Since about 8 AM, I've been up today. It's going to be a long day, that's for sure!
I'm spending my morning with Ryan doing what he wants, within reason of course. I'm trying to make the most of it because unfortunately I have to leave him again later. I have to work an evening shift tonight and start at like 6 PM. So I will have to leave before he even has his dinner.
Ryan knows my work schedule because his routine is always the same. Usually he would either go and stay Emma or Aubrey. Sometimes the other Bella's come over here and watch him for me.
I know he's going to love it this time, because my brother is in town he and Gwen graciously offered to look after Ryan for me. They have James and said that they wouldn't mind. Noah basically insisted on it because he never gets to see his nephew. I rolled my eyes good naturally when he said that. I was grateful that he offered actually. It means that later, I won't have to leave super early to drop Ryan off at Emma's. She lives in the opposite direction to the diner, so it is a bit of a track between them. It is also going to save me money on gas.
At lunch time, I give Ryan a banana and peanut butter pinwheel. Which is just a tortilla, spread with peanut butter and rolled around a banana. I slice it up and serve with a glass of milk. Ryan happily gobbles it down while I make myself a toasted cheese, ham and mayo wrap.
My boy is such a gentleman, he stays at the little table with me while I eat. I wash the dishes and now we go into the living room, where I put one of Ryan's shows on for him. We watch it together while our stomachs are settling.
After two episodes of Spongebob Square pants, Ryan wants to go outside to play. It's close enough to the time that Noah and Gwen will be back with James. So I feel comfortable about playing with my son for a while.
At about 3:30 pm, Noah and Gwen arrive, the latter carrying a sleeping James in her arms. She takes him inside so he can finish his nap. Noah though quite happily comes over and starts playing with us.
After which I separate from them, leaving the boys to play, I head inside to straighten the place out before getting ready for work. I do take my time knowing that I have plenty of it until I have to leave. I even manage to call and talk wifh Aubrey for a bit. That doesn't happen nearly as much as it should. I just make my way back downstairs when I overhear Gwen and my brother.
,,We can go through Memphis, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles to the park." Noah says. ,,And than to Disney World through Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston and New Orleans."
,,That's a good idea but only if we're ending at the Atlanta Zoo. James loves the animals there."
,,Sure, and maybe my sister will come with us. I know Atlanta Zoo has red pandas and that Ryan love those animals." Wait, are they planning a road trip?! I mean Memphis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Texas... Beca and I went there too during our road trip! Before I can hold it back, the memory of our road trip comes and I have to sit down on the stairs so I don't fall.
Flashback
It's officially the day that Beca and I are leaving on our road trip and I'm so excited. Truth be told I've been ready for this for a while and have been counting down the days. This is like the first time that I'll see Beca after two months. We've both been super busy with studying for finals and then actually taking them. I've been missing her so much and just can't wait to hug her and congratulate her with graduating.
Right now it's 5:30 AM and I'm up and ready to go, my bags are in the car already. My phone is plugged in getting some last charge before I have to leave to pick up Beca. My brunette, almost girlfriend, made it very clear that I'm not supposed to be there until 6 am. She's definitely not a morning person, Beca never voluntarily gets up early, but this time she is. We both agreed that we should hit the road early and get a good start on our travels, so that's what we're going to do.
Precisely at 6:00 AM, I'm outside Beca's house and as soon as I see the front door open, I'm out of the car and sprinting up to meet her. As soon as I'm close enough our arms are wrapping around each other. Seems like I'm not the only one who is excited about seeing each other. Our embrace lasts a while, but is interrupted by Beca's parents who have come out carrying her bags. Her dad helpfully takes them to the car and puts them in beside mine. Her mom though wraps her own arms around us and I know what is coming.
,,Now girls, we want you to be very careful and stay safe, but also have fun. Don't do anything stupid and call us if you need anything. But also I want at least two calls a week, six and a half weeks is far too long for my baby to be away from home."
,,Mom!" Beca is annoyed by this, so to speed everything up I take over.
