road trip prep.

We leave for Gentino Road Trip #2 in three days, and things are busy around here.

This past week was for all.the.shopping. Which is my very least favorite part of a road trip. Amie and I drove to Harbison on Thursday morning and made nine stops. We got home at 1:30 and I immediately collapsed on the sofa and slept for an hour. But we got all the pet food (for while we’re gone) and paper goods and first aid and underwear and rain jackets we need to travel. I think!

Then yesterday, my friend Joni took me to Costco and I stocked up on food and snacks.

 

 

On our last road trip, we did big chunks of driving, then spent most of our time in three different cabins/Airbnbs. That was amazing, because we could grocery shop and eat mostly home-cooked meals.

But this time we’ll do a lot more moving around; thus we’ll stay primarily in hotels/lodges. So we’re trying to figure out: how on earth do we eat real food out of a hotel room? I searched on Pinterest a good bit and contemplated bringing our slow cooker along until my friend Beth, who just took a huge road trip, gave me a reality check: “Julie, after hiking all day, you are not going to want to attempt to cook a full dinner with six people crammed in one hotel room.” Good point.

As you can see, I got lots of microwave lentil packs, rice, quinoa, and soup. We’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping that the above can get us to outside of Grand Teton National Park on day 11, where we’ll stay in our first and last Airbnb.

 

 

Last night, David and I had our last Road Trip meeting to go over the full schedule. He’s been working like crazy for weeks to book everything and plan out our days.

You guys, it’s a total game-changer to be prepping for a trip with David around! He’s not working 60+ hours a week; he’s here, he’s rested, we can communicate about our plans. I’m getting spoiled.

Here’s another game-changer:

 

 

While the two of us sit and sip whiskey sours and firm up plans on the porch, our kids are packing the food.

It’s a new day. Rather than getting underfoot (bless them, I did love so many things about those days), they pop their heads in the kitchen and say, “Mom, can I help?” And they actually are a help!

 

 

I love having big kids.

I’m posting a cleaning list on the fridge today for all of us to divide up and tackle as we have spare moments. We have a friend staying at our house the whole time we’re gone, which we love, but of course I want the house to be in good shape for him.

Monday and Tuesday are for finishing cleaning the house, laundry, having our van inspected by our mechanic, vacuuming it, and packing everything else.

And Wednesday morning, we hit the road! First stop: Chicago!