Early February, we loaded up the mini-van and took our first roadtrip with two kids south to Salinas, California, Jonathan's hometown. The drive usually takes us about 13-14 hours and we usually do it straight through. We knew this would potentially be a disaster with a two year old and an almost three month old, but we decided to try our luck. We have heard good things about traveling with kids at night and since both girls sleep really well in the car and Adaya is close to sleeping through the night, we figured we had pretty good odds.
So at 6pm on Friday, February 5th, we were packed up and ready to hit the road. We made one stop after about an hour in Salem, for dinner and Adaya's last feeding. Both girls were in PJs and disposables and we were all geared up for the long drive. Adaya fell asleep instantly and Chloe watched movies in the backseat before drifting off around 10pm. Jon and I stayed awake while driving by listening to a book on CD, Into the Wild, which was entertaining, but a little long-winded. We stopped for gas, potty and snacks around 1 or 2am in Northern California, and I woke Adaya up to feed her. Chloe woke up too, but was back to sleep in only a little while.
Finally, at 6:30 am we pulled into Jon's Dad's drive, making record time. We were both very exhausted from only 1-2 hours sleep each on the drive, but ecstatic that we made such great time...only about 12.5 hours! Driving through the night is DEFINITELY the way to go!
We had a great time on our vacation. Slept in as much as the girls would let us, shopped, ate out at great places, watched the superbowl and Jon even worked three days with his dad at the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm Golf Tournament. Time with family was wonderful as they all enjoyed playing with Chloe and meeting and holding our new little Adaya.
The week went by way too quickly, though, and before we knew it, it was Sunday, February 14th...Valentines Day...and time to pack everything back in the mini-van and head home. We decided to spend every last minute we could with family, and since we made such good time coming down, we didn't mind leaving a little later. We finally hugged and said all our good-byes around 8pm, loaded up and prepared for another long-haul. After Chloe fell asleep again around 10pm, we listened to Marley and Me on CD and really enjoyed the light-hearted humor and tearful ending. After three stops: one for gas, Adaya feeding and snacks, another by an Oregon State Trooper for going 75 in a 55 (no ticket, though, phew!) and finally, McDonalds breakfast in the morning, we pulled into our drive at 7:30am...a new record! 11.5 hours! We spent the rest of the day resting, unpacking and making a quick grocery run.
