I Survived Spring Break, Part II: The Road Trip

Who needs “I Spy” and the license plate game when you have modern technology? I may not have had my act together in the days and hours before we left for vacation, but I was prepared for the car ride. Two fully charged iPads (and power cords), two wireless headphones (with extra batteries), five new movies (including one slightly inappropriate title), an assortment of snacks (composed of both healthy and unhealthy options), a cooler of drinks (I’d pay for this later) plus cozy blankets and comfy neck pillows … what more could two boys want for a long car ride (besides more leg room)?

photo 2-57 — I spy with my little eye … a boy playing on his iPad

It may have been 10PM on Friday night by the time we were ready to go (yep, that’s four hours later than planned), but Part I of spring break was finally in the books and we were ready for Part II … the road trip.

The first leg of the ride was uneventful — the boys watched a movie with headphones, my husband and I chatted and sang along with the radio, we stopped only once for the bathroom and we slept in a hotel in Virginia, about half-way to South Carolina. After a hearty breakfast the next morning, we started the second leg of our journey. That’s when the fun started.

What should have been a five-hour drive turned into a nearly eight-hour experience. That’s a lot of time in the car. As such, I made a few observations …

traffic sucks
the Waze app is way cooler than Google Maps
1/3 of the cars on I-95 have New York license plates
a black SUV with black leather seats on a sunny day is hot
hollering “Woo hoo!” makes everything seem more fun
the inventor of wireless headphones is a genius
snacks save lives
a cooler of drinks = lots of bathroom stops
my kids would kick ass on “Name That Tune“
South of the Border is cheesy and gross
my husband is a rock star
my kids are actually pretty good in the car
I am the worst passenger out of the four of us

photo 5-31 — South of the Border is kitschy and dirty, but there’s ice cream

All in all, our first long road trip wasn’t too bad. The excitement of going someplace new lightened everyone’s mood (especially mine) and made the long drive more bearable. The road trip really was part of the spring break experience and together we were making memories as a family.

Now let’s see if we can survive the rest of the week together.

– LJDT