Road Trip

On April 1st, we brought the new month in by taking a road trip to see Big C at college.  Actually, it was a necessary trip and not so much a "bring in the new month" trip.  You see, Big C got a ticket and had to go to court and wanted some moral support so Big Daddy and I traveled to be with him.  Anyway, it was a nice little road trip.  Sort of.  After awhile, you get tired of driving though.

 One good thing about heading that way is that we drive by our old family farm.  The one that I grew up on.  It looks nothing like it did.  Nothing.  And it shocks me every time I see it.  The building on the right, that's beige and brown, that's a church.  Yep, a church.  And it's in our pasture.  The one where we grazed the cows in the winter.  Crazy.  At least to me.  Our house was torn down and a modular home sits in it's place now.  But all the fencing and such, that's gone.  And the outbuildings and barns are gone too.  It doesn't seem the same, and it's not supposed to, but it's still shocking to see it.  Oh well.  Time goes on.

 Then we had the lovely time of following these two trucks for more than 20 miles.  The truck on the left would not or could not pass the semi.  And he never did.  He finally turned off.  Thankfully.  Big Daddy was getting mad.

 Half way there, we stopped at a Wendy's for a potty break and a quick bite to eat.  When it came time to get my drink, this is what I faced.  I've never seen one of these before.  But wow...I loved the Cherry Sprite it dispensed me.  I tell you, I must really live in BFE because everyone else seems to know what these soda machines are.  Well, everyone except the people where I live.

 I did find the poster about the drink machine and took a photo of it.  I pressed the button for Sprite and then I was asked what kind of Sprite I wanted and then I got to choose my flavors.  Love it!!!  It's a totally ingenious idea.

 Then it was back on the road.  And I started seeing the road construction crews.

 There were a lot of them.  You can tell that Spring has arrived in Missouri just by looking at the number of road repairs going on.  They are everywhere.

 About 45 miles before we were to arrive in Maryville, I started seeing these signs.  They must be new because it's the first time I've seen them.  This is where Big C goes to school....Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.

We had a little bit of time to kill once we arrived in Maryville, so we drove by the Sig Ep frat house, to see where Big C spends a lot of his time.  He'll be residing here next year.

All in all, the trip was an expensive one for all of us ($200 ticket, $75 breathalizer payment, and court costs...not to mention our traveling fees), but I hope that Big C has learned his lesson.  I won't bet on it though as he's stubborn.  I think the penalty for getting another ticket like this though will at least make him think twice about it though.  Thirty days in jail, two years probation, and a $500 fine would certainly make me think twice!

***I think I should clarify Big C's ticket....he did not get a DWI or that sort of ticket.  He did get a Minor in Consumption ticket.  He was at a frat party, without a drink in his hand, but did admit to having drank some beer.  I'm glad he didn't try to lie.***

***At court, there were probably 40 college students there for Minor in Consumption tickets.  Wow.  I was actually shocked by the number of them.  But, I'm glad to know that campus police and the city police take underage drinking seriously.***