Tennessee Trip: Days 1 and 2

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Three weeks ago we took a family trip to see family in East Tennessee.  We hadn't seen them since moving back to the States, and they had yet to meet Maximus.  We ended up taking the kids out of school for a week and Mason took time off of work to go.  We decided to leave on Friday evening as soon as the kids were out of school so we could get a head start on the drive.  It takes a little over 10 hours from us to Johnson City, so it pushes the limit for driving in one day. 

This guy was jamming out with drum sticks on the commute in Chicago.

Max thought the microwave was VERY fun.

The car was packed an loaded when the kids came home, so we barely let them use the bathroom before jumping into the car and hitting the road.  It was drizzly and 4pm on a Friday, so traffic was a pain thru Chicago.  We stopped at an Oasis to grab the kids their favorite, McDonalds, and powered on to Indianapolis for the evening.  Mason had planned out his Famous Dave's food stop and I grabbed Chipotle and we headed for a Hampton Inn that I'd reserved in a city just South of Indianapolis.  It was about a 5 hour drive with the stops to get there.

Theo thought "The Hamptons" was five star living and frequently mentioned that he enjoyed hotel living better than house living.  Since no one slept in the car, they fell asleep pretty quickly once we tucked them in.  I've done pretty well with the one night hotel stay routine and I back two backpacks with all that we'll need for the night (pjs, toiletries, diapers, electronic chargers, and clothes for the next day).  This saves a lot of time and hassle since we don't have to remove big suitcases for just a one night stay...especially since the car was packed for this trip.

On Saturday morning we grabbed a fancy breakfast at the hotel...Theo remarked that a benefit of living at the Hamptons would be waffles every morning.  When I remarked that I give him waffles almost daily at home, he retorted that microwave waffles weren't as yummy (they also aren't served with whipped cream and chocolate syrup).   

The kids were pretty good on the drive all and all.  We let them have their ipads and Theo took a few photos that he turned into a video montage while Woodrow battled the Star Wars Lego bad guys.  Max did well and took a nap, although was a little cranky before falling asleep.  We kept them fed, car gassed up, and we arrived in Jonesborough, TN around 4:30pm.  We checked into our hotel and unloaded the car/cleaned out some trash and were able to meet up with Mason's Dad and his wife and their grandchildren.  It was nice for the kids to play with other kids and new toys and get to see Dave and Dana's new house. 

We grabbed some late night Papa Johns before heading back to the hotel and grabbed some baths.  The kiddos did okay falling asleep...but staying in one room always makes us thankful for our spacious homes.