Last weekend, Eli, Micah, and I loaded up the car for our first road trip to Crossville, Tennessee. Sounds like a pretty good plan, huh? Well it was until about an hour into the six and a half hour trip.
Last Christmas, we went to spend a week in Jacksonville, Florida with Eli's family as we have been doing every year since we met. This time, we added a road trip to Rome, Georgia the day after Christmas. One month pregnant and MANY hours on the road, I decided then that I no longer liked car rides lasting more than four hours.
I don't know what I was thinking committing to this trip, except for we were going to see a good friend of Eli's get married! Low on funds (hello, Dave Ramsey and stay-at-home mom pay) and lack of airport in Crossville, I was left with no choice but to drive! And that we did!
Micah doesn't mind being in the car seat as long as we are moving. I think he already has a sense of direction because if we are stopped, for traffic or even at a light, he starts to cry. So after about an hour or so, baby boy decides he wants to eat. I rode in the back and was able to pump a bottle for him. We stopped at a rest stop and his daddy fed him while I walked around and went to the bathroom. Great first stop, but a couple hours later we had to do it again. This time I gave up on the pumping and we found a quaint little church on the side of the road to stop and handle business. Multiply this times 4 or 5 and a six and a half hour trip will easily turn into ten or eleven.
Needless to say, we made it to the small town of Crossville. The family had reserved a couple of lodges on the 4H park in town. The camp was an extension of the University of Tennessee and absolutely gorgeous. The wedding was held in a little gazebo overlooking a pond there on site, as was the reception. Eli was one of the groomsmen which worked out well because Micah and I arrived as the guys were walking down the isle. Micah decided he wanted to take forever to eat and just as we were walking out, I noticed milk had gotten on my dress. After a quick change, we headed over and stood in the shade in the back! The sun was hot but in the shade you could feel a beautiful mountain breeze.
The ride back was like the ride there but worse. We didn't leave Tennessee until about 4 (our time - we crossed into the next time zone) and got home close to 2 in the morning. Late night driving along with feedings at shady gas stations made for a long ride! I was so glad to see exit 205B and pull into our gated community, I mean campus. Thankfully, Eli drove the last 30 minutes and whipped us through security.
Lesson learned: Plan for longer travel time and get more sleep before driving. I have trouble staying still so being at home a lot isn't an option!
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