I took the kids, and my Mom on a road trip to Missouri a few weeks back for a mini family reunion. We went to stay with my Aunt Carolyn, as did my cousin Preston and his 2 boys, Simon and Dante. It was his idea to go, and her sent out the bat-signal high in the sky for all family members to meet up there. I answered the call, asked my Mom to come along, and off we went. My Aunt Becky and her husband came down from Jacksonville, IL as well, and we had a grand old time with the family. As for the name, a few weeks prior, the boys went to hang with my Mom while I took Rose to Hebrew tutoring. Mom, aka. Granna, has orange trees in her back yard. She told them how when she was a little girl, she and her brother and sister would pick oranges off a tree, make a hole at top and suck all the juice out. They called them Sucky Baby Specials. On our first day on the road, the name came up again and the trip name was dubbed. When we got to MO, Joey said the words sucky baby special to Auntie C and she remembered exactly what that was.
Our route took us along the I40, following along the old Route 66. It took 4 days of driving to get there, spent 5 days at Auntie C’s, then another 4 day trek home, this time taking the southern route through Texas, which I don’t recommend. Auntie C lives right next the the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and it is BEAUTIFUL! It was a great trip, and for the most part, the kids were GREAT in the car. I have the best memories of childhood summers spent on road trips all across the U.S. and I would love if my kids can create some great memories of their own. This time we spent our nights in hotels, but would love to start camping with them in the future. We’ll see! Here are a few pics, but will post more soon.
