul, no police barricades, no road blocks.