That’s what my mom used to say to us when we got home from a long trip and now any time we travel we send each other an email with the subject line “Jiggety-Jig” to let each other know we’ve arrived home safely. In this particular case, the email Mom*Star received said simply, “Jig….zzzzzz…..XO,” as that was all I could muster Sunday night. Nancy Pants and I had a long last two days on the road and there have been some requests for updates on the big road trip finale, so I’ll do my best to recall as much as possible despite the fact that my brain is still trying to recover from the trip!
Saturday, July 11th: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.*
It’s hard to believe that just four days ago Pants and I woke up in Crackleen’s and Megan’s DC apartment. We had a late night of packing and battling technology in a fierce attempt at getting all of our photos onto a couple of flash drives (or flask drive, in Crack’s case). We lost the technology battle, but got all packed up and got about three hours of sleep before it was time to get up and prepare for a loooong day on the road. Pants and I were up at 5 so we could be on the road about 6. We were parked in Colleen’s building’s garage and needed the garage door opener to get out, so Col got up, went downstairs with us, and helped us load the Batmobile before we pulled out of the garage, gave her the door opener, and dropped her off in front of the building. It was really hard to say goodbye after 13 awesome days with her, but at least there was a silver lining for her—she got to go back to bed!
Jill successfully navigated us out of the city and through Maryland, where we stopped to get ice for Big Blue and coffee + breakfast for ourselves around 8:30. We decided it was a good day for Dunkin’ Donuts (especially since we’d heard they had great coffee), so that’s where we stopped. Pants ordered and was served quickly while I stood waiting patiently in the ever-growing line. There were two registers in use and when the guy in front of me finished paying the man helping him went to get his coffee, then started yelling at me about my coffee across the restaurant. “COFFEE??” Me: “Um…yes, please. Uh….regular? Medium?” Him: “WHAT KIND???” Me: “Uh….regular?” *insert nasty glare from man behind the counter* “Drip?” (Eventually I’m going to get the right answer. I’m just sure of it.) Him: “SIZE????” Me: “Medium?” (Didn’t I say that already?) Him: “CREAM???? SUGAR????” (What the heck?? They’re going to doctor it FOR me??? I’ve never had this happen before and have no idea what to tell him to do to it. I usually take a little bit of skim milk and half a packet of Sweet & Low but I get the feeling this guy isn’t exactly anxious to cater to my every preference.) Me: “Yes please?” *insert another nasty glare and a big sigh here, along with stares from several people behind me.* Apparently I am the only person in this place that has never been here before and doesn’t know the proper way to order coffee here and I feel badly that I don’t know the routine, but I just don’t think it’s nice to yell at people before they’ve had their coffee. Ya know what I mean? So when the other girl behind the register asked for my order and asked if I wanted coffee I cringed, wondering if I had to go through all this again. “Um…that gentleman already asked me. I think he already got it?” Fortunately that was all I had to say and she magically produced a cup of coffee already lidded and ready to go. Who knows if it was mine? At that point I was pretty much going to drink whatever they gave me. Anyways, I was relieved to get out of there, and I have to say it—the coffee really WAS pretty great! Unfortunately when I decided to eat my Boston Crème donut a couple of hours later I opened the bag to find that the girl had plopped it in the bag upside-down with the wax paper sitting on top of it, so I held firmly to the donut while Pants pulled on the bag and naturally, all of the chocolate icing stuck to the bottom of the bag. I think the coffee guy told her to do it.
We motored on through Pennsylvania, which was beautiful, and then into Ohio, where we encountered an absolute monsoon. I drove the first bit of it and then Pants took over for awhile, getting us through the monsoon and through Ohio, into Indiana. At some point we switched drivers again, but not before I had made salami sandwiches for lunch and gotten hers all wrong. (It was my first salami sandwich since I was very, very young. I think it will be my last for several more years.) I was promptly fired from sandwich-making and sent back to the driver’s seat. Indiana and Illinois were pretty uneventful, though we did start to get a little delirious the last couple of hours. 13 hours of driving is a lot for one day, and especially if you only slept three hours the night before!
