Lists of lists
On Saturday we leave on our longest road trip ever! We will be gone over 5 weeks. We are taking about a week to drive to Vancouver Island, we'll have 3 weeks there in various locations, and then another week to come home.
Jake and I both love a road trip and we've done some really good ones together. We've driven to Nova Scotia twice, once through Canada and the Gaspe peninsula and once through the States and spent some time in Maine. We have driven to Oregon and then back up through Waterton and Alberta. We have driven to the Muskoka region of Ontario with our niece and nephew.
We are not strangers to this kind of trip. We know some good tricks (bring your contigo travel mug for water in the car - keeps it cold! Re-fill it when you stop for gas at their soda fountain, which always has water.) and tips (on long driving days get up really early and get a few hours on the road under your belt before you are awake enough for breakfast; staying downtown in a city can often get you a deal on a hotel using hotwire and bonus, you get to do a little exploring and go for a walk which makes it feel like you didn't just spend 10 hours in a car). But this is the first trip with Rudi and we are in unchartered territory.
I tell myself that the only way to tackle something new like this is to just be as prepared as you can and then you just do it. The longest Rudi has sat in his carseat in one day is about 3 hours...our longest day he'll be in the car at least 7 hours. We don't know how that will go, but the only way to learn how he'll do is to try!
That said, there are things I'm worried about. Not all of them are rational. Ok, most of them are irrational
1. Will Rudi's brain development be stunted by 5 days of lots of driving and not a lot of stimulation? Even as I typed that I laughed to myself about how ridiculous it is...but it is something I think about! We are planning to have one of us sit with him for at least part of the time and we're bringing toys and books in the car. Plus, most of our days we are planning to drive about 500kms, so he'll sleep for good portions of that each day.
2. Will I have to feed him in the carseat? How messy will that be? Rudi eats solid food now and gets cranky with me if I don't get the food in his face quick enough in the morning...on long days are we going to have to do that meal in the car???? He makes such a mess!
3. Will eating those squeeze packs and infant cereal wreck his eating habits? He's a good eater and we've been giving him our food mashed/blended up or in tiny chunks but when we're on the road those other kinds of food are just so convenient! But I think we're also going to bring the handblender. Side note: I was all into 'baby-led weaning' and just giving Rudi hunks of our food to gnaw on but he is not into that. He likes the food off a spoon. So that's what we do.
4. TIME CHANGE!!! Are we going to be getting up at 5am in BC? And is he going to be ready for bed at 5pm? This is the one I'm most nervous/curious about. We have lots of evening plans arranged for our trip out and back. Not sure how that will go!
5. What is the most efficient way to be in and out of people's houses on the way out there? How many bags/items do we need to haul in and out of the car every day? I'm doing a lot of thinking about this one. I think it's going to be a lot of things.
6. What if it rains the whole time on the Island? I'm a prairie girl! I'm not into rain! I did buy Rudi a rainsuit in a 12 month size for the summer and we're bringing it with us even though it will be comically large.
7. How many clothes do I bring for Rudi? He goes through at least two outfits a day, because eating is so messy. I'm trying to strike the balance between having enough clothes, but not so many it's ridiculous.
I'm coping with all of this by writing lots of lists. So many lists. They are getting more and more detailed. I'm going to need to make a list of my lists. We've also started making piles. I know for sure I'm going to forget something semi-crucial for me because I'm working so hard to remember everything for Rudi. Speaking of which, I just remembered to add SWIM DIAPER to his list! JUST IN CASE!!!
All that said, though, I am getting excited. I love a road trip and this one is also a chance to stop and see many relatives we don't get to see very often. Usually we'd drive like crazy to make it out there in 2 days, but we thought for our first trip we'd take it slow. We're stopping near Regina to see some cousins, in Brooks area to see more cousins and my grandma, Calgary to see friends and my dad, Kelowna to see an Aunt and Uncle and more cousins and in Vancouver to see even more cousins. On the way home we'll do it all again :) I'm looking forward to connecting with all these people as much as I am looking forward to exploring new places. I'm also excited about teaching Rudi about travel so young. In our family, we drive. Better get used to it now, buddy. :)
We're bringing the computer with us so maybe I'll blog on the road! If not, there will be a doozy of a post when we get home :)
And don't get any wise ideas about stealing our stuff. We got a house sitter :)
Jake and I both love a road trip and we've done some really good ones together. We've driven to Nova Scotia twice, once through Canada and the Gaspe peninsula and once through the States and spent some time in Maine. We have driven to Oregon and then back up through Waterton and Alberta. We have driven to the Muskoka region of Ontario with our niece and nephew.
