7 April 2023
You all know we are big fans of the road trip over here. Since having kids, we’ve opted to travel by car pretty much every chance we get, including regular multi-day, 15+ hour treks to Maine and Michigan. There are many reasons for this: it’s less expensive, it may be better for the environment, we believe it’s growing something good in our kids – but one really important reason is that we just plain enjoy it. We enjoy road trips in general, but we’ve also kind of perfected the form for our family over the years. We bring takeout to parks for picnic lunches, we pack good snacks and activities, and we try to make our overnight stops destinations in themselves. Sometimes this looks like staying at a riverfront Airbnb, sometimes it looks like staying with family friends, sometimes it looks like staying at a lakefront inn, and on our most recent spring break road trip to Florida’s 30A area, it looked like staying at the nature and wellness community Serenbe, about 40 minutes outside of Atlanta. I have a long history with Serenbe. It was the scene of the second Southern Weddings’ photo shoot I ever worked on, back in 2009; I fell in love with it the minute I drove onto the property as a wide-eyed recent graduate. I returned in 2014 for another photo shoot, again with nothing but good things to say. John has obviously heard me chatter about it for years, and curious to see it for himself, we decided to make it the overnight stop on our two-day drive to Florida. As I knew it would be, it was the most magical road trip stop. I’m so glad I got to share this special place with my family, and I’d love to share a
25 March 2021
With so many of us planning road trips these days, and spring break coming up, I thought it might be helpful to share some of our family’s tips and tricks! John and I love a good asphalt adventure, and once our kids joined the party, we kept right on rolling. June clocked six significant road trips in her first six months of life, we’ve been known to make multiple 10+ hour road trips in a summer, and I kid you not, when we asked June what she was most looking forward to about our upcoming trip to Jekyll Island, she said, “the car ride and the pool.” In that order. So those are our credentials, ha! One thing to note up front: our kids (currently 5 and 2) do not have or use personal devices (iPads, etc.). A few further things to note: — If your kids use devices while traveling and you’re happy with the situation, great! You do you. This is not a moral failing and you do not need to explain yourself to me or anyone else, ha! — If your kids use devices while traveling and you’d rather they didn’t or you’re considering going screen-free, I’ll be the first to encourage you that YOU CAN DO IT! Yes, there might be a rough transition period. Yes, it requires a little more prep and parental engagement. And yes, even once you’re well into it, it’s not always going to be pretty (best to keep your expectations in check!). For us, though, the benefits outweigh the negatives — benefits like increasing our kids’ patience, attention spans, resilience, and capacity for wonder. We also think it helps them learn to accept uncomfortable situations with good humor and to make friends with boredom, and can strengthen our family bond. (You
25 July 2016
June has been on an impressive number of road trips in her short life. Over the last six months, she’s driven to Charleston (4.5 hours), Atlanta (6 hours), Hilton Head (5 hours), Cashiers (5 hours), White Sulphur Springs (4.5 hours), and Maine (14.5 hours!!). And that’s just the straight driving time — all of those trips were longer with stops! We’ve learned a few things along the way about taking a road trip with a three- to six-month-old, and I’d love to share our tips with you today… 1. Don’t take the scenic route. This one pains me, because seeking out interesting and beautiful routes is in my blood! (It’s one of my Dad’s favorite things.) But, our main strategy for a successful road trip at this age is to have June napping for as much of it as possible. If we time it right, she has been known to take a three and a half hour nap in the car! (Gold, people!!) Stopping or even changing the sound in the car by dramatically slowing our speed is something that will wake her up, so we stick to the most direct highway route for long, uninterrupted stretches of road. 2. Consolidate stops. We try to make sure that when we do stop, we take care of everything: feeding June, feeding ourselves, a stretch break, a bathroom break, and a gas fill-up. That way, we don’t have to risk waking her up an hour into a nap because our tank is running low. 3. Dress her lightly. June tends to get very sweaty in her car seat, even with the AC blasting, so I always make sure she’s wearing her lightest outfit – usually a thin bubble. This helps her stay cool and comfy! 4. Picnic for meals. We learned early
10 September 2012
…and other recent adventures :) On Friday evening we packed up both of our cars and hit the road. Yahoo!! Three suitcases, three large cardboard boxes, two Rubbermaid tubs, ten cake stands, four tote bags, three oversize frames, and about eight billion other unnamed wedding supplies. Oh yes, and two cats. And one bride, and one groom. This was my car – John’s held the cats and his golf clubs :) We spent the night in Virginia, then set off for New England the next morning with my Dad joining our party. The cats were angels! Nary a peep from the backseat, and smooth sailing all through DC, NYC, and CT. This was us crossing from Delaware into New Jersey. My Mom’s birthday was on Sunday, so my Dad and I made dinner + dessert to celebrate. I also set to unpacking in earnest, and this was the result midway through. Yikes! We packed up all the silver and drove it over to our florist this morning. I snapped this little beauty next to her shop. I’ve grown to love the South, but it’s good to be back in picturesque New England :) More soon!