I had drummed up this plan long in advance... fly to St.Louis, buy a car, drive home with the girls by myself. It seemed like a great idea to me, but everyone close to me made it clear that they thought I had gone mad. No one went as far to alert the authorities (at least I don't think they did), but I'm sure they considered it.
My Rationale: 1) 30% increase in airfare 2) cheaper car in St.Louis and 3) chance to revisit feeling of freedom associated with cross country road trips
Their concern: 1) exhaustion and frustration associated with endless driving and not having a break from two toddlers 2) snails pace likely with frequent potty stops 3) possibility that I would go mad for real and have a mental breakdown somewhere in Nebraska
While I had volunteers to make the drive with me, I was determined to go it alone. And I was right. The driving was great and the girls were great and I did indeed get that feeling of road trip freedom. In fact, I think it worked because I was alone. It meant that my attention was always on the girls. We sang songs. We talked about fields, tractors, trains, corn, cows, horses, hay bales, birds, trucks, road signs, , river water, lake water, clouds, mountains, rain, and the color of the straw in my iced mocha that day (it was usually green, but once it was red and boy did that stir things up :)). We stopped for picnics, playgrounds, and potty stops.
The only thing that would have made it better... camping. My plan was to camp as much as possible, but we drove until dark every night and didn't have a decent camping option available. That, and the girls were determined to keep moving. Each time they were given the option to stay and play or keep driving, they chose to keep driving. They really wanted to see their daddy. I did too, but it was torture to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park and the Uintas without being able to explore for awhile.
Cate looked like this most of the trip... her fish blanket, baby, owl, spider book, big puppy dog, and a new sandhill crane.
Lincoln, NE park. End of Day 1
Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center: the site of the only major meltdown of the entire trip, and a double meltdown at that. Turns out they were more interested in gift shop toys than hiking the river trail.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Junior Ranger Fire Class
One of countless such potty stops.
On a successful bear hunt in the Uintas, Utah.
Hiding...
My favorite rest stop, Utah. Only a few hours to go.
Finally home after 4 days and 1800 miles. Reward = frozen yogurt!!
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