We are on a road trip! Heading South for the winter...or the paid paternity leave is more like it. As I don't love to advertise we're not at home, the timing of my blogging break sure came in quite handy.
So we left our house Tuesday the 5th...snow had fallen during the night and our trip was delayed slightly by needing to shovel before we left. But soon we were on our way. The plan was to hit Salina, Kansas before stopping for the night at our hotel with the indoor pool. We were aiming for no more than 6 hours spent in the car per day. But alas, it was not to be.
We hit a snow storm. A big snow storm. In Kansas. The roads at some points were so icy it looked like we were driving on glass. And out in flatsville where we were it is so friggin' windy and the snow was blowing so badly...and this is coming from a Coloradan! I didn't do any of the driving but sheesh, it wasn't good. We should've taken some video or even pictures but we didn't. We eventually made the decision to stop in a town called Hays for the night instead of continuing to Salina. It was a good call. Everyone had decided to stop. We got one of 4 rooms left at the hotel! Because of the storm we were able to cancel our Salina hotel reservation without any penalties for the late notice. Whew! It was about 8 at night or so...so much for the goal of not going over 6 hours in the car. Even though it was 8 central time, it was still 7 to us mountain zoners. And we were hungry. There was an Applebees next to our hotel so we decided to walk across the two large diagonal parking lots to the restaurant. Easton thought it was an adventure, the snow was blowing sideways and it was so cold and windy. But after being cooped up in the car all day he was up for it. Dalton didn't share E's excitement but he's a trooper, that one!
After some food we headed back for some spinning in the chair...
Followed by bedtime. The boys did great! In that above video I love how Easton touches his forehead to Baby Dalton and asks, "Is this fun?!?!"
We ate breakfast at the hotel in the morning and headed on our way. Next stop: AJs in Northwest Arkansas!
The car ride went MUCH better on Wednesday. Dalton never does all that well in the car...he's not great at napping in the car like Easton is. He'll sleep but it's always a very short nap. And he's rear-facing in his car seat so I'm sure he is quite bored and lonely as well. I brought toys and I exchanged them frequently, but I (or Jason) spend a lot of time with our hand over his seat "keeping him company". Easton got a few surprises, like this microphone:
Jason is a fan of it as well:
Dalton actually figured out how to make it work and enjoys that little toy too. But, the only picture I have is this one from over the carseat where I wasn't looking, just holding the camera over him:
The lifesaver of this trip has been the portable DVD player--thank you, Gramoo! I'm not sure we'll ever travel without one again. I just wish Dalton could see it too. Instead he passes the time by pulling off his right sock--only the right one--and putting his bare toes on Easton's seat:
He also would throw toys into his brother's lap. So on Wednesday Easton took a very long nap in the car but was frequently disturbed by all the toys flying into his lap. It's weird to me that D doesn't sleep well in the car because it's so the opposite of Easton.
When we'd stop for gas and snacks, Diddle would get out for a milky snack too. I'd have to bring him into the front of the car with me while Jason and Easton were going potty and therefore not around to distract Diddles. He'd eat a teeny tiny bit and then want to play:
Oh well. By dinnertime we'd arrived at our pals' house. Woo hoo!
2 comments:
I, too, loved the part where Easton asked D "Is this fun?" So sweet. The photo of Dalton's little toes peeking out cracked me up.
What an exciting drive! Storms! Spontaneous hotel stays! Applebees! When we had to evacuate for Rita, I ended up getting really sick in the car and we had to pull off at an Applebees so I could go inside. For the longest time, that is all BubTar remembered about it. "Look Mom! It is that Apple place! The one where you were soooo sick and looked like this." (and then he'd made a sad face) Ahhh, such cherished memories. ;)
I still can't believe that crazy storm you had to drive through. So glad you were able to find a place for the night...especially one with food nearby!
D's toes cracked me up too. :)
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