Family Reunion #1 - The Journey
Most of you know that we just returned from our week-long trip to the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. We have so many pictures, it'll take several posts to share them! So without further ado...
We left Denver Friday afternoon at 2:00, and were prepared for the drive straight through to Virginia, where we would spend the night with my brother, Jason, and drive the remaining 6 hours on Sunday. Kenny was full of caffeine, I had my book, and Katelyn had her DVD player (thanks Noël!) We were almost to Limon, the last teeny tiny little town in Colorado before crossing into the boring expanse of nothingness that is Kansas, when a warning light began flashing on the dash - the oil pressure was low. We pulled over a few times to see if we could figure out what was causing it to go on and off, and checked the oil level (fine), and trying not to pay too much attention to the owner's manual telling us to "STOP! Do not drive! Bring to the closest Audi dealer!" During one of these stops, Katelyn paused her movie long enough to say, "Dad, we're never going to make it to the beach if you keep STOPPING!" Needless to say, it was Katelyn who almost didn't make it to the beach...
We did finally make it to Limon with Katelyn still breathing, where there was exactly one auto parts store. Kenny thought it was probably the oil pump causing the problem, but they couldn't even hook up the computer code thingy (that's the technical term) to figure out what was wrong, and there wasn't a single mechanic in town that could work on an Audi. They told us to keep going to Kansas City, or turn around and go back to Denver.
Kenny thought it was "safe-ish" to drive, since the light wasn't flashing constantly, and we didn't really have any other choice, so we started heading back to Denver hoping that the engine wouldn't blow up or anything. I spent almost the entire hour and a half drive back on the phone with my friend Noël, who spent that entire time online trying to find the best deal on a rental car. We drove straight to the airport and pulled into the rental company's parking lot about 3 minutes after Noël booked our reservation online.
Five hours and $400 later, we started our trip again. This time, uneventfully! We drove straight through the night and all the next day, only stopping for food, gas, and potty breaks. Katelyn was a rock star traveler! We got to Jason and Karlyn's, had a good night's sleep, and drove the last leg of the trip on Sunday.
Finally, we were there! We stayed at this amazing house.
We left Denver Friday afternoon at 2:00, and were prepared for the drive straight through to Virginia, where we would spend the night with my brother, Jason, and drive the remaining 6 hours on Sunday. Kenny was full of caffeine, I had my book, and Katelyn had her DVD player (thanks Noël!) We were almost to Limon, the last teeny tiny little town in Colorado before crossing into the boring expanse of nothingness that is Kansas, when a warning light began flashing on the dash - the oil pressure was low. We pulled over a few times to see if we could figure out what was causing it to go on and off, and checked the oil level (fine), and trying not to pay too much attention to the owner's manual telling us to "STOP! Do not drive! Bring to the closest Audi dealer!" During one of these stops, Katelyn paused her movie long enough to say, "Dad, we're never going to make it to the beach if you keep STOPPING!" Needless to say, it was Katelyn who almost didn't make it to the beach...
We did finally make it to Limon with Katelyn still breathing, where there was exactly one auto parts store. Kenny thought it was probably the oil pump causing the problem, but they couldn't even hook up the computer code thingy (that's the technical term) to figure out what was wrong, and there wasn't a single mechanic in town that could work on an Audi. They told us to keep going to Kansas City, or turn around and go back to Denver.
Kenny thought it was "safe-ish" to drive, since the light wasn't flashing constantly, and we didn't really have any other choice, so we started heading back to Denver hoping that the engine wouldn't blow up or anything. I spent almost the entire hour and a half drive back on the phone with my friend Noël, who spent that entire time online trying to find the best deal on a rental car. We drove straight to the airport and pulled into the rental company's parking lot about 3 minutes after Noël booked our reservation online.
Five hours and $400 later, we started our trip again. This time, uneventfully! We drove straight through the night and all the next day, only stopping for food, gas, and potty breaks. Katelyn was a rock star traveler! We got to Jason and Karlyn's, had a good night's sleep, and drove the last leg of the trip on Sunday.
Finally, we were there! We stayed at this amazing house.
Beautiful!
Katelyn and Abby, and look at that view!
We walked out onto the back deck, and this is what we saw!
Our own private walkway over the dunes, and then...
...the beach!!!Most of us arrived within about 15 minutes of each other (Jason and Karlyn were coming later that night), and we all had the same idea - the ocean!
Our whole family hadn't been together since Kenny and I got married 6 years ago. And although Brian and his family couldn't make it, getting 29 of us together in one house for a whole week was epic! And so began our amazing vacation!
More pics soon!
I can't believe you drove that far. I would never have even considered doing that drive. It sure was worth it though. Beautiful house, beautiful location and lots of love.
Driving wasn't our first choice. But even if we flew, we'd still have had to rent a car for the week, and that was just too expensive. And Kenny actually really likes long road trips!