You can imagine our excitement when we finally rolled into Mom*Star’s driveway around 7:30 p.m.! We spent the evening catching up with Mom and Ron (who made us a phenomenal dinner of stuffed mushroom caps, cashew salad, grilled steaks, corn on the cob, and freshly homemade strawberry pie) and Tyler and Debbie (Ron’s son and his girlfriend) and finally hit the sack around midnight, I think. We slept REALLY well that night! Oh, but how could I forget to tell you about Pants’ question on our way to Mom*Star’s? “T*Star? Do we have to sleep apart tonight?” Me (laughing): “Don’t worry. We can sleep in twin beds in the same room. Then tomorrow night at my condo we’ll have separate rooms but we’ll still be in the same condo. We’ll ease out of our togetherness slowly.”
* Disclaimer: Don’t worry, we’re not smokers. Hopefully you recognized that quote from The Blues Brothers!
Sunday, July 12th: All Aboard the Jelly Belly Express!!
I was up a little after 8 on Sunday, feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for a couple of cups of coffee! I got myself through the shower, then headed downstairs to try to help out with breakfast, only to find that nearly everything was done already! Mom and Ron made us a delicious breakfast—hash brown casserole, scrambled eggs, fresh melon, and homemade sticky buns. Yum! We all drug our feet eating breakfast and chatting before Nancy and I finally decided that we really did need to get on the road. We had one last stop to make on our journey back to Minneapolis—the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, WI! After lots of hugs, thank-you’s, and a bag of sticky buns for the road (for Nancy—I wasn’t allowed to have any), we loaded the Batmobile one last time and headed north. (Thanks for everything, Mom and Ron!!!)
Just over an hour later (after a minor freak-out on Jill’s part) we arrived at the Jelly Belly Factory. We were told that the next free factory tour was in just 8 minutes, so we waited patiently in line, the only party without children under the age of ten. A few minutes later the line started moving and our tour guide handed us paper Jelly Belly hats as they welcomed us aboard the Jelly Belly express. This has to be the lamest
“factory tour” of all time, but, well, maybe you don’t know this about us yet, but we’re pretty easy to entertain, so we had a great time! The tour basically involved a ride around a warehouse on a bunch of glorified golf carts chained together and driven by a college student wearing pinstripe denim overalls and a “conductor’s” hat. As they drive you in one big circle around the warehouse full of Jelly Belly’s they stop to let you watch videos about Jelly Belly art (Yes, that’s art made from Jelly Belly’s.) and the history of Jelly Belly’s. We were lucky enough to have a conductor who was just trying to get through his first day on the job, so there was probably more reading directly from the script than normal. At one point he talked about their “art gallery…thingy” and at another point he forgot his mic was on and hummed along with the music on the video, to the amusement of everyone on the 
train. Despite the fact that the tour was less than stellar, we did enjoy the jelly bean artwork and the Jelly Belly kick-line near the end. Oh, and the free bag of Jelly Belly’s at the end of the tour wasn’t bad either. After a trip through the gift shop and stopping to take a few photos with giant Jelly Belly’s and a Jelly Belly car it was time to hit the road and head for Minneapolis.
We didn’t dawdle much on our way back to Minnesota, but we couldn’t drive six hours through Wisconsin without stopping to buy some cheese! We ended up with cheese, cheese curds (of course), and some soft cheese that you dip crackers into, so once we got back on the road Nancy set up a little cheese smorgasbord for us. Yum.