We are not strangers to this kind of trip. We know some good tricks (bring your contigo travel mug for water in the car - keeps it cold! Re-fill it when you stop for gas at their soda fountain, which always has water.) and tips (on long driving days get up really early and get a few hours on the road under your belt before you are awake enough for breakfast; staying downtown in a city can often get you a deal on a hotel using hotwire and bonus, you get to do a little exploring and go for a walk which makes it feel like you didn't just spend 10 hours in a car). But this is the first trip with Rudi and we are in unchartered territory.
I tell myself that the only way to tackle something new like this is to just be as prepared as you can and then you just do it. The longest Rudi has sat in his carseat in one day is about 3 hours...our longest day he'll be in the car at least 7 hours. We don't know how that will go, but the only way to learn how he'll do is to try!
That said, there are things I'm worried about. Not all of them are rational. Ok, most of them are irrational
1. Will Rudi's brain development be stunted by 5 days of lots of driving and not a lot of stimulation? Even as I typed that I laughed to myself about how ridiculous it is...but it is something I think about! We are planning to have one of us sit with him for at least part of the time and we're bringing toys and books in the car. Plus, most of our days we are planning to drive about 500kms, so he'll sleep for good portions of that each day.
2. Will I have to feed him in the carseat? How messy will that be? Rudi eats solid food now and gets cranky with me if I don't get the food in his face quick enough in the morning...on long days are we going to have to do that meal in the car???? He makes such a mess!
3. Will eating those squeeze packs and infant cereal wreck his eating habits? He's a good eater and we've been giving him our food mashed/blended up or in tiny chunks but when we're on the road those other kinds of food are just so convenient! But I think we're also going to bring the handblender. Side note: I was all into 'baby-led weaning' and just giving Rudi hunks of our food to gnaw on but he is not into that. He likes the food off a spoon. So that's what we do.
4. TIME CHANGE!!! Are we going to be getting up at 5am in BC? And is he going to be ready for bed at 5pm? This is the one I'm most nervous/curious about. We have lots of evening plans arranged for our trip out and back. Not sure how that will go!
5. What is the most efficient way to be in and out of people's houses on the way out there? How many bags/items do we need to haul in and out of the car every day? I'm doing a lot of thinking about this one. I think it's going to be a lot of things.
6. What if it rains the whole time on the Island? I'm a prairie girl! I'm not into rain! I did buy Rudi a rainsuit in a 12 month size for the summer and we're bringing it with us even though it will be comically large.
7. How many clothes do I bring for Rudi? He goes through at least two outfits a day, because eating is so messy. I'm trying to strike the balance between having enough clothes, but not so many it's ridiculous.
I'm coping with all of this by writing lots of lists. So many lists. They are getting more and more detailed. I'm going to need to make a list of my lists. We've also started making piles. I know for sure I'm going to forget something semi-crucial for me because I'm working so hard to remember everything for Rudi. Speaking of which, I just remembered to add SWIM DIAPER to his list! JUST IN CASE!!!
All that said, though, I am getting excited. I love a road trip and this one is also a chance to stop and see many relatives we don't get to see very often. Usually we'd drive like crazy to make it out there in 2 days, but we thought for our first trip we'd take it slow. We're stopping near Regina to see some cousins, in Brooks area to see more cousins and my grandma, Calgary to see friends and my dad, Kelowna to see an Aunt and Uncle and more cousins and in Vancouver to see even more cousins. On the way home we'll do it all again :) I'm looking forward to connecting with all these people as much as I am looking forward to exploring new places. I'm also excited about teaching Rudi about travel so young. In our family, we drive. Better get used to it now, buddy. :)
We're bringing the computer with us so maybe I'll blog on the road! If not, there will be a doozy of a post when we get home :)
And don't get any wise ideas about stealing our stuff. We got a house sitter :)
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