Oklahoma Family Drives All Night To Nation's Capital In Memory Of Justice Ginsburg

A Tahlequah teenager and his parents drove all night and day to be in Washington D.C. Saturday night to pay their respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Amy Edwards recalled over FaceTime the moment she and her family made an unplanned 18-hour, 1,200-mile-long road trip.

"So we just packed up and left the house at like midnight," Edwards said. "We were still shocked when we found out that she passed yesterday (Friday). It was about midnight and I just kept looking at my husband and said, ‘I kind of want to go to (Washington) D.C., to the courthouse.’" 

Edwards said she, her husband and her son, Dylan, hopped in a car at midnight from their home in Tahlequah to be at Saturday night's vigil for the late Supreme Court Justice on the courthouse’s steps.

Edwards tweeted about the last-minute trip, which gained attention across the country, with over 80,000 likes and thousands of retweets and comments.

"The tweet went crazy with people expressing their love and appreciation for us in this journey, so we want to pay respect to them too," Edwards said. "I think that people needed some sign of hope for the future. I think a lot of it had to do with the sign of respect that we have for someone like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who fought so hard for us."

Oklahomans and people in the Jewish community reached out to Edwards, asking her to bring pebbles with people's initials to lay on the steps, which is Jewish tradition for someone who has passed.

Edwards said received hundreds of comments requesting the family to lay a pebble for them.

"We thought that sounded like the best way to honor her is to place these pebbles for her on the steps," Edwards said. 

Dylan will turn 18 in a few weeks and plans to vote in the November general election. He said Ginsburg has inspired him to have a future in public service.

"She has always been a fighter, fighting through cancer multiple times. She fought every day,” Dylan Edwards said. “She’s really strong and I respect that, just someone that I have to look up to.”

Edwards said the trip has taken on a bigger purpose.

"It's just like this giant, virtual hug. Like we're bringing half of the country with us on this road trip,” Edwards said. “That's what it feels like.” 

The family plans to only stay at the capital for one night.

While this is a very short trip for the family, Edwards said they are still taking requests for pebbles with people's initials.

You can send those requests by messaging Edwards on her twitter account @AmyEdwardsLPC or emailing her at Amanda.edwards@ycoalliance.com.