,,Don't worry Mrs Mitchell, we'll be very careful and do our best to always stay safe. We're gonna have a blast and will back with presents too. If we need anything we'll definitely call, but we're really not planning on doing anything stupid, so it'll be perfectly fine. I already promised to call my family two or more times a week, so we'll be sure to include you guys too. I know it's a long time to not see your daughter, but I promise that I'll look after her and keep her safe." Beca adds her own promise here.
,,We're going to look after and keep each other safe. We're in this together and it's going be great too. Mom, it's only the first half of summer and afterwards, I'll be here to spend the other half with you guys. It'll fly by and I'll be back before you know it. Now go and get back in bed, we have to leave now, but I'll call you tonight and fill you guys in on our first day." She says that well and her mom is listening. The older brunette pulls me into a hug.
,,I know you'll take care of Beca, thank you Chloe." She whispers in my ear making me smile. When she pulls away, I head to the car to give them privacy.
Two minutes later, a smiling Beca gets in the car with her bag. She turns to me with a smirk and says: ,,Well? What are you waiting for Red? Let's go already! We're headed to Florida for some sun, sea and Disney World!"
,,Okay, okay! We're going, but first show me the CDs, we're going to need lots of your awesome mixes for this road trip." She pulls out a bunch of CDs and shows them to me. Right away, I choose the one with Disney written in Beca's happy scroll. She puts it in and I start driving. Now our journey begins and I'm so excited to see what happens.
I've been driving for about an hour now with a quiet, still sleepy Beca, in the passenger seat. I need to do something to liven her up a bit. So, at the next opportunity, I pull off the road and keep driving into a town that I don't know the name of. The change seems to have been noticed, I guess nothing gets past her.
,,Chlo, we are we going? Your supposed to still be on that road." She asks me, sweetly.
,,Well my sleeping friend, we are about to pull into a Starbucks. My travel companion apparently needs some to liven up a bit. You're probably starving, so we'll get food too. I'm kinda hungry myself, a bagel would go down well right now."
,,Oh my god, your the best!" Her excitement is cute and makes me giggle.
,,Yeah I'm pretty great, nice of you to point out." I sass a little for fun.
,,I'll always point it out. Now please don't let there be a checkout line!" I look over briefly to see her holding her hands up in silent prayer. God she is so adorable!
When we pull into the drive-thru at Starbucks, I'm just as happy as Beca about there being no one in front of us. Checkout lines really are the worst! Five minutes later, Beca is practically inhaling her bagel with bacon and cheese, half of her coffee is already gone too. I'm eating and drinking mine a bit slower, but now I'm more hungry, so I know it's not going to last long.
Beca's done first, so she decides to run into the store to get some water and snacks for later.
Soon after we're back on the road. It's actually really good, there's like no traffic, we're really lucky. We even manage to turn a usual six hours and twenty-five minute drive into a five hours and forty minutes. As a result, we arrive at our hostel in Tampa at 12:20 PM. We decided to come here first so we could be sure to get a room.
This hostel is pretty good compared to others that we looked at. After sort of checking in, Beca and I take our bags with the important stuff and begin to walk around. We're right in the middle of town and don't really need the car, which is safe in the parking lot because the hostel has cameras. That make us feel better about leaving our clothes in there.
While walking around we spot Subway and head inside for lunch. We take only a drink and a own made sandwich, because we already decided to go out for a proper dinner and treat ourselves for the first night. Well, technically our parents said we should and they even called ahead booking us a table. Then they really outdid themselves and gave us the money to pay for it. It's a nice gesture and neither of us complained about it.
When we leave the Subway and start walking again, I hold Beca's hand and she swings it between us.
,,So Chlo, are you sure your okay with just spending a day in each of the Florida places we are about to visit?" She asks me all of a sudden.
,,I'm totes okay with it, a day in each place gives us time to walk around and just enjoy our time together. Plus, we already decided to give up days in other places so we can spend longer at Disney World. Are you regretting that decision Becs?" I ask this softly, so she knows I'm not mad or upset whatever her answer is.
