Makely

Thirteen days after we left home for our “vacation,” we rolled back into the driveway. We had done it and survived. My six year old son, Zack, my almost two year old daughter, Emma, and myself trekked through 8 states and 6 cities. There were lots of laughs, a few tears, and even some blood shed when Emma fell and skinned her little knee. But in the end, we were all stronger for it.

I can’t say the same for our poor little rental car. We put over 3300 miles on it, and the rental car company took it out of circulation for maintenance when we returned it. No, we didn’t destroy it, but it was obviously overdue for an oil change.

We’ve actually been home for a few weeks now and are fully recovered from our trip. I’ve painted a room. We’ve gotten back into our regular schedule. I’ve actually put the suitcases away. I know, right? Yours must sit out for weeks like mine do.

Even though our fun is over, that doesn’t mean that it has to be for you. I’ve been teasing you for a month about the giveaway for the awesome Bag of Swag that would occur at the end of the trip. Well, folks. Today’s the day!

Introducing the Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag! WHEEEEE!!!

Within this beautiful kraft paper bag, you’ll receive all sorts of trinkets and treasures from our trip. Every city visited is represented…well, except for Destinations #4 and #6, because I forgot to buy something in those places. So, 4 out of 6 places are represented by touristy, truck stop tschotskes. I’m telling you, it’s the Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag.

What? That’s not good enough for you? You feel like I’ve been dragging this out for so long that it should be better. Well, fine. I’ll throw this in, too.

So, now your Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag has a $50 Visa Gift Card inside of it, too. If I were you, I’d use it on gas for your next road trip. But, if you want to use it to do something like buy new pillows or supplies to paint your own rug, feel free to do that, too.

I just wouldn’t use it to buy a new portable GPS unit….

…’cause you’re getting one of those, too! TomTom is graciously sending the winner a brand new TomTom Start 45 TM GPS navigation unit. My TomTom (I call her Janice) and I were best friends on this trip, and this one is even BETTER than the one I have. You’ll be able to update traffic and map updates for free. It also has some really cool stuff, including the ability to find the lowest gas prices on your route.

Okay, that’s all you get. Don’t be greedy, m’kay?

Details:
To enter this giveaway, you need to leave a comment on this post giving your guesses for each city of our destination in the proper order. If you are reading this post via email, please click the title of the post and come on over to my blog to leave your comment – emailed guesses can’t be accepted.

As a reminder, here are my hints about our destinations:
Destination #1
Destination #2 – nearest Metro area is okay
Destination #3
Destination #4 – nearest Metro area is okay
Destination #5
Destination #6

Read them. Study them. Answer correctly and your name will be added into a hat where the winner will be drawn. I’m also issuing this warning – don’t just copy and paste what the commenter above you has said. There have been lots and lots of wrong guesses so far, and I know you don’t want to cheat off of someone with the wrong answers!

Good luck!

Giveaway rules: Giveaway open until midnight CST on 8/8/2012. No purchase necessary. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries. One entry per person. Open to US residents, 18 and older. Winner will be randomly selected and notified by email. If winner doesn’t respond in one week, another winner may be randomly drawn.

TomTom gave me a GPS unit to giveaway. The TomTom unit I used on my road trip and the opinions represented here are my own.

Heading towards Destination #6 meant that we were going in the direction of home. We were ready. We missed Daddy. We missed our dogs. I missed my bed. I missed our schedule.

Even though we couldn’t wait to get home, the drive from Destination #5 was too far for us to complete in one day. In an odd twist of fate, my hometown – the place that I left when I went to college and had only been back to once since then – happened to be the halfway point. I lived there for about 14 years, but my parents had moved from that town just a few months after I went to college. Most of my high school friends were in Austin with me, so I didn’t ever have much of a reason to go back.

Driving into town was a surreal experience. When I was growing up there, it was a small place. There wasn’t much in the way of typical chain restaurants and there certainly wasn’t a Gap in the mall. Times have changed, and there are new roads, new bridges, and tons of new shopping – including a Gap, Gap Kids and Baby Gap.

One thing that hasn’t changed was that my favorite local restaurant still has the world’s best piece of peach pie. It’s the type of thing dreams are made of, and I have been craving it for about 17 years. It was totally worth the wait.

After dinner, we spent the evening driving around town with me pointing out various locations to my kids. We saw my childhood home. My elementary school. My high school, which has grown from one building to about 45. My middle school.

I can’t look at that school without thinking back to those days. As with every other 1990s kid, those preteen years were rough. Looking back, my matching denim and braided belt situation didn’t help. Neither did my hair.

Whew! Luckily for little curly headed Emma, her mama knows how to properly take care of and style curls these days. I can only hope we are able to better manage her crazy head of hair.

When the tour of my hometown wrapped up, I asked Zack what he thought. His reply? “You know what, Mom? We don’t really care.” Hmmm…I guess it was a little much for a 6 and not yet 2 year old. Oh, well. I enjoyed it. 🙂

Any guesses as to where we were? This one might be kind of hard, too. As a little hint, I’ll say that you should name the city AND the state.

Giveaway: The Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag

Destination #6: Where in the World is Living With Lindsay?