Day 2 - Traveling

Let's start from the very beginning...a very good place to start!  :)  Gotta love the Sound of Music! (maybe you dont...but I do!!!)

  So, Ellis left on June 3rd.  We got up around 8:00am.  Ellis finished packing his stuff, he had packed 2 huge packs 2 days before and dropped them off at work.  Can you imagine packing your belongings in 2 bags and that's all you'll use for a year?  Crazy!

Ellis took 4 things total. 1 trunk, 2 bags, and 1 backpack.

  Ellis wanted to say good bye to some friends before we went to drop him off at work.  While he was gone Eli, Dad, and I got ready to go.  My friend Natalie helped me pick out a new dress just for the occasion.  I wanted to look my best on the last day I would see him in person...well, for a year or so!  My friend Heather (that I met at Ft. Hood) had asked if we needed anything, and last minute I asked her to come take pictures before we left to go to the gym.  My friend Kris (met at Ft. Hood as well) told me she could, and I told her not to worry about it b/c my dad was coming, but I totally changed my mind last minute...so sorry and thanks for the offer Kris!!! :)  Around 12:00 Heather came over and we all went outside to snap some pictures.  We couldn't have asked for a prettier day!

I only wish Eli would have looked at the camera! :)

I think this is such a great shot of us all!

We had to have Ellis over to pick up his weapon by 12:15 in the afternoon.  I made the mistake of calling it his "gun" a few times and he kept correcting me that it is called a weapon. :)  After dropping him off to pick up his weapon, we drove over to the gym to wait.  We got there around 12:30.  One of the FRG ladies told me that the soldiers weren't going to be there until 2ish.  Dad, Heather, and I decided that we could run a grab some food then head back and wait.  While we were getting our food, I got a call from Ellis.  He sounded kinda upset...He told me that he had forgot his Camelpack (or whatever it's called)  I knew that he had also forgotten his phone charger, so it was a no brainer for me to run back to the hotel room.  Thankfully Heather had heard that we were almost out of gas so she told me she would go with me and she would drive her car.  We raced back to the hotel, up 2 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor.  Got the key out, and sure enough...it didn't work!  I called Ellis and asked if he knew the hotel's front desk number...usually I would just walk down the stairs but we weren't in a different part of the building, but in a different building all together!  Ellis said that the maintenance number was on the first floor, and they could come open the door.  When I got down there I saw that the housekeeper was still there, so I just asked her to open it.  We were able to find the things Ellis left and then headed back to the gym.  When we got to the gym the first time we were the only ones there, when Heather and I got back...yeah, we had one of the farthest parking spots in the whole lot!  Thankfully Dad had found a seat and was entertaining Eli.  Around 2:00pm the soldiers started walking in around the balcony in the gym to check it, and then down the stairs to their families.

All the troops checking in

Ellis is right above the sign. 

Right before he walked down the stairs

Every time a new group of soldiers walked in the top door, I stood up to see if I could spot Ellis...go figure that he would be on the last bus...in the last group!  Once he got down the stairs we were able to spend about an hour together before he had to leave.  I had thought of all of the different things I was going to say that day...all we did was sit together and snap pictures. 

They could be twins! :)

At about 4:25, one of the officers stood up and prayed over the troops and their families.  All of the families had to say goodbye then, give the last few hugs and kisses and then head out the door.  The soldiers needed to get into uniform and head out to the buses.  I think I held Ellis for what seemed like only 10 seconds...it was probably 5 minutes or so. :)  Dad was able to snap one last picture with his camera before we had to leave.

After the last picture and xoxox's were given, we walked outside and stood behind the little rope barrier.  We waited out there for what seemed to be a lifetime.  Dad was holding Eli on his shoulders, I was hoping to see/kiss/hug Ellis one more time before he got on the bus to head over to the airstrip.

5 buses in this picture and 1 behind me.