,,God no, why would I regret it? I know why we chose to do it like this. I'm just making sure that you're still okay with it. Also, are you too tired to want to do anything?"
,,Do something? Like what exactly? I could be swayed by certain things." My smirk is very visible here.
,,Oh I know you can be persuaded and there will be plenty of that in the future, that's for sure. But right now I'm not saying anything else. We're just walking and hopefully you'll like what I have planned." She looks happy but also maybe a bit nervous, so I just stay quiet and enjoy this time.
At 14:30 PM, Beca and I approach the harbor. I get so engrossed in looking at all the beautiful yachts, that I don't notice Beca walking off. It isn't until I hear her call my name that I realize she's not still beside me.
,,Chlo, let's go!" I walk over to her, with probably clear confusion on my face.
,,Uhm, what? Where are we going Becs?" I don't get to answer, because she grabs my hand and starts pulling me with her. To my surprise, she leads us down onto the dock. My eyes look at the yachts as we pass, well until we come to a stop.
,,Surprise!" Beca looks totally cute, standing in front of me, arms pointing out a medium sized yacht with the words 'Dolphin Sightseeing Cruise'. I let out a very girly squeal of happiness and delight, now promptly throwing my arms around her neck.
,,This is amazing Becs, it's going to be awesome! Do you really think we'll see some dolphins?"
,,I hope so, but we'll never know unless we get on before it leaves, which is soon." Without another word, we both get on the yacht and make our way inside, where everyone else is gathered. The yacht has a little glass window in floor so we can see some fish.
,,Good afternoon everyone, my name is Michelle and I'm your guide for this trip. So, just to let you know that we're just leaving the harbor now. It'll take about thirty minutes for us to get to the spot where the dolphins are. But on the way, I'm gonna be pointing different things out to you and also giving you all some history about the Tampa Harbor and the seaside." The guide says, through a speaker and everyone seems interested.
I stay close to Beca especially when we go back up top. We find our own special spot to look out at the water. I pull out my camera and Beca does too. We're both ready to get great photos of the dolphins, but a good ten minutes later and nothing has happened. We're starting to loose hope when all of a sudden I hear some splashing in the distance. Quickly I look through my camera lens and my eyes wide at what I see.
,,Becs, look! They're over there, hurry before they leave!" I say loudly without taking my eyes off of the beautiful creatures. My camera is also recording this so we can watch it back.
,,Aw, look at them! They're so cute and look they're jumping!" My love is just as excited as I am right now, I can tell.
,,Oh my god Chlo, this is amazing! Take a video, so I can send it to my siblings." I know that she's only taking pictures.
,,Of course we're going to send this to our siblings, but our friends too. Don't worry I'm making sure it's clear and everyone's going to love it, I promise." My eyes never leave the camera view, I want to be sure that this is perfect. Seconds later I feel Beca's soft lips on my cheek, making me smile. When I glance over, she is standing, taking pictures again but I can just make out a cute little blush on her cheeks. Deciding not to bring it up though, I go back to concentrating and watching the dolphins.
The beautiful mammals don't stay for too long so the yacht is turning around soon enough. We stay up top and Michelle points out some things to everyone. I find the facts really interesting and just take everything in.
I was sad to get off the yacht, but Beca made it a little better. She bought me a dolphin key ring, that I immediately attached it to my car keys. Now we're walking around seeing more of the city until dinner. Ending our walk outside Zeko's grill, where our parents booked. I'm glad we decided to dress kinda nice today because this place might not be as fancy as Mise and Place restaurant nineteen minutes away from here by car, but it still looks nice and homey, perfect for our date.
Stepping inside we give the hostess my name since my parents were the ones to call forward and book it. She showed us to a table at the window which was great because we both love to watch people walking by. The meal was great and hours later I was still full. Our stomachs were very satisfied when we went to bed early.
We spent a day in Sarasota, Fort Myers, Miami, West Palm Beach before finally hitting Disney World in Orlando.
