Tennessee – 1st Trip
I started this blog a little late into our family life and past when I wanted to start documenting our trips. I bring this up because you will find me talking about trips which happened years ago as I try to bring us to a more current time. You might also find me jumping from more recent trips to older trips. I will try to put some perspective around when the trip happened and always finish writing about one trip before moving on. I apologize up front if I miss some of the details from our trips, but hopefully I capture the core of it and provide a little value along the way.
With the first couple of days behind us and our excitement running high from the zoo day, we loaded into the truck and headed off knowing we would be arriving in Gatlinburg that night.
Before we get to far into this post I want to setup a visual for you. Imagine a family of three getting ready for a 1 week vacation. Our daughter at the time was only 9 months old and this was our first longer trip. It is also important to note we owned a crew cab 2011 F-150 with a short bed which had a folding tonneau cover in order to utilize the bed of the truck as secure weather proof storage. Anyways the bed of our truck was packed full as well as day bags in the truck. I am a little paranoid as it pertains to locking things, so when we stop for the night I drag everything into the hotel, plus you never know when you might need that totally random object packed at the bottom of the largest suitcase. So imagine a family stacking the luggage cart sky high, appearing as though they are moving in for the month only to pack up and leave the very next day, that is our family! Needless to say it is quite the spectacle. I am sure some of you can relate.
The drive this day went much better. Why you might ask? We decided to slow it down some and take a few more breaks to make sure our daughter did not over sleep and to time naps a little better. The worst part of the drive this time was the terrible rain storm we hit when coming into Gatlinburg, but by then we saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
During this trip we were still warming up bottles, which can be difficult while on the road. Initially we were stopping at gas stations and getting a cup of hot water. This was really frustrating because we had to stop at the most random times. We eventually decided to take a break and walk around a Walmart. During this walk I came up with one of my favorite and dare say best travel hacks. We ended up in the camping area and like a moth to light I saw my bottle warming solution. Imagine a cartoon when the item has a halo around it, that is what happened to me. There it was a Stanley thermos for soup. We used this thermos idea with both of our kids. We would fill it up with hot water in the morning and be set for the entire day. I have actually taken it into restaurants, much to my wife’s embarrassment…..fond memories.
Johnny’s Word of Wisdom – Making Life Easier: As parents and just general travels we are constantly coming across obstacles during our travels. I approach these much like I approach most obstacles, and a message I really try to ingrain in my colleagues. What is this magical message you ask, “If you think there is an easier way, there probably is.” The internet has made this even better as you are able to look up ideas instantly. From warming up a bottle to managing travel expenses try to make things as easy as possible this way you can focus on what really matters, your vacation!
Traveling Through The Ages 