Soooo – this is happening. We have one year left until Andre is in Kindergarten and we will become more restricted with our time. Due to this guaranteed change, we have decided to take on the East Coast!
We had so much fun conquering the West Coast, that we decided what better time to tackle the East than in the Fall. When the leaves of the Maples are changing colors and the crisp air starts to relieve the summer of it’s humidity and death heat. Yes – death heat, did you know that extreme heat kills more than 10,000 people a year!
Now that I got that quick Google fun fact out of the way, it’s time to discuss changes to this trip from the last:
- Crap – Owen can walk. This will create some challenges as we are touring some pretty big cities this trip.
- We will not be taking the portable rocking chair. It just wasn’t that useful.
- Toddler cot is being introduced. We will not be charged to bring a roll-away bed to the room and it allows us to be more flexible in the places we stay.
- We purchased an awesome REI kid carrier for our travels this time so we can all be more comfortable. Normal cost $250 – got it for $40 on Craigslist!! Score! Never been used.
- Staying at a lot more VRBO than hotels this trip. We like the idea of having more space to sleep and to feel what it is like to live in the cities. We will see if this was a bad idea.
- We planned this trip in 1.5 weeks, last time it took me over a month to plan. My schedule has been packed this last month and I just didn’t have time to devote to the itinerary. Suggestions for the cities are welcome!
- Packing significantly less:
- 1 bag for family regular clothes
- 1 bag for coats and hoodies
- 1 bag for shoes, swimsuits and specialty items
- Small bathroom bag
- Pillows and blankets
- Technology
- Books and toys for the car
- Cooler and snacks
- Cot and Pack-n-Play
- We will be meeting up with my family down in Atlanta.
We are very excited about this trip. I am most excited about what we will all learn this trip about the US.
Also, we are totally breaking RULE #1 – Don’t drive more than 5 hours at a time. We are going to drive 3 days for 7 hours each day. If we didn’t do this, we would have needed to extend the trip for an extra 4 days or so and we would be making one day stops, that would just be a waste of money.
So hopefully the kiddos don’t get burned out right off the start. I think we will find some fun along the way! As long as they are content like this, all should be well!
