St Louis Arch

On a gray Sunday morning.

Once Upon a Prince - review

I've always loved fairy tales-- and my favorite is the Cinderella story. I guess I'm just a romantic at heart. Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck is a modern-day fairy tale romance. It was unrealistic, of course, because fairy tales just are. The prince was from a fictional country, but he's good friends with Princes Will and Harry. I thought that was a fun twist. The heroine is a small-town southern girl.  The characters, settings, and plot were great! I thoroughly enjoyed the read. This is Book One of The Royal Weddings series. I look foward to reading more.

Here's the publisher's synopsis:

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation.

It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? 

Thank you to LitFuse Publicity for providing me with a review copy.

Hanging Out in Nashville...

...at the Teach Them Diligently conference.

Set-up today was not without its challenges but we did manage to finish getting the booth put together before the vendor hall opened at 6:00 p.m. We had a busy evening visiting with homeschoolers. I'll be working long hours the next two days, so I probably won't blog again until Sunday.

The leisurely part of our trip is over, and we'll be pushing to get home by Monday evening-- 36 hours of driving time in 2 days! But I'm sure we'll still manage to see interesting things along the way. Stay tuned. I've enjoyed having you travel along with us!

Travel Stats: Day 5

Departed Rolla, Missouri: 11:05 a.m. CDT
Hours driven: 5:05
Miles driven: 331
Average speed: 45.6 mph
Fuel mileage: 40.1 mpg
States: Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky
Wildlife spotted: toad, turtle, squirrel (we see more "dramatic" wildlife out west, I think!)
Other VM Jetta wagons spotted: 0
Weather: sunny and hot... and humid
Car Talk podcast: 1 episode
Rivers crossed: Mississippi, Ohio
Arrived Paducah, Kentucky: 4:10 p.m. CDT
Attended Wednesday night Bible study at the Nazarene church pastored by a college friend whom we hadn't seen in 29 years.
Thursday's destination: Nashville, Tennessee for the Teach Them Diligently convention.

Travel Stats: Day 4

Departed Mulberry, Arkansas: 11:20 a.m.
Hours driven: 7
Miles driven: 331
Average speed: 47.2 mph
Average fuel mileage: 39.7 mpg
States: Arkansas, Missouri
Other VW Jetta wagons spotted: 1 (black, like ours)
Wildlife  spotted: turtle, possum (which may or may not have been dead, with possums it's hard to tell)
Point of interest: drove past the church where we got married 27.5 years ago
Arrived Rolla, Missouri: 6:20 p.m.
Wednesday's destination: Paducah, Kentucky

Travel Stats: Day 3

Departed Tucumcari, New Mexico: 8:00 a.m. MDT.
 Hours driven: 9
Flat tires: 1
Hours stopped to change the tire and get it fixed in Amarillo: 2.5
Miles driven: 590 (including 44 on Old Route 66)
Average speed: 50.2 (including stops)
Fuel mileage:  39.7 (40.259 on one tank!)
States: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
Wildlife spotted: 2 snakes crossing the road in New Mexico
Other VW Jetta wagons spotted: 1 (silver)
Weather: sunny and warm (high of 95 in Amarillo)
Car Talk podcast: 2 episodes
Lum and Abner MP3s: 6 episodes
CBS Radio Mystery Theater episodes: 2
Indications that we had reached the Bible Belt: a giant cross as a tourist attraction, and a billboard advertising the Jesus Christ is Lord Travel Center
Arrived at my parents' house near Mulberry, Arkansas: 8:35 p.m. CDT.
Tuesday's destination: My mother-in-law's house in Rolla, Missouri.

Modern Facilities

At the junction of a (dirt) portion of Route 66 and another (dirt) highway. Eastern New Mexico, almost to the Texas state line.

Route 66

Trying to pretend the Interstate running parallel to our left is not there, and visualizing what it might have been like to travel across New Mexico 50 years ago. "Gettin' my kicks..."

Travel Stats: Day 2

Departed Montrose, Colorado: 7:30 a.m. MDT.
Hours driven: 9.5
Miles driven: 503
Average speed: 52.9
Fuel mileage: 39.9 mpg (still hoping to see 40 mpg!)
States: Colorado, New Mexico
Wildlife spotted: deer, burros (though the burros may or may not have been "wild")
Other VW Jetta wagons spotted: 0
Weather: sunny and warm
Bicyclists going up the mountain as we were coming down: 51
Car Talk podcast: 2 episodes
Unshackled podcast: 1 episode
Lum and Abner MP3s: 3 episodes
Also listened to: our pastor's sermon and a Cathedral's CD
Arrived Tucumcari, New Mexico: 5:00 p.m. MDT.
Monday's destination: My parents' house near Mulberry, Arkansas.

Have Lemon, Will Travel

Albuquerque, New Mexico