Traveling with Kids

Whenever I take a road trip with my kids I'm always prepared 100% for the kids, I take tons of snacks, bring lots of videos for the DVD player, the kids each take their Nintendo DS, and we bring books. We usually have more than enough entertainment and snacks for the length of the trip. Well, on this trip, I apparently didn't prepare myself as well as I did my kids. I had went to MapQuest the day before our trip and printed off directions, so I wouldn't get lost. I could have sworn I tucked those directions safe and sound into my bag. Well, wouldn't you know it, when it was time to need the directions, they were gone! This was supposed to be a very simple 45-minute trip in the North Carolina Mountains to meet my husband. Well, the trip ended up into a 2 1/2 hour nightmare.

I thought I was doing the smart thing and stopped to ask for directions before my journey started. Well, there was two people simultaneously giving me directions and I apparently listened to the wrong person because I ended up going the wrong way. So I backtrack about 15 minutes, stop at another gas station, drag the kids out of the car again, and ask for more directions. I apparently misunderstood what this group of people said because I backtracked once again and was still going in the wrong direction. Well, this time I didn't realize that I was going in the wrong direction until I saw a sign that said, "Welcome to the State of Tennessee".

I was really starting to get nervous because now we've been traveling for over an hour and I'm now in another state. As soon as I crossed the state line, I stopped in yet another gas station. Two very nice people told me I could either backtrack once again or pick up a little, windy country road which would get me to where I needed to go. I decided to keep moving forward, since the backtracking thing hadn't worked out too well. So now, I'm on a back road, with no cell phone service, can't call my husband to tell him where I am, he can't call me, and I've got two kids asking me every five minutes, "Are we there yet?!" Well, I finally arrive at my intended destination 2 1/2 hours later. My nerves were shot. I never knew that not having cell phone service would make me feel so isolated. Anyway, I guess this just ended up being another one of life's adventures.