Much of the rest of the drive was spent hoping to hear Fire Burnin’ on our favorite radio station, and when we’d spent 7+ hours in the car and hadn’t heard it we started to get frustrated. How are two girls supposed to finish a 17-day road trip without Fire Burnin’?!? When we heard Nickelback for the 100th time Nancy called the radio station and left a message requesting “Fire Burnin’ by Sean Kingston…and NO MORE NICKELBACK!!” I was so thrilled with her for that last part that I laughed til I couldn’t breathe, but when we got off the highway to turn down my street we still hadn’t heard it. I decided to see what was on our second favorite station (the 90’s station) and we heard Just A Friend (“Oh baby yoooouuu….you got what I neeeeeeed! But you say he’s just a friend! But you say he’s just a friend!”), which was another of our favorites from the trip so we were pretty excited to end on that note. As we pulled into my parking lot I suggested we park outside and empty Big Blue before pulling into the garage so we wouldn’t have to carry him back outside to dump all of the ice and water out. I put the car in park, then said, “One more time. Fire burnin’!!” and hit the button to change the radio station. I’m surprised we didn’t wake the neighbors with our screaming when it really WAS Fire Burnin’!! We couldn’t believe it!! So, naturally, we had one last road trip dance break in my parking lot before emptying Big Blue and unloading the Batmobile one last time.
It’s hard to believe that 17 days on the road could go so fast, but yet here I am sitting at my dining room table blogging about the last two days of the trip. Nancy is back home in Kansas, Colleen has just returned to DC after a business trip to Atlanta earlier this week, and Eva is in the middle of moving to a new home in Phoenix. I think we’re all a little shocked that this trip came together the way it did. No one can pinpoint exactly where the idea came from, but I’m so glad that we did it. This is surely a trip that we’ll remember and talk about for the rest of our lives. We’re hoping to take a trip that requires passports in 2010 (And no, I don’t mean a return trip to Canada!), but I’ve already heard Pants say, “So…WEST Coast Road Trip 2011???”
XOXO from my home in Minnesota y un abrazo muy fuerte a las chicas in travelbug pants,
T*Star/Estrella/Trish
Saturday, July 11th: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.*
It’s hard to believe that just four days ago Pants and I woke up in Crackleen’s and Megan’s DC apartment. We had a late night of packing and battling technology in a fierce attempt at getting all of our photos onto a couple of flash drives (or flask drive, in Crack’s case). We lost the technology battle, but got all packed up and got about three hours of sleep before it was time to get up and prepare for a loooong day on the road. Pants and I were up at 5 so we could be on the road about 6. We were parked in Colleen’s building’s garage and needed the garage door opener to get out, so Col got up, went downstairs with us, and helped us load the Batmobile before we pulled out of the garage, gave her the door opener, and dropped her off in front of the building. It was really hard to say goodbye after 13 awesome days with her, but at least there was a silver lining for her—she got to go back to bed!
Jill successfully navigated us out of the city and through Maryland, where we stopped to get ice for Big Blue and coffee + breakfast for ourselves around 8:30. We decided it was a good day for Dunkin’ Donuts (especially since we’d heard they had great coffee), so that’s where we stopped. Pants ordered and was served quickly while I stood waiting patiently in the ever-growing line. There were two registers in use and when the guy in front of me finished paying the man helping him went to get his coffee, then started yelling at me about my coffee across the restaurant. “COFFEE??” Me: “Um…yes, please. Uh….regular? Medium?” Him: “WHAT KIND???” Me: “Uh….regular?” *insert nasty glare from man behind the counter* “Drip?” (Eventually I’m going to get the right answer. I’m just sure of it.) Him: “SIZE????” Me: “Medium?” (Didn’t I say that already?) Him: “CREAM???? SUGAR????” (What the heck?? They’re going to doctor it FOR me??? I’ve never had this happen before and have no idea what to tell him to do to it. I usually take a little bit of skim milk and half a packet of Sweet & Low but I get the feeling this guy isn’t exactly anxious to cater to my every preference.) Me: “Yes please?” *insert another nasty glare and a big sigh here, along with stares from several people behind me.* Apparently I am the only person in this place that has never been here before and doesn’t know the proper way to order coffee here and I feel badly that I don’t know the routine, but I just don’t think it’s nice to yell at people before they’ve had their coffee. Ya know what I mean? So when the other girl behind the register asked for my order and asked if I wanted coffee I cringed, wondering if I had to go through all this again. “Um…that gentleman already asked me. I think he already got it?” Fortunately that was all I had to say and she magically produced a cup of coffee already lidded and ready to go. Who knows if it was mine? At that point I was pretty much going to drink whatever they gave me. Anyways, I was relieved to get out of there, and I have to say it—the coffee really WAS pretty great! Unfortunately when I decided to eat my Boston Crème donut a couple of hours later I opened the bag to find that the girl had plopped it in the bag upside-down with the wax paper sitting on top of it, so I held firmly to the donut while Pants pulled on the bag and naturally, all of the chocolate icing stuck to the bottom of the bag. I think the coffee guy told her to do it.
