Almost There

Driving for 24 hours is a long time. I think I preferred driving 24 hours straight because it goes by much faster. We left after Mike got off work on Friday instead of waiting until Saturday…just because we were ready and the girls were SO excited to get going.

We stayed the first night in Salem, Oregon at a Comfort Inn. We asked specifically for a King Suite so that we could have a separate room from the girls. Usually those suites have a king closed off from the rest of the room by a door. Then a fold out couch in the outer area. So, we were so disappointed at 1:30 am to find our “King Suite” was only a couch separated from a bed by a half wall! This was a major bummer since the girls were squirmy and sniffley so they kept Michael from falling asleep and then woke him with potty trips.

In the morning we did at least get a nice free breakfast at the hotel and a quick dip in the pool for the girls. Then we were off again.

We drove and drove and drove and stopped only a couple times. We stopped for an Olive tasting at a place called the “Olive Pit”! And then we stopped for a tasty dinner at Denny’s in Stockton. As an added bonus, on Saturdays, kids eat free there! We drove a couple more hours and stayed in Kettlemen City. We had stayed there on our way home two years ago. With more specific questions we made reservations there because it actually had a King Suite! We slept nicely last night. No swimming in the morning though because the pool was closed.

While driving, the girls watch a lot of movies on the portable dvd player. As long as a movie is playing there isn’t much complaining. We also listened to Artemis Fowl, an audio book. I made the girls a travel journal before we left so they could do activities and record what we did.

We are almost ready to head south of Phoenix, south to Maricopa. It will be nice to be done driving!!