Ask Me Anything

Three questions for you today – leave your responses to any or all of them in the comments section:

1) What is your worst road trip experience?

2) Ask a question, anything related to our trip, and I’ll answer it later in the week.

3) What’s your favorite brand and flavor of ice cream? (We’re kind of obsessed.)

26 Replies to “Ask Me Anything”

  1. 1) It happened almost 10 years ago but it is still fresh in my mind. We were headed west on the PA Turnpike going to Raystown Lake when I suddenly didn’t feel well. We hadn’t gotten very far, but thankfully we were close to the Elm rest stop so I asked my husband to stop so I could go to the bathroom. I’ll spare you the gory details, but once in the bathroom, I became violently ill and couldn’t seem to stop. Someone came in to use the bathroom and I asked for help. Believe it or not, she was a nurse. I described our vehicle where my husband was waiting for me with our 2 small children. It wasn’t hard to find – a big green suburban pulling a boat. She called 911 and found my husband and told him the situation. She also noticed that an “out of town” set of EMT’s were eating at the rest stop and she asked them to check on me. They stayed with me until the local crew showed up. As I was wheeled out to the ambulance, I noticed some very nice woman distracted my 2 daughters so they wouldn’t see me being wheeled out. The closest hospital was Hershey Med and that’s where I ended up. I spent the next 4 hours in the ER. After taking blood tests and who knows what else, they finally gave me a med in my IV that stopped my vomiting. My in-laws were headed for their cabin and came to the hospital to get the girls. I was released and Roger drove me home. Our boat never made it to the lakeside cabin we were supposed to stay at with a group of friends. I felt like I had spoiled a weekend for lots of people, but what are you going to do?

    Although that is the worst road trip I’ve ever had, God was taking care of me. The person I called out for help to was a nurse? There were EMT’s at the rest stop? A stranger cared enough about my children that they didn’t even notice I was wheeled out on a stretcher? Doctor’s weren’t sure what caused my sickness but it hasn’t happened since. Thank God!

    2) Did you get a chance to talk to “locals” as you stopped along the way? Usually some of my favorite memories of our trips are when I get to talk to locals and find a little bit about their lives in their corners of the world. Also talking to fellow travelers can be fun too.

    3) Turkey Hill ice cream is the brand usually found in our freezer. My favorite TH flavor right now is the new Double Dunker. However, Green’s ice cream has the best Rocky Road and my favorite, Columbian Coffee Chip. I don’t drink coffee, but I love this ice cream!

    Continued safe travels!

  2. 1) In 1995, we traveled to St. Simons Island, GA. We drove through the remnants of a tropical storm. Fire ants infested where we stayed.
    2) What do you do after a trip like this.
    3) I like Vanilla, Chocolate, and Moose Tracks.

  3. 1) I fled Washington DC in 1994 for the relative safety of my Mom’s house in northern Indiana. I had just gone home for a “vacation” to get my head on straight after a particularly bad breakup; I got a job offer, so I decided to stay. Mom and I chose the 4th of July weekend to drive back to DC, pack up my stuff, and move me back home. As we set out around dawn, I realized I had contracted an infection of the female variety, and spent what should have been a 10-hour drive in my step-dad’s pickup truck drinking gallons of cranberry juice and stopping every 30 minutes for another bathroom break.

    Since my ex had already moved his new girlfriend into my house, we only had about 2 hours to pack up everything I could fit in the truck and get out. A stray cat was wandering around, and it truly wanted to be helpful, so as we were packing I let it settle in and have a nap on the new girlfriend’s pillow.

    Our plan was to get just out of town and grab a hotel room, get a good night’s sleep, and drive home the next day. What we failed to account for was that our nation’s capital on our nation’s birthday happens to be a really freaking popular place. Who’d have imagined? We got all the way to Morgantown, WV at about 4:30 AM before we found a hotel that had a room.

    (As a side note, my second worst trip was over 72 hours in Ukraine without a bed, a real toilet, or a shower. But that included planes and trains, too.)

    2) What do you do about power/water when you’re overnighting at truck stops or WalMart parking lots?

    3) Living quite near the headquarters for Edy’s Ice Cream, we are required by city ordinance to name Edy’s as our favorite brand. Make a stop through Fort Wayne on your way back East and I’ll hook you up! Flavor? Like Larry, it’s probably Moose Tracks, but we change it up often. Drumstick has been showing up in the freezer a lot lately…Love the little chunks of waffle cone!!!!