We motored on through Pennsylvania, which was beautiful, and then into Ohio, where we encountered an absolute monsoon. I drove the first bit of it and then Pants took over for awhile, getting us through the monsoon and through Ohio, into Indiana. At some point we switched drivers again, but not before I had made salami sandwiches for lunch and gotten hers all wrong. (It was my first salami sandwich since I was very, very young. I think it will be my last for several more years.) I was promptly fired from sandwich-making and sent back to the driver’s seat. Indiana and Illinois were pretty uneventful, though we did start to get a little delirious the last couple of hours. 13 hours of driving is a lot for one day, and especially if you only slept three hours the night before!
You can imagine our excitement when we finally rolled into Mom*Star’s driveway around 7:30 p.m.! We spent the evening catching up with Mom and Ron (who made us a phenomenal dinner of stuffed mushroom caps, cashew salad, grilled steaks, corn on the cob, and freshly homemade strawberry pie) and Tyler and Debbie (Ron’s son and his girlfriend) and finally hit the sack around midnight, I think. We slept REALLY well that night! Oh, but how could I forget to tell you about Pants’ question on our way to Mom*Star’s? “T*Star? Do we have to sleep apart tonight?” Me (laughing): “Don’t worry. We can sleep in twin beds in the same room. Then tomorrow night at my condo we’ll have separate rooms but we’ll still be in the same condo. We’ll ease out of our togetherness slowly.”
* Disclaimer: Don’t worry, we’re not smokers. Hopefully you recognized that quote from The Blues Brothers!
Sunday, July 12th: All Aboard the Jelly Belly Express!!
I was up a little after 8 on Sunday, feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for a couple of cups of coffee! I got myself through the shower, then headed downstairs to try to help out with breakfast, only to find that nearly everything was done already! Mom and Ron made us a delicious breakfast—hash brown casserole, scrambled eggs, fresh melon, and homemade sticky buns. Yum! We all drug our feet eating breakfast and chatting before Nancy and I finally decided that we really did need to get on the road. We had one last stop to make on our journey back to Minneapolis—the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, WI! After lots of hugs, thank-you’s, and a bag of sticky buns for the road (for Nancy—I wasn’t allowed to have any), we loaded the Batmobile one last time and headed north. (Thanks for everything, Mom and Ron!!!)
