Day 1

The car was packed all nice and neat with every nook, cranny and hidden storage area planned out strategically. The cargo area held the big black suitcase tipped up on it's side and the pack-n-play stacked on top to give the dogs ample room for the trip. Every exposed piece of fabric was covered to ward off the evil dog hair. There was a plastic cargo mat on the floor, one blanket covering the luggage, and another tucked under the headrest of the backseat and draped over the back. They had plenty of room...as long as everything stays put.

Maddox was set up in his carseat with the new Travel Play Tray attached, toy cars, a sippy cup and some chicken nuggets to keep him entertained. He liked the play tray for the first few minutes but soon got tired of it sitting on his legs and wanted it off (which was no easy chore since it straps around the carseat).





About an hour and a half into the trip we hit traffic. Why is there traffic? Construction. We completely forgot that it was a summer with record high temperatures, which means: construction will be happening at night. But surely the wait won't be too bad, since it's not a popular time to be traveling the highways, not like rush hour. As we slowed and slowed we realized that Missouri does not make their workers wear reflective gear while working on the highway. They had little helmets with lights on and you could barely see the bodies working so closely to traffic. As a result, we ended up crawling down the freeway at 4 miles per hour. Thankfully that only lasted about 10 minutes or so...and Maddox fell asleep :)

Ben wanted to stop at the QT in Eureka because they have some of the best coffee/cappuccino we've ever seen at a gas station AND the Brett Micheals' Celebrity Apprentice Snapple Tea. As we pulled in I needed to use the restroom (of course) and I was starting to get pretty tired. I quickly hopped out of the car and walked to the gas station. Not really looking up, I walked into the restroom. We had stopped here many times before, but something seemed different, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. But no time to think about that, the baby was kicking me in the bladder. I rushed into the stall, and when I came out I realized the stall was on the wrong side of the wall. I walked to the sink and saw urinals on the wall...I had walked into the MENS restroom! How mortifyng. Hopefully no one saw me. I rushed out and went to the womens to wash my hands. Good one, Tara. To top it off, the coffee machine was getting cleaned and they were out of Brett's Tea. Not a successful stop, we will have to stop at the next exit for Ben to get coffee....I know he was disappointed.

As we pull back onto the freeway Ben takes a curve a little too fast and "Boom", the pack-n-play tumbles off of the suitcase and squashes the dogs (not hard enough to cause permanent injury...unfortunately j/k!) I yell at Ben (which I had to apologize for later) and he snaps back at me...the tension of the trip is getting to us already. I crawl in the back, which was not easy with my ever enlarging mid section, and try to fix things but the pack and play was just too heavy for me to lift. Good thing we are stopping. Another good reason we are stopping is because I cannot get my big butt back in the front seat! We pull into a gas station, don't bother to pull in a parking space, and Ben hops out, lifts the back hatch to save the pooches, and they jump out! They start running around the parking lot and Ben has to yell at them to get back in the car, scaring a poor lady who is pumping gas nearby. With all this chaos going on I maneuver my way back to the front seat. Fun.

Not long after this stop, Maddox wakes up and will not go back to sleep. Poor guy can't get comfortable, so I hop in the back to keep him company.



We hit another traffic jam due to construction once we passed St. Louis (at least this time the workers were wearing reflective gear. Illinois knows what they are doing.) Maddox falls back to sleep around midnight and we switch drivers about a half hour before Indianapolis. I'm driving this time and right after the city we hit another traffic jam due to construction!! Man, this is going to be a long trip. Thankfully I find a caravan of travelers going at a descent speed and I make up some time between Dayton and Columbus. Everyone is asleep and I enjoy the quiet time listening to the radio.

Maddox woke up when we had about 3 hours left in the trip, but thankfully Winnie the Pooh and tiger headphones kept him happy for most of the way.



We hit rush hour traffic on 271, close to Cleveland. So close, yet so far away.... Who would have thought that while traveling through the night anyone would hit that many jams.

We finally made it! A sigh of relief. Our 12 hour trip turned into a 13 hour trip. All things considered, we didn't do too bad.

Now time for Maddox to play with grandma and grandpa and for us to get some shut eye. Pictures to come...