We went to Columbus for Christmas. For a few reasons I could not take Friday off, so we could not go until Saturday morning. I did get off a little early on Friday, but if we did not get on the road until 3 PM, we would not get into Columbus until 11 PM or later. We have had a couple of road trips where we get a late start, but they just kill me. The last hour or two is a fight to keep my eyes open. Working at a DOT you see the accident reports of what happens when people fall asleep at the wheel, and it is just not worth it.

We left the house around 7:45 AM and went through the McDonalds drive-through for breakfast. We each got a large drink so for the first two hours of the drive either Sheri or myself had to stop at just about every rest stop.

After we went through Indianapolis we stopped at a White Castle for a break and a snack. After we got back on the road I could feel my eyes every now and then start to get hypnotized by the road markings so at the next rest stop we switched and Sheri took it the rest of the way in.

We got to Columbus around 4 PM local. We freshened up and I closed my eyes on our bed for about five or ten minutes, and then we went to Sunny and Martin's for the rest of the evening.

For dinner Greta took Italian sausages and peppers and a pan of macaroni and cheese over and Sunny had a pot of Italian wedding soup that she made.

We watched the kids open up a bunch of presents that were not from Santa, and we exchanged a few gifts with each other.

We were tired so we left I think pretty early. If I recall it was before 9 PM. Went home and crashed.

Sunday morning, Christmas, the phone range at 7:30 PM from S&M's. The kids had been up since 6 AM and had already opened up all their presents from Santa. We went over for a couple hours to see what they got and play for a bit.

Martin's extended family was coming over for a massive gift exchange so the three of us went back home for the afternoon. We put a fire in the fireplace, napped on the couch, and ate a crown pork roast.

We got a call once the gift exchange portion of the day was finished and we went back over around 4 PM.

We stayed until the kids started getting their evening baths and then went back home for the evening. I think we watched a little bit of TV but we were all tired and went to bed after just a little bit.

The next morning, Monday, was our travel-day back to Chicago. We packed up and then went to McDonald's for breakfast and to meet S&M and the kids again to say our goodbyes.

We got on the road just a little after 10 AM. We made multiple stops on the way back. Once for Starbucks. (How many of those do you see along the interstate?) Once at a Chick-Fil-A for a late lunch. A couple times for a can of soda and a couple of times for the restroom. I took it all the way home this time and I think we got in around 5 PM.