Happy Friday from the place that makes my heart the happiest.
Over the last several weeks I have been talking with my family about how and when we could make a visit happen. With some restrictions easing in Florida and North Carolina moving into phase one, we made the decision as a family that we were all comfortable with a visit but that we would drive instead of fly. (Of course I also spoke with Finn’s father about the travel too.)
Finn’s second birthday is on Monday so this was the perfect weekend to make the trek down to Florida….and what a trek it is! Five states and 585 miles!!! We started in North Carolina and spent over six hours on I-85 driving through South Carolina, Georgia and into Alabama. Once we got to Montgomery, we hopped on I-65 to head down towards the Florida panhandle and then finished on back roads.
This is actually one the second time that I have ever driven down here in the 6+ years that my parents have been living here. I don’t enjoy long car trips (especially when there’s such an easy direct flight) and I have been leery of making one solo with a small child.
I couldn’t have asked Finn to do any better in the car. He was a total rock star. He slept for the first couple of hours (we left at 10:30a) and then spent the rest of the trip eating snacks, watching shows on a tablet and playing with an Etch-A-Sketch and this pop-up alphabet/numbers/shapes/colors thing that I ordered from Amazon.
I ordered a kid’s Fire tablet from Amazon but it didn’t arrive before we left. Luckily, I was able to borrow one from a friend. It was an absolute life saver with this headrest mount and Finn watched the same Go Buster special on Netflix three times. (I had other options but he just really loves Go Buster right now…haha.) I am not sure my car will ever be clean again after the amount of crumbs were made during the duration of the trip but it was a worthwhile trade to get here with everyone happy and sane.
When we finally turned down the road to get to my parent’s condo development, Finn was laughing and squealing the whole time. He knew exactly where we were and was excited to be here.
We arrived around 7p (the trip took us a little under 9.5 hours…) and my dad had dinner waiting for us. He made enchiladas with ground beef and homemade enchilada sauce. Finn loved these!
He had also tried a new sourdough technique from Peter Reinhart. It was so nice to get here and have a good dinner. Bedtime was a bust for Finn and I let him stay up until after 9p (which is 10p Eastern). He just needed time to visit and run around after being in the car for so long. Luckily, when I did get him down, he went down with no problem and slept hard all night.
I came with three bags full of snacks from Trader Joe’s. You guys might remember that my grandmother loves to fill up her oven with snacks. There is no TJ’s around here and I think we can all agree that they have the best snack options so I stocked her up. Mema turned 90 last month and we missed celebrating her birthday so this was a belated treat for her! 🙂
In closing, I know that many of you are also separated from and missing your family right now. Sending a lot of love to everyone as we navigate these uncertain and unprecedented times. It’s not easy.
QUESTIONS
What are your favorite ways to keep toddlers entertained on long car trips?
Best/worst road trip stories with kids?
Are you seeing your family now?
Hi Jen,
Love following your blog! Last Saturday was the first time I was able to spend time with my parent’s, sister and nephews in person. As a family, we have been taking necessary precautions over the past two months, but felt it was safe for us to spend time together.
Pam
Thanks so much Pam! I am so happy to hear that you were able to spend time with your family and to feel safe and secure about your decision.
I’m glad you guys were able to figure out a way for you all to be together for Finn’s birthday. He looks so so happy in that picture with your grandma!
I am not sure how we are going to see my family this summer… our son is back in daycare now. It was a hard decision but I couldn’t keep up with my demanding job and watch him. He was watching so much tv which is ok for a period of time but not something I wanted him doing for the forseeable future. It’s been great having him back in daycare – he’s so happy there and I’m more productive without him around. But now we have no idea what he is exposed to so I don’t know how we’d safely visit my parents who are over 70. I haven’t even brought up this topic with my parents because they are going to devastated if we can’t come to their lake home this summer. It breaks my heart but my dad has kidney disease so is in the high risk group (although they really are not worried about COVID…).
But I am glad YOU got to see you family!! Enjoy your time! I hope you can stay there for a good chunk of time to make the drive worth it! Glad that Finn did so well in the car!
Thanks Lisa! Finn and my grandmother have a sweet and special relationship.
I applaud you for making the decision that is best for you and your family around work and parenting. I felt the same about the TV and it’s hard to find a good balance when you need to work. I’m so glad that he’s thriving being back in daycare, but can understand the uncertainties you face with his exposure.
