Road Trip Day 1 | Superman + Nashville Zoo

Early this fall, we took a trip out East.  It was originally a work trip for me {I was shooting a wedding in North Carolina} but we decided to make it a family road trip so we could sneak in some time with my sister and her husband.  We hadn't seen them since they moved to South Carolina this summer and were missing them something fierce! 

Unfortunately, Hurricane Matthew ripped up the East coast putting the Hilton Head wedding in limbo for a bit, so we delayed our trip by 12 hours and spent the night pondering our options.  Do we go anyways?  Is it safe?  Should we just meet Brad and Alicia in the middle somewhere?  What about packing up and going West for the week? In the end, the wedding was pushed from Hilton Head Island to Raleigh and we decided, despite the weather, that we would continue as planned. 

So, well before dawn, we loaded the car, transported sleeping babies to their carseats and hit the road.  I had purchased several new 'toys' to keep the kids busy, and we obviously had lots of snacks as well as DVD players for backup, but I must say, the first day of travel was amazing!  We didnt' have any whining and I only used one toy each from the stash.  Having done a long road trip with littles before, I know the way home is much harder than the way there so my plan was to conserve as many 'new' things as possible for then.  We detoured to Metropolis, Illinois when we saw the sign on the interstate for a larger than life Superman statue.  We knew the memory would be worth it for our little Superhero loving son in the backseat!   

We didn't really have a 'stopping point' in mind for day one, but decided Nashville was the perfect place to stay for the evening.  After about 10 hours on the road, we made it to the Nashville Zoo about 2p.  We wanted the kids to be able to run off some energy after the long car ride.  As it turns out, Nashville has a beautiful zoo with a nice playground, too!  We had so much fun!!

After the zoo, we checked into a hotel, got cleaned up, and went downtown for dinner at Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House.  It was nearly 8p before we went, but the kids did fantastic and the food was really good!  We left dinner and went directly back to the hotel to get some sleep before leaving early the next morning...

We clearly didn't get so actually explore Nashville, so now Adam and I are itching to go back for a long {adults} weekend.  Maybe we'll meet my sister and Brad there sometime?

Florida | The Drive [w/ two kids 2 and under]

It only makes sense to start with the drive... just over a month ago, we packed and loaded the minivan up and traveled Griswold style across the country. :) {over 2900 miles for the curious minds!}

We left around 5:30p on Wednesday, July 2nd.  Averaging 7 stops each way, we arrived in Anna Maria Island, FL at 6:30p on Thursday, July 3rd {which included a time change of 1 hour, making it 24 hours of driving}.

We used a neat little app called PhoneTracker App so our family watch our progress.  {sidenote: it used a LOT of data since it PING'd every 10 minutes}

On our way down to Florida, we stopped at Lookout Mountain in Tennessee.  Sadly, with the time change, we arrived 2 hours before they opened.  You're supposed to be able to see 7 states from this spot.  From what we could see, it looked like nothing, so we opted to hop back in the car and keep on going.  :(  I already said this on Facebook, but I felt like the Griswalds' when they drove across the country to Walley World only to find out it was closed for the week. I was disappointed, but thankful we didn't drive out of our way for it.  Either way, it was nice to get out and stretch our legs, and now we can say 'we've been there!' :)

Adam & I played this game on the way there and back.  Sadly, we only saw 37 different states represented.  I'm blaming this on traveling so much at night.

We had fun trying to catch the state line signs at 80 mph! :)

The ride to Florida was AMAZING!  Far beyond my expectations!  I would highly recommend leaving at night if you're traveling a long distance.  The kids did wonderful staying entertained with movies {Frozen & Dunston Checks In mainly!}, coloring books, books, flashcards, toys, and food {lots of food!} :)
Maybe I'll write a full post on traveling long distances with a 1 and 2 year old sometime.

The way home however, we learned how not to travel with 2 kids 2 and under! :)  We left Orlando, FL and drove to somewhere between Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga, TN before stopping in a hotel for the night.  We left around 8a to drive the remainder of the trip home.  Let's just say we even meds didn't help.  It was a loooong day for everyone!  We even contemplated staying at the lakehouse {one hour before we got home} just to be done for the night.  However, right as we were getting to our lake town, the kids fell asleep.  Go figure.  We all survived and we're here to tell about it, but I'm pretty sure my husband would have paid triple the asking price for any airline ticket by that point!  And no, against my better judgement, I did not say 'I Told You So!'  #ImAMuchNicerWifeThanThat :)