For the record, these trip memos were posted once the vacation was completed. I have no intention to repeat the mistake made by a family who was so accurate with their Tweets that they gave a clear time-line to thieves who robbed them blind and knew exactly how much time was available.
It has been several years since my wife and I even considered an extended vacation. We took our kids to see family in Florida several years ago now. At that point we flew, hauling a kid car seat and an infant bucket through the airport and down the airplane isle.
This year we are making a stab at a family vacation again, taking a trip that will require about 12 hours of driving time. Of course, with young children we will be well above that.
My daughter is highly anticipating this trip. She's found very good questions to ask that demonstrate her attempt to prepare for what is coming. She energetically packed her own suitcase, bouncing between her room and ours, following the precise prompts for category and quantity of clothing items my wife was providing.
I tried not to cough on everyone.
In what seems like my own personal tradition since about High School, I'm once again going on vacation while fighting off a cold. This one isn't particularly bad until the pressure in my head kicks in full force. As I near that point I become irritable, impatient, and a bit wobbly. This should make things much more entertaining, right?
With the usual level of miss-communication and an unexpected call from a friend and prior co-worker that ended up irritating my wife more than necessary, we did manage to have ourselves packed up before the kids bedtime.
After putting the kids to bed, it was time to play the traditional game of suitcase Tetris. Normally this is only a minor challenge, but this time I actually failed. There was just not a way -- confirmed by my wife -- to get everything in without risking stockpiling projectiles to ensure harm int he case of an accident.
Ok, so let's review and look for what is necessary:
Really big suitcase for my wife: check.
Medium-sized (possibly no longer legal for carry-on) suitcase for my daughter: check.
Average-sized (carry-on legal) suitcase for my son: check.
Slightly cramped, average-sized suitcase for me: check.
Beach toys: check.
Powered Travel Cooler: check.
Counter-top oven: check.
Cooking utensils: check and check.
Diaper bag: check. (in cabin)
Snack bag: check. (in cabin)
Movies for the kids: check (in cabin)
Toiletries: need space once finally packed.
Out-Of-Trunk-Space: check (by about 2 or 3 items worth).
So, what would you leave home?
For us, the powered travel cooler was the casualty for safety's sake. How are we going to make a Thanksgiving dinner without an oven? Shish... what were you thinking? ;)
It's now way too late at night, somewhere around 11pm, and I'm definitely hurting. This should make the trip even more exciting. Oh well, maybe I'll go for complete exhaustion, sleep-debt, and high levels of caffiene to, you know, recapture my college lifestyle (because that was such a good way to do things the first time around).
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