Picking up where we left off last post. We woke up on day four of our great migrations west in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. And we found that the town was appropriately named because our La Quinta there was by far our best accommodations the entire trip and all in all it was a relaxing pit stop. We had a slow start to the morning 1. because the endless unpacking and packing back up every evening and morning was starting to get a bit old for Garrett and I and 2. this day was a half day drive to our next pit stop, Salado, Texas. Our good friends, the Flynns {Grant, Jessica, Kiera, and Caedmon}, currently live there and we planned on staying two nights to have a good visit. Eventually we did get on the road and before we knew it it was time to stop and have lunch at a rest stop. We all stretched our legs for a bit but it was getting pretty hot and humid so it was a short stop.
Kayla is trying her hardest NOT to smile ;)
Gavin was such a trooper! He napped every day in the car just about at his normal nap time with no problem. Since we were driving both cars we would split the kiddos up in the afternoon and Kayla would ride in the Toyota with Garrett so Gavin could have a chance at a good long quiet rest; and for the most part it worked out very well!
Salado was such a cute small town......despite the high heat and humidity {four days on the road and I still wasn't out of the mugginess}! What seems to be the town's favorite feature is the peaceful and refreshing creek that flows through it. On our full day there Jessica suggested we have a little adventure and take a walk up the creek to their house. We all were game {they had family in town also visiting, Grant's brother, sister-in-law and their 4 children!}so into the cool water we stepped.
It was to be a 1.5 mile walk.....but the rocks in the water were SUPER slippery and it was so slow-going with breaks and all the little legs with us that it took us about 3hrs to go literally 1 mile!! So we decided to cut our loses and a few of the adults raced back to the cars to pick us all up and drive the .5 remaining mile. HA! Now that was an adventure! Kayla and Gavin had a great time though {as did Garrett and I} and passed out immediately at nap time!
After everyone was well rested we headed back over to the Flynn's for dinner. Kayla and Kiera were two peas in a pod!
Alas, all good things must come to an end and it was time to hit the road again. Day 6 we snaked our way over desert highways and eventually made it to the 10. blahhhhhh. If you've driven the 10 you know there is just NOTHING out there from West Texas to the Coast. So we decided to make our very first, and only, fast food lunch stop at were else {?!} the official Texas stop sign!
It was an enjoyable experience for all involved!
During our road trip I was pleasantly surprised to see the old Greyhound is alive and well. I actually saw 2 different buses!
Our pit stop at the end of the day was Ft. Stockton, Texas. Definitely nothing special there. If ever possible I'd recommend to just keep on driving. Day 7 we finally made it out of Texas! Man, that really is a big State! One thing I do love is their retro rest stops. Even though it was pushing 100 degrees we stopped for one last rest stop lunch break because......it was a dry heat!! Finally! We made it to the land of 7% humidity and I did a little happy dance! 90 something and 7% humidity vs. 90 something and 80% humidity really, truly, is SO different. Sitting at a shaded table with a slight breeze, one can really cool off. Sitting in the shade in NC where the air is a heavy stagnant mass there is absolutely no cooling off...unless you're in a pool or inside!
*making funny faces :) *
Our last night on the road we stayed in Deming, New Mexico. It was kind of an awkward place to stop; three more hours and we'd be at our final destination, Sierra Vista, Arizona. But that would mean we'd be getting in really late and we just didn't want to deal with all that would involve traveling with young kiddos. So, we decided to call it an early day of driving; which we ended up being very thankful for because the La Quinta we stayed in there had a very nicely maintained pool ;) . A perfect way to end the day of driving through the hot desert! Every night, except for our last 2 nights on the road, our hotel rooms were a one bedroom suite setup. That is, it had an actual bedroom and living room area separated by a door. This of course was ideal because our kiddos go to bed at 8pm....and Garrett and I do not. We really planned ahead and mapped out our desired route about a month before leaving NC. We knew our pit stops and I had made reservations for these desired rooms......with the exception of the last 2 nights. As I mentioned above, the 10 is a vast nothingness of desert and random little towns so we wanted to creep our way back up through the NM mountains for a bit of a scenic route. But for some reason I was having a hard time finding the right hotel and place for us to stop and ended up not making reservations for the last two pit stops before we hit the road. We weren't to worried about it and thought we'd figure it out and make reservations the first night or two on the road. I think it was on day 3, I was talking to my mom and she told me about the huge fires that were ripping through the NM mountains! We had no idea! Garrett laughed a little and said 'well I guess we know now why it wasn't working out finding a place to stay the last two night!' It's funny how in the moment sometimes we don't even realize how God is working to direct your path until after the fact! Our decision was easily made...forget the mountains, bring on the 10! Since we were making last minute reservations from the road for our new route we ended up getting your basic king studio suite. Not so fun. Thankfully, we had packed two air mattresses, a queen and twin. Most nights Kayla slept on the twin air mattress. But the last two night we had to get a little creative with the air mattresses to give everyone a little privacy! Our kiddos are notorious for keeping each other awake the few times they have shared a room so a little division is good for everyone LOL!
Garrett and I were super surprised at how well simply dividing the room worked. We were still able to stay up a bit, watching TV and playing around on the computer and it didn't seem to bother the kiddos at all.
Day 8. My morning view is still the same, only the terrain has changed!
It was a short last day of driving and we finally made it to Arizona! We are all excited beyond measure! Since then we've been staying at a friends house {who's also stationed out here} while waiting for our rental house to open up. Today we got the keys! Yay! But won't be moving in until tomorrow because unfortunately it takes time to get water, gas, and electricity running :( . And really, we're only going to be there for a day because it's off again to San Diego! We have a little over a week before Garrett's school out here starts and we'd rather be in beautiful San Diego during that time.
What a fun road trip! It really was. The first time we drove across the country Kayla was 15 months old and we really learned a lot from that experience. Not that it was bad, just what we would do again.....and differently. We drove a total of about 2200 miles and with two kiddos in car seats taking your time and having ample opportunity to get out and stretch their little legs, we feel, is key to a successful road trip. On average we kept daily driving miles to about 350. This would equal approximately 6 hours of actual driving time. With potty breaks, gas stops, and about a one hour lunch break to eat and run around burning energy, we would easily be on the road for nearly 8 hours. And that was pretty much the limit we could all take. This daily schedule allowed us to be on the road from about 9-5 and gave us an opportunity to be checked into a hotel, eat some dinner and unwind before having to go to bed. I remember once upon a time, before kids, we would just gun it and get to our destination as soon as we could. But I have to say, I rather enjoy this slower pace the kiddos have inspired us to take. We packed a big cooler with fruit and sandwich stuff and never had to worry about finding the nearest drive-thru. I think this was the healthiest we've ever eaten on a road trip and now I can't imagine doing it any other way!
Anyways....this post is now waaaaay to long! Stay tuned for adventures in San Diego!
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