Hitting the Road

The summer of 2011 is looking to be the Summer of Many Miles for me. First of all, I've taken up running again and have stuck with it for a whole 4 weeks now, thanks to the ingenius Couch to 5K program. Hopefully, with the help of my ancient iPod (it is, in both size and age, the granddaddy of all iPods) and all the obnoxiously peppy music I can possibly cram onto it, I'll finish the program and run a 5K before fall!

That's the least of the mileage I'll be logging this summer, though. Although Bear and I claimed two summers ago that we would never, ever again take a road trip with the girls, this was, in hindsight, obviously an overreaction. (In our defense, after racing frantically to get our rental car back in time, with Ellie screaming her head off in the back seat for the last hour and me doing contortionist moves to try and nurse her in her car seat--well hello there, passing motorists!--and Bear picking up a big, fat speeding ticket along the way, we weren't left with the desire to repeat the experience anytime soon. Why? Because we are sane human beings.) However, we've decided to end our road trip embargo because

a) the girls are older and therefore hopefully more cooperative now (says the mother of the two-year-old...),

b) we can't afford a fancy vacation, but want to go somewhere while I'm out of school,

c) we really want to see my parents on their home turf for the first time in three years, and

d) that road trip actually went really well, so why not go for a repeat?

So, we'll be heading off on a 6-hour trip (each way) to visit Grammy and Grampy, with some day trips to San Francisco and a jellybean factory and, if Bear has his way, at least one or two meals from "Man vs. Food" featured restaurants. There go all the calories I'm (allegedly) running off!

I've already started planning ways to keep the girls entertained in the car, and have chosen to focus on methods that do not involve music from "Dora The Explorer" because, again, we are sane human beings and would prefer to stay that way, and Dora's voice makes us want to drill holes in our heads. I've decided it's time for our first venture into the world of kids' audio books, and though I was totally tempted to get Harry Potter and hope the girls would defy all logic and age-appropriateness and fall immediately in love with the series, I restrained myself and went for these instead:



I may also order this one, because I love these books and really, who doesn't love a good "dead rat disguised as a student" story every once in a while? (Seriously, if you have kids and have never read these stories, go get them now. I mean, NOW. I'll wait.)


As Part Two of my "No Dora Songs" plan, I'm also very sneakily introducing movies like Curious George now, which have non-annoying soundtracks but will still count as "Kiwi and Ellie songs" when they hear them in the car. With those, a few iPad app's, a borrowed DVD player, some good snacks, a stop for lunch at "Old McDonald's," and some ideas I'll steal from this website, I'm hoping we'll have a fun and peaceful trip!

And finally, there is the Mondo Secret Road Trip I'll be taking with my other "other half," Bittle, to cap off my summer and relocate her, her car, and her cat to a state that is...oh...about 2,500 miles away. Have I ever been that far away from Bear or the girls before? No. Has either Bear or I, in our 15 years of Bearhood, ever taken a trip without the other? No. Have the girls ever been without me for longer than an overnight stay at Grandma's? Have I ever flown for longer than 30 minutes? Have I ever flown alone? No, no, and no, which is why this is kind of a big deal in my world, and why it's a secret trip until such a time as the girls absolutely have to be told. In fact, my current plan is for them to spend the night at Grandma's the day I leave, so that they won't even realize I'm gone until Day 2 (I'll be flying back on the 4th day). Since Ellie is in a serious Mommy Phase right now, and Keira is kind of a freaker-outer in general, honesty is definitely not going to be the best policy here!

However, the prospect of us Bittles, alone together on the open road, blasting the obnoxious 90's music of our teen years, blabbing nonstop, and ingesting mass quantities of Red Vines and diet soda for four straight days does have its appeal. It'll be an adventure, and the perfect way to send Dr. Bittle (she's getting her Ph.D.!) off into her new job and life in Totally Different Time Zone. I have no idea what that trip holds in store for us, but I know there will be many pictures, and stories, and much giggling, and a great deal of allergy medicine (for me), and, with any luck, a very well-behaved cat.

And there will definitely be no Dora.