According to mapquest, the trip would take 6 hours and 10 minutes. Factor in a baby, a toddler, and construction and you get 9 hours of....quality time.
The actual being at Grandpa's was fun! We stayed in his camper. Brett loved the wide open space to run and explore. Lydia loved their dogs. Grandpa took us for a ride in the combine. We rode his four wheeler. And I took Brett to the playground I used to play on when I was a little girl (I lived there until I was 6) where amidst a lot of new equipment, they still had the teeter-totter and elephant slide I remember playing on. It was also a special feeling when I introduced Lydia to old family friends, for a smile of recognition to come to their face, and for them to say "I knew a wonderful Lydia...", speaking of my grandma who went home to be with the Lord in 2003.
But back to the "traveling" part of the trip. Someone who is traveling without children, or even someone who is traveling with small children and her spouse might not realize the dilemmas it creates when there is one of you and two of them. While pay-at-the-pump is a wonderful convenience, and I stocked up on snacks and beverages beforehand, I can't go 9 hours without going to the bathroom. Not that a 20 month old would last in a car seat for that length of time anyway. So, for your entertainment, an account of just one of my dreaded stops along the way:
I started plotting 20 minutes beforehand how I would get everyone fed, changed, go to the bathroom, and give Brett a chance to run. At 12:30, I pulled into Brookings, SD. I had a lunch in the cooler for Lydia, but nothing for Brett and I, so I drove-thru Burger King and then headed over to the park across the street. Brett spotted the playground equipment and a picnic destination was set for a nice shaded spot near the slide.
Unfortunately, there was a nice big grassy field between the parking lot and the playground equipment. My plan to put the kids in the double stroller for transporting ease was squelched when I discovered Grandpa had buried it under all our other stuff when he loaded the car. Plan B was to push Lydia in the umbrella stroller -no basket- carry the picnic blanket, diaper bag, small cooler, and large soda, and have Brett walk. With that small task accomplished, I gave Lydia her lunch while closely watching Brett on the not-so-toddler-friendly equipment. I lured Brett over to the picnic blanket with french fries and milk and ate my cheeseburger.
It was just after 1:00 when I changed both kids' diapers. So far, so good. I let Brett play some more while I contemplated how I would accomplish my last goal - going to the bathroom. No public restrooms in sight. I considered stopping at a gas station - that would require belting the kids in the car, unloading, managing the two through the store full of tempting items, keeping curious hands off dirty toilets, and reloading the kids back into the car.
There was more park on the other side of the car, so I decided to see if there was a public restroom and possibly eliminate the work of unloading and reloading the kids. I packed up all our things and we all headed back to the car. We dropped off the blanket, cooler, and diaper bag at the car and ventured toward the other side of the park. Brett picked up some garbage along the way, and, wanting to teach my kids to take care of their planet, we found a trash receptacle for it. When I lifted Brett so he could put the litter where it belonged, I smelled a distinct aroma. No diaper bag with us, that would need to be dealt with when we got back to the car. We walked pass many slides and swings - each one, Brett had to go check out - and finally came to a restroom. There was a stall that would fit all of us - thank God for small miracles!
It was on our way out of the bathroom that Brett spotted what I had hoped he wouldn't - just at the top of the hill and on the other side of a chain-link fence was a big swimming pool complete with water slides and fountains. He no longer had any interest in any of the slides or swings on his side of the fence. Brett spent the next 10 minutes longingly staring at the kids on the other side of the fence splashing in the water.
By now, it was 1:30 and we really needed to get back on the road. Pushing Lydia in the stroller, there was no easy way to get Brett back to the car. As if we were not already conspicuous enough, (It's not every day that you see a white momma strolling around a park with a black toddler and white baby in Brookings, SD. In fact, I would venture to say that some of the kids at the park had never seen a black child.) I grasped Brett's hand and pulled him along. Every few feet, he would break free from my grasp and run back towards the pool. I'd run back to get him, leaving Lydia unattended, and Brett inevitably would scream hysterically.
When we got back to the car, I put Lydia in her car seat, changed Brett's diaper, loaded Brett into the car, and just had one last piece of unfinished business - Brett's smelly diaper. No trash can within sight of the car, we drove to the Arby's down the road with a trash can conveniently located in front. And 1 hour and 20 minutes after we pulled into Brookings, we were back on the road.
I had 2 hours before I would have to stop again.
Loving: Lydia loves to sing songs and rock, swing, watch TV, swim, go for outings and walks and babble. She loves animals! She likes to play with her brother.
Taylor
My sister celebrated her 40