2040 Miles

We survived our first family road trip, with 2040 plus miles added to the odometer and 32 plus hours of driving over our 10 day trip, we completed and thoroughly enjoyed our Tour De' South! The first leg of the trip was visiting my Sister and her Hubby in Kentucky, then we went on to South Carolina to visit my Sister-in-Law and then on to Myrtle Beach!

What a fantastic time! The kiddos did great in the car! Our 2 year old, C, did AMAZING and this is quite an accomplishment considering this was WITHOUT A DVD player for the first 30 hours in the car, YIKES! We did have a minor hysterical crying incident 20 miles before our hotel stop on the way home. What we thought was the game WINNING decision of "here have a chocolate donut, because you have been so good" quickly became apparent as a game LOSING decision when we saw the reappearance of that donut. Our 5 month old, Q, also did great! She played with her feet and slept and didn't do much crying either. G (the Hubs) did all the driving and I did all the snack distribution, Binky finding, book fishing, bottle giving, etc. To really top it all off we got to see some of the most amazing mountains and countryside I believe the U.S. has to offer! (I say this without having been further West than Des Monies, Iowa. This fact will be changing as this family will be taking many future road trips)

Here are some of the realizations we had while on our road trip. I, as the Momma, will most likely NEVER be able to contribute to the driving again. As a breast feeding Momma having a good pump is CRUCIAL, along with a cardigan that can easily be worn backwards for concealing your good work. Always pack a bag of tricks for the car, including toys, snacks, a good selection of library books and books from home, comfort items, etc. Having a good dance party every now and then keeps the energy up. Stopping every two to three hours is inevitable. Check to make sure your DVD player is working before leaving the house. Install a mirror to see your baby if you have a little one in a rear facing seat. Pack gum and fire balls (thanks for this tip sis), gum for the mountains and fire balls for fatigue. Lastly, NEVER NEVER EVER give your toddler a chocolate donut after three hours in the mountains and seven in the car!

What are some of your game winning or losing vacation / road trip discoveries?

That's my Shiny -

J