Our first road trip in the big rig with our little. The definition of vacation is a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday- so I'm not quite sure 'vacationing' with a baby should be called that but something like it, the term brings on a whole new meaning when doing it with a baby. Life brings on a whole new meaning with a whole lot of purpose when children enter the picture. With Garett being on the road so much, we had the opportunity to go with him to the Big Old Iron Classic truck show out in Kasson, MN. I was used to going with him in the truck, but now we had three of us. We did a little test run the previous Sunday into Monday when G had a load out to NY to see how McKenna would do in the truck and figure out sleeping arrangements. It went well! McKenna loved the loud noise the truck made and the constant vibration. So last Tuesday we left for Minnesota- It was an adventure, one that we will treasure forever. We know McKenna won't remember it but Mom and Dad will.
Packing for McKenna and I was easier than I anticipated (other than finding the time to do it). We didn't have a lot of room in the big rig, so luckily her clothes are little and she's not old enough for many toys so we kept it simple. Onesies, a few toys (rock n play, chew bee, turtle toy, octopus), baby Einstein videos to play on the laptop, a blanket- all in all her goods took up a medium sized bag (Let's just say Dad was impressed). And me, well, squeezed it all into one bag. Just like that we were off that Tuesday to pick up a load in MA to deliver to NJ, to reload in PA and deliver to MN. We made it to MN by Thursday afternoon. We trucked to one of G's friends house (another truck driver that lived in MN), and they were kind enough to let us stay there before the truck show.
It was beautiful. Visiting different parts of the Country is so awesome. We stopped at rest areas, took pictures. We trucked up front, hung out in the back. The vibration and loud noises made our little nap, so Mom and Dad could spend some time in the front trucking and talking to one another. During the time we were gone, we trucked through NJ, DE, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI and MN. How awesome, right? We saw the great lakes and traveled along the Mississippi River. People often say, how can you stand to be in the truck that long? Well, many reasons- I'm with the people I love the most (awwww)- I love sight seeing, I don't get car sick, and I could talk to my man for hours. And I love trucks. G knows so much about them too- any question I had, he had the answer. He's so good with geography and history while traveling through all these spots he always had something to share, whether it was 'My Dad used to truck here' or the process in which Big Boats got through the Mississippi River.
The truck show was great. We stayed at Tim and Pam's house in MN Thursday night. G's trucking friends- he has three beautiful daughters (one only one week old- giving me baby fever already!) and a welcoming wife. They live on a beautiful piece of property- basically in the middle of nowhere. We grilled, hung out, and enjoyed the view. Friday we woke up nice and early (about 5am) to deliver the load and head out to the truck show in Kasson MN. McKenna and I went back to sleep in the bunk while Daddy drove. We got to the truck show mid morning. So many trucks- it was totally awesome. We spent Friday night there and Saturday and left early Sunday morning. Our