Why We Don't Road Trip and a $300 Giveaway So You Can

Memorial Day is here and even though it seems like spring just showed up, now summer can begin! Our family has a lot packed into the next three weeks, and after that we plan on just relaxing poolside. One of our upcoming calendar items is a trip to Tuscon for my brother-in-law's wedding. Initially we weren't sure if we were all going to go or how long we could go, but what we did know right away was that we were not driving. Not a chance.

I grew up in Missouri and every summer we would road trip to Utah to visit family. I have fun memories of the long drives and I actually really like road trips... or at least I did until I was the mother of three small children. The last and only long (20+ hours) road trip we have taken as a family was two summers ago. We drove from KC, Missouri to St. George, Utah to Salt Lake, Utah and then home again over a two week period. It was insane.

Why have we sworn off road trips, you ask? Well, a week before we left on that trip, Kesler burned his shin on the tailpipe of my mom's van. We didn't have it checked out, but looking back on it I'm pretty sure it was a third degree burn. He was only 20 months and even back then, he was our emotional one. He seemed okay before we left and we tried to drive throughout the night so the kids would sleep, but of course Kesler would have nothing to do with it. His leg ended up getting infected on the drive and he pretty much cried all night. I tried to sleep, but couldn't because of Kesler, and so I was too sleep deprived to even take a turn driving. Soren drove the entire night and I held Kesler. I think there were instances of peeing in bottles so as not to wake the kids by stopping and spilled smoothies in the van -but it's all a hazy memory. We recovered a little in the morning, but somehow still had like eight hours to go. It was the longest drive ever. When we finally got to St. George, it was a relief, but I woke up with the worst migraine of my life the next day from the strain of the drive. It was awful. So awful. On the way home we did a little better by stopping overnight in Cheyenne and getting a hotel, but during that return trip, Soren came down with an ear infection that landed him in the hospital for two days the day after we got back. I've never seen him screaming in pain or even heard of someone going to the ER for an ear infection before. I think that there were special circumstances to make it harder than it had to be, but it was certainly bad enough that Soren won't even consider a long road trip again. I mean, would you?

So it has been decided - we are not driving the 20 hours to Tuscon, and we will all be flying. I look forward to road trips in years ahead with older kids or just me and my hubby, but for now we'll pass. We really are excited for our upcoming trip and after road trips like we've had, a few hours on a plane should be a breeze. 

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Do you have any summer vacation plans? Will you be road tripping or flying? To help you with your upcoming travel expenses, I've got a great Summer Road Trip Giveaway for you today. You can win $300 toward your travel plans! Find plenty of ways to enter below! Good luck!

Entries can be submitted until June 3rd. Open to international followers. All entries will be verified.

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