Overview of Day 10 and the whole experience!

Hello followers! Now that I am back at my trusty desktop, I would like to overview the last day and wrap up the whole trip experience for you :)

Day 10 was a long haul home. We got up in Sacramento, and headed out at the noon checkout. We grabbed gas and beverages since it was already HOT, and headed north. After about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive, we stopped at the last In-n-Out Burger in Redding, CA and got our grub on! Man, I love that place! We kept pressing on....

It was hot. Kept getting hotter. Hit 103 degrees around Weed, and were thrilled to get into southern Oregon where it finally got into the 90's! We stopped in Roseburg, OR for gas and Applebee's and kept making the drive. At that point, we had been on the road for 9 hours. With our transmission stuff and inner tie rod, we were taking it low and slow to make sure we got home ok... can't push it when you have your cubs in the car!

Stopped for coffee late, and kept going. At least traffic was light traveling at the time of night. We put the top up in Oregon when the temp hit 76 degrees because the cubs get cold at that temp at freeway speeds, but we were shocked to be sticky at 63 degrees at 2 am in Tacoma... it was 84% humidity! Despite being 40 degrees cooler than earlier in the day, at least that was 15-30% humidity... man, that makes a difference!!!

We pulled in at 3-ish a.m. and were ready to sleeeeeeeeep!!! Whew! What a haul. The cubs did great, especially considering it was the last day. We ended the trip 2 states short in the license plate game... we got Hawaii on day 8 or so, leaving us missing New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Oh well, there is always next trip!!! ;)

Lessons we learned as a whole:
1. All of the tips from Day 1! Re-read those... lol...
2. Top down in the full sun is TOUGH on the peeps in the backseat.... When trip planning, do a day trip trial run in similar conditions to what you will be doing on your trip. We learned that a convertible is NOT fun for the people in the backseat at more than 65 mph... and it takes away the best part of a road trip... the chatter that goes on in the car along the way. This lead to having to let the cubs plug in more than I would have liked. That was bad pre-planning on the part of the Bears.
3. Don't discount small, locally owned hotels... two of the best rooms were the small, local motor lodges. The big hotels may have been "newer" but in general, the "older" but clean hotels had the best amenities and service. And a 10% increase in what you spend can make a HUGE difference... definitely check out all the options before you book.
4. The places that had pools? Great. But we never got to use one because of our itinerary. Think your mileage through and add in time for gas and food stops. If you are going to get back to the hotel for the night after 9, basically count out the pool... and find a property that is cheaper because it doesn't have one.
5. The car got better gas mileage than we thought... I haven't added the final total yet, but I am pretty sure we came in under budget. I'll post final numbers in a few days after I get things settled...
6. Plan in your budget for water if you are going somewhere warm! We planned for drink stops, but we didn't plan to carry a cooler to carry enough water cold, and it gets warm fast at 100+ degrees, and you go through A LOT when it's that hot. We had an episode of dehydration with Youngest Cub, and after that had to build in cooler travel temps and more cold drink stops. This added time and money to the plan.
7. All in all, the first few days were hard because we were getting used to the routine of a road trip, since it was our first. The middle 2 days were rough because we logged high mileage in the heat without a lot of activities, and everyone got a little cranky from mis-communication. By Day 6, we had the routine down and the needs for stuff to do and see worked out, and those last days were the best. We figured out the differences in the cubs personalities and expectations, and better knew how to roll with both. :)
8. No matter how prepared you think you have your car, have a plan for what to do when something happens. Thankfully we didn't have to use our AAA coverage, but it was nice to know we had it, and if it wasn't for Google, it would have been much harder to take care of what we needed to. But we met some great folks along the way, so as per a road trip, it all led to some great experiences. Another kudos to Rimrock Express Lube in Billings, MT and Leo at Discount Tires in Gallup, NM for taking such great care of us. If you are near them, please give them your business... they are totally worth it!

We definitely worked out the bugs and are much better prepared for our next adventure! When we go, you will too.... this blog will go live again with our next trip (other than the promised budget post!)

Until next time,
Mama Bear... happy and HOME!

Day 1 Wrap up :)

  WELL.... Let me start with a tip...

TIP #1- always practice pack before the morning you're leaving!! 

We got a late start because we got everything down to the car and, in the words of Padre Bear, "grossly overestimated the amount of space in the car." Oh, I have a correction from the first post on that subject- it's a convertible COUPE not sedan as stated. That should help explain our dilemma this AM... So it was critical decision time. Leave the food basket or the cooler, because they both wouldn't fit. Even without BAGS in there, they wouldn't both fit! So after some thought, we surrendered the cooler and opted for a soft-sided thermal grocery bag. We played some Tetris with the stuff, and departed about an hour and a half later than planned. THEN got gas and coffees.... 

TIP #2- gas up the night before so it's coffees and freeway ;)

Finally on the road, with the starting seating arrangement... Bears in front, cubs in back. 

Traffic was good, there was the normal rest stop and the gas stop.., which we extended a bit to enjoy the air conditioning in the grocery store. Itwas HOT. It was 92 degrees at this time of day. After our cool down, we had lunch in the shade at a rest area, and let Giant Cub have a turn in the front seat. This is where I learned how windy it is at 70 mph on the interstate in the back seat of a convertible!!! Not unbareable, but windy and loud. Much cooler back there with the wind though. Headphones are a blessing in this situation :)

TIP #3- if you have a child who can be a little overstimulated with too much sensory action going on, bust out the noise canceling headphones! This kept the wind out of Youngest Cub's ears and calmed him significantly. 

TIP #4- be prepared for the bitchiness that accompanies the kids being unplugged from their game machines. We allowed headphones and music, but no screens. This made for a rough first half of the day, but they adjust. And it's good for them... Just keep reminding yourself of that during the cranky spells!!!

After a few more hours of driving, we rearranged again and gave Youngest Cub his turn in the front seat. Equipped with new gas station sunglasses since his first ones broke and headphones AND less wind, he was a calmer camper :) We made it through the Idaho passes, and entered Montana to cooler weather (only 88 and shade!!) for a pleasant and beautiful evening drive. Even sang a family version of Bohemian Rhapsody, started by Giant Cub! 

Since today is my birthday, I got to pick the dinner spot in Missoula. We had the made the time zone change we had sorta forgotten about, so it was 9:20.... I chose Fuddruckers for burgers. Yum! Giant Cub was starving, so he ordered the ONE POUND BURGER... Holy moley!! Check it out... And he has HUGE hands! 

Yes... Big! But yummy dinner. Cool place. So, we left the top up since it was dark now for the last leg of the day to Butte... Rearranged again for my turn driving. Oh, yeah... CRAZY AMOUNT OF BUGS AT DUSK. I totally should have cleaned the windshield... Bummer and hard to see. 

We finally arrived at our hotel in Butte about midnight. Nothing fancy, but it had ice to put in our cooler bag, beds and showers, and isn't scary! Right off the freeway too. 

Well, today's tally was 608 miles and 19 states for license plates! Tomorrow is Yellowstone :) I'm off to bed. 

Ciao....

Mama Bear