 

There were six buses total, Ellis happened to be on the very last bus.  I saw him as soon as he walked around the corner, and I waited right by the bus to make sure I was able to hug/kiss him one last time.  By that time I had Eli in my arms, as Ellis pulled away and got on the bus Eli yelled out to him, "Daddy!  Daddy! Back!  Daddy!"  That was it...I started crying.  I was being so strong, not showing any sadness or hurt emotions but as soon as Eli did that, I was history. :)  Dad and I walked back to the car with Eli, waved at the bus for about 5 minutes, not knowing if Ellis ever saw us, got in the car and went back to the hotel. 

  By then I really didn't feel like packing up all of our belongings so...I didn't. :)  We kinda just bummed around the rooms until we got hungry.  We went out to Denny's for dinner, headed back to the hotel and fell asleep.  We got up the next morning (the 4th) around 6:30 and started packing.  I was finished by 9ish, and we were on the road by 9:30.  We went and turned in the keys, and headed out on Highway 190 east.  We hit Interstate 35 north from there, and headed up to Highway 85 east just on the other side of Waco, TX.  Our first stop was at a McDonalds in Mexia, TX.  We had lunch there, got back in the car and kept on truckin.  We drove through a little town called Palestine.  Yepp...that's right, i visited Palestine and didn't even leave the country.  We decided to stop in Timpson, TX to gas up.  At 4:10pm we crossed into Logansport, Louisiana.  We drove through Mansfield, LA to get onto highway 171 (the scenic route) up to Shreveport, LA.  171 met up with Interstate 20 in Shreveport, which we took all the way across the state and over the Mississippi River...right into a place called Vicksburg, Mississippi.  There was a little Motel 6 right off of the main freeway, so that's where we stayed.  The following morning (the 5th) we got up, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, gassed up, and headed on on out!  We drove all the way through Mississippi only stopping to go to the bathroom and gas up once.  We got back on Interstate 20 and headed on into Alabama. 

Now...for those of you who know anything about me, one of my favorite shows is Army Wives.  So as we were driving through Alabama, I see a road sign for Tuscaloosa.  We all know that Roxy LeBlanc is from Tuscaloosa (at least I'm 95% sure...unless there is some other city in Alabama with the last part "oosa" that I don't know about)  Anyway...I asked dad to kindly take out his camera and snap a picture to prove I drove through there! :)  LOL

A few miles outside Tuscaloosa is a little town called Coaling.  We stopped there for a quick snack, then got back on the road headed toward Birmingham.  Interstate 20 east met up with Interstate 59 north in Birmingham, so we hopped on that and took it all the way up to Chattenooga, Tennessee.  (We drove through the corner tip of Georgia)  If any of you watched the show Teen Mom, you may recognize the name Chattenooga.  One of the girls moved there to be with her new boyfriend...again, I'm 95% sure, who knows...there may be another city that ends in "ooga" in Tennessee. :)  We drove on a little further up to Cleveland.  On the way there we noticed that some kind of storm came through the area a while back.  I found out (when I made our hotel reservation) that a tornado had come through the area in April.  It kinda took my breath away, seeing the houses with no roofs, trees ripped apart, tarps everywhere.  I thought I had it bad with my husband being gone, I am richly blessed to know I have a house to go home to.  There are people staying at our hotel that are displaced still...please lift them up in prayer.  We pulled into the hotel parking lot around 6:30ish.  We ordered a pizza around 7:15, ate around 8:00pm, watched Army Wives...and here I am now, typing up this blog...that's a few days later than I hoped!  I took a few pictures of our hotel room that I will post tomorrow. (I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet)  I did forget to post a few things...well, two to be exact.  We drove through 2 cities that made me laugh.  The first one was Bobo, LA.  Really people? BOBO?  The town is so small I cant find it on a map.  The second was Polkville, MS.  I totally poked my dad when I saw that sign. :)  Alrighty...so here is a VERY long blog, hopefully making up for the 3 months I missed out on.  Maybe next time I'll break it up some...I'm sure you guys don't wanna read 3 months worth of blog in one sitting. ;)  Take care y'all (that's from driving through the south...picking it up already) Have a good night! 

God bless you

-B

Take Care 1st Cav!