We both were so excited about this part of our trip and had a blast going on different rides. We went on the Avatar Flight of Passage mainly, because Beca likes that the people are blue. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was a most do rude for Beca, since she loves the movies do much. I managed to persuade Beca into Space Mountain, by promising to hold her hand the whole time and so promises of many kisses to come. I know how much she hates heights, but I was touched that she went with me anyway. My guilt did kick in though when she had a little panic attack. I managed to help her through it and that was that, but I felt guilty until she assured me that it was okay. I really wanted to go on splash mountain, but didn't want to put Beca through another heights test, so soon after the first. My beautiful bestie is the one that suggested we could stand on the bridge and watch.
So here we are standing on the bridge waiting for the roller coaster to get to this part. I feel the rush that the people on it are getting when it approaches and comes flying down the hill. What I forgot about though is that there is a lit of water underneath the bridge. When the ride went through it, the water splashed up, soaking us. I let out a girlish squeal, while Beca just laughs. I turn to her accusingly.
,,Beca Mitchell, you totally planned this, I'm wearing a white shirt that is now totally soaked!" I'm not really mad at her, but want to tease her a little.
,,What if I did? Is it a crime to want to see my almost girlfriend wearing a soaked through white shirt?"
,,It is when said almost girlfriend is wearing a bright blue bra!" I exclaim with medium loudness.
,,Hey it's not my fault that you decided to wear a bright color under a white shirt. But I have to say that you look totally hot like this. I have to take a picture to commemorate this." She says, pulling out her phone and snap a picture. I'm very flattered by this, so don't stop her, but I do get my own back on her.
,,Well, since we're already soaking wet, I have the perfect ride for us to go on, come on!" I drag her with me to the Kali River Rapids. Her eyes widen watching the video of it and I can't help but smirk. ,,It looks awesome, right?"
,,Yeah, it looks nice." Her sarcasm is palpable here. To her credit though she willingly gets on the water ride. The whole time she squeezes my hand, but in the end I think she actually enjoyed it.
We sat in the sun enjoying some food and ice cream, until we dried off before going on more roller coasters each day. The Under the sea: Journey to the Little Mermaid was super sweet and I loved it, because I got to cuddle with Beca. She also sang along with the songs from the movie, which were playing during the lovely boat ride. It was a great ending to a perfect experience. I'd totally come back here one day.
Universal studios was awesome, we went to Harry Potter World and got our pictures taken in different areas like, King Cross Station, where everyone went through the wall. And in Hogwarts too. The Bella's will be so jealous when I show them the pictures. Beca and I couldn't leave without buying each of our siblings a gift. Our backpacks were filled after that.
Sea world was cool but not as exciting, we didn't spend long there at all. Which meant that we could get to Tallahassee a little earlier than planned.
Our following days were spent driving to and spending time in New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. I really loved the accent in these places. Oklahoma City and then Kansas City, where I suggested stopping to buy us some food, well snacks really. All road trips need snacks of some kind. But the real reason to stop at Kansas City was so that I could buy Beca a Chiefs shirt. That I planned to give her when the time felt right. Throughout the trip so far we have been trading off surprising each other with either activities or gifts. Technically it's supposed to be Beca's turn, so that's why I'm waiting.
St Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati are the next stops before we hit Louisville, Kentucky. Beca seems very excited about this one, she insists on driving and everything. I'm sitting back and relaxing when she pulls into a parking lot.
,,Come on, Chlo or we might be late!" She says, practically jumping out of the car.
,,Late for what Becs?" I ask, getting out slower.
,,If we don't go now, we'll be too late and you'll never know. I promise you'll love it, now come on." After locking the car, she grabs my hand and we walk around to the front of the building. Walking inside, I finally see where we are; the Rebecca Ruth Chocolate Tour and Museum. Turning to Beca, I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. We're interrupted by a woman now.
,,Welcome are you here for the tour?"
,,Yes, we're under the name Mitchell for two." Beca says, which gets a more genuine smile from the woman.
