I only took notes on our first day so we will see how much I can actually remember for those of you that have any interest in reading the trip recaps!
Friday, Jan 2-
I got up for the day at 6am. I was too restless and couldn't fall back asleep so eventually I got up with Barrett following shortly behind. We moved to the couch for Mickey and relaxed for a bit. I could only take that for a little while so I eventually got in the shower and got ready for the day. I could have slept in but of course, that was too good to be true. We got Barrett ready and headed off to daycare so he could get a few hours of play in before we started the drive. It allowed Joe and I to finish our to-dos and get packed without him. Plus, we already had to pay for a full day so might as well use some of it! I finished my last minute packing stuff (toiletries, etc.) and did a little last minute house cleaning. Dishes need to be washed, beds made, floors swept. I wanted to be sure to have a spotless house when we got home because that would have been the last thing I wanted to do after the week of being gone. About 9am, I'm sitting on the couch completely ready waiting for Joe to run a few last minute errands.
Just before 10am, we head to daycare to get Barrett. Our goal was before 10:30 so we were going good. You will see that it was good we left early and really should have left even earlier but 10am worked. Barrett was excited when we got there and told everyone bye for the next 10 days. This would be his last day with Ms Kelsy as she was getting induced and started maternity leave while we were gone.
It was quickly into the trip that we realized we made a small error. Back story: Barrett had watched How to Train a Dragon for the first time during Christmas break while we were at my parents. I had bought it on itunes for the iPad as we could tell it was a major hit and would help get us through the roughly 14 hour drive. We had some issues with the download and apparently it didn't work completely. Not good! I told Barrett we had a special treat for him and he could watch the "dragon movie" in the car only to find that it wasn't working. Not okay in the 3 year old's eyes! So fast forward to Joe calling AT&T to get a hot spot added to his phone and $30 bucks later we can start the re-download in the car as we are driving. WiFi was so spotty it ended up taking almost 4 hours to download! It was only the start to our bad luck that trip.
We didn't make it very far before stopping in Vandalia, IL to have lunch. We wanted to load B up on food so that he would take a good nap so it was just over an hour into the trip before we were making a pit stop. We also had our first pee stop but after about 30 minutes we were back on the road and mostly happy! Joe drove all the way to the IL/KY border where we stopped in Metropolis to pee (again! yes, newly potty trained kid makes for lots of these) and to load up on gas. I take over the drive and only make it about 2 1/2 hours. I really can't sit still for much longer and it just so happens that B needs to pee. :) We are only a few miles to Nashville at this point. Unfortunately, we get to gas station and Barrett refuses to go. Great! No way can we force him so onward it is!
It's nearing about 4pm and we are working our way through Tennessee. Have I mentioned that Barrett didn't take a nap yet. So much for that plan to get him to sleep. He is luckily behaving really well for the most part though. We have no shame in reporting that he had unlimited iPad and DVD player access which helps greatly. In true Barrett attention span, I think he watches 45 minutes of Woody and maybe 30 minutes of Merida along with some of the Dragon movie and playing various apps. Have at it, kid! Finally, at about 5pm he succumbs to sleep for about an hour which gets us into Georgia.
We decide to stop for dinner a little bit north of Atlanta about 6:30 central time zone. It's 7:30 where we are currently and literally no one in the Arby's that we choose. Barrett runs off a bit of energy and is in crazy good spirits. Must have been the nap. We fill up with gas and Joe continues the trek. We have reservations at a hotel in Valdosta, GA so we just need to make it to the south part of the state and we can take a break for the night. So begins, even more bad luck.
We make it about 45 minutes down the road before hitting some rain. Joe had wanted to replace his wipers before leaving but it never happened and eventually we decided we need to stop to find some new ones. It's 9pm eastern time zone and luckily find a big enough gas station that has what we need. At this point, it's coming down pretty hard. Not crazy storm but a steady pour. Joe comes to switch them out (in the rain) and ends up dropping pieces and having a heck of a time. He's in and out of the car trying to get them put together and eventually manages to replace the driver side before giving up after not finding the necessary pieces. Onward, we make it through Atlanta easily but just south of there we hit a big detour. Huge accident has closed all lanes and we create this makeshift route all the way around. Lots of drama later, Barrett not falling asleep for the night until after 11pm and we end up making it to our hotel at 1:45am. Our goal was about 11pm so you can say we hit a few snags. We were all in good spirits though hoping that day 2 would bring some better luck!
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