I struggled with the decision too. I probably asked no more than 50 times the week we left if they were sure. I listened to a story on NPR a couple of weeks ago about the importance of making it a family discussion and decision, especially when it comes to older adults as seeing family can be important for their mental/emotional health. This is all so very hard to navigate and there is so much gray area. I just really encourage people to do what feels safe and best for them and their family.
Sending lots of love your way.
I’m so happy you are with your family! And happy 90th birthday to your sweet Mema! I have done quite a few long road trips with my 2 girls, starting when they were babies, and some trips go well and some are disasters ? Snacks and tablet/movie time are my best tools. And usually the promise of a special treat, like ice cream, when we arrive. All rules go out the window in long travel days!
Thanks Christina! Haha, I feel you on that and I tried to go into it with an open mind and acceptance that it could go either way! THANK GOD for the tablet, it was a lifesaver! Yes, all rules out of the window when asking for the patience of long travel with littles.
I’m so glad you got a chance to be with family. I don’t mind long road trips, but traveling with a toddler is not super easy. I used to drive up to NY every summer and spend about 3 weeks visiting family. One summer I drove from my mom’s house in upstate NY to Cape Cod (about 8 1/2hrs) to see my dad with my 3 kids- ages 2, 4 and 6 at the time. The hardest part was definitely the 2yr old, but the kids were awesome. I remember the thing I was most nervous about was the bathroom break and thankfully we only stopped once for that!I was SO relieved when we finally got to my dad’s house! But over the years when the kids were little I would bring little wrapped car presents (matchbox cars, little books, coloring stuff, etc) and periodically during the trips I would give them each something to unwrap- they loved it! The other thing that we often did was bring a picnic or get take-out and find a school or park instead of eating in a restaurant so the kids could run and play (and eat) before hopping back in their seats. Safe travels and HBD to Finn!!
Hey Kerry – wow eight hours with three kids is no easy feat! You are amazing. I love the idea of wrapped presents for car trips and longer flights! Thanks for sharing. Also a great idea to take a break and let them run around.
so so happy that you are reunited with your family! I wish you could stay longer than a weekend. but I hope you and Finn soak up all the love and enjoy an amazing birthday kick off!
We are staying for 5 nights so it’s definitely better than just a weekend!
I’m so glad you were able to get down there!! And so sweet that Finn got so excited <3
I really want to see my family but am so nervous to fly. I looked up how long it would take to drive to Utah (the only time I drove the distance was when I moved to NC), and, uh, no, a drive to Utah isn't happening! I hate anything over 4 hours! Glad you and Finn got there and you're a trooper too for a 9.5 hour car ride.
Hugs!
Thank you, Teri. I have been thinking of you so much and hate that you can’t see your family now because of the distance. I feel so grateful that we are able to drive, even if it’s a long one.
We made a few road trips of similar length with our twin sons when they were toddlers, and we used much the same strategy you did: provided videos for them to watch and a lot of snacks, and timed our drive so that they would sleep for at least a couple of hours of it.
We have seen my mom and my in-laws (who are both local) from a 6-foot distance a couple of times over the past two months, but sadly, a trip we’d planned to the Pacific Northwest to meet up with my sister and her family in July has been cancelled. I don’t know when we will next be able to see them.
I am sorry that you had to cancel your trip to the PNW this summer. It’s so hard to be separated from family. This is all hard on so many levels.
I definitely fly when possible. With the young kids, I have found success in snacks and tablet for movie/games. When possible I have traveled at night to maximize the amount of time they would sleep in the car. If I am not able to time it when they will sleep most of the way, I also try to plan stops where they can be outside and run around for a bit before they have to sit in a car again. I haven’t been able to see my family yet–I see covid patients, and while I have been tested, I want to be extra cautious so I don’t bring anything to my high risk relatives. A lot of my family also lives in Israel. This April, I was going to take my daughter for the first time, which didn’t work out. Restrictions still haven’t eased much over there,and while I could technically get a ticket using my Israeli passport (I am a dual citizen), it just isn’t worth it yet. That trip will be hopefully this fall or next spring depending on how things go.
Me too! I am so grateful that we can make the drive if we have to but much prefer flying for many reasons.
It makes sense to me why you have not seen your family. I sincerely hope that you are able to reschedule your Israel trip in the next year. I know that must be special for you and your daughter.
