Lessons from the Road

Sometimes you just have to relax about things when traveling with a baby. For example, I packed enough organic food to feed a small village and I used baby 3 packets of it. Lydia likes to feed her self so she got to try things like macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, spaghetti and even strawberries! I was waiting for strawberries because it supposedly a high allergy food but then I did a quick read on the internet and it turns out it is just something to worry about when there is a history of food allergies. She ate from fancy restaurants and truck stops. She was okay. So we were okay.

Not every hotel has a comfy rocker to snuggle up with your little one, read a couple of books and give her her night time milk.When you have a baby that wants to stay up to play all night and that put her in the car trick doesn't seem right since you are on a road trip, well you put her in her pack and play. You let her play it out. There were a couple nights that she out played us. There were a couple of nights she fussed a bit. Overall she slept well every night 10-12 hours not matter where we were. Thus she was okay. So we were okay.

A few more life lessons...

1. The HOV lane does not require people to drive fast.
2. Sometimes when your lost you find exactly what you are looking for.
3. A real friend is a friend no matter how many years or how much distance keeps you apart.
4. I structure all of my days around food which can be bad but also very good.
5. Some stranger pushes my kid regardless if they are 30 years old or 3, I will want to eat their face.
6. I pack way more than I need. 
7. I don't use cruise control because it makes me feel out of control.
8. As long as the baby is happy, so are we.
9. The Fast and Furious is a movie and it also describes my driving.
10. I like waking up in the morning not knowing exactly what the day has in store and that Eliot (Lydia too) are at my side the entire time.

Road Trip Day 16

Finally almost smelling home we decided to get on the road. We just drove home. We stopped for lunch and watched the Women's World Cup on the IPhone which was great except when we lost connection. I had found a Stride Rite outlet store conveniently located on I-4 by our route home. Lydia needed new shoes, so we figured why not. What were we thinking entering an outlet mall on a weekend in the tourist capital of the world? We fought for our parking spot and all the way to the store.

The reason that I suspected Lydia needed new shoes is because she kept ripping them off. She knows how to pull the velcro and kick them off.  But she does it with such vigor, I figured we should have her feet measured. Sandals seem to be easier to get on than the closed toed ones. We measured and my little baby feet are a size 4 1/2, almost a 5! I was squeezing her feet in a 3! No wonder she hated shoes.  Bad mommy!

We got home and my folks came over which gave us the perfect opportunity to get everything put away everything, start laundry and start relaxing, on the first night home. It was perfect for them to love on their grand-daughter. Then today the Gaurkee Clan came over and we went to dinner for some more grandfolk and family love. 

We had a fantastic trip but it is good to home!

Road Trip Day 15

As anticipated we woke up late morning, past the extended continental breakfast, and slowly packed out things for the second to last time before venturing through the last of the southern states. Our first stop was the Triangle Waffle. When we entered there was a young tall guy standing by the interior doors with the thickest southern draw I have ever heard, it took my head a second to decode what he was saying. It was tiny, filled with people, cheap and tasty.  A perfect combination, they even tried to figure out what the diner food focus could do to feed my baby. With filled tummies we headed to Savannah.

But not without a perfect cheese-ball stop at South of the Border. If you haven' t been there it's worth it to chuckle at the pure absurdity and brilliance of the place. If you have been there, you know what I mean. We took the requisite pictures, played in the World of Hats and I got a milk shake.

I have been to Savannah twice I think. Once with my college roommate and another time in high school with my parents. Neither time did I apparently really see Savannah. It is simply lovely. At an extra slow pace we walked through the downtown successfully without joining a walking tour which for the record I really dislike. We made it to the river area and put in our name for dinner at Huey On the River. We saw local artists work in a local gallery and enjoyed street performers. After an amazing meal where both Eliot and I have decided that after 35 years of disliking grits we are now super fans. The meal was so good that we just sat there while Lydia tore up the table. Normally we stop this sort of thing but it was 10pm with our party girl baby and we were stuffed, so we watched and took pictures. We took dessert to-go and are now lazily watching TV in the hotel room which we haven't done in two and half weeks.

peek-a-boo

Road Trip Day 14

The modest Amish and the odd Dutch food somehow lead us to Bittersweet Baltimore. The row houses were amazing but the poverty was overwhelming. When we arrived to the hotel Eliot typically grabs a giant stack of brochures and provides suggests for what would be the best things for us to see. It turns out Port Discovery which is another children’s museum is the fourth best in the nation, so having already gone to the first best, we thought we should check it out. There was also a nearby Holocaust Memorial, John Hopkins, the Inner Harbor and bookstore, Washington Memorial at Mount Vernon and the Baltimore Museum of Art….and of course Charm City Cakes. We hit them all! We had a fantastic day. We drove through beautiful areas of the city and through strips where the houses were disintegrating from the inside out. It seemed like this was one of those cities where the rich are very rich and the poor and sadly very poor. 

Lydia loved the museum though I would say Port Discovery didn’t compare to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. They did have a Tot Trail area and we arrived just in time for music time with other musical toddlers. Lydia was a dancing queen and then enjoyed playing with blocks.

After a great day, we headed south. Our plan was to drive about 5 hours and arrive in Raleigh. Today we would have woken up gone to a couple of parks, grassy areas done a small hike, perhaps a picnic lunch and left for Savannah, but something happened. Friday + DC + 400,000 commuters= traffic. But not just normal traffic, this was ginormous, out of your mind; you can’t believe you haven’t moved an inch traffic without a cause like an accident, plan crash, construction or aliens landing strip. Snails passed us. After being in the car for 4 hours and only having traveled to right outside of Fredricksburg we had dinner at 9pm, thinking that by the time dinner was over traffic would have really disappeared. Wrong. We decided that we were going to need to sleep in the next morning so we needed to get a little farther, so Dunn, North Carolina had a fluffy pillow for us to lay our heads’ on.

Road Trip Day 13

Pennsylvania is a big state and has so much to offer. So we wanted to get done a million things in a very small about of time. First time in Harrisburg lead us to the National Civil War Museum followed by lunch at the Hershey Story with a sundae dessert so big and chocolatey that I couldn't finish. A dash tot the outlet mall before a ventured through Amish Country. We stopped at a couple of markets, quilt stores and antique shops. We saw beautiful farm land.

We stopped for dinner at The Dutch Family Restaurant in Gap, PA. Hungry and excited, I quickly saw Chicken Pot Pie on the menu. Note: I am Cuban. I didn't know that people didn't eat rice at every meal until I was 13. Therefore, Potpie Dutch? Sure why not. The server told me that their potpie didn't have crust and it wasn't creaming. Okay why not. Not to long a bowl appeared in front of me with egg noodles and an entire chicken breast on the bone. I am not sure but it looked like chicken noodle soup. I had a bite. It tasted like chicken noodle soup and it was cold.  I sent it back which I rarely do, and ordered spaghetti with meatballs. That's not Dutch either is it?

Late evening in Baltimore.