Around the 2000 mile mark for my roadtrip from Alabama to Utah I came up with a pretty good analogy for what it's like to travel that far with little kids. It's a lot like childbirth. It's messy and uncomfortable, you end up screaming more than you planned, you are exhausted before it's over, you say and do things you never imagined, it's probably the very worst when it's almost over, and if you ever choose to do it again it won't be for a long time.
But it's all worth it because the feelings of accomplishment and empowerment are amazing.
Think about it, I successfully completed a 2100 mile drive from Alabama to Utah - with four kids under the age of five. That's a pretty impressive feat - especially since I was the only adult in my car the entire time.
I want to celebrate my success with a blog post. I'm going to warn you, this is a long post, but that's because it was a long drive. I wanted to capture a little bit of the feeling of what it's like to drive across the county. One of my favorite things about road trips is watching the land change as you drive. So I made sure to take pictures of the landscape. In a perfect world I would have stopped and composed the perfect shot along the side of the road and waited until the lighting was just right. But there was absolutely no way that was going to happen. So instead you get pictures taken at 75 miles per hour through my bug covered windows. I wont be winning any photography awards, but I'm okay with that.
As with all my plans from the past several months this roadtrip had several different versions. At first we thought that Brandon might be able to go on the whole trip with me. Then it turned into him flying out to Utah after I was already there. And now unfortunately his training schedule isn't letting him go at all.
Fortunately I have some pretty great sisters who can help me out. My sister Lindsey was also planning to drive to Utah so we decided to caravan from Houston together. And my sister Hillary will be my driving buddy on the way home from Utah.
But first I had to get to Houston. The kids and I have been on lots of roadtrips, but we've always had another adult along with us. My biggest concern has always been how I would stop to go to the bathroom with all the kids in tow. My second biggest concern was how to check into a hotel with four road weary children.
Since we were driving straight to Lindsey's house I didn't have to worry about a hotel. The bathroom was still a concern though. I decided that my best option was to use the bathroom at rest stops. That way I wouldn't have to take my kids passed all the aisles of expensive snacks inside gas stations.
On the morning of Friday July 10th Brandon and I packed up all the kids into the car. We'd stayed up the night before figuring out how to get the seats into the perfect arrangement. I wanted Charlotte and Veronica up front and Lydia and Derrick in back. I figured that the twins would be able to hand each other things and help their siblings open water bottles. It was a little tricky getting it set up so we could still reach Lydia's seat belt buckle. What worked was to take the little arm rests off of her booster seat. We also duct taped the buckle to the side of the booster so it wouldn't fall down and get lost under Derrick's car seat.
We'd said a prayer before getting everyone in the car so all that was left was to say good bye and drive off. That is until I realized that I didn't have my sunglasses in the car. So Brandon and I ran back inside to find those. And then we were off.
Our car came with a built in DVD player. That little beauty is the reason my kids can handle road trips so well. They are perfectly happy to watch movies and snack all day long. I also cheated and put Charlotte and Lydia into pull ups. I just didn't want to deal with "mom I have to go to the bathroom" emergencies on this already long drive.
The first part of the trip was from Fort Rucker to the I-65 that runs through Alabama. We had to take some country highways and pass through cities. Going through cities always slows things down. I had to go to the bathroom before we reached the interstate. That was a problem because there weren't any rest stops. So I had to face my fear right off the bat and take all four kids into a Loves Travel Stop.
It actually went okay. Two kids refused to wear shoes, and Lydia insisted on wearing her costume cape and Charlotte was wearing a tutu over her pants, and Derrick grabbed a can of Pringles as soon as we walked in the store, and there was a huge line at the bathroom. But we made it there without me peeing my pants. So it went okay. After that though we only stopped for bathroom breaks at rest stops.
The kids needed diaper changes and the bathroom was super crouded and so I just changed everyone in the car. I filled up the gas tank again even though we weren't even at a half tank and then we were off.
After we got on the Interstate the trip seemed to go a lot faster. The interstate looked like how the rest of the south looks - a pine tree tunnel.
There was an interesting bridge outside of Mobile.
The I-65 ended in Mobile and we got onto the I-10. Before long we were crossing into Mississippi.
The kids were getting antsy and so we stopped at the first rest stop on Mississippi. The bathroom had a big puddle with rocks in it right outside the door. Derrick and the other kids spent a lot of time playing with the rocks and the water. Everyone who had to use the rest room walked passed us and either gave us smiles or quizzical looks. I was like, "hey we've been in the car for 4 hours and we have at least 5 more left so my kids can do what ever they want right now." I brought some food from the car and so we had a little lunch right by that puddle.
