A "Day" Trip

Every time I tell friends I'm heading to Maine, they always ask, "How long does that take?"

"12 hours" I say.

Then I get a look that is half sympathy and half "wow, that's a little crazy".

So in an attempt to illustrate what a 12-hour car trip with two preschoolers looks like, this time I decided to document it, minute by minute. Here is a play-by-play of our drive to Maine last week.


Wednesday, June 29

3:00 a.m. - Wake up, make PB&J sandwiches, finish packing car.

3:45 a.m. - Wake kids, get them dressed, put them in the car with milk and cereal bars.

4:07 a.m. - Pull out of driveway.

4:12 a.m. - Get gas.

4:18 a.m. - Get on the highway, headed north.

5:30 a.m. - Baby Girl falls asleep.

6:00 a.m. - Drive through Washington, DC; OBB falls asleep.

7:00 a.m. - Drive through Baltimore; OBB wakes up.

7:24 a.m. - Give OBB the Nook so he can quietly read books and play Angry Birds without waking up Baby Girl.

7:50 a.m. - Cross Delaware state line; I miss a turn for NJ Turnpike in the midst of a rousing game of Shark Tank with my WH in which we each take turns proposing new kinds of business ventures to the other; realize we're going to be taking the scenic route through Philadelphia.

8:00 a.m. - Drive through Wilmington, DE.

8:30 a.m. - Drive through Philadelphia.

9:00 a.m. - Cross NJ state line; decide we had better wake up Baby Girl after 3 1/2 hours of napping.

9:30 a.m. - Make it back onto NJ Turnpike after our little scenic detour.

9:45 a.m. - First stop of the day. Potty break, diaper change, gas, Starbucks.

10:00 a.m. - Back on the highway - time for a movie - pop in Tangled.

10:20 a.m. - Drive through New York City.

10:38 a.m. - Stopped dead in traffic in Brooklyn.

10:50 a.m. - Still in traffic somewhere between the Bronx and Queens.

11:30 a.m. - Cross Connecticut state line.

11:45 a.m. - Start looking for a place to stop and get lunch.

12:15 p.m. - Still looking.

12:30 p.m. - Decide to get off at an exit and look for a fast food restaurant or place to stop and get a potty break, still no options. Get stuck in construction zone traffic on local road.

12:35 p.m. - Back on highway.

12:40 p.m. - Get off at the exit for Cheshire, CT, a little town where I lived in the late 70s. Happen upon a piece of heaven in North Haven called Luizzi Gourmet Market .

12:45 p.m. - Order authentic Italian Sub; make friends with the lady behind the counter; get to use private bathroom in back of store.

1:00 p.m. - Back on the road again with kids enjoying PB&J sandwiches and me and WH savoring every bite of our Italian sub.

1:30 p.m. - Baby Girl gets grumpy. Time for another movie - introduce the kids to Aladdin.

2:00 p.m. - Cross Massachussetts state line.

2:45 p.m. - Decide we need a snack. Stop at a Dunkin Donuts in Andover, Mass.

2:55 p.m. - Cross New Hampshire state line.

3:30 p.m. - Cross Maine state line.

4:03 p.m. - Arrive at Nana's house; let the kids run around in the lush green grass while Nana makes Lobster rolls - with lobster fresh off the boat - for dinner. Ahhhh....