Travels: Bartlesville, Ok to Winslow, Az – 972 miles (9002 total miles)
Accommodations: Walmart
Sadly, our days in Bartlesville have come to an end (at least for this stint). After breakfast at Jude’s, Kourtney and the kids came to the trailer to say good-bye. We got some fun pictures of the group of them and got some good hugs. Ava Kate tried to “keep” Marin and Marin tried to stay. We all had such a great time and were spoiled by our good friends!!
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We drove LONG today- 17 hours!! The kids were great; I was a bit nervous after a week of Mason testing our patience. Mason played spaceship with his shoe and binoculars, listened to some CDs, told Dave story after story, read, and colored. Mackenzei read A LOT! It is amazing how much she has grown as a reader on this trip – 10,000 miles to read is a lot of practice. 
Marin {Rinny as she has been calling herself} took a long nap, colored, read, played tickle monster with Kenz, and chilled.Dave drove. I finished reading Olive Kittridge
Just after noon we got pulled over by a state trooper for Dave not using his turn signal – just a warning, turned out to be a friendly guy. It is funny in OK they have you get out of your car (the driver) and go get in their car.)
At 6:55pm we stopped and had some dinner. Dinner on the road: Veggie sandwiches (bell pepper, tomato, avocado, cheese, lettuce). The kids had Joe’s O’s with raw milk from the OK dairy, bell pepper, banana, and blackberries. Then, back to driving for Dave onward through New Mexico. The kids watched Madagascar and then went to sleep.
We saw a bunch of cool lightening and a beautiful sunset around Tucumcari, NM. Finally, at 3:30 in the morning (OK time- 1:30 AZ time) we stopped in Winslow, AZ. Beat does not describe how tired we were!
Marin: “Rock a bye Baby, you” {singing again}; “Baby cow- I see the baby cow on the grass.” “My blanket hat!”
Mackenzie: “I have three loose teeth!”
Mason: “Look at the…” {He is quite the sight-seer.} “That was a bend-flip lightening. That was the coolest lightening in the world!”
Courtney: “We have seen a lot of dead animals on the side of the road while in OK: armadillo, deer, raccoon, skunk, porcupine.”
Dave: “It is still 95 degrees.” {From OK all the way through TX.} “What’s this? What’s this?” {So weird. We entered pouring rain out of nowhere. And it looked like we hit a wall of smoke.)
Reflections on Bartlesville {interviewing the kids}:
Mason: “Playing with Griffin, the painted buffalo, the Kiddie Park, playing with all of them at the house, the roller coaster at the Kiddie Park- I even hit my back on it.”
Mackenzie: “Playing with Campbell- I love her!, going swimming and jumping off the diving board, going to Jude’s, tennis lessons, the Kiddie Park.”
Marin: “Oklahoma, playing with Ava Cake, swimming with my floaty on, roller coaster- I did Mama!”
Courtney: Bartlesville is beautiful (green everywhere and lots of trees) and cute. Lots of cute and fancy flip flops/sandals, first of all, my brown ones just did not cut it! Second of all, cute downtown, cute/quaint Farmer’s Market… People are very friendly and say hi! The Kiddie Park is a blast- love that the whole town gathers and it is just for fun! Frank & Lola’s is yummy and fun! Love the vibe.
The rest of us headed to the country club pool for a few hours. It was a very warm day today, so sitting in the pool was necessary! We visited with another of Kourtney’s friends which was nice.
After, we ran some errands. A deposit at the bank where the teller knows her name (like County Commerce in Ventura), and she saw her Realtor in the drive-through (they see people everywhere they go – small town feel). Then, we went through the covered drive-through cleaners, dropped off a CD at a friend’s house, and picked up some fresh fruit and veggies at a couple roadside stands, then back to the Craig’s house for lunch.
We spent the night at the Craig’s house last night, since the kids were all cozy and asleep. We woke up, got ready, and went to church. Then, the Craigs’ kids came back to the trailer for lunch so Kourtney and Kyle could get ready for their open house solo. After some fruit and PB&J, they cozied up in our bed and watched Bolt.
With a refreshed and rested 4 year old we began our day. We grabbed Starbucks and headed over to the Country Club to meet Kourtney and the kids. We watched the older girls at tennis lessons which was fun (it is in an indoor court). And then Mason got to take a tennis lesson with Griffin which was fun. He had a blast hitting the ball and running around.
It is crazy how loud the bugs in the trees are here! I’m listening to them in the warm semi humid air of Bartlesville.
July 16, 2010
Travels: Winslow, Az to Ventura, Ca – 576 miles (9578 total miles)
Accommodations: Home
We drove back through the Coconino National Forest and the Kaibab National Forest. And then, at 11:20am we crossed from AZ back into CA and AWFUL roads!!
A lovely 112 degrees and the wide open dry, brown desert surrounding us. At the border we were asked the following questions: “Where are you coming from?” Dave: All over the place? CA: Have a good day!”
Just after 5pm we pulled down our street and parked.
Mackenzie: “There are so many Best Westerns.” “Can we just get to Los Angeles?” “Does it snow here?”
Courtney: “I never want to drive again.” “This couldn’t be uglier.” {drive from border to Fillmore.}