  4. 1. Our minivan’s tailgate glass being shattered as we are pulling out of our garage, embarking on a 18 hour drive to Florida on a Saturday afternoon (when most repair places are closed) with our 2 year-old and baby.

    2. What is the worst experience you had changing Willy’s sewer contraption?

    3. Lapp Valley Farms, butter brickle.

  5. 1. That would have to be Guatemala, about three years ago… a routine 4 hour truck ride turned into about 14 hours. There was a mudslide that covered the road and… well… it just took a long time. The humorous (now) thing is that we were driving a box truck, so when it was finally our turn to “make a run” through the foot of mud that covered the road, we would back up to get a good head start. As we backed up, every single time, some one would duck in in front of us and they would be followed by someone else who would be followed by someone else we would wait again. We got through eventually and back to the mission and lived happily ever after.

    2. If you were planning the trip again. What would you be sure to include and what would you consider dropping. As far as places and “stuff.”

    3. Butter Pecan, without the nuts…

  6. 1) All of my worst road trip stories were terrible at the time, but now they are just really great stories. Funny how that works isn’t it? I need to remember that the next time I’m in a terrible situation. But if I had to pick, my family drove to FL when I was about 12. Our van broke down and we were stuck in the deep south on a very very hot day. It took us over 25 hours to reach our destination. That is way too long to be stuck in a mini van.

    2) What was your absolute favorite place to eat so far on the trip?

    3) Lapp Valley Farm Ice Cream – nothing compares.

  7. 1) In 2003, I was in a band that was on tour. (Trust me. You never heard of us.) Most of the dates were at least somewhat close together, but the very last stretch was brutal. We had to drive from Dallas to Charlotte, NC, in one shot. It was a 23 hour drive with as few stops as we could manage. Throughout all of this, I had the flu and felt miserable. Oh, and our radiator started to go out along the way for good measure. When we finally got to Charlotte, I rolled out of the van, and still played the show. Good times.

    2) I know I felt totally discombobulated after my long stints on the road. How strange is it, for you, to now be home and back on somewhat of a “normal” schedule?

    3) I like Edy’s Cookies and Cream a lot. Put in a waffle cone and I’m good to go.

  8. 1.) Years ago, my cousin let me stay in her oceanfront condo in NJ, which was an incredible opportunity to take a vacation when I had very little money. I even had to borrow a vehicle from my mother because I didn’t think mine would make the 12 hour trip. It’s just me and my two children, ages 2 and 14, along with my daughter’s friend, also 14. We got about 2.5 hours away from home and the two brand new tires my mother just had put on simply came apart as I was driving. I pulled over on a very busy interstate to find one tire was completely in shreds and another was still intact but coming apart. I took every single item out of the very tightly packed trunk to find the spare tire, which I thought would at least get me off the interstate. I pulled up carpet, crawled under the vehicle but no spare to be found. Fortunately, I have a cell phone so I call my mother’s insurance, who are great but I don’t know what mile marker I’m at exactly so it’s taking the tow truck a while to find us. I pass the time repacking the trunk, which takes an inordinate amount of time because I like to be prepared. HA! At this point, we’ve exhausted our beverages (no cooler because space was so tight), we are all soaking wet with sweat, the baby is cranky and I’m rapidly losing patience. A state trooper pulls in behind me, which is a tremendous relief. I explain, he says I need to get off the side of the road, I explain more about tow trucks, MIA spare tires and over packed trunks. He says take everything out of the trunk, I say I’ve already done that, he says do it again anyway. I repeat the actions above, only with more sweat and less patience while the state trooper watches. Still no spare tire. Mr. State Trooper gets back into his AIR CONDITIONED VEHICLE and leaves. So I pack the trunk AGAIN. But God is so good, even when you are mumbling not nice things about extremely unhelpful state troopers. A car full of teenagers stops to ask if we are OK and upon learning the tow truck is (still) on the way, give us the entire contents of their cooler for the wait. Finally help arrives to give us a very hairy ride on top of a rollback and takes us to the nearest truck stop/tire shop where I blurt out the whole hot story to the slightly bemused owner. He gives me two brand new tires AND puts them on for the little cash ($50) I have on me. He also shared a very helpful tip with me….spare tires on a Subaru are located on top of the motor. The things you learn on the road!

    2.) What’s the most interesting thing you have learned on the road?

    3.) I like homemade chocolate best. I love my ice cream maker!

