Tonight we are in Gulfport, Mississippi! I managed to get us all packed up and under way only 30 minutes behind schedule. We shortened our stops so that we could make it to Gulfport (568 miles) in time to pick up Jeff at 4:30. One of the problems of being married to Batman is that family plans are always subject to the demands of justice.

Dinner was Winn Dixie fried chicken (God bless the South) with Denise and Lily, who was so enamored of Pretend Grandpa Jeff that she turned her mama down flat when it was time to go home. The important thing is, though, that Denise got her Japanese Kit Kats. Japan has different flavors–blueberry, strawberry, and green tea. It’s wild, man. Like gravity reversing.

Quotes of the day:

Melanie: Why are they (TV characters) running out of air in that cave? You’ve got 45 minutes of air just in a coffin.

Dale: Mom, you’re wearing a purple shirt. It matches mine.
Mom: I laid out this shirt four days ago to wear today. You should have been able to see through my closet door.
Dale: Well, I put this on last night and I didn’t put on something else this morning.
Mom: You’re right, son. I should have noticed that.
Dale: Unless you wanted us to be wearing the same color shirt on the road trip. Don’t be that family.

Jack: This really is a dark bruise. I mean, 90 percent of it is dirt, but it’s a really dark bruise.

Things I forgot:

two gallon jugs of water
bug spray (couldn’t find any at home)

Things I forgot to pack in their proper place, or their proper place was already packed aboard:

red bandana
Henry’s shot record
Jeff’s car keys
microfiber towels to use instead of regular towels–an experiment
cast iron skillet
extra brassiere
sharpies
power strip
gifts for my son-in-law

Things I didn’t need to buy or pack because they were already in the camper:

trash bags
straws
ziplocs
travel scrabble
candles

Tomorrow we head to “somewhere in Texas.” Stay tuned.