First Stop, Excali...uh, Saturn Dealership?!?

We headed out on our trek yesterday morning with a sense of wonder and adventure. The car was packed and because Carrie did a great job shoving everything in to the suitcases, we were able to get the boys' bikes in the car.
Things started out great with our first bathroom stop a mile and half down the road. (Wes: But I didn't have to go at the house. Wyatt: Me too! Me too!) But once we really got down the road, things were great. We were having a great time in the car pointing out the finer points of the "high desert." (Wyatt: Look, Dad! Chuck E. Cheeses! Wes: Ooh, and a Red Lobster!) I was shocked they had a Red Lobster in Victorville. A couple hours down the road and the boys were getting cranky. We decided it would be a good time to pop in a movie on the dvd player. After a few minutes of haggling between brothers (Wes: But Wyatt...I really like Tom and Jerry. Wyatt: I don't...mwow, mwow.) they picked Ratatouille. We got headphones out, movie in, pushed play, and nothing. No picture on the screen, no sound, no nothing. The screen was extremely hot, but no movie started. At a rest stop, we tried everything. Turn car off, then on. Leave car on, unplug all power sockets. Pray. Nothing worked. Our dvd player (which is one of the reasons we bought that car) was shot.
Here are the reactions of the family as we slowly realized there would be no movies on this road trip.


Okay, so it wasn't that bad. The boys were pretty good, but we still have to get half way across the country and any form of entertainment for a 3 and 6 year old would be great. We cruised into Las Vegas Saturn (which, apparently, is now Las Vegas Kia). The helpful guy there told us he could install the new dvd player...in 5 days when it gets there. As thrilling as 5 days in Vegas with kids sounds, we passed and headed to WalMart to buy a portable dvd player...mostly for our sanity. It was past lunch time, so...
That's right! I am eating a homemade baloney sandwich IN a Wal-Mart parking lot. I'll be accepting my Joe Dirt Award at this year's White Trash Gala.
So, we got a dvd player and case and headed for the next surprise for the boys...Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Wes was a little excited when we told him.
This place was really fun. The boys enjoyed looking at all the cool sea life. They even gave us these devices you hold up to your ear and listen to information. Wyatt shushed me a couple times because "the lady is talking to me!"
The boys' favorite was the lionfish, of course.
After a fun time in Mandalay Bay, we decided to go check into our hotel. We got in no problem and got ready to go to the pool only to be told that the pool was closed because of a thunderstorm. We told the boys not to worry that after dinner we would head to the Lion Habitat at the MGM. That, too, was closed when we ventured over there. So, we decided to pacify them by going to the Coca-Cola store and have some root beer floats. Those always make a guy feel better.
After a quick stroll back to our "castle hotel" we went to sleep.
Day 2 of our road trip was much less eventful. We made it to Richfield, UT and are staying at a REALLY nice Holiday Inn Express. The pool was great and we had it to ourselves. We had dinner at a roadside diner and can't wait to get to Steamboat Springs tomorrow. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?!?