Big drive day today, our final big drive before the epic National Park of Yellowstone. We had about 6 hours of driving ahead of us but we still took our time this morning. First we decided to talk with some locals about Spokane.
We searched in quite a few stores for a spoon rest (the thing we like to collect on vacations) but unfortunately we were not able to find one. After eating at a little local joint, we started the drive.
Once we got into Montana, I drove the fastest I have ever driven. The speed limit was 80 mph which was awesome. That meant I could go between 85-90 without worrying too much about a ticket. It helped this drive move along quickly.
Once we finally made it to Butte, MT, we immediately went into the pool at the hotel. We made zero fun stops on the drive. The only stops were to fill up the tank. So obviously the whole family was in need of movement.
I decided it was a good time to try and teach Dre how to swim. He was awesome!! I am so proud of the progress he made tonight. Step 1 – Get him to trust me enough to take the floaties off. Step 2 – Get him comfortable going under water for a bit. Step 3 – Have him lay completely on his back in a floating position. Step 4 – Start trying doggie paddle.
We accomplished all of the above goals, and he gained so much confidence he said he didn’t need floaties anymore. So at that point, I let him go all the way under to understand he is not in a position to just run and jump in pools. He respected the water after that and continued to try and swim (which I was so excited about because I was worried I might have traumatized him).
After swim lessons, we ate a local bar and grill called Sparky’s Garage! The food was great and our waitress was so very sweet and informative. We tried fried green tomatoes for the first time – super yummy!
After dinner, I pulled out my special surprise for Dre. Watch the video and figure out what they were:
I would say a pretty good day for a ton of driving.
Tip #20 – Don’t purchase sticky foods that have the potential to make major messes in the car. For example I would not recommend chewy granola bars or dried fruit that can be sucked on and spit out. Just think about it when handing it over to the little ones. Certain food can get thrown all over and are easy to clean, try to pick those!
That is really wonderful that Dre is learning to swim. That takes a lot of worry out of the equation when he visits here with the pool. Looking very forward to the next post!