Are we there yet? Traveling during the holidays

The lovely scenic drive of I-5

Not all can be so fortunate to stay home for the holidays and relax with our families. Some of us have to travel to far away places–either by plane, train or the dreaded car ride (Do you want me to turn this car around?!) –and cram the entire family and dog in the van, along with 12 suitcases, casseroles, pies, jackets, pillows, blankets, etc. It was so much fun this year that I can’t wait to do it again next year… Not!

This Thanksgiving, we drove down from the Oakland to San Diego. We usually fly but with the amount of gear we had to bring, driving was the better option. If my husband and I didn’t have kids, we would probably make it there in about 6 hours, maybe 7 with minimal detours. However since we have a 4-year old in tow and I’m pregnant, we had to make numerous stops: potty stops, food stops, and I’m-going-to-go-crazy-if-we-don’t-stop stops.

Prologue: We just purchase a new portable DVD player that we just tied to MY head rest, which is directly in front of my daughter’s car seat. Here’s a quick recap of our trip with my daughter doing most of the talking:

9:ish AM – Still in the garage, car hasn’t started.
Mommy, I feel like I need to watch a movie. (No. You didn’t finish your breakfast, so you don’t get to watch a movie in the car.) But I waaaaant to watch TV, Mommy! (No.)

9:30 AM – Miranda is watching “Grease 2” on  the DVD player. (Yes, we’re suckers.) She’s figured out how to play it, rewind it, pause it, etc. Meanwhile, Daddy is still figuring out how to change the DVD.

10:11 AM — Are we there yet?

11:31 AM — Are we almost there?

12:03 AM — Muffled sounds from Miranda saying something. I can’t really hear her because I’ve put on my ear buds and am listening to songs on my iPhone. Let her Daddy deal with her.

12:17 PM — I’m hungry. (Ok, we’ll stop in a few minutes.) What does “a few” mean? (About 5-10 minutes.)

12:18 PM — How long do I count to get to 10 minutes? (Count to 600.) 1, 2, 3, … 89, 90, 91, … 97, 98, 99, TEN-ty, ten-ty-one,  ten-ty-two… (There’s no such thing as TEN-ty. It’s 99, then one-hundred.) Oh, okay. 97, 98, 99, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600. Are we there yet? (No, Darling. You have to count, 100, 101, 102,…)

12:30 PM — We stopped at a little town called Buttonwillow (near Bakersfield) because we saw a Salvadoran restaurant from the freeway. I’m glad we stopped. The pupusas were muy bien! So are we in San Diego now? (We both respond with an aggravated, “NO!”)

2:07 PM — How long do we have to ride in the car? (When it’s almost dark.)

2:21 PM — Are we there yet? (Take a nap.) NO! (Close your eyes.) NO!

3:ish PM — She fell asleep, FINALLY! But we need gas and I have to pee. Darn it! So we go as far as we could go before we start running on fumes.

3:56 PM — We stopped at a gas station somewhere in a shady part of LA. There was a line of men waiting to use the bathroom and I’m assuming the facilities are going to be gross, so we drove around town and found a grocery store.

4:24 PM – So, NOW are we in San Diego? (No. We just stopped here to use the potty.)

4:25 PM — When are we going to be in San Diego? (In about 2 hours.)

4:26 PM — How long do I count to get to 2 hours? (Please don’t count.)

4:27 PM — I decided to put “Stuart Little” in the DVD player. That should keep her quiet for a while.

4:32 PM — I’m done watching “Stuart Little.” Are we there yet? (NO! Go finish “Stuart Little” or we’ll turn off the DVD.)

4:33 PM — Okay, then please turn off the DVD player.

4:34 PM — I decided to put “Cinderella” in the DVD player.

4:46 PM — It worked! She stayed quiet. I turned around to check on her and I realized that she fell asleep watching the movie. Victory is mine!!! I should’ve put that movie in first. I wish Cinderella was 9 hours long.

6:11 PM — Wake up, Miranda! We’re in SAN DIEGO!!

That was the longest drive ever! Well, there was one time when my Dad drove the family of five kids ranging from 14 to 4 years old from Ohio to California. Talk about a LONG drive, but that’s another story for another time.

How many of you have experienced a similar scenario? Share your story with us. We’d love to read about it!