Then it was back into the car to get gas and then drive across Mississippi.
And soon we were into Louisiana.
The kids wanted to stop, but I wanted to make it across the Baton Rouge bridge before rush hour. During our move to Alabama we had been stuck in a traffic jam on that bridge and I really wanted to avoid that. So I put in another movie for the kids (I got really good at changing movies while driving) and we kept driving to Baton Rouge. We did get into some heavy traffic before the bridge, but it wasn't as backed up as it had been on our way there.
That bridge is so scary, but at least we were moving faster so we didn't have to inch up the bridge.
Here's the view of the Mississippi River out of my car window.
And here is the top of the bridge.
As soon as we were over the bridge I saw a sign for an information center so I took that exit and we drove there. We went to the bathroom first and then came back into the lobby to see a giant alagator. At first I thought it was just a statue but the information lady assured me it had been alive up until a few years ago.
The lady was super nice and didn't mind that my kids were all barefoot. But I still worried that we'd brake something so we left after only a few minutes. We headed out to the car and had some more snacks.
Derrick was so good and got into his seat right away.
Lydia took this picture of me.
The information center wasn't busy at all and we'd parked in some shade so I decided that we should get out of the car and play around. Derrick had brought a ball on the trip and so we got that out and the kids had fun kicking it around.
We stayed there for almost an hour and had a lot of fun with our little break from the car.
Everyone wanted to take a picture with their juice.
We don't normally buy juice so this was a pretty big deal.
I bought little juice boxes so less juice would be waited when the inevitable spilling happened.
Then it was back onto the road. We got gas and then kept driving west. You can see all the cars stuck waiting to go over the bridge.
Louisiana has lots of wetlands and the interstate goes right over them. We were on a bridge for miles and miles.
Here we are crossing a lake that had trees growing in the water.
The drive through Louisiana was long and hot. The air conditioner just couldn't seem to keep up with the hot and humid day. The sun was shinning on me and I just felt sweaty all over. Finally we crossed into Texas. Charlotte and Lydia were super excited to be back in Texas.
We stopped at the first rest stop over the boarder. The girls had a lot of fun with the hand dryers.
The rest stop had a boardwalk that we could have walked on if we'd been there before 6:00, but it was closed by the time were were there. So the kids just had fun with the ramp up to the bathroom.
There was a big Texas lone star next to the parking lot. There had been some people climbing on it when we arrived so the kids wanted to do that. There were also lots of rocks and that made Derrick very happy.
The girls had a lot of fun climbing up one side of the star and then sliding down the other.
I love this picture of Charlotte.
And this one of Lydia is pretty cute too.
We made another stop at the bathroom before we left. When we got out we saw two raccoons.
And then once again it was time to get in the car and keep driving. The sun started setting while we drove.
It was dark by the time we made it to Houston. I'm so glad I am somewhat familiar with that city. I was able to navigate from the I-10 to the 610 to 290 without much difficulty. Veronica wasn't happy and cried most of the way. But all the kids were asleep by the time we arrived at my sister's house around 10:30.
Lindsey and her husband were on a date, but the babysitter knew we were coming. She opened the door for me when I arrived which was good because I had my arms full. Rocklond and Knoxx were already in bed and the babysitter had already been paid so she went home. I brought all the kids in and got them into pajamas. Charlotte went right back to sleep, but everyone else played around while I brought stuff into the house.
After about 45 minutes we all went to bed. Veronica slept in a pack in play and I shared the bed with all the kids.
The next day was nice and relaxing. We did a little shopping (I got all nostalgic at the HEB), but mostly we just relaxed. Charlotte and Lydia fell asleep on the couch and it looked like Lydia was sleeping in a weird position.
On Sunday we all went to church and then we came home and started packing. I packed one suitcase with all the clothes we would need for the next three days. The other one had all the rest. Veronica got tired while I was packing so I put her to sleep on the bed.
In the evening we took all the kids for a walk down by the lake. Derrick though it was so funny every time Gretta jumped into the water.
Then we brought the kids back and put them to bed. Veronica didn't want to sleep in the pack and play so she insisted on sleeping on the bed.
None of the other kids had naps that day so they went to be really easily. I packed everything into the car, set my alarm for 3:30 and went to sleep on the livingroom couch.
I thought it would be hard to wake up that early, but Veronica actually woke up right around 3:20 so I just got up with her and then started getting ready. I got dressed and finished packing the car. Then I woke the kids up enough to put them into new pullups/diapers and then took them out to the car still in their pajamas. They each got a little bit of food and water. Lindsey got her kids and car ready and then we were off. We had to get gas and then at 4:45 we started driving.
