Trader Road Trip – Day 1: Bags are packed, we’re ready to go!

Yesterday we got home from a road trip. We were gone 8 days, drove about 1900 miles, stayed in 5 different hotels, visited 7 cities/towns, listened to “Hey Jude” countless times (Isabella’s fav song – and she knows all the words) and only lost 3 woobies.

I’d definitely consider it a success and we had a great time.

It’s no secret that I love to travel. I also love road trips. Getting out on the open road to see this great country of ours. There’s nothing like it. Sure, it gets old living out of a suitcase and sitting in the car hour after hour. But there’s just something so freeing about the driving. It’s also great for some family bonding time. I think we came away from this experience even closer than we already were – and it reminded us some of the things we had forgotten we loved about one another.

I’m still assembling the hundreds of pics I took and will post them in the days to come. For now, I’ll just tell you how the trip began – with one sick husband.

And I don’t mean in a perverted way.

Early Thursday morning I awoke to what I thought was someone sneezing really loud. Turns out it was CJ puking his guts out in the bathroom. We’re still not sure if it was food poisoning or a 24-hour bug but either way he was in no shape to watch Isabella much less pack for a trip. I ended up taking Thursday off work (the original plan was for me to work through the day and then we’d leave when I got home) and spending it with Munchkin while CJ slept and tried not to vomit on our clean carpets.

Around 3 he started feeling a bit more human and began packing. We were on the road by 5:45 p.m. A bit later than my agenda had laid out but I rolled with it.

Isabella is strapped in and ready to go! She really had no idea what was going on but was just happy to be going on a car ride with her lady bug Pillow Pet.

The car was seriously loaded down. We have an SUV and it was filled to the gills! When you’re going to be gone for 8 days with a toddler, you bring pretty much the whole house. You know, just in case. We actually ended up using most all of it – and even realized we’d forgotten a few things. Go figure!

Poor Munchkin was tucked in and surrounded by all kinds of bags, boxes, suitcases and toys. She looks so small amongst all the stuff!

We hit the road and it was a looong night. Not because we were cranking through the miles but because we weren’t. We stopped 2 times before reaching Des Moines – which is only 2 hours away! I had wanted to get across Iowa Thursday night (typically a 5 hour drive) but between Mr. Sickie and Miss Toddler Pants, who was in a whiny mood, it wasn’t happening. We stopped around 11 pm in Iowa City. I seriously thought about turning around and ending it right there. I told CJ that if he wasn’t better in the morning we were doing just that because there was no way I could handle a week of doing all the driving/parenting/navigating/entertaining and taking care of him. He agreed and promised to make a decision the next day.

Obviously he awoke feeling much better and we carried on.

I won’t get in to the rest of the trip yet. More entries to come, as I sort through and get everything organized.

Despite having a great time with family and my 2 favorite people in the world, I am glad to be home. There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed and snuggling with your big fuzzy dog (who spent the week at my parent’s house and I practically had to pry my mom’s hands off his collar to get him back. They fell head over heels for the big guy and did not want him to go. My mom actually suggested they just keep him forever! Ha! Fat chance!).