I took the boys to Ohio this past weekend to see my mother’s side of the family. My grandma’s brothers, sisters, and their kids, etc. all get together and have a picnic every year. I figured since my husband couldn’t get away from work and would be working such long hours we really wouldn’t see him anyway, why not?
Mistake #1. Taking the turnpike. Awesome for kids who like to go through tunnels since there are four. Bad when you have to pee and you see one of those nifty travel plaza signs only to see that they put “20 miles” at the bottom. REALLY? 20 miles? I’d rather not see any sign at all than that. Glad I keep some paper towels and/or toilet paper in the trunk. We pulled over once for me. One of the kids almost needed it, but decided they preferred an indoor bathroom. Here I thought boys liked to pee outside.
Also on the PA turnpike mistake list is lack of food options. Not only did I have to find a travel plaza, but find one that the little one could eat food that wasn’t contaminated by peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, citrus fruit, or sesame.
Mistake #2. Forgetting central air conditioning isn’t common except in new construction that far north. I’m a princess and I’ve become accustomed to my central air.
Mistake #3. Thinking the little one learned from his previous mistake. He shut the same exact finger in the car door again.
Mistake #4. Not getting booze before the family picnic. Thankfully I have an awesome aunt who shared.
Mistake #5. Thinking the travel plaza on the opposite side at the same mile marker would have the same food stuffs. We learned Burger King with a benadryl chaser will do in a pinch. It was them with their sesame cross contamination in the chicken nuggets, or the cross contamination from shrimp in the oil at Popeyes. I figured based on past experience, BK was the lesser of the evils, and I hedged my bets correctly, but I NEVER want to have to do that again.*
*Yes, I had food in the car we brought in case of such an occurance, but that wasn’t good enough that day.
Mistake #6. Not taking pictures. I was so in the moment all weekend that I just forgot to take pictures. I wish now that I had.
I’m sure there are more mistakes I made, but these are what stand out in our journey. Have you made mistakes while traveling?
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