Trucking to see Santa
Let me say this right up front ? I?m not a trucking mama; or whatever women are called when they accompany truck drivers on trips.
I have gone with my husband, Michael, recently on a few trips delivering nursery stock to surrounding states. I prefer the not-so-long trips and ideally the area needs to have a good reputation for shopping! Michael has found I can make time in my schedule if he does his homework and finds out what attractions are in the area that might interest me.
Really and truly, Michael is not much of a trucker, either. He does enjoy driving and getting away from his regular work occasionally, but he likes to have me or one of our three girls with him. He has even been known to enlist the company of his mother on short trips.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we took off to Paducah, Ky. for a delivery, and that went off smoothly. I have found the entire mood is set for the trip as to how well the dropping of the stock goes. Well, this one went well, so off to the shopping mall we go. To be one of the biggest shopping days of the season, we found the mall very welcoming, and not crowded at all. We filled the back seat of the truck, and even started filling the bed, when I decided it was time to start home.
Well, this last week we took off again, this time to Champaign, Ill. This venture, too, went off quite nicely. We experienced the big cold front before it got here, with a little wind added to it, making the wind chill very uncomfortable.
Being a photographer, of sorts, I really enjoyed the varied scenery along the way. The landscape gradually changed from our great mountains to the flat farm land. I?m sure in the summer months, the Illinois fields are green with corn, but now they are barren. This situation makes for miles and miles of open fields, spotted occasionally with a farm house, groupings of barns and silos. Add to that, the iciness from the snow and the frozen water, and it was beautiful.
On the return trip, we decided to take a little detour to Santa Claus, Ind. Yes, I said Santa Claus! That is the name of the town, and it?s an enjoyable place to visit. You may have seen the television ads this summer promoting Holiday World Water Park in Santa Claus. Well that is where we were, accept, needless to say, the water park is closed now. The small town is definitely capitalizing on its name, with many of the businesses reflecting that in their names ? Frosty?s Pizza, Santa?s Lodge, Kringle Place, Christmas Blvd. and the Christmas in Santa Claus Festival.
We just missed the festival, which is this weekend, with craft shows, Festival of Lights, concerts, movies, visits with Santa and a parade. Sounds like a lot of fun, just in time for the holiday.
If we needed any inspiration to get in the holiday spirit, we got it from our visit to Santa Claus. We did make a stop by the post office to mail our grandchildren a card from Santa Claus. They actually have a business out of their famous name, postmarking Christmas cards for folks from all over. They have a contest each year, and a high school student?s winning design is used for the postmark that year. It was definitely a busy place, with the postal workers wearing festive vests and elf ears.
While cruising down the road in the unique little town, I had to caution Michael to slow down when I saw a law enforcement vehicle ? and then started laughing hilariously, because on the side of the car it said, and I?m not kidding ? Santa Claus Police.
How unique!