Weekend Recap: Redemption Road Trip

I wrote about our road trip fail the other month when we went to Vermont.  It took us so very long to get up there and it was torturous with the kids.  By my own admission, I did not plan well.  I had a lot going on at the time and ultimately we probably shouldn't have made the trip at all.  It was mentally and physically draining...not really what vacations should be about.

I owned the fail publicly on the blog and researched some tips (and pinned a few) that could help us in the future.  Today I am happy to report our recent road trip a monumental success.  

Here is what made this trip a great success and a wonderful family memory: 

•  Prior Proper Planning: two weeks out I started creating a master packing list.  It is very comprehensive since I gave myself time to add items as they came to me.  I spent about 10 minutes a day for two weeks just reviewing the list.  I thought this was a good time to put together a master travel list to use going forward.  As something popped in my head, I made sure to jot it down.  This allowed me to run my "travel errands" throughout a two week period (not the day before!).   The packing list also incorporated all the food items we would need to bring and doubled as a shopping list.  I think the most critical component was not that I created a list but that I did it two weeks out and reviewed it daily.

Lists, Lists, Lists

• Set Yourself up for Success: I created a To Do List one week out of everything that needed to come together for me to be packed a day or two before we were leaving.  I made sure to delegate tasks to my husband and kids.  This went a long way in keeping my stress levels manageable.

My gorgeous pipe cleaner bangles

• Planned Car Activities: we amped up our travel kit.  Normally I bring the kids DS which they never play.  They don't even play them at home.  Somehow I wound up with kids who don't play video games.  Based on the research I did I stocked our travel kit with the following items - drawing pads, dry erase boards, crayons, colored pencils, pipe cleaners, and a deck of cards.  Those pipe cleaners were the best addition.  My kids loved them.  The dry erase boards were another hit.  My 8 year old had fun with Road Trip Bingo.  You can find templates here or make your own.

• Behavior Modification: I saw a blog post suggesting the use of clothes pins as a visual reminder of behavior.  If behavior was good, the clips were on the visor.  If behavior needed correction, the clips came down from the visor.  I was flabbergasted that this worked so well.  Like all behavior modification techniques, you need to change it up but I think I will get another trip or two out of this one.  I only had to pull the clips down once and they were devastated.  I just went the cheap, easy and undecorated route.  I had these around the house from the $1 section at Target.

  

  Quick and Easy.  Worked like charm.

• Splurge for Sanity: - John and I are fiscal conservatives.  We make a conscious effort to be thrifty.  Sometimes in our thriftiness we don't always make the best decisions.  in the past we opted to save $80 (one way) or $160 (round trip) on the ferry.  Long Island has two ferries taking you across Long Island Sound.  This trip we were going from central Long Island to Mystic, Connecticut.  Last year it took us 5 hours due to insane Connecticut  traffic.  This time we "bit the bullet" and splurged on a one way ticket for the Long Island Cross Sound ferry from Orient Point to New London.  OMG - what a difference this made to the trip.  We drove an hour and a half to Orient Point.  Took the ferry for an hour and a half.  Then drove 15 minutes to Mystic.  By far, this is the best way to do this trip from my location.  Going forward we will definitely look to utilize the ferries more often. Note: we would have taken the ferry back but couldn't get a reservation.

  

  On the Ferry.  Worth every penny.

• Breathe: I am pretty tightly wound.  I asked John to remind me that we are on vacation.  Making a mental shift allowed me to keep things in perspective.  "We are on vacation" became my mantra.  Pipe cleaners all over the car floor...'We are on vacation".  Kids whining while they try to get comfortable..."We are on vacation".  Little by little I am learning to not take life too seriously.  It is a work in progress.

Breathe..."We are on Vacation"

This was a short trip but it was a lot of fun.  The success we had in the car helped set the stage for a relaxing, adventurous, and enjoyable mini break.  If you are living somewhere near Mystic Connecticut, we recommend staying at the KOA campground in North Stonnington.  They had tons of activities for the kids at the campgrounds, our cabins were clean, the playground and pool kept the kids occupied for hours.  The A Team enjoyed riding their bikes all over the campground.  Mystic Seaport never disappoints.  The Aquarium is also an exciting place to explore.

Little A on the BOUNCY pillow!

Big A rode EVERYWHERE.

Getting frames pronto!

It was a very happy trip.

Melts my heart...when they aren't
killing each other.

Mystic in the rain.

August goal of 5 sun salutations.

 Our next road trip is in October to Washington DC.  Since it will be a longer road trip, I am going to start planning NOW and gather ideas to make it a success.  Vacations that start with me in the right frame of mind are key to everyone's happiness.  I can handle anything life throws at me with enough sleep and proper organization.

Anyone have any good hotels, restaurants, and/or places to go around Washington DC?  Share your road trip secrets with us below.

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Road Trip...Fail!

I love road trips.  Prior to having kids there was nothing better than throwing on a great playlist (or mix tape) and being trapped in a car with John for hours (he is my favorite person).  It was a great way to reconnect and escape.  As a mom, I still love the concept of a road trip because it is potentially an easy way to travel with kids.  We spent a long weekend at Jay Peak Resort in Vermont...way up in the Northeast Kingdom not far from Montreal.  It takes us on average 8 hours to drive from New York to this northernmost part of the Northeast Kingdom.