,,That's great, I'm Kayla and I'll be your guide today, so if you're ready, we'll get started now." Smiling, we follow her into the museum where she has us starting on the top floor. Walking all over, she shows us different exhibits all about chocolate and I'm impressed. Beca and I both love chocolate, so this is honestly perfect, but it's making me want some to eat now. On the ground floor, we finish the tour and I'm a little sad that it's over. My stomach is also groaning now because it wants some chocolate and badly. ,,Okay, so we're finishing off the tour with the gift shop which has over fifty varieties of chocolate you can buy. Take your time ladies, I'll be waiting at checkout." Kayla is so nice and was a great tour guide.
Beca and I walk around checking out all the different kinds of chocolate. We pick up one box that has like ten different ones inside. And for a second, Beca suggests that we make up our own box. So we each get to choose five kinds. After some deliberation we decide on caramel swirl, hazelnut whirl, Belgian bonbon, Oreo crunch, cookies and cream, confetti surprise, strawberry, orange, nougat and fudge. The chocolate saleswoman fills a box of twenty with two of each of these choices of chocolate. At the counter I get my wallet out intent on paying for it.
,,Chlo, you don't have to do that." Beca says, reaching to hold my hand back.
,,I know I don't have to but I want to, you already paid for this amazing tour and so many of our other adventures on this road trip. I'm not letting you get this one to." I say as I pull my arm away gently and pull out my debit card. Beca snatches the card from my hand though.
,,What if I tell you that I already paid for it?" Beca asks, leaving me wondering about the meaning of that.
,,Becs, what are you talking about?" I ask her, feeling nervous now.
,,Kayla, can you take us to the last part and tell Chloe about what we will be doing?" Beca says to our tour guide.
,,Of course, this way." Kayla takes us through to a private area. ,,So this is the last part of your tour, Miss Mitchell paid extra for you ladies to do this activity. Not many get to do this and you both are the only ones this week." I'm so nervously excited right now, Beca planned this and it makes me so happy. This whole trip has been filled with surprises for both Beca and me. I feel like hers have been slightly better, but hopefully I can make it up too. We follow Kayla into a room, well a kitchen really. Oh my god, I think this is the Chocolate room!
,,So ladies, I'd like to welcome you both to the Chocolate making part of this tour. Today you get to make all the chocolate you want. I'll be here to help of course, but if you could please put those aprons on and put your hair up in these hair nets, that's be great." My smile is so wide while we do just that. Kayla has done the same and right away we get right into making our Chocolates.
Like more than two hours later, we walk out of the museum with lots of chocolate. But of course it's not all for us, we made some for our families too.
,,Thank you so much for that, Becs, it was absolutely amazing and these chocolates are going to be even better. You'll seriously have to stop me from eating a whole box." I say with a smile.
,,It was totally amazing and you're right, but who says that I'm not going to eat a whole box?"
,,Very true, but seriously let's just share a box now, too much of this will make us puke or something." I shudder at the thought.
,,I completely agree, we don't want to puke, I hate being sick at anytime, but especially now. We have to complete our road trip in one piece or our parents will be very mad and never sign off on us doing this again."
,,Wait, you would really want to do this again?" My heart is beating with love and excitement at the prospect of it.
,,Well, duh! I've literally loved this so much and would seriously jump at the chance to do it again. Not this exact same trip but I was thinking we could go to all the states, maybe make like three more road trips out if it. Would you want to do it again? With me that is?" Aw, Beca's vulnerability is showing now. I love this side of her.
,,Oh we're definitely doing it again, there are so many places I want to visit, but we'll save this talk for later. When we can plan it and not have long to wait. The suspense would kill me probably." Beca agrees and we enjoy the rest of this stop.
We drive through Nashville and stop at the places we planned out, the activities we do are awesome as usual. Beca and I both loved the music show at the Grand Ole Opry. It was my surprise for her that we both ended up loving.