  9. 1. Not really “worst” but memorable. I was probably 4. Traveling with my grandparents in large cattle truck to cattle auction in a neighboring state. Grandfather does not like to stop often (not to mention manuvering big truck in small places is not fun). Young child+hot weather (no A/C)+drinks=frequent stops needed. My grandmother (always creative thinker) brought along a metal 3 pound coffee can with plastic lid. We perfected my going in the can in the front of the moving truck.

    2. Actually I would like you to ask each of your children what their favorite part of the trip was so far. Would love to hear from their various ages what stands out.

    3. Friendly’s nuts over carmel (but I am thinking Lapp Valley Farm ice cream needs to be in our summer plans)

  10. 1 – MY EX-HUSBAND WAS IN THE AIR FORCE, SO WE DID A LOT OF TRAVELING, WITH A LOT OF ‘WORSE’ TRIPS. THE ONE THAT COMES TO MIND FIRST IS THE NIGHT WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO ROME, NY, AND DROVE INTO THE WORSE FOG I HAVE EVER SEEN. WE WERE ON A PART OF THE HIGHWAY, WHERE THE ROAD BORDERED AN EXTREME DROP-OFF. I WAS THEN, AND AM STILL AFRAID OF HEIGHT WITHOUT A NET. SOMEHOW, OR ‘SOMEONE’ SAW US SAFELY THROUGH THE FOG AND OFF THE SIDE ON THE MOUNTAIN, BUT I DON’T REMEMBER HOW LONG IT TOOK, BUT IT SEEMED THEN, AND EVEN NOW, LIKE IT WAS DAYS, NOT HOURS. MY EMOTION WAS FEAR, BUT I CAN ALSO FEEL THE FRUSTRATION CINDY WAS FEELING,
    2 – W ILL WE GET MALIE’S TAKE ON THE TRIP. SOMEONE ALREADY ASKED ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S.
    3 – TURKEY HILL, ALTHOUGH BLUE BUNNY IS QUITE TASTEY. WHERE DO YOU GET LAPPS VALLEY FARM ?

  11. 1. My wife and I decided to take a trip to Oklahoma City for the women’s softball college world series.. It was an awesome trip, except when we found out our 6 month old son had motion sickness…….about 40 miles in he projectile vomited all over himself, his seat, our car and any random item that happened to be in front of him at that moment:) I never knew that amount of….well….anything could come out of a baby that quickly……wow, the aftermath gives me chills to this day.:)

    2. What was your favorite natural landscape that you encountered on your trip and why?

    3. Turkey Hill-Phillies Graham Slam. Hands down.

  12. 1. My worst road trip experience is highly debatable. It’s either the one where I became so ill from reading in the car (I used to be able to read in the car until the age of ten or eleven.) that I developed a migraine, or it’s the time I drove from College Station to El Paso all in one day and by myself.

    2. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done during this portion of the trip?

    3. Chocolate chip cookie dough is my favorite. Brand? I don’t know. I have a huge addiction to ice cream, so I haven’t bought any in a while.

  13. 1) 15+ hour trip from South Jersey to Washington DC when I was a kid. My brothers and I sat in the backseat of the family 72 Chevy Impala as my dad carefully drove to DC during a freakish spring snowstorm that significant slowed our trip which normally takes 3 – 3 1/2 hours.
    2) How has God been speaking to you on your trip? What message rings most clearly?
    3) Cotton Candy – closely followed by Peanut Butter Swirl

  14. I have so many travel stories from 8 years of living overseas. I’ll save those for another time.

    Here are my questions. Feel free NOT to respond to all of them. Mine are mostly logistic, because I’ve thought about doing something very similar.
    1. How much planning went into this?
    2. Did you budget everything, including fuel?
    3. What would you do differently if you were starting out again?
    4. Do you have a semblance of a schedule?
    5. How does homeschooling the kids work?
    6. Was the pace you set manageable or was it too much driving?
    7. How did the kids occupy themselves during all the driving?
    8. When are you all coming to Canada?

