Our Third Family Road Trip (Ocean)
This blog article was originally posted on my first blog In Our Pond. I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big. So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here! In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts. Check them both out!
Last weekend was our third west coast road trip five months. Every time, I feel like I learn a bit more about what works for our family, and the kids get more "settled" about what a road trip means. I now feel like we're ready for a trip to the east coast (several days vs one day of driving).
One of the highlights of this trip was our "playground tours." On the day we went to the coast, we stopped at a really nice "dinosaur" playground about halfway through our journey. Then, when we got to the hotel, they got to play again on the equipment the hotel owned. The next day, our kids played at two playgrounds near the bay and got to visit the ocean for the first time. On our return trip, they played at a new park, rode a ferry, and visited the dinosaur playground again. For my country kids, all that park time was a big treat.
Here are a few pictures of the logistics of traveling with three toddlers:
I always pack a tiny bit of dish soap, a dish cloth, dish towel, paper towels, and bleach wipes when we travel. We three toddlers, you never know what you'll need and when you'll need it. During our stay, we went through more clothes than we had planned on, so I did some laundry in the sink. I made soapy water with the dish soap, hand washed the clothes, and then line-dried them in the bathroom. Also during the weekend, we had a potty accident, so I was glad I had paper towels and bleach wipes to clean it up. And, of course, I always have lots of grocery sacks packed in different places for wet clothes, etc.
I packed one tote with our snacks, treats, and meals (although we also ate out for at least one meal). My kids love hotel dinner on the floor. I spread out a baby blanket for their picnic, which helped to contain any spills. The room had a microwave, so it was easy to cook up some Easy Mac. I had a bag of disposable spoons in our food tote and everything went in the garbage when we were done eating. We also had a small cooler with drinks, sandwiches, and fruit. Frozen water bottles kept everything cold.
We actually did three days of driving because we spend a day getting to the coast, a day driving around the peninsula to the ocean, and a day driving home. Dragonfly (4) was entertained the most by her I-spy picture book that I made for her. She rejected a lot of the other activities that I packed for her and spent a lot of time talking, asking questions, singing, and explaining things to her brothers.
Skimmer (3) entertained himself almost exclusively with cars. He loved most his John Deere tractor and big motorcycle, but also kept a pile of other cars around him at all times.
Tadpole (1) had the hardest time and was happiest with a lollipop in his mouth (teething). He also spent a lot of time playing with the obnoxious camera that I picked up at the dollar store.
We just got back, but I'm itching to plan another trip.
Last weekend was our third west coast road trip five months. Every time, I feel like I learn a bit more about what works for our family, and the kids get more "settled" about what a road trip means. I now feel like we're ready for a trip to the east coast (several days vs one day of driving).
One of the highlights of this trip was our "playground tours." On the day we went to the coast, we stopped at a really nice "dinosaur" playground about halfway through our journey. Then, when we got to the hotel, they got to play again on the equipment the hotel owned. The next day, our kids played at two playgrounds near the bay and got to visit the ocean for the first time. On our return trip, they played at a new park, rode a ferry, and visited the dinosaur playground again. For my country kids, all that park time was a big treat.
Here are a few pictures of the logistics of traveling with three toddlers:
I always pack a tiny bit of dish soap, a dish cloth, dish towel, paper towels, and bleach wipes when we travel. We three toddlers, you never know what you'll need and when you'll need it. During our stay, we went through more clothes than we had planned on, so I did some laundry in the sink. I made soapy water with the dish soap, hand washed the clothes, and then line-dried them in the bathroom. Also during the weekend, we had a potty accident, so I was glad I had paper towels and bleach wipes to clean it up. And, of course, I always have lots of grocery sacks packed in different places for wet clothes, etc.
I packed one tote with our snacks, treats, and meals (although we also ate out for at least one meal). My kids love hotel dinner on the floor. I spread out a baby blanket for their picnic, which helped to contain any spills. The room had a microwave, so it was easy to cook up some Easy Mac. I had a bag of disposable spoons in our food tote and everything went in the garbage when we were done eating. We also had a small cooler with drinks, sandwiches, and fruit. Frozen water bottles kept everything cold.
We actually did three days of driving because we spend a day getting to the coast, a day driving around the peninsula to the ocean, and a day driving home. Dragonfly (4) was entertained the most by her I-spy picture book that I made for her. She rejected a lot of the other activities that I packed for her and spent a lot of time talking, asking questions, singing, and explaining things to her brothers.
Skimmer (3) entertained himself almost exclusively with cars. He loved most his John Deere tractor and big motorcycle, but also kept a pile of other cars around him at all times.
Tadpole (1) had the hardest time and was happiest with a lollipop in his mouth (teething). He also spent a lot of time playing with the obnoxious camera that I picked up at the dollar store.
We just got back, but I'm itching to plan another trip.
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