Last summer I traveled, with my five little monkeys, the 1600 miles to Dallas, TX to visit their grandparents. Michael couldn't go for various reasons but we decided that I would take the kids and go anyway.
I was a little nervous but felt confident that we could make it. I wanted to be as frugal as possible and remain sane until I arrived at my in-laws.
I'm not sure I succeeded in the latter, but we made it anyway.
I did a lot of planning before I left. I knew where I would stop and how far it would be before I could stop again.
I did research to find out where the cheapest gas prices were and planned to stop there. I definitely didn't want to get caught in Ludlow, Ca in need of gas. I'm sure the owners of the two gas stations within 100 miles laugh heartily each time they sucker someone into paying a dollar more for a gallon of gasoline than they would pay anywhere else in the country.
The morning we were set to leave, I got up ridiculously early and went to the store. I purchased fruits and veggies that could easily be eaten and would make very little mess. I kept the ice chest and all the food in the passenger seat, next to me, so they could be easily accessed. We didn't eat out at all on the way there.
I kept a 'shoe bag'. Every time we got into the car, I had all of the kids hand me their shoes. I placed them in the bag until it was time to get out again. I didn't want to waste time looking for everyone's shoes every time we stopped. Especially since I was sure there would be a few bathroom emergencies and being delayed would cause obvious problems.
I traveled very little at night, as I knew it would be more difficult to get help in a timely manner and we could be abandoned in the middle of nowhere overnight.
Other than a blow out on dead man's curve, everything went smoothly. We made it safely and had a marvelous time.
Although I would always rather have my Dragon Slayer along, I would do this again if I needed to. I would definitely do all of these things again, as they definitely made the trip go more smoothly.
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You are awesome! So brave and organized. Thankf for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteGreat Tips. We have a small trip in a few weeks and a bigger trip next spring I am going to bookmark your tips until then!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip. I will be driving "alone" with my kids (my husband will drive the U-Haul) next week when we move. These tips are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe shoe bag idea is genius - thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow! 1600 miles and no eating out! The shoe bag idea is brilliant. I drove 1200 miles with my three two summers ago, and it was quite an adventure. But we ate a lot of McD's! No blow outs, just some throw ups. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm not planning to do that again without hubby, though. I wouldn't want to cheat him out of that experience! ;)
great post. i missed this weeks WFMW cause I have nothing to share. LOL but yours is pretty good :)
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