Kirsten here... So grateful to be sitting on my comfy bed in our pop up after what seemed like a day that would never end this way (in a camper).
Preparing for a journey like this brought with it a few unforeseen circumstances that delayed our departure til almost 5:30 PM!!! We had hoped to leave early in the AM - I even had breakfast and lunch packed for the kids to have on the road. Needless to say, they ate both of those meals at home, and their packed bento boxes became their dinner on the road.
The weather was not in our favor, as it poured most of the day in Lancaster. That meant closing up the camper, which was parked in our driveway, racing against the drops of rain, and Tim trying to install the new tires and the propane tank cover in the rain. It also meant trying to pack everything in just the right nooks and crannies of the camper, cargo carrier and van - like a huge jigsaw puzzle.
Our dear child #3 insisted on a haircut before we left, much to his mother’s chagrin, so Tim whipped out the shears and gave him a new do, taking off inches and inches of soft, blonde locks. Then we had a bit of a scare with Kai, just as we were finally nearing our departure time, when he swallowed a Canadian quarter. Tim was right nearby, so was able to respond almost immediately, but Kai ended up being his own hero, as he pushed forcefully on his trachea to dislodge the coin, causing it to propel from his mouth (along with his lunch :() and allowing him to breathe again.
That was when this mama doc lost it. In that awfully intense and scary moment, I broke down in tears after I saw that he was OK - no Heimlich maneuver needed, no call to 911, no trip to the ER, no endoscopy and no watching his poop for days or weeks to see if he would pass it. Thank goodness!!!
While it was a terrible experience for all 6 of us to see little Kai go through that, it did cause us allto pause and regroup, to get ourselves together again and finally get out the door shortly afterwards.
I have to say I was proud of our tribe on the road- we certainly had our moments - but we only had one stop for a potty break, the kids read books, ate their bento box lunches turned into dinners, and we discovered a new podcast (Molly of Denali), which the kiddos all seemed to love.
We arrived in just a little over 4.5 hours - not badfor 270 miles hauling a pop up. We missed the PIttsburgh traffic - I guess one blessing of leaving so late! We also got to drive into a beautiful sunset for the second half of the trip, which provided the opportunity to talk to the kids about the sun setting in the west.
When we got to Raccoon Creek State Park and found our campsite, it was a total mudslide. Ugh! It had rained heavily here before we arrived, and the campsite suffered for sure. We decided todrive around and look for a different vacant site, even though it was approaching 10:30 PM. And we found it! No close neighbors to disturb, a relatively flat pad, shade, and no mud! So we snatched it up and set up camp.
The two youngest fell asleep in the car listening to bedtime stories, Seb helped us set up, and Maya brother-sat til it was a time for her to come in and go to bed.
So thankful for a safe and dry camper and a mud-free campsite. Even more thankful for Timmy, who got us here safely after a VERY LONG DAY. And super thankful for healthy kids, who I will love on extra hard tomorrow when they wake up.
Day 1/37 on the books!
And we’re off!
Maya helped to prepare the bento box “lunches”
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