I have made the trek up to this part of Vermont almost every year, at least once, for the past 30 years.  I honestly don't know why I keep perpetuating this insanity only to say for nostalgia.  Albeit the middle of nowhere isn't bad for a getaway once in a while and in the winter they do have the best ski conditions.  We have made this trip for about six years with the kids...through blizzard conditions, through the dark of night, through extended vomit sessions, and through ridiculous traffic.  One trip even included a broken down vehicle in the middle of the mountains, in cold temps, with two small children and no cell service!

We travel 8 hours because it is a cheap place to stay
My Dad owns a slopeside condo!

We travel 8 hours because it is pretty...
despite the looming storm cloud

We travel 8 hours because they have a fun water park
We spent 7 hours there on Friday.

Some people like to go on the Flow Rider....NOT me!

This time it took us a tad over 9 hours to get here. I blame the great state of Connecticut.  They get a giant WTF in my book.  There was approximately 30 miles of traffic in that state.  Worse than New York or New Jersey.  Possibly worse than New York and New Jersey combined!

Freakin' Typical.  However, this IS
NY traffic.

This was NINE hours of huffing, puffing, arm crossing, tattling, pinching, slapping (J and I did NONE of the slapping), whining, crying, and then finally when J and I couldn't take anymore...there was peeing! Honestly, at this point we were just happy it wasn't puke because no Newman Family Vacation is complete without PUKE!

Also Typical!

NOT Typical...
This happened for 7 minutes (literally!).

On a number of occasions I was going to beg J to let me off on the side of the road.  Figuring staring down a nefarious highway man seemed like a more pleasurable experience than being trapped for another second with The A Team.

Why was this particular road trip such an epic fail?  It seemed far worse than any other road trip we have taken (unless God has been good to me and let me forget).  It was so bad I had to do a post-mortem and come up with solutions.

Here is my analysis of where we went wrong:

1. I was completely disorganized going into this trip due to a frenetic weekend and my dad having surgery.  I packed the morning of the trip and was already wiped out.  I mean EPIC, EPIC Fail!
2. Then I was too wiped out to even engage these kids for nine hours.  I just wanted time to decompress.  Ha!
3. This was the first road trip in the new family roadster.  This new vehicle is not equipped (yet!) with a DVD player.
4. The night before I asked the kids to pack up a travel bag.  They didn't and I haphazardly threw one together the morning of the trip.
5. They hardly slept at all on the way up.  They don't usually sleep but I forgot their car blankets and pillows.  Yup, FAIL!
6. The littlest A pretty much cried the entire vacation and much of the car ride.  She is the Princess and the Pea.  The complaints were endless.

We have a summer of adventures that lie ahead.  We even have a few fall trips planned.  This gives me a lot of opportunities to turn failure into success.  I have done my research.  Here is what I would do differently:

1. Be honest with my expectations.  John and I both need to do a better job at accepting that our life is ever evolving.  Road trips aren't what they used to be.  Vacations aren't what they used to be.  With kids no two experiences are the same even if it is the same road trip taken for years. 
2. Plan better.  This was my epic fail and I take full responsibility for it.  This includes being mindful of where my kids are in the lives/interests. I am a total Type A personality... controlling, planning, organizing. I admit it, my schedule leading up to this trip was too frenetic and I failed to plan.  Planning better will not only ensure we have everything we need, it will put me in a mindset to better handle the travel stresses.
3. Learn to enjoy the journey.  In most things in my life I am a destination girl.  Here is where I can learn something from my training.  I LOVE training.  I am OK with racing.  I train a lot but race judiciously.  A great example of enjoying the journey and not the destination.
4. Include the kids in my planning.  I am a list person.  My kids often have laminated checklists to guide them through the more challenging parts of their day like getting ready in the morning.  One of our next projects will be to put together their own travel checklists complete with artwork and lamination!
5. Audio Books! A number of sites/blogs suggested this.  I never thought of an audio book and it is a great idea!  I have used audio books during mandated quiet time when they were starting to outgrow their naps.   
6. Enhanced Travel Bags. Some great ideas from the sites below were travel bingo, a map, pipe cleaners for twisty fun, mad libs.  I have also decided I am going to pack these bags and keep them in the car always! No matter how long or short the car ride.
7. Mile or Hour Countdown.  Give the kids a visual aid to help them countdown the miles, minutes or hours depending on what is appropriate for the trip.  One of these sites recommended tickets.  I can be creative and figure something out.  This would work well for my kids, they are visual.

After a quick Google search I realized that I didn't factor in something integral.  I am not traveling with babies/toddlers anymore.   Check out some of these helpful sites/posts:

1. Smart Travel: 24 Mom Tested Tips for Road Trips with Kids on Babble
2. Road Trip Survival Guide: Don't leave home without our kid friendly tips on Babycenter
3. 101 Car Travel Games and Road Trip Games for Kids on MomsMinivan.com
4. AND Pinterest for the WIN...lots of good stuff if you search road trips with kids like this board.
5. Found this blog interesting: The Traveling Praters

For the record, this blog isn't going to highlight all of our happy moments.  That just isn't real life.  John and I are always honest and "keep it real" people.  We accept our failures (it may take some time), we analyze them, and we learn from them.  Now that our analysis is done, I am looking forward to the next trip!

OK, please tell us your tips and tricks for road trips with kids? What has worked? What are some good road trips you have taken?  Share, share share so we can all learn!

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