Modern Mom: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
It’s time for our annual trip to Ontario, Canada, for a week of fishing, swimming, blueberry picking, and other “getting back to nature” activities. I know the journey is supposed to be half the fun, but given that I’m already hyperventilating at the thought of getting there, I’m doubtful. The air fare is extraordinary. Add to that the fact that we have to go through customs in Toronto before boarding a turboprop for the 2nd portion of the trip, the insane hours at which we need to depart and return to make it even viably affordable, and the thought of holding my 35-pound 1-year-old on my lap the entire time, and I’m ready to call Triple A for driving directions.
But that option isn’t looking great either. The drive is 16 hours each way…without stops. Given that we’ll be traveling with our 6, 3, and 1-year-olds, I’m banking on stopping…a lot. It will be impossible to do the drive in one day, so I’ll need to find a family-friendly hotel along the route. And then there’s the gas, which will likely cost more than our mortgage payment. I figure the kids will be cranky either way, so that variable is a wash. HELP! Which way should we go?
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1 comments:
We've done TWO long roadtrips this summer and was COMPLETELY surprised at how well our kids, 21 months and almost 4 years, did! One was 13 hours and the other was 12 hours (one way and we stopped overnight with both). There are two things that I would highly recommend - 1. lots of "new" books to read and some that play on CD too, I picked up about 20 at the library and they really helped pass the time, and 2. if your smaller kids take afternoon naps, warn them that there will be an afternoon "quiet time" and then after lunch, do your "putting to bed" routine in the car, whenever they start making noise, remind them that it is quiet time. The real cincher is having a great snack for when quiet time is over. Beyond those two things, lots of car-friendly snacks and toys and stopping every 3 or so hours for potty and stretch breaks should do the trick. Good luck!
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