August 27, 2010

now, bring me that horizon.


on a day trip with David to Mesa Falls, Idaho - 2004.
David and I have been trying to plan a trip. Where? Anywhere. It seems like our conversations go something like this . . .

him: Do you want to go to Monterey for Labor Day? We can take off Saturday really early and drive up to Santa Barbara, spend the night and then on Sunday we can drive up the coast to Monterey and then on Monday we can drive back to Ventura and hang out with some friends and then come back Monday night.
me: Yeah! That sounds fun!
him: OK, you look for hotels and then let me know what you find.
(an hour or two later)
me: Well, hotels are really expensive and most of them are booked because it's Labor Day weekend and it's like a week away.
him: Couldn't we stay somewhere cheap? Like Best Western or something? It doesn't have to be fancy.
(I look up Best Western hotel in Santa Barbara)
me: It's still really expensive. And I don't know if William would do well in the car for 16 hours in 3 days.
him: Why can't he just sleep in the car?
me: Well, he might for a little bit but then he'll get antsy and we'll have to stop a lot.
(an hour later after discussing all the possible outcomes of a baby in a car)
him: OK. Well I guess we can do something else another time.

driving to who knows where in Idaho - 2004.
A lot has changed since we became parents. I miss the days when we were dating and/or newly married and we would just hop in the car and drive to Jackson Hole or the White Mountains. We would listen to a mix CD I made with a country song for David and a moody, mellow song for me. We would have cold (or hot - depending on the season) drinks in the cup holders and hold hands while I usually sat in the bucket seat of his blue truck. It was so fun to be able to take off whenever we wanted.

Maybe I'm not as laid-back as I think when it comes to mothering my baby. I like to act like I'm pretty "go with it" because that's how my husband is and I want to make him happy. But at the end of the day I need schedules, plans and charts. I think that's why we're really good for each other.

I guess that's just the season of our lives right now. It was so nice to be able to pack a bag and leave within an hour and without a plan for where we were going. But it is also nice to know that we have road trips ahead of us where we will show our children the world. And then we'll have a season of our lives when we're old and it's just us again and that will be great too.

Now, what do we do for Labor Day?

11 comments:

  1. Just a note about "when we're old and it's just us again". Those days are gone for us.... forever, luckily, we have grandchildren and an EVEN LARGER family than before. My husband and I did do a 35th anniversary vacation by ourselves this summer in our fifth wheel trailer... so fun, but we missed the rest of the family horribly. It just gets better and better. I DO recommend a travel trailer, it's usually pretty easy to find a spot to park it and you don't have to worry about suitcases and where to eat, it's all right there.

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  2. I know how you feel. Steve and I did so many fun trips before we had Parker boy! Traveling is definitely completely different now with a baby but I am so excited to do all of the fun kids trips and to see their faces when they see new parts of the world for the very first time. There is a time and season for everything. I just try to remember that. :)

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  3. One of our favorite little weekend getaways is to go to Palm Springs. We always bid priceline and always get the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort which has great pools and a waterslide. We went lat weekend and bid $80. Fun times.

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  4. I love this post - you couldn't have described it better! It seemed like we used to go on road trip every month in our first years of marriage.
    I second the palm springs / palm dessert idea - a very short drive from SD and family friendly.
    Also my husband & I are going on a 4 day cruise out of long beach to Catalina and Mexico in October. I don't think it will be as nice as some of our road trips, but no cleaning / cooking etc. for a few days sounds wonderful and the entire thing is very very reasonable - 250 per person for everything. It will be our first time away from out little girl. Yikes!

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  5. I vote for a nice picnic followed by a yummy treat!

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  6. ok so funny. that is what we are doing for labor day. up to san fran and then driving down the coast for about a week. haven't looked for hotels yet...now that you mention it maybe I SHOULD start booking?! yikes. where is my brain?

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  7. How about Julian? It's a cute little apple picking town that is pretty close to SD. They have the BEST apple pie!!

    I am personally not a fan of palm springs, especially this time of the year. It's sooo HOT!

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  8. This is such a great post! My hubby and I are driving to California next week (from Arizona) and we had this same discussion. I talked him out of road tripping it to Texas and or driving up the California coast! I tried to explain that our little guy will only sleep so long and then...he will go slightly ballistic. He's too young to start on movies!

    We're both a little bummed, but 6 hours is about the max I think we can do. I feel like the party pooper half the time. :) I bet it gets easier with the next one because then they have each other to entertain. Hopefully :)

    ps. I booked hotels at travelzoo.com and they had some decent deals. Not excellent, but decent.

    Good luck!

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  9. Hello.. so I made some enchiladas lastnight and paired it off with your easy peasy spanish rice...it was delicious. Next I really want to make the Stir Fried pasta.. do I need a wok, or can I make it without?? Thank u so much!!!!

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  10. I can completely relate to this post - it's as if you read my mind! Gone are the days of going on trips or even browsing in stores. But I wouldn't trade my little girl for the world :O)

    p.s. William is a doll!

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  11. I sure love reading your blog friend!! And I'm happy to know you're in CA. Me too! And next time you're up near Ventura, you should stop by Camarillo and visit! Our boys would love playing together! Email me sometime so we can keep in touch and plan a get-together! marianne4music@gmail.com

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