Road Trip Revisited

So we made it. St. Louis, Chicago, and home in one piece. I'm suddenly and terribly disappointed I didn't think to write "_destination_ or bust" somewhere on our vehicle.

We took most of our food and snacks and you know what I discovered? We didn't eat as much as we have on other trips. My current theory of this phenomenon is along the lines of supply and demand. We had plenty to eat and therefore we chose not to eat. Go figure. I way over-packed in the food department and ended up bringing most of it back home with us. I over-pack in general so this did not come as a surprise. We did spend more than I had planned the last day of our trip because we were lazy. That and we happened to pass a White Castle and decided we would give it a try. All in all I would say the food was a huge success. My challenge for our next trip is packing food for one way since we'll be flying home. I'm thinking disposable cooler? I'll get back to you on that one.

Derek was amazing on the trip. Bryan and I were both pleasantly surprised at how well he handled the hours and hours of being strapped in his car seat. When we did stop we made sure to change him and let him walk around for several minutes. I would say this increased our trip length by about 20 minutes at each stop. Not a small increase in total but well worth his happiness and comfort. We found a nursery rhyme book that played music and lit up and took that with us. It and another musical toy seemed to be enough entertainment. I had finger friendly food for him to munch on and I kept extra bottles of milk in the car. Since driving at night wasn't an option we tried to make sure we were on the road during his normal nap times to help the time pass more quickly for him and also to try to keep some kind of routine even though we were on the road. For longer trips I think driving at night would be brilliant. Definitely something to think about when we head to Arizona.

Hotels. Geez. I made some major mistakes in this arena. I was all about saving a buck and I realized that I am seriously too germaphobic to handle that approach. The first hotel we stayed at somehow we ended up in a smoking room. It had that ashtray smell that was particularly powerful because we are never around smokers. It also had that brown coloring typical of being closed up while said smoking took place. Nothing against smokers...I just don't want to be one. Thankfully the desk attendant was AMAZING and found us another option. A  non-smoking room with no bathroom door. Beggars can't be choosers. The room wasn't clean. There was hair on the floor and on the sheets that did not match any of those actually staying in the room...well not me anyway. The other two occupants didn't have much hair to speak of :). And the dishes and tables had not been wiped down. Yikes! I didn't dare walk around without my shoes, I washed everything before we touched it, and I slept wrapped completely in a sheet we'd brought from home. I mean eww. Luckily our next stop we met up with more discerning friends and stayed at a hotel that looked like it came straight from HGTV. I mean there were granite counter tops in the bathroom. Talk about serious upgrade.
What did I learn?
We almost doubled the cost of one night stay by upgrading and it was worth it. I'm not so interested in saving a buck that I'm willing to sacrifice my comfort. And actually I'm impressed that we went from a doorless bathroom to granite counter tops for $35. Really there is no comparison if you count the fact that our second hotel had complimentary breakfast, a swimming pool, a business center, free WiFi, a workout room, and a laundry facility. Next time we travel we will not be skimping on accommodations. There is a line not to be crossed, even in frugal living.