  15. 1. I do not think I have to do much explaining for this question, because you were there. it was Christmas, two years ago (I think, maybe three). me, you and 11 other passengers crammed into a 15 passenger van and what was suppose to be a 18 hour road trip to Florida ended up being like 22 hours because of THE Denny’s we decided to stop at. that restaurant was just AWFUL!! and then on the way home the 18 hour trek took about 3 hours longer because of the tanker truck that blew up right outside of Baltimore. all of the pee stops, tired children, uncomfortable positions and constant questions from the kids made that trip definitely one to remember.
    2. how is Maile’s driving going?:)
    3. Ben and Jerry’s – strawberry cheesecake

  16. 1. Worst/best road trip: camping at Lake Tanoe, blew out engine on way up, had to stay overnight in a motel w/oldest son. wife came up to pick us up and continue camping trip. Got one mile down the road and had flat tire. Heard Twila Paris song “God is in Control” on radio, broke into laughter. Our friends at the camp ground took up a donation and paid for our engine repair. Least amount of stress ever in a vacation.
    2. Wifi or tether?
    3. Go with Rocky Road, just about from any source.

  17. 1) There are so many to choose from— but they are all laughs now. We call every trip a “Stanley Family Adventure.” The one I’ll comment on is our 20 th anniversary trip. We were in Italy, and had one last night before flying back to the US. We were going to have an evening out in Rome. On our last fill up of gas for the rental car, and this was about 1 hour out of Rome, my husband accidentally put deisel fuel in the tank instead of regular gasoline. :( The rest of this fabulous trip included a tow truck, hours spent at a hole in the wall repair station with broken Italian /English conversation and no hope of getting another rental car out to that location. in addition, a taxi would have cost hundreds of euro. Thanks be to God, a very cool, hip Romanian couple who knew English just happened to stop at this hole in the wall repair shop in their new BMW and agreed to drive us and all our stuff to the hotel we would be staying at in Rome. An hour away. in pouring rain. with their dog. good times. good times.

    2) how are the kids keeping themselves occupied during the driving parts?

    3) Hershey’s peanut butter and chocolate ice cream hands down.

  18. 1.) I haven’t done a lot of road trips, but having a sudden-onset tornado follow us down an Illinois highway wasn’t fun.

    2.)Sorry if somebody else already asked this, but here’s my question.
    How’d you handle the schooling of the little ones on the trip? If I’m not mistaken 1 or 2 of them are school aged, right? (can you tell I’m a mom???)
    AND
    What were the weirdest things you saw in the following categories: plant life, insect, sign, establishment name, and food.

    3.) Couldn’t pick. I can tell you that I won’t eat any mocha, peanut butter, cherry, or coconut ice cream. Otherwise, it’s pretty much open season. Creamier is better than “icier” so in many brands cookies N cream wins out.

  19. 1) Other people being carsick (I don’t do that stuff.)

    2) Is California awesome or what?

    3) Lapp Valley Butter Brickle. On a fresh waffle cone. WINNING!

  20. 1 – Worst road trip: Married on June 30, 1978 and set out for the Outer Banks to honeymoon. The winds were so bad it was impossible to use the beach. After two days we gave up, packed and headed north. Discovered Chincoteague Island. Decided dealing with the mosquitoes wasn’t quite as bad as being sand-blasted. I’m pretty sure this poor start was the beginning of the divorce that occurred 18 years later. But who knows. Slightly worse: Went to Japan for a two week business trip. When I arrived I discovered that I had packed my suit jackets but not the pants. And I had made the trip over in jeans – that’s all I had. Took FedEx a week to get my pants to me. Was an embarrassing week. The good news: I got the contract. :)

    2 – What I’d like to know is were it only you and Maile on this trip would you have approached it differently and if so how? And if you don’t like that one how about if you were doing it solo?

    3 – I am so powerless over ice cream that I cannot even walk down the ice cream aisle at the food store. I tend to like Breyer’s over most other brands but the reality is if it’s ice cream, I’ll eat it and with gusto.

  21. 1-A Road Trip with No Car to Return Home- (Abbreviated version) It was back in the 80’s and my parents took my brother and I to visit friends in McAllen TX. We lived in Dallas at the time and the plan was to drive to McAllen; spend a few days with our friends, drive to South Padre Island and then back to Dallas. Well the first night we spent the night in McAllen our Truck was stolen. The burglars came into our friends house while we were sleeping stole all our money, took some Milk from the fridge, and took off with our Truck and our freinds Suburban. Our Uncles came down from Austin picked us up and drove us back to Dallas. I still have never been to South Padre Island.

  22. RE MAY 22 CLIFF-HANGER DID YOU SURVIVE OR WAS THIS WRITTEN BY A :GHOST” WRITER? CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT SOUNDS LIKE YPU NEED TO BE IN ALL OUR PRAYERS

  23. Now that you’re home, what were your top three cities/destinations and why?

    My favorite brand of ice cream is Graeter’s; followed by Haagen-Dazs.

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