The Trip to Kentucky

This is the story about our trip to Kentucky to visit Taylor when she was baptized. Aunt Frances, Grandma Susan, McKayla, Cambree, Jade and myself left at 6:30 am on Wednesday, March 25^th. I thought we would need to store some of our luggage on top of the van, but we were able to get everything into the van. We did put Susan’s special lounge chair on top of the van which worked out great. We said a prayer for a safe trip and that all drivers would be alert and cautious while driving. We also prayed that the van would not have any mechanical problems. Our goal was to drive all day and all night.

We drove up through Provo Canyon to Heber on our way to I-80 and Wyoming. It started to snow as we got near Heber. It was a light snow, and we were hoping the weather would improve as we continued to drive eastward. The snow did cause us to drive slower than the speed limit for several miles but the weather eventually started to clear up as we got into Wyoming.

The drive through Wyoming and Nebraska on I-80 is a long, boring drive. The girls were so good on the long drive. They stayed entertained watching videos and playing with a new toy that was passed out to them every couple of hours. When we passed Laramie, Wyoming, Susan made sure to “boo” Laramie. This is because BYU fans are treated very rudely when BYU plays University of Wyoming there in basketball and football.

We used a GPS system during the trip to make sure we did not take a wrong turn. We have come to love using our Garmin GPS system. It really saved us on Thursday morning when we drove through St. Louis, Missouri. It would tell us which lane to be in as we approached the next junction. Without it we would likely have missed a junction but we were able to get through St. Louis without any problems. Coming home, however, we were in the wrong lane and missed our junction. The GPS just recalculates where we need to turn to get us right back onto the correct road. Susan and I both agree we will never take a long trip without our GPS system. We love it!

We arrived at Janice’s house about 12:30 pm on Thursday, March 26. So we drove from Pleasant Grove, Utah to Paris, Kentucky in 28 hours straight. We only stopped for gas and to eat at McDonalds. Susan and Frances took turns driving to help relieve Grandpa Jack.

According to Frances, Grandpa Jack could have used this vehicle the first day.

Here are some pictures we took while there:

“I’m having so much fun, I could throw up!”

“I just love driving all day as long as I’m with you.”

"Aren’t we just the cutest things?”

“Can I get out and walk for awhile?”

Morgan is happy to see her cousins! “Someone said, ‘Suck in up!’, so I did!”

The girls all had fun being together again. Is Morgan “Happy” or what!

The girls get aprons and slippers! Grandpa Jack is getting some zzzzzzzz’s

Janice & Frances preparing for Taylor’s B-Day party Samantha showing off new apron

Entering the Adena Springs breeding farm New foal with her mother

We visited the building where the new born foals are kept with their mothers

View of horse breeding farm from top of the office building

Looking through window of tower over breeding farm building built around circular stairway

We took pictures from top of this building Friends at Taylor’s birthday party

Taylor’s baptism day! Two down, one to go! Jade is next year. “The 3 Musketeers”

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Many others were taken but these were some of the cute ones.

We went out to dinner on Saturday and left Samantha to watch the youngsters. Sunday we attended the church in Paris. It is a nice building only 5 minutes from the house. After some serious visiting on Sunday night we finally got to sleep in anticipation of the long drive home.

We left Monday morning at 6:30 am. Couldn’t help but notice a little sadness on Janice’s face.

We stopped at McDonald’s and picked up breakfast to eat on the road. The GPS guided us on the way and recalculated our route when we missed a junction in Louisville. Love that GPS! We planned to stay in a motel this time. Our goal was to get to Nebraska before stopping. Susan took over driving for Jack after a gas stop in a small town, where we had a hard time finding “the gas station”! The “big girls” expressed apprehensions about going into the “gas station” but they gathered their courage and everyone was “relieved”.

After driving for two hours, Susan got a serious back ache. Jack took over the driving as we looked for a motel to stay the night. We arrived in the city of Grand Island, Nebraska, bought food at McDonalds then checked into the Holiday Inn Motel. Susan’s back pain became severe. Jack gave her a priesthood blessing assuring her she would be comforted and get a peaceful night’s sleep. Susan felt nauseated and sweaty. We decided to seek out the hospital. The GPS took us directly to the St. Francis Hospital there in Grand Island. Susan was admitted to the ER about 9:15 pm Monday night. The doctor, a woman, thought she was having a heart attach, but after several tests and a CAT scan it was determined she was passing a kidney stone. This is what we both were thinking it was. Susan was given anti-nausea medicine and pain medicine and began to feel better. We left the hospital and finally got to bed at 2:30 am on Tuesday morning. Susan was feeling pretty good by then. She said she had the best sleep since our wedding night. (Just kidding, but it was the best sleep in many years.)

Tuesday morning we got up at 7:00 a.m. and found it was snowing and the wind was blowing the snow horizontally. The night before must have been stormy on I-80, because we passed 5 cars that were upside down on the side of the highway and two semi-trucks were on the side of the road. The wind and snow continued most of the day. The snow let up at times but the wind was blowing strongly all day. We stopped for lunch at McDonald’s in Cheyenne that had a playground for the kids. They had a good time running around for awhile before we headed off again anxious to see the Utah boarder. Finally, we crossed into Utah about 6:00 p.m. and arrived at Jade’s house about 8:30 p.m. after a long, long, day. It was good to be home again.