By far one of the craziest decisions my husband and I have made. We chose to drive from San Diego to DC in a Prius with our very busy 2 year old, our car hating 7 month old, 2 dogs, and my daughters Guinea pig. We figured if s#@t hit the fan the girls and I would catch a plane in the closet large city. Here was our plan, drive while the girls sleep, take 5 days stopping several times, I would sit in the back and have lots of snacks, movies and toys on hand.
We started planning our trip stops. We would leave Temecula stop in Kingman stay in Flagstaff, stop in Albuquerque, stay in Amarillo, stop in Elk City, stay in Little Rock, stop in Memphis, stay in Knoxville and one last stop somewhere in Virginia before ending in our new home in DC.
We drove about 9-10 hours a day. We were up and out by 8 am with a 2-3 hour drive in the am then a lunch break, 2-3 hour drive for nap time then a dinner break (dinner break was usually around 3pm and was dinner and park play for a few hours) and finally 3-4 hour drive in the evening before checking into our hotel. Our 2 year old is pottied train so, we did have to stop and use our carry potty on the side of the road a couple times. I also had to lean over and nurse our infant in her Carseat, and change her diaper in the Carseat on the side of the road.
All in all the trip was a success. We would do it again. We got to see a lot of cool stuff, eat some great food and we have ideas for future vacations. Everything I read was so negative about driving with young children. I want to give hope to parents who have no choice. It can be done, and it can be enjoyable.
Crossing into Arizona
Meteor impact site in Arizona
Native American ruins in the petrified forest in Arizona
Petroglyphs in Petrified forest
Crossing into New Mexico
El Modelo in Albuquerque best food
Fishing by the Rio Grande in Albuquerque
Memorial in Shawnee, Oklahoma
Another picture of the memorial
Crossing into Tennessee
Downtown Memphis
Best Breakfast in Memphis at Brother Junipers
We made it!
Amazing photos!!
Thank you Olga. xo ~ Megan