So, last fall, I had planned to take a month-long road trip, visiting family in the Southeast and ending up somewhere on vacation. But, that did not work out. Then, we got pregnant.
But, I decided I was still up for the trip this spring. We traveled during weeks 21-25. We stopped every hour or so (chiropractor's and midwife's orders), even if it was just to get out of the car and stretch (but, most of the time, one or all of us had to use the bathroom). The easiest "travel days" were about 4 hours. The hardest one was from Charleston, SC to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, when we did not arrive until late at night to our vacation rental. Thankfully, my husband had joined us by then (he flew into Charleston and enjoyed it with us for a couple of days before we headed up).
We are home now and have almost everything put away. And, I can honestly say I really enjoyed it! I would totally do it again! I would love to take a camper or RV to the Northwest. I would also take a road trip (or camper) to the Northeast. Heck, while we are at it, we might as well plan a trip to the Southwest, too! I have visited Texas, Arizona and Nevada a few times; but, the rest of my family has not (and I would love to explore Colorado, Utah and New Mexico).
Anyway, we learned a few things for when we do it again.
Lesson #1: I packed too many clothes. I am so thankful for being able to wash clothes at the homes of my family, at the hotel in Georgia (a Holiday Inn, no less!), and, at 2 of the 3 vacation rentals. I don't like packing clean and dirty clothes together, either. We brought enough for 8 days and for between 40 and 90 degrees. We could have done with 5 days of shorts and shirts and just two extra pants/warm shirts and a jacket/sweatshirt.
Lesson #2: My kids ALWAYS bring more than they will play with/read. They rarely play with what they bring when we visit a new place. They either get a souvenir they like much more or they are too interested in our surroundings. We also got gifts from our generous family! Next time, just one bin with toys and books and backpacks (if we are in the car).
Lesson #3: It is IMPORTANT to be flexible. We ended up not visiting family in Pensacola, instead heading from Atlanta to Charleston. This cut out three total travel days and enabled us to relax more. Since we made the decision late (and, it is hard for us to eat out a lot with all of our allergies, not to mention the expense), we looked for a vacation rental last minute. Not only did they give us a deal because of the last minute booking; but, it ended up being one of our favorite places (we stayed at Seabrook Island, near Charleston; so, we got to enjoy the beach every other day!). Also, we (I)sometimes make mistakes (like, not booking us anywhere the night of May 13); and, that ends up being a blessing. Even though we wanted to stay one more day at the beach on the Outer Banks, we decided it would be better to stop in Raleigh (Hotwire.com!) on our way to Asheville (to avoid another loooong travel day). The hotel we got was right downtown and some people we met at the beach recommended a great free museum in Raleigh -the Museum of Natural Sciences. It was the COOLEST museum any of us had every been to. The boys got to work in a lab, meet some live animals and go through a butterfly conservatory; and, there was so much more to see (but, we had to get to our next destination...shucks!). We were impressed with Raleigh and will return! And, heading home after Asheville, we decided to go to Louisville (instead of visiting family in Nashville). This put us closer to home for our final travel day (and, we did not change time zones until the day we arrived home...which, "kind of" gave us an extra hour; but, more importantly enabled us to readjust when we were already home).
Lesson #4: I remember why I like traveling in the "shoulder season". Before kids, my husband and I often traveled in May and September, to take advantage of the nice weather, but avoid the crowds. For some reason, we got away from that (my husband's company, Edward Jones, often offers travel in December, March/April and June/July/August, to accommodate families and school schedules...so, I am guessing that is the biggest reason we have gotten away from that). Thankfully, with homeschooling our children, we can travel during other months. Another blessing!
I look forward to describing our travels in detail to you over the next few weeks! It was a lovely trip and I hope to share some of our special memories!
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