Trip 2009. our road trip in minutes

Road trip Arizona
Total Miles traveled: 1,797

This is the first long road trip we have taken with Caleb and Carissa. They were champs! If it were up to me I wouldn't want to be harnessed in a car seat for hours on end but the tots didn't seem to mind too much.

Newsflash:
Traveling with toddlers takes longer than not traveling with toddlers.
At first we took more stops but as the tots got 'conditioned' our time between stops lengthened.

The departure.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
7:30am - depart Colorado Springs
8:20 - Breakfast (Cracker Barrel took forever! Ordering, eating and two potty stops...the minutes flew by)
9:55 - driving
10:50 - gas/pit stop
11:05 - driving, surprised the tots with a borrowed DVD player - watched 'Bee Movie'
12:40pm - pit stop (why it takes 15 minutes for 2 adults/2 tots to go potty I still don't know)
12:55 - driving
2:45 - arrived at hotel in Albuquerque
3:00 - swimming at hotel
5:30 - dinner
7:30 - bed
Bedtime was interesting. We realized (too late) that Caleb is too big for the Pack N Play. He moaned and groaned all night until I finally gave in and brought him in bed with us. It was a fitful night of sleep as Caleb tossed and turned and wanted me to rub his back every time he moved around. In the nights that followed however he got used to the smaller space and slept much better. whew.

Friday, July 24, 2009
9:45am - driving
10:10 - gas
10:25 - driving
1:03pm - pit stop on the side of the highway. Seriously, on the reservation there is no where to stop. Carissa had to pee so badly her eyes were watering. So, we pulled over and Carissa sat on her portable potty and Caleb got his first lesson from daddy about peeing in the bushes. And me? well, I also used Carissa's potty and mooned the highway drivers while doing it.
1:10 - driving
2:52 - arrive at hotel in Flagstaff

Flagstaff to Strawberry
During our short 1.5 hour drive on Sunday from Flagstaff to Strawberry our potty trained son announced that he had to poop. While we believed his 'plea for the potty' there was nowhere to pull off and he said that he could "hold it".

While driving I caught a whiff of what I was hoping was just passed gas. But moments later Caleb announced that he had poop on his fingers. I bolted around in my seat to see that yes, he did indeed have poop and nuggets stuck to his fingers.

What happened? After declaring that he could "hold it" Caleb pooped his pants quietly and then accidentally dropped his fruit snacks. When he went to 'fish' for his snacks in his lap he got more than just his fruit snacks.

It almost barfed (seriously). It was utterly disgusting.

Jeff pulled off the side of the road. We cleaned him up and stuck on an old tiny pull-up of Carissa's that we found in the side of the car door. This was a memory I don't want to relive.

To give the small kid a bit of credit he did tell us he had to go and afterwards he felt horrible about it. He hung his head.

Pictures of our Adventures in AZ to come...

The return.
Friday, July 31st, 2009
8:20am - depart cabin
9:30 - gas/pit stop (crossed state lines, lost 1 hour)
3:15 - lunch/gas
4:15 - driving
6:15 - pit stop (we had to wait for the guy who 'showered' in the sink)
6:35 - driving
8:20 - gas/pit stop
8:30 - driving
10:00 - home sweet home. finally.

Returning from AZ in one day was a stretch.
We learned a few things about our kiddos.
1. they do not sleep in the car
2. they got excited about 'pit stops' in hopes that they might get a treat
3. they still love videos (honestly, a lifesaver on long trips!)