Nick’s First Vacation: On The Open Road (Part 2)

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After such a rough breakfast stop we were happy that the rest of the morning went fairly smoothly.  The only problem we really had to deal with was traffic.  We had gotten stuck in early rush hour in Dayton and we got stuck in the end of it in Cincinnati.  Luckily none of it was too bad though, so it didn’t set us back too much time wise.

I had wanted to stop around noon for lunch, but since Nick had had such a small breakfast we decided to stop a little earlier.  Just after 11:30 we pulled off the highway to eat.  Since Nick was happy we decided to get gas first.  Then we pulled into a McDonald’s only to find it packed!  It was a large parking lot and there were hardly any open parking spots.  We decided that stopping at that McDonald’s would take up too much time, so we made the decision to head to another one.

We got back on the highway thinking it would only be a few minutes before we got off again.  WRONG!  It seemed we had found one of those few areas where you can drive for miles without seeing a McDonald’s.  Then we hit our first real traffic jam of the trip.  By the time we finally made it to a McDonald’s it was after 12:30 and we were all starving.

After the disaster that was breakfast we were very happy to have a nice relaxing lunch.  Nick was very happy and ate well.  His sippy cup was working, so we had no problems there.  The best part of lunch was when Nick wanted to give Jason his fry.  He held it out and said, “Daddy,” in a very clear voice.  It was so cute, and that’s not a word he says too often (he’s more likely to say dad).  It was probably the best moment of the whole day.

Before we left I thought about getting a mocha, but decided to wait since my head wasn’t doing too bad.  We had actually stopped around 10:00 to get me a mocha, but the machine at that McDonald’s had been broken like the one at breakfast.  I had had to make due with a frappuccino that I had brought.  They’re nice, but they’re not big enough and they don’t pack much of a caffeine punch.

To be honest I don’t remember a whole lot about what happened during the afternoon.  I know Nick and I both took a nap, and that Nick’s wasn’t terribly long.  At some point we did stop at a McDondald’s that had a working mocha machine.  During the late afternoon I went to sit with Nick in the back seat to play with him.  I had brought different brand new toys for him, but he wasn’t really a fan of them at the time.  He did like his magnetic Cars 2 toy, but it only kept his attention for about five minutes or so.  Eventually I turned on his Disney Junior shows on the tablet again.

We stopped around 6:00 for dinner.  We were very happy to find a truck stop that had both a McDonald’s and a Subway because Jason and I both already didn’t want any more McDonald’s.  We ate our dinners quickly, well Nick didn’t.  He was happy, but not really into his food.  He ate a decent amount though, so once he started showing signs of not caring anymore we left because we didn’t want to arrive at the hotel too late.

As soon as we had Nick loaded up we hit the road.  Before we reached our hotel we still had to get through Atlanta and then drive about another hour and a half after it.  We turned the tablet back on for Nick because he was showing signs of being done with traveling.  Plus I didn’t want him to fall asleep before we got to the hotel.  We had timed things right so we missed rush hour and were able to fly through Atlanta.  Everything about the last traveling part of the day would have been good except that the battery for the tablet died thirty minutes before we stopped.  You should have heard us singing and hooting it up to keep Nick awake (which we managed to do).  I actually got into it so much that I raised my hand at one point (while holding my cup from dinner) and jammed the inside of my lip with the straw.  I’m still not sure how I managed that, but it hurt!

We arrived at the hotel and check-in was easy since I had booked the room ahead of time.  We managed to get a corner room on the first floor.  They hadn’t put the crib in it, but they said they had one for us.  I went back out to the car and we loaded ourselves down with everything we needed for the night.  Amazingly we were able to get it all in one trip, but I had packed with that in mind.

We thought everything was going well, and then we entered the room and Nick went into freak out mode.  This was the first night in his life that he wasn’t going to be sleeping at home, and he didn’t understand what was going on.  We got him to calm down some with a bath, but not real well.  Then I took a bath while Jason played with Nick.

Once I was done I started getting everything ready for the night.  We had attempted to make things normal for Nick by bringing some of his crib toys, his pillow, and of course his Sleep Sheep.  He wasn’t happy about the little crib (there was hardly room for him let alone his toys), but he really didn’t like it when he tried to stand up holding his stuffed Pluto and his hand slipped on the metal bar.  At that point he became a basket case.  Like every other little one Nick has his off nights, but usually he goes to sleep well.  Not this time though.  He just cried and cried.  Jason and I got pretty stressed out because it was around 11:00 and we were so worried that Nick’s crying was going to wake someone up.

I finally got Nick to lay down on the extra bed with me and he calmed down and fell asleep within five minutes.  I thought about just leaving him and sleeping there with him, but I knew that I would be so worried that he’d wake and crawl off the bed that I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep myself.  Luckily I was able to transfer him to the crib.  He did wake when I moved him, but by that point he was able to relax and go back to sleep.  He woke crying a few times during the night, but we made it through it.  I will say though that it’s not a night I have any desire to relive again.

Up Next: The House of the Mouse!