Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Cross-Country

Before our trip to DC- right before- the girls and I took another trip. A road trip.
We drove aaaaalllll the way from Florida to San Antonio.  Stayed the night with my mom.  And then drove aaaaalllll the way to Tucson, AZ to see my sister and stay with J's family for Thanksgiving.
We had a great visit, and then drove aaaallll the way back. 
We are talking about 3000 miles and 56 hours of driving.
How did it go you ask?!?! 
Well.  Great, actually.  It's an awfully long time to be stuck on one's booty in the car, but the trip went extremely smoothly.  We had not one complaint, not one cry, not one "are we there yet".  I never even had to resort to movies or ipad time until the last 2 hours of the journey.
The girls were fantastic.  I've been asked for some traveling tricks, and so here are a few of what worked for us on such a long journey:

1- Bring entertainment.
Little One had a backpack full of coloring books, crayons and those magic markers that color only on the paper, books, magnet-sketch pad, dress-up princesses, and a leapfrog thing that She practiced writing letters on for hours.  We also played classic games like "I spy" and "count the cows".  Don't be jealous of our coolness.
For Little Miss I had a bag full of baby toys handy and when She started getting bored I'd just toss a new one to Her.
Luckily, they were often each other's best entertainment.  Little One was wonderful about playing "peek-a-boo", tickling toes, and retrieving dropped toys when Miss started to lose Her grin.  And Miss was such an appreciative audience, that Little One was very content to while away many minutes singing song after song to Her.

2- Bring FOOD.
I packed a cooler and a big box full of healthy food.  We had costco containers of baby carrots, grape tomatoes, edamame, blueberries, steamed broccoli.  We had craisins and apples and bananas and triscuits.  Hummus and soy-nut butter and wheat bread and oatmeal.  This way, we never had to eat nasty fast-food, and we all felt better for it.  Also, though, it saved a ton of time not having to stop when someone got hungry, and not having to drive around looking for a place to eat, which in Little One's case could be forever.

Little Miss in the Mirror

3- Pit Stops
We only stop at gas stations.  At every stop, we fill up the car, we empty the trash.  We change and feed the baby.  And everyone, I-don't-care-if-I-have-to-reach-under-your-ribs-and-wring-out-your-kidneys-myself, pees.  Restless pre-schoolers do a few jumping jacks and toe-touch stretches, if they must.  Then we are back on the road.  15 minutes or less.

4- Night Drive
For really long stretches- like 12 or more hours to be covered in a day, the key is to drive at night. On my way home I left Tucson in the afternoon and drove through the night, getting to San Antonio about 6am.  But I don't think I'd do it again. Getting sleepy while driving precious babies is no good.  My preferred plan is to get completely packed up and ready the night before, go to bed as early as possible, and then leave around 2am.  That way I get in a solid 5 or more hours of driving while the kiddos are sleeping, but the sun coming up (and a cup of coffee) make sure I'm wide awake for the rest of the drive as well.

With Great-Grandparents!

5- Enjoy It
Yes.  It's possible, and I did!  The scenery was lovely, we were on our way to see people we love.  But also, I appreciated the fact that I was in close quarters with both my girls, where there were no other responsibilities nagging at me and distracting me from them.  We got to talk and sing and play games together with out interruption.  It was nice to have that kind of time with them.  And then, when they fell asleep? We are talking hours at a time of total peace and quiet.  And absolutely NO laundry, dishes, vacuuming, or scrubbing to do of any kind.  It was actually quite lovely.

Making Thanksgiving Dinner and Memories

Providing Moral Support

So there you have it.  We also had the good luck to see Nana and Jaju on the way there, to see them and great-grandparents on the way back, and to stop in both directions in Los Cruces, so I could tank up on enough good, hot, real green chile to last me until the next time I visit New Mexico.
We had a little time with my sister, and lots of good time with my in-laws.
J's mom and sister even went to the trouble of cooking an entire, exquisite Thanksgiving dinner, all with ingredients that were safe for Little One. Right down to a chocolate-avocado torte that was to die for.  J flew out for the day, to share the meal with us.

Little Miss' First Thanksgiving Bite! (pumpkin)

Three Desserts for ME?!

Thanksgiving-ed Out

His mom, aunt, and sister and I went out to my sister's bar for a girl's night out.  Both Littles ate up all the love and attention, and I ate up all my MIL's yummy cooking, and of course, some In-N-Out.
When we finally got home after that long drive, I stopped just a minute before unpacking/repacking for DC.  To be thankful for safe travels, for friends and family we love to travel to, for sweet wonderful daughters to travel with, and a safe, warm, and loving home to return to. 

 We are so blessed.