The kids all fell back asleep and it was nice to drive without listening to a movie. When I'd first checked our route on Google maps the driving directions had suggested we go through Fort Hood. I did NOT want to do that. For one thing I was pretty done with that place. For another, I've driven that route and I knew it wasn't the fastest way to go. Instead we got onto Highway 6 and took that to Waco. The sun rose just outside of Waco. Lydia woke up and asked if we were still in Texas. And then she blew kisses in the air when I told her we were.
We made great time up there. I knew it would be fast, but it only took 2 hours whereas a trip through Fort Hood would have taken 3 hours. We stopped and had a side of the road breakfast near Lake Waco. And then we kept going.
This part of the trip wasn't as fast. We were still on Highway 6, but it went through lots of towns that we had to slow down as we went through. Finally we made it to the I-20 and were able to quickly cover a lot of miles. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop outside of Abilene. I changed all my kids into their clothes for the day. The rest stop wasn't as nice as the ones along the I-10, but the picnic area was great.
Veronica had a lot of fun with pudding. (I'd purposely waited to change her clothes until she was done eating.)
And then we got gas and kept driving. I was very familiar with this part of the drive. This was the same route we always took to Utah and it had been the way from Utah most times. This was at least my 6th time on this road.
The drive from Abilene to Lubbock went fast enough. But from Lubbock to Clovis just dragged. That's because we had to go through lots of little towns. I hate slowing down for those towns.
We drove through Clovis and then stopped for gas at a gas station in a little town called Melrose. This is the place where our jeep broke down when we moved to Texas. Lindsey had made the 10 hour drive from Houston with Rocklond and Knoxx to come rescue us and take us to Fort Hood. Then a week later Brandon, the kids and I drove back to fix the jeep. As we drove up there on this trip I pointed places out to Charlotte and Lydia. I was like, "that's the McDonalds where we ate with Lindsey, and that's the parking lot where we all slept after Daddy fixed the jeep." They didn't remember any of that. They did remember all the trains that went by the place where the jeep broke.
One of those trains made an appearance while we were at the gas station. Derrick was so happy. Two trains drove by while we were there.
It was hot so we didn't stay long. Our goal for the day was Santa Rosa New Mexico. We'd passed a sign in Clovis that said that Santa Rosa was only an hour away. I'd warned Lindsey that the sign lied and that we were probably more like 90 minutes away. But really it was probably a good two hours. We finally arrived in Santa Rosa and went to our motel. I'd booked us the same room I'd stayed in with my in laws last year. I was looking forward to the large room with three queen beds. But when I checked into the motel they said there was a problem with that room. They offered a room with two queen beds at a discount. What I should have done was ask for two rooms at the same price as the first one, but I wasn't thinking clearly. So I took the one room. For future reference, it's not a good idea to take 6 little kids and 2 adults into a two bed motel room.
Lindsey didn't care though. She was just happy to have somewhere to lay down. We made some food in the microwave and they watched TV. Three of my kids were still pretty hyper so I took them to see the blue hole. We'd been here the year before, but none of them remembered it.
The blue hole is a 80 foot deep spring. I was worried Derrick would jump into it so I took the kids to the little run off stream and they played in that for a long time.
Lydia wanted me to take her picture on the little bridge.
She also found a little butterfly earing.
It started getting dark so we went back to the motel. The kids settled down and everyone except Veronica went to sleep. She stayed up while I took a shower and then she finally went to bed around 10:00. Lindsey and her boys slept in one bed and me and my kids slept in the other. Surprisingly we all fit. The three older kids slept at the top and Veronica and I shared the bottom. Veronica woke up crying around 2:00 and didn't stop until I changed her diaper. Then she fell asleep sprawled across the bottom of the bed. I didn't want to wake her up so I moved over to the foot of Lindsey's bed.
We'd talked about waking up super early again, but decided against it. Instead we got up around 5:30 and were on the road by 6:30. I was happy to be in New Mexico. It's a pretty state.
I wanted to try out a new route though New Mexico. Usually we drive to Albuquerque on the I-40 and then go diagonally up to the four corners area. But that diagonal route's road always seemed rather slow to me. So this time we stayed on the 40 all the way to Gallup which is on New Mexico's western edge. Then we traveled straight up the west side of the state. That seemed to be a lot faster.
We stopped at a gas station in Gallup and the kids seemed to need a break from the car. Lindsey was trying to find a park on her phone when a nice lady asked us if we needed help. She told us about a park just a few blocks away and even offered to lead us there. I'm glad we followed her there because we never would have found it. The park turned out to be amazing. The kids were so happy to have somewhere to run around. They disappeared onto the play ground and played for a long time.