But I'm getting sad as we approach our last destination. Memphis is the last state of our road trip. After this we will drive home and be separated for the next six weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to spending some uninterrupted time with my family. The only problem is that I'll miss Beca so much. I don't even know if I'll get to see her for real during that time. Usually my family goes on vacation with our other family members. I think Beca's does too. My heart hurts just thinking about it. Beca as usual manages to take my mind off of the hard things.
,,Well, last stop and I really think you're going to like this. Come on!" She says, grabbing my hand and pulling me from the car. We walk together hand in hand until I see a sign that makes me stop in place. ,,Becs are we going where I think we are?"
,,It's a very strong possibility, but you have to walk again babe." She winks at me. My excitement leads to me pulling her with me. We step into the Hard Rock Cafe and my mind is blown. This place is beautiful! I can't believe that Beca brought me here. She must have remembered that I told her I'd always wanted to visit one of these.
,,You're the best!" I kiss her on the lips. We find a table and order breakfast. Beca told me to fill up because I'll need it. I was confused but decided to drop it for now.
After a glorious breakfast that consisted of both Pancakes and waffles, Beca dragged me along again. I loose track of where we are, because I'm busy looking around at everything and one. It interests me. I'm thrown off when Beca suddenly stops.
,,This is my very last surprise for you on this trip." Beca announces proudly.
,,What is?" I ask, very confused.
,,Look!" Beca exclaims, maybe a little frustrated that I haven't noticed. Now I look up and above us is a sign that reads 'Beale Street'.
,,OM-aca-G, there is a real life street named after me! This is so cool!"
,,Yeah, it's pretty cool. Now let's get this tour on the go." She leads me over to this group of people who are listening to a man in front.
,,So, as you know, my name is Simon and I'm your guide. This isn't a long tour, I'm just going to give you some history and show you all the different stores and boutiques. We'll go down to the end and then I'll just leave you all to do as you please." We follow him and listen closely.
Beca and I are happy to be let loose at the end. To her credit, she doesn't complain once when I drag her into different stores and boutiques. The few things that I do want to buy, Beca insists on paying for. I give her a nice juicy kiss after each one as a thank you. By the end of this, I'm so happy but also excited. I can't wait to surprise Beca now. I know she's going to love it.
The next day I drive a blindfolded Beca to Graceland. She is definitely itching to see where we're going. It's so cute when I remove her blindfold and her eyes widen comically. She's adorable! Her arms circle around me in a gigantic hug which I gladly return. We head inside together with the tickets I already bought and get right to checking everything out.
We begin our tour with getting to see the more personal side of Elvis Presley with an interactive iPad tour of the Mansion, the video is hosted by John Stamos who I Iove and features running commentary and stories by Elvis and Lisa Marie. Then we take a physical tour of Graceland Mansion which includes the living room, his parents bedroom, the kitchen, TV room, pool room, the famous Jungle Room, his father's office, the newly-enhanced Trophy Building, the Racquetball Building which is being newly-restored and the Meditation Garden.
Coming to Elvis The Entertainer Career Museum, this is cool. We get to immerse ourselves in Elvis his incredible career through hundreds of artifacts and photos from important events all throughout his life, we get to give a tour through the extensive Graceland Archives, including Elvis his amazing collection of gold and platinum records. Beca can't take her eyes off of these. While my eyes are drawn to everything including his stunning jumpsuits, and other clothing, memorabilia from his movies, and so much more. Its amazing!
We skipped the Presley motors automobile museum, but still get to see pictures of Elvis his beloved cars including his iconic Pink Cadillac, Stutz Blackhawk, 1956 Cadillac Eldorado, Dino Ferrari, Mercedes Benz limousine, and Rolls Royce.
The rest of the day there is great and I insisted on buying somethings for Beca. She got a handful of different stuff and I loved paying for it. So, with that, concludes the rest of our tour. The end of our road trip too. It was so much fun and very memorable too. It's sad but not the end of the world. We take our time driving home and savoring the last of our quiet time together. The best road trip ever is over!