Flat Jake

My name is Tracy and I work with Jake’s Aunt Mimi in Plano, TX. Mimi and I were going to NY on February 10th for a training class and this is when I met Jake and heard about his school project. I offered to take Jake with me during my trip to Illinois the weekend of February 20th.

Texas to Illinois (via Oklahoma and Missouri)
75N to 69N to I44E

Friday, February 20th
5:00am – It is early and very cold but we have managed to get in the car and start our trek North to Illinois. We are riding along with my brother Paul and my sister, Kathy, her son Neil, daughter-in-law Christina and grandkids Alyssa and Iain are in her car. We grabbed breakfast at McDonald’s in Atoka, OK. Jake enjoyed a bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle and a coke. We only stopped twice after that for gas and restroom breaks – Jake was great in the car and slept a lot. We got to Belleville, IL around 3:00pm, had a late lunch at Steak and Shake (club sandwich and fries) and then checked into our room at the Baymont Inn in O’Fallon, IL. We were able to unpack and get some rest before heading over to Schiappa’s Restaurant for a graduation celebration for my niece Kara who got her BA back in December 2008. Jake got to meet some more of my family there: Kara, Carol, Marc, Hank, Will and Hayden. 10:00pm – we are all exhausted and finally get to bed.

Saturday, February 21st
We had breakfast with Paul, Neil and Christina at the hotel. Jake enjoyed making and eating waffles. My sister and her family decided to spend the day at the hotel swimming and relaxing so Paul and I decided to go and see our brother John and his family. They live in Keyesport, IL which is about an hour east of Belleville. We stopped in some small towns (Breese and Carlyle) along the way to take pictures of Jake and let him play in a little bit of snow we found – he sure wished Aunt Mimi had sent a coat along! Jake met my brother John, his wife Lynn and their sons John, Jr. and Brad, their daughter Angie and her foster-daughter Jasmine. We went out to lunch with them and then just hung out and visited for the afternoon. We headed back to Belleville around 4:30pm so we could attend a ‘closing’ party for a business that my mom and sister own. The party was a great success and probably over 100 people were there – a good time was had by all!

Sunday, February 22nd
No major plans for today so we got to sleep in until 9:00am! We laid around the hotel until about 11:00am and then went on an adventure looking for Bert’s Chuckwagon, a restaurant we went to in our high school years; they have the most yummy, sloppy tacos. I looked on the internet and there was a location listed in Collinsville, IL which wasn’t too far from the hotel so off we went. There it was right on the corner ‘BERT’S CHUCKWAGON’ – no longer open for business! L We settled for a bacon cheeseburger and sweet potato fries at TGI Friday’s. After lunch we went to the Sprint store and got my mom a cell phone and then went to visit with her and my stepdad at their house. It was a lazy afternoon teaching her how to use the cell phone, looking at family pictures and watching TV. We left there around 5:00pm to go and meet my sister Carol, her husband Marc, my niece Kara and her boyfriend Nate for dinner at Casa Gallardo Mexican restaurant. The last time I ate there was after my high school graduation, in other words, a long time ago. We had a great dinner of chips and salsa, cheese enchiladas, beans and rice. We went back to the hotel, packed and turned in early since we wanted to leave early the next morning.

Monday, February 23rd
5:00am – It is 16 degrees outside but feels much colder with the wind. We have started the trip home and although I didn’t get to take Jake over to St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch he did get a glimpse of it from the car, he was really impressed. Sadly, it was too dark to take a picture from the car. It was an uneventful trip home; we stopped for gas and grabbed breakfast items from inside (donuts for me and Jake and an egg sandwich for Paul). For lunch, we drove through McDonald’s and stopped one more time for gas. We made it home by 2:30pm and the temperature was in the 70’s and sunny.