Settling in, more or less

We have really enjoyed coming home and settling in to our house again. The first few days it was absolute bliss---my own bed! my own shower!---but now it feels odd that we're not packing up the car and heading to someplace new on a sunny morning. (for some reason, just about every time we took off for a new place on this trip, it was sunny!)


I'm already starting to forget the difficult parts of the trip---crying kids, uncomfortable beds, the constant packing and unpacking---and am instead remembering the best parts.

Just for fun, Stefan and I did a trip summary on the last part of the drive and I wrote it down so I could put it here.

States visited: Ten (MI, OH, KY, TN, NC, SC, VA, MD, NY, PA) plus Ontario and Washington DC

Family members visited: 23

Days travelling: 32

Miles driven: 2800

Diapers changed: 225

Miles/Diaper: 12.4

Random stats:
3 beaches, 5 hotels, 3 Junior Ranger Badges, 3 National Parks, 1 trip each to McDonalds and Subway (both of which were such bad experiences that we vowed to avoid them the rest of the trip!)

Worst food experience: McDonalds (with an honorable mention to all the hotel breakfasts with the exception of the Embassy Suites at Niagara Falls... they were all hands-down bad)

Best food experience (in a restaurant): The fancy restaurant at Williamsport, PA (very close runner up: Back Porch Restaurant in Okracoke)

Best food experience (our cooking): Mahi Mahi and Scallops at Ocracoke

Best food experience (other): Jurate's fruit tart at Holden Beach

Most fun with Alex:
Christine: Playing chess at the Ocracoke Coffee Shop
Stefan: Salamander hunting in the Smokey Mountains

Most fun with Jameson:
Christine: watching him entertain himself in the Ocracoke fish market despite the huge wait and no toys (close runner up: watching him toddle around any of the beach we went to)
Stefan: Hiking on Holden Beach (and finding a big shell)

Another comment on travelling with Jameson... everything is so new to him, everything is exciting. Every stop we made in the car--he was excited to get out and see where we were. Every morning (with the exception of one or two fussy mornings) he was excited to get up and see the day. It was a wonderful, albeit a sometimes labor intensive, reminder of the importance of taking joy in the little things and to mindfully live in the moment.

Stefan had one more category... the scariest moment of the trip was when we almost ran out of gas driving through Tennessee. (note for the record: I was the driver and I wasn't THAT worried about it!)

Favorite place: Ocracoke Island

Things left behind (that we know about): white noise machine in Cincinnati (although it caught up with us at Holden Beach) and a garlic press at Sue and Bill’s (since we can't live without it, it is already replaced)

So now, looking back on the trip, I am so glad that we did it. Stefan asked me once if I had any regrets on the trip. The only one I can think of is that I wish we had planned a better place to stay for the night in between Holden Beach and Ocracoke Island. So if we travel for 32 days and that’s the only problem—we’re doing something right!

The trip stretched me and forced me outside my sense of “normal”. I had never spent so much hands-on time with the kids, day after day! It forced me to look at myself as a parent and as a person, all the while trying to maintain some sort of organization system to the van and our things and our routines. I definitely feel more calm and relaxed—and Stefan says he feels the same way. I know from all the exercise that I grew in strength physically as much as I did mentally.

Here are some things that I discovered:
--I love kayaking.
--Zydeco played loudly sometimes calms Jameson down.
--Forty (or so) minutes of yoga each morning really makes a difference in one’s physical and mental state.
--Being a house guest can be wearing on everyone!
--If traveling with a one-year-old, bring a baby gate. That way you don’t have to turn coffee tables on their side to block the stairs.
--Alex resists anything new and then usually loves it after he tries it.
--Fresh scallops are really really good.
--Drinking red wine out of plastic cups while eating pizza can make the dingiest hotel room improve.


While on the trip, the constant packing and unpacking (not to mention filling bottles of water before getting in to the car, having snacks on hand, refilling the diaper bag daily) got to be annoying. I thought—more than once—I can’t wait to get home when I don’t have to constantly pack and unpack! Now, however, as I face an ever growing list of household chores to finish before I start work in two weeks—I wish I was back traveling. It is much simpler to keep things organized when you don’t have so many things (note to self: get rid of lots of stuff!).

On that note—it is very, very hard to get work done when there are children demanding attention, food, bottles, and diaper changing! Stefan and I have tried to equitably divide up our time so we both get a chance to work on projects. We’re trying to bring back sanity to the house. Actually, we’re just trying to bring sanity to the house—not sure we ever had it! So if there are any grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends or strangers without criminal records who are willing to take the kids for an hour or or a day a week—let us know!