As some of you know, over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays we loaded up the kids and hit the road.
J sitting very grown up with his new iPod
While this is pretty typical for most families, we decided to push the envelope a bit and go further than we have ever gone before – to Texas. The purpose was to celebrate with my family as my wonderful cousin was married on New Year’s Eve. So not only did we choose to do this during the winter, but we certainly had a deadline for getting there. And then to add to the fun, we came home a round-about way, going West to Anaheim to meet a most famous mouse. You can see our road map below with all of the stops we made.
A. Our Home, Beaumont AB
B. Saskatoon, SK
C. Bismarck, ND
D. Grand Island, NE.
E. Ft. Worth, TX. Mmmm, time for BBQ food.
F. Victoria, TX. Finally made it here for the wedding! Yahoo!!
G. Tucson, AZ
H. Palm Desert, CA. Stayed with Grandma & Grandpa while they are also on vacation.
I. Anaheim, CA. Disneyland, here we come!
J & J at the beach in Malibu.
J. Redding, CA
K. Spokane, WA. Had a nice visit with great friends here.
L. Home Again
Many people have asked how we were able to do this with a 4 year old and 7 month old. They ask if we had regular meltdowns or kids trying to escape their carseats. We had nothing of the sort. Here are some ways that we made each day a lot of fun and totally manageable:
1. We had routine each day. Between my husband and I, we knew who was responsible for what each morning as we aimed to be on the road by 7 am, no matter the time zone (a little challenging when you lose hours). Then, once we were on our way, we tried to do some of the same things each day. For example, we would listen to audiobooks very first, then have play time as I sat in the back seat with the boys, work on learning the alphabet and reading, and then after lunch we would have iPod/movie time. This prevented being bombarded with the continual question of when can we watch a movie.
2. Take short breaks for meals, but take as much time as possible if you find a park or green space to run around. We thought that bringing a ball to kick around outside would have also been a good idea.
3. Try to get hotels with pools. It helps relax everyone at the end of the day.
4. Have a craft table that fits over the carseat so that it is easy to eat, read and even do play dough.
5. Show how excited you are and the kids surely pick up on it.
6. Know your family’s limits. We have traveled with our kids a lot and have done long road trips already, so this was just another step up.
7. Have a lot of snacks packed!!
8. Make the journey fun, but the destination even more exciting. We always had Disneyland in our back pocket!
9. Pray a lot!!!
Maureen Small
January 24, 2012 at 4:50 pmWhat a great post, Lisa! We did lots of road trips with our kids before they started school, and I don’t recall any horror stories. My parents also took us three kids on two trips from Washington State across Canada to Nova Scotia and back, one when the youngest child was two and again when he was five – and this was the days before movies! They always did two of the things on your list that made a tremendous difference: 1) stopped at parks or rest areas for lunch (always packed a picnic lunch) so we could run around; and 2) almost always got a motel with a pool. It worked great!
Lisa
January 24, 2012 at 9:23 pmThanks Maureen! I have had a lot of feedback from others who have said that they are encouraged when they hear about others who have done this successfully. So thanks for adding to that.
Cindy Brown
January 27, 2012 at 11:36 pmGreat job, Lisa. It is great to hear how it is done, not just how your could do …
I remember a road trip to Arkansas and back, with 2 small boys, and we spent lots of time reading, playing games, coloring, and snacking! You are right – plan ahead, and plan to do things with them.
Jamie Banks
January 28, 2012 at 7:22 pmI am faithfully following your blog! I would love to do a big roadtrip with my kids, but starting in Glasgow, Scotland where my cousin is studying! Then drive to France and Italy! With David we usually travel by train in Europe, but having both kids gives us more stuff to lug around (and with short transfers and VERY big VERY busy European train stations might make things a bit interesting!) This gives me motivation, thanks for the tips!