I am so thankful you’re able to be with your family in your happy place! A change of scenery is so necessary! Question – how did you navigate stopping? Getting gas? I just worry about bathroom breaks and public places en route to somewhere. We are debating a road trip and I would just love to hear how you handled that! How did you change Finn’s diaper, etc? Thanks!! Hope you have a glorious stay! How long do you plan to be there? I hope for your sake at least a week with that daunting drive!!
Yes, I would also love
To know how you navigated the stops along the way. My parents are both high risk, and we have only been doing grocery store pick up here in Ohio. It would be a 12 hour drive to my parents house and we are very concerned we might pick something up unknowingly along the way.
Hi Michelle and Laura –
I just want to reiterate that we had a discussion as a family that everyone was comfortable with us traveling. One thing that I have learned quickly in all of this is that people are different in their approaches and comfort levels, and I try hard to focus on what’s right for me and my family.
I packed all of our food/drinks so that we wouldn’t have to stop and eat. We stopped once for gas at a gas station (but I also stop for gas in Charlotte so this didn’t feel uncomfortable). We stopped once at a rest stop to go to the bathroom but it was quiet and there was no one in the bathroom and no outer doors. We ran in, I held Finn, peed and ran out. I also stopped once on a rural road and just squatted because I didn’t want to get out of the car at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere with Finn. I did all of Finn’s diaper changes in the car. I also had to stop a few times to take care of things for Finn but I just pulled over in a safe place and wasn’t around any people. We didn’t get out of the car.
I hope that helps.
This is a perfect response! We are thinking of getting together with some of our family at a campground in the middle (they are Louisiana and we are Georgia) and it was the stops along the way that were concerning me. I think you handled this well. We figured we would need gas station, pack food, and worst case could use rest stops and wash hands/use hand sanitizer best as we could. 🙂
My little girl turns two today also- she’s Finn’s birthday twin and I have loved reading along as ours go through phases similarly. Hope you all enjoy the time together!
Hi Laura – check out my reply to Michelle and Lauren. Lots of detail there. We are here for 5 nights.
Hearing about how you brought 3 whole bags of TJs snacks made me pause and almost tear up a little. My own grandma passed away several years ago. When I was in college, she would always make me these ‘care packages’ full of sweets- just what I liked! She was always so concerned that I was eating enough haha (like every grandma). This reminded me of her. What a sweet gesture for your grandma- I love that you did this.
Katie – thanks so much for sharing this with me. <3 Grandmothers are the best.
awesome to be with family! thinking about taking my son on a 7-8 hour trip to see family soon. I could stop once for gas and do full service to minimize contact. can I ask what you did about the bathroom for yourself? sorry if it is TMI – just looking for tips/advice.
Enjoy your time!
Want to reply here to make sure you see my reply to Michelle on this same thread!
Hey Jen,
Glad you got back to your happy place. Tell your mom and dad hi for me and give my favorite aunt a big hug❤️
Aw, I will Fran! Love you!
I’m so happy you were able to see your family!!!
We’ve done lots of long road trips with our boys. I always do lots of toys, books, and snacks that I can pass back to them. We’re hoping going to drive from FL to WI this summer and got Kindle Fire tablets for that.
This one is about flying, but the worst trip of my life was when my 2 year old was up all night throwing up and we had a morning flight – one of the longest nights of my life! Thankfully he stopped before we left and ended up sleeping the whole flight
The Kindle Fire tablet was so helpful. You will be glad you ordered it!
I am SO glad that your son got over his bug before your air travel. I cannot imagine how stressful that must have been as air travel is so inflexible!
I’m so happy you’re able to be with your fam in person and will get to celebrate Finn’s second birthday with them. We were recently able to see my parents after 8+ weeks of total self-isolation (our states have lifted the bans on non-essential travel and they drove here without stopping, including packing their own food) and it was so wonderful to be reunited. Like someone else said above, my daughter is (hopefully) going back to be back in daycare soon and after that I don’t think I will feel comfortable being around my parents (they’re 70ish), so we’re really soaking up this time together now.
How wonderful that your parents were able to travel to visit you. I know that was so special for all of you. I understand your concern with daycare, this is all so difficult to navigate.
I’m so glad you were able to make the trip to see your family! My heart melts hearing about you and Finns relationship with your grandma. I am very close with my (102 year old!) grandma and it’s such a special relationship. Have a wonderful rest of your trip!