Chronicle of a Summer Roadtrip: Part I

We have returned from a lengthy summer roadtrip; all but the final load of laundry is folded away in the drawers and the suitcases are drawing a breath of relief in their dark corner of the closet. The trip was just a couple of days shy of a full month and spanned some nine states. We enjoyed the whole journey, but, there is no place like home and we are grateful for our safe return.

Night One/Day One: We departed on a Sunday evening after attending Mass and got three hours under our belts. In the morning, we were to meet up with the Professor's brother for breakfast. Alas, Sunshine was overtaken with a stomach bug so she and I stayed back with Little Queen at the hotel while everyone else headed out to IHOP.

It was there that they discovered our vehicle had been burgled during the night. It wasn't until after we had left town that we discovered what was missing: the Treasure Trove. The bag that contains all of the surprise amusements for the long car ride ahead. Books. Mostly children's. Over $200 retail value. And our Address Book. The One we have used for over 15 years. Our nocturnal thief must have been in too much of a hurry to discover the wrapped presents and the dozen bottles of Texas beer in the trunk. Perhaps it he was a literary thief, though.

We continued on our way and prayed for the book laden burgler. By Monday evening we were at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek in Hulbert, Oklahoma. Blessedly, we had arrived early enough to attend a couple of the evening services. The children were first excited because we got the big log guest house:


Then, they were beside themselves when we discovered there were some petite friends living under the front porch:

And, at last, we hiked down to Clear Creek where they played for a good long time, despite the chilly temperature of the water.
The next morning we assisted at the daily High Mass, made some purchases in the gift shop, visited with some of the lovely families there and with our acquaintance, Fr. Bethel, and then headed on our way.