04 January 2012

Christmas Travels and their Ability to Test the Limits of Sanity

On the 26th me and my boys got in the car with presents and plans to extend the merriment in Utah.  
This was tweaked by the gridlock that began somewhere on the 91, the most odious of all freeways ever created by man, and lasted until somewhere past Vegas.  For about 40 minutes of that Jude was screaming and we wondered if we would have ulcers if we didn't turn around and go home.  We didn't, and Jude chilled out after not too long.  
BUT:
It took us 9 hours to get to Las Vegas, people.  9 HOURS!  
We did stop in Barstow to get some food and opted against Chipotle or In-n-Out, thinking they'd be more crowded because they are more delicious.  They were, but that doesn't mean Panda Express, our final selection, wasn't also absolutely stuffed with weary, sweaty travelers.  Also, no changing table in the bathroom.  After standing in line for 30 minutes we snarfed every inch of that food in our frustration.  My cousin Becca would call that F.K.B. (Fat Kid Behavior).  
Anyway, once we got past Vegas it opened up a bit so we kept going.  When we were getting closer to St. George my eyelids were heavy so we stopped.  We were going to stop at Motel 6 but I didn't want Herpes so we chose The Days Inn.  
At that point, about 1:30a.m., Jude had been sleeping for about 7 hours, woke up when we were getting into our room, and wanted to party.  Delirium.  Wriggly baby.  We ended up letting him sleep with us that night, which had never happened before, not once.  (This co-sleeping continued on our trip because guess what: infants, past a certain young age, do not like sleeping in unfamiliar places.  Which is why, young couples out there who think they can save their European adventures for later because they can take their babies on every vacation and it'll be just minimal extra work: it's not that all the other parents are wimps, it's just that traveling turns babies into monsters.)
I didn't sleep well that night; I kept worrying I'd roll over on my Jude.  I woke up at 5a.m. and tried to convince Jeff we should just hit the road, that I was awake enough.  He thought that was hilarious.  We left at 7. 


Jude found the candy.  He didn't penetrate the ziplock.
We made it to Bountiful by lunch time and it was all worth it.
More to come, but for now, 
The End.

1 comment:

Lauren F. said...

Oh I agree that traveling turns kids into monsters. Ryan always ends up in our bed when we are in a hotel room. BUT, this last trip/cruise forced Ryan to sleep in a "big boy bed" and that provided enough transition for him that he is in his big boy bed at home now. Yay for us! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip (and how long did it take Jude to get back to a normal routine?)