Just over an hour later (after a minor freak-out on Jill’s part) we arrived at the Jelly Belly Factory. We were told that the next free factory tour was in just 8 minutes, so we waited patiently in line, the only party without children under the age of ten. A few minutes later the line started moving and our tour guide handed us paper Jelly Belly hats as they welcomed us aboard the Jelly Belly express. This has to be the lamest
“factory tour” of all time, but, well, maybe you don’t know this about us yet, but we’re pretty easy to entertain, so we had a great time! The tour basically involved a ride around a warehouse on a bunch of glorified golf carts chained together and driven by a college student wearing pinstripe denim overalls and a “conductor’s” hat. As they drive you in one big circle around the warehouse full of Jelly Belly’s they stop to let you watch videos about Jelly Belly art (Yes, that’s art made from Jelly Belly’s.) and the history of Jelly Belly’s. We were lucky enough to have a conductor who was just trying to get through his first day on the job, so there was probably more reading directly from the script than normal. At one point he talked about their “art gallery…thingy” and at another point he forgot his mic was on and hummed along with the music on the video, to the amusement of everyone on the 
train. Despite the fact that the tour was less than stellar, we did enjoy the jelly bean artwork and the Jelly Belly kick-line near the end. Oh, and the free bag of Jelly Belly’s at the end of the tour wasn’t bad either. After a trip through the gift shop and stopping to take a few photos with giant Jelly Belly’s and a Jelly Belly car it was time to hit the road and head for Minneapolis.
We didn’t dawdle much on our way back to Minnesota, but we couldn’t drive six hours through Wisconsin without stopping to buy some cheese! We ended up with cheese, cheese curds (of course), and some soft cheese that you dip crackers into, so once we got back on the road Nancy set up a little cheese smorgasbord for us. Yum.Much of the rest of the drive was spent hoping to hear Fire Burnin’ on our favorite radio station, and when we’d spent 7+ hours in the car and hadn’t heard it we started to get frustrated. How are two girls supposed to finish a 17-day road trip without Fire Burnin’?!? When we heard Nickelback for the 100th time Nancy called the radio station and left a message requesting “Fire Burnin’ by Sean Kingston…and NO MORE NICKELBACK!!” I was so thrilled with her for that last part that I laughed til I couldn’t breathe, but when we got off the highway to turn down my street we still hadn’t heard it. I decided to see what was on our second favorite station (the 90’s station) and we heard Just A Friend (“Oh baby yoooouuu….you got what I neeeeeeed! But you say he’s just a friend! But you say he’s just a friend!”), which was another of our favorites from the trip so we were pretty excited to end on that note. As we pulled into my parking lot I suggested we park outside and empty Big Blue before pulling into the garage so we wouldn’t have to carry him back outside to dump all of the ice and water out. I put the car in park, then said, “One more time. Fire burnin’!!” and hit the button to change the radio station. I’m surprised we didn’t wake the neighbors with our screaming when it really WAS Fire Burnin’!! We couldn’t believe it!! So, naturally, we had one last road trip dance break in my parking lot before emptying Big Blue and unloading the Batmobile one last time.
It’s hard to believe that 17 days on the road could go so fast, but yet here I am sitting at my dining room table blogging about the last two days of the trip. Nancy is back home in Kansas, Colleen has just returned to DC after a business trip to Atlanta earlier this week, and Eva is in the middle of moving to a new home in Phoenix. I think we’re all a little shocked that this trip came together the way it did. No one can pinpoint exactly where the idea came from, but I’m so glad that we did it. This is surely a trip that we’ll remember and talk about for the rest of our lives. We’re hoping to take a trip that requires passports in 2010 (And no, I don’t mean a return trip to Canada!), but I’ve already heard Pants say, “So…WEST Coast Road Trip 2011???”
XOXO from my home in Minnesota y un abrazo muy fuerte a las chicas in travelbug pants,
T*Star/Estrella/Trish
Have I ever told you how much I enjoy the breakfast at the Hampton Inns? Cause I do! Waffles today... mmmmm waffles *drool* Do I really need to write anything else?
famous, in fact, that the line is always down the block and around the corner, and there’s a bouncer at the front door. That’s right—a cupcake bouncer. He only allows a certain number of people in at a time, and once you’re inside they will only sell an individual one dozen cupcakes so if you’re having a party you’d better plan ahead and bring some friends with you so they can each buy a dozen as well! My friend Max met us for cupcakes, then traveled back across town with us where we grabbed our bags and loaded the car before hitting the road again.