Lydia found a bunch of morning glory and picked lots of flowers.
We ate lunch at the park and then started driving again. I was a little worried that this road up the side of New Mexico would be a tiny two lane road, but instead it was a nice divided highway. The scenery was also very pretty.
Our route would take us right by the four corners area and Lindsey and I debated whether or not we should stop at the actual four corners monument. We'd heard it was pretty lame, but we still wanted to see it. Lindsey put it best when she said, "We'll always regret it if we don't go. We still might regret it if we do go, but at least we'll have gone."
Lindsey called the number for the monument and the recording said it would cost $5 per car. That seemed reasonable. So we decided to go.
The drive out to the monument was pretty. Once we got to the monument I saw a sign that said it really cost $5 per person - but luckily that was only for people over the age of 6 so it was still only $5 a car for Lindsey and I.
I was very unimpressed by the monument. It's on the Navajo Reservation and so they manage it. And, well, it's no national park. The parking lot was dirt and then you could walk over to the monument area. There were shops all around where people sold Indian Jewelry.
There was a line to take a picture on the four corners so the kids played around while Lindsey and I waited in line. They kids were pretty content until some indian lady started yelling at them from her jewlery shop to stay out of the cactus. Lindsey and I got worried about how our kids were behaving. (Really we shouldn't have let the lady get to us. We could see the cactus and the kids were far away from it)
So we go out of line and took a picture of the kids in front of the monument. The kids were all pretty fed up with the whole thing and you can tell.
But we got a good picture of me.
This is what the monument looks like.
Before we left I ran to the bathroom. All they had were vault toilets - which was understandable considering we were in the middle of no where. But what got me was the signs on the doors. Each door had a little sign that said, "locks don't work. Please knock." I told the lady standing next to me. "For 5 dollars a person you'd think they could put locks on the doors." It was so dumb.
We left there and drove through more pretty scenery.
We got on a road that took us into Utah.
The road got much more interesting once we were on Utah. We were heading toward Blanding and a sign directed us to a road that took us up onto a plateau and then back down. It wasn't the most direct way, but it was pretty cool.
Thoughout our trip the kids had been pretty good about handing eachother stuff and helping eachother out. But somewhere around here Lydia fell asleep. Derrick wanted and apple but Charlotte just couldn't reach far back enough to give it to him. So I ended up throwing it at him while still driving. It hit him right on the face, and he cried about it for a while - but he did get his apple.
Outside Blanding I called Lindsey to see if she needed to stop. She was fine and we decided to just push on to Moab before stopping. So we kept driving.
Finally we made it to Moab and stopped at the McDonalds there. I forgot to bring my camera in with me, but you can just imagine the smiling faces on my kids as they at fries and drank root bear.
We filled up on gas one last time and started the last 4 hour stretch home. I told Lindsey that this part would go fast because the way was very familiar. I don't know how it was for her, but it went fast for me. Here's a picture of the San Rafael Swell from Green River. Lydia had been asleep when we crossed into Utah so she was really surprised when she asked if we were in Utah yet and I said yes.
I was really nervous about driving highway 6 at Price. Last year I'd driven it in the dark and I'd been really scared. This year we made better time and so it was still light. The road was a lot less scary in the daylight.
The sun set right as we made it to I-15 in Spanish Fork. I was so happy to be back on an interstate. I jumped into the HOV lane and took off. My kids were all getting really antsy. They'd lost interest in whatever movie they were watching and were starting to fight. So I turned off the move and turned on the radio. That really made them mad. They screamed and cried as we rounded the point of the mountain. They settled down a bit and I turned the movie back on for them.
Soon we were at the I-215 interchange and in hardly anytime we were pulling into the parking lot for our hotel on 3500 south. Between the in-car drama and the dark I'd lost track of Lindsey, but I knew she knew the way. It was 10:15 and I knew my parents would still be awake so I called them to see if they would help me get my kids into the hotel. Lindsey showed up and we took turns going into the hotel to check in (we had separate rooms this time.) We pulled around to the back and soon my parents arrived. They had an extra person with them. My sister Emily had been bumped up to an earlier flight into Salt Lake so she was with my parents. Seeing my parents and Emily was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.
Charlotte and Lydia jumped out of the car to hug their grand parents. Then we went up stairs and found our rooms. The first thing I did was take out my contacts. I made one more trip down to the car to get something and then my parents left so I could put the kid to bed. Once again Veronica was the last one to fall asleep. And once again she woke up crying at 2:00. But it didn't matter as much because we'd made it.
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