Good-Bye Grandma Dix also a road trip

My Grandma Dix died last week.

At 530 in the morning on Wednesday We got the kids bundled into the car and drove out into the dark and rain of a 17 hour car day.

By the time the sun started coming up we were already in the mountains.

It was cold and beautiful and David was driving with a purpose. We tried a new way out thanks to google maps. There were a fair number of smaller roads linking up the big roads we usually take. The combined benefit was about 3 hours of drive time saved.

Unfortunately small roads though the mountains mean big trouble for Kiernan.

Luckily after the 3rd car sick moment we found a gas station in the PA hills and got some Dramamine. 

It worked so well and so quickly and knocked him out cold for more than an hour to boot.

Yay Dramamine! 

We drove until 10ish that night and managed to make it to our goal destination. We went to see aunt Judy in Manhattan KS.

For reasons of finances and of driving fatigue we had hoped to stay with her.

She let us crash at her place for free and we knew that a 2 hour more car trip would be nothing to the kids after 17-19 hours.

Of course we had other reasons for wanting to stay there as well.

We love Judy and the kids love Judy and we don't see much of her right now because she is in Kansas.

Additionally she is (Manhattan is) in the Flint Hills and they are beautiful.

I was hoping to spend some time relaxing and eating and hanging out and maybe (weather depending) hiking in the hills.

I knew that this trip might be our last to Kansas. David doesn't have any real connection there and with grandma in a home and now passed away we don't have anywhere to stay other than a hotel. 

I wondered if the kids would even be comfortable out there.

I went to KS every other Christmas and lots of summers ever since my parents divorced when I was Kiernan's age. I quite like Kansas.

So I wanted the kids to like it too.

So we crammed into Judy's place with futons and luggage and kids and slept the sleep of the exhausted feeling safe and warm and grateful for her.

She took half a day off to treat us. She took us to a great place (called the Chef Cafe) for breakfast. It was delicious and affordable and had a basket of toys by the front door for antsy kids.

Then she took us to the Konza Prairie trail for a beautiful hike.

We looked at flint and limestone rocks and checked for fossils. We found some sleeping deer.

We climbed a big hill and checked out the view.

We found a ruin and a spring and felt like normal stretched out happy human beings instead of the sardines of the day before.

Then we ate lunch at the kids very favorite spot Noodles and Company and left for Hutchinson.

We made it to Hutchinson just before dark. We checked in and meet Nana. She called my cousin Michelle (who has kids of the same age) and we all went to the pool.

Surprisingly it was Kiernan who was the most social. He and his cousin (2nd cousin?) James could nearly be twins.

Megan had a long nap and woke up groggy and dazed and was very standoffish for about the first full hour of cousin time.

Still the kids had kindle games to bond over so soon enough all was well.

We went out to eat and then spent a quiet night in the comfort of the Hutchinson Comfort Inn and Suites. They were great and had a fold-out bed in the room and a pool and hot tub and gave the kids cookies.

The next morning we dressed up in our black suits and dresses and headed for Grandmas Mass.

As a kid I went to Mass with my grandparents whenever I was in Kansas. David and the kids on the other hand didn't have that.

The priest clearly thought we were all heathens and managed to get in a pro-life dig at the beginning of the homily so that was a little uncomfortable.

On the other hand I heard a song that I loved

Here it is please play it and think of Grandma Dix or of anyone who has passed that you miss.

Then we drove very far to the grave site. Kiernan was getting pretty fussy at this point. I am not sure what exactly had him so on edge. New place? New thing (funeral)? New people? He didn't like the incense and he was hungry and bored but one way or another he had a meltdown.

He and David stayed in the car for the graveside service.

Everyone was pretty somber until the alter boy tripped on the AstroTurf and nearly took a header into grandmas ashes.

After that everyone regained their good humor. I expect grandma would have found it inappropriate and given him The Glare.

Then we returned to the church for a (meat free!) lunch provided by the alter society.

Actually we made a side trip to get Kiernan's meds and change clothing and chill him out. We also stopped at Bogeys.

Bogeys is the best shake place in the world.

My grandmother took me there every time I came out to see her. She always got a Cherry Smash.

The kids loved it. Megan designed her own perfect flavor of shake and Kiernan played elimination for about 5 minutes and narrowed his choice down analytically.

I got the Cherry Cheesecake because there was no more Cherry Smash.

It's like they retired her number or something.

Really look at those flavors!

Then we went back to the church and played with Pope Francis.

This picture was taken from the Dillon s Nature center Facebook page

After that Megan went down for a loonnggg nap. I went to see some family and run some errands.

David and Kiernan went to play video games and unwind.

After an hour or so I came back and got Kiernan and took him to Dillon's Nature Center.

We took over a Pokemon Go gym and we had a great time at the nature center both in and out. This was a really good one. Lots of things to smell and feel and hear.

A tornado simulator in a big floor to ceiling water tube and a fishing lake out back with a boardwalk. On top of that there was an amazing kids play area.

I talked a little with an employee/volunteer there who was from Hutchinson like me but had been away forever..also like me, but who had just retired and moved back. She told us where we might see buffalo (I know know its bison and so did she but buffalo sounds good).

Once Megan got up we went to my Aunt and Uncles house and played in a fort and had a big fire and did some fireworks and sparklers and ate ice cream and played with cousins. It was terrific!

The next morning we headed back east. We headed out by way of the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge. It was free and we saw lots of elk and bison.

We saw them very close indeed.

Mom was driving back and we occasionally meet up at a gas station or a road stop but we had a ton of distance to make (only 12 hours this time but we left quite a bit later due to family good-byes with the cousins and their dogs).

Mom was sick pretty much the whole time we were out there and I worried about her on the drive back.

But we all made it to Bowling Green Kentucky that night and got some rest.

We went to Bowling Green because it was the closest we could reasonably get to where my sister Jessica and her family live in Nashville.

We ate breakfast together and took some silly pictures and talked about Monkey Bloons TD5.

Then we drove and drove and drove until we made it back home safe and sound.

The next day I did not go to work.

I worked on my classwork that I missed all week and I picked up the dog from my dad and Marys place (thank you so much for watching her you guys!) and I did tons of laundry.

So now things are back to normal but I feel the world is less for the lack of Grandma Dix and her death makes me fear all the deaths to come in life.

I am glad the kids seemed to like Kansas so much. I am glad they got on so well with their cousins. I am glad to have hiked the Flint Hills and to have seen Judy.

I wish there had been a nicer reason for the trip though.

Farewell Grandma Dix