Remember our trip out to Wisconsin? We did everything right. We planned, we executed, and we couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. Our 14 hour drive went so smoothly, we didn’t event realize it had been 14 hours of driving! One would imagine, then, that we would do our best to repeat the experience.
What you’re about to read is, and probably always will be, our very least favorite segment of any trip, EVER.
I’m not even sure I remember all of it. I think I blocked most of it out of my head. It’s so bad, this post can’t even be saved by pictures.
But, in an effort to help you all avoid the same pitfalls… I’ll do my best to recount the details.
First mistake, we never really set a plan. TT Dad and I had a major miscommunication about our trip home. I thought we had no real reason to get home before Monday, so if we left on Thursday night, we would have enough time to do it all again- drive through the night, stop for breakfast and a romp at a playground, then drive a few more hours, either all the way home, or to another destination to be tourists, and spend the night, before heading home on Sunday. This would leave us enough time for a day home to recover before TT Dad had to return to work.
TT Dad was planning on returning to work on Friday.
For those of you doing the math at home… leaving Thursday night meant a 15 hr drive (from WI) straight through. The miscommunication was discovered around 3 on Thursday afternoon. We weren’t packed, the car wasn’t packed, and we were hanging out with cousin A while Auntie C took our other cousin A to gymnastics. In a whirlwind, things were thrown into bags, thrown into the car, and we did what we could to be ready to jump into the car as soon as an adult returned home!
Uncle C returned home before Auntie C and cousin A, so sadly, we missed out on saying goodbye in person to them, but we needed to get on the road as soon as possible to give TT Dad any chance at all to get to work on Friday morning.
We ended up being on the road around 5pm.
5 pm departure, plus 15 hours of driving (without traffic, potty stops, or food/playground stops) equals an 8am arrival.
*GULP*
Second mistake, not really having a plan.
The entire drive was a mess. We felt rushed, and it made every red light, every slight decrease in travel speed, every empty gas tank SO much more stressful than it needed to be.
Third mistake, We didn’t have a plan.
Are you catching on?
Without a plan, our departure was a mess. Without a plan, our drive was a mess, and without a plan, our arrival was a mess.
We ran into quite a few traffic snafus, and we weren’t making great time, but we did stop for breakfast at a Panera in PA. We let the kids walk around the restaurant for a bit, before strapping them back into the car.
Thank goodness we had kids that are so used to traveling, and long car trips, because they were probably the only thing that went well.
The good news is, we made it… and by coming home for Friday, we were able to meet up with Nonie, Pops, Uncle M, Auntie L, and our CT cousins for a Touch-a-Truck event in Southington, CT!