The Jeep: The GRAND Adventure Continues...

Haleigh is home, and we had a great weekend--lots of time off for a very tired Camp Director. Challenging morning, getting the house ready to show before heading out with all three kids on our Grand Adventure, to begin Week #4 of CAMP MOMMY--

We took The Jeep north, outside the city, to the auto repair shop that got us through emissions in 2002 (with a new carberator). The Jeep never drove better, bouncing along with the windows open (well, 3 out of 4--one isn't working). (The AC, of course, does not work.) Avoiding cops--

We delivered our girl, and walked next door for lunch at Steak n' Shake, burgers and shakes, at the counter. The kids love sitting up on those stools and watching the cook make everybody's lunch. It was a lot of fun, and we're learning: things always get better after lunch, when we get the blood sugar levels stabilized...it can get kind of hectic during the summer's Witching Hour, between 10AM and Noon, when Mommy is trying to get things done to take the afternoon off to play, and the kids are running around crazy, acting up like hooligans. (It's probably the sugar cereal they self-service for breakfast.)

Anyway, after lunch, The GRAND Adventure began...
(The Grand Adventure being getting home, now that we had stranded ourselves about 10 miles away.)

1. We walked to the nearest MARTA Bus Stop (having researched and mapped our journey on the Internet last night). (MARTA is the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority--public bus and rapid rail (commuter train) transportation.) (Remember our Public Transportation kick lately!)
   
2. We rode the bus to the MARTA train station, with all the colorful, interesting people--and a seeing-eye dog, too! The kids had a great time, and were really good on the bus, which was crowded.
   
3. We rode the train to a central station for transfer. The train was almost empty, and Zach wanted to ride in the very last car. I was a little nervous, because there was a strange guy that sat right in the seat behind us--in an empty train!--and stared at us the whole time. Not so good, but the kids were again GREAT, and really enjoying the adventure.
   
4. We transferred to our second train (lost the strange guy, and stayed more with the crowd) and rode to one of the Buckhead stations to catch the BUC.
   
5. We rode the BUC the entire route to the mall. By this time, Tiger was beginning to get a little antsy and tired. (Me too.) But he made friends on the BUC with one of the hip-hop guys (16 or 17 years old), who was very cool when this little kid started staring at him and imitating him: putting his sunglasses back on, but kind of slid down on his nose; cocking his ball cap (Tiger's was Sponge Bob, the guy's was Chicago Bulls) off to an angle; leaning back and putting his arms across the back of the seats; doing his (Tiger) best to look as "kewl" as the Big Kid...it was hysterical, and impossibly cute.
   
6. We walked home from the mall, which is about a mile. We were all OVER each other at that point! I walked behind with Tiger ("all Tiger-ed out") the last several blocks, watching Zach and Haleigh fight, push each other, and cut each other off to be first on the sidewalk...not so hysterical, or cute at all. Obviously time to stabilize those blood sugar levels again, and rest a bit, in our separate corners, until Zach's basketball practice at 5:30pm. His friend came home with us from basketball for a sleepover--another late night for everyone!

All in all, it was a terrific day, a fun adventure together. Zach is, again, ready to hop on the nearest public transportation and do it all over again. I think I'm done for a while, and hopefully look forward to bombing around in The Jeep, all legal & stuff, very soon--

Total Day 16 = $30
($25 lunch at Steak n' Shake; $5 MARTA fare (children 5 & under ride FREE!), which got us through all the transfers between buses and trains and got us all the way home.)