Thus, a dozen posts about one weekend.
The drive home was uneventful, until we were just 45 minutes from home. Mary decided she was officially finished with her carseat. David was bored. And we were all getting hungry. Greg and I seriously considered pushing on to the bitter end, but things were deteriorating quickly. So we wimped out and stopped half an hour from home. How pathetic. But I doubt we could have survived those last 25 miles otherwise.
We stopped in Springfield, which, I am convinced, is the inspiration for the Springfield (home to Lisa, Apu, and Snowball II, among others) . I have no good reason for believing this--other than the fact that Ohio is everywhere and nowhere, and has everything and nothing. Here's the really funny part: we stopped at Bob Evans. This is funny because we never, ever eat at sit-down, wait-for-your-food restaurants anymore. So the one time we do this entire year, we eat at Bob Evans?? But the food was indeed comforting (and after all that whining and crying in the car, a little comfort was nice). There was even a fruit and yogurt plate on the kid's menu--perfect for David, who loves fruit even more than he loves trains. The best part was the high chair, which wasn't a high chair--it was a baby booster seat. So Mary got to be right at the table with us, instead of off to the side, nearly forgotten. She thought she was such a big girl, right there in the booth with the big people, and within grabbing distance of the menus, the silverware, the salt shaker, the napkins, and anything else she might want to stick in her mouth. She even got to munch on one of David's bananas. I loved seeing her so happy! (And I vowed to pay her more attention the next time she is relegated to a high chair.) Greg and I even splurged and split a piece of strawberry cream pie--which we had to scarf down because by that point David was rolling around on the floor. (Why, why, why must David roll around on the floor in eating establishments??) Our spur-of-the-moment, irrational refueling stop was actually quite inspired!
And who ever would have guessed that the grand finale of our trip to Pittsburgh would be at a Bob Evans in Springfield, Ohio? One more fond (except for the rolling around on the floor part) and out-of-the-ordinary (except for the rolling around on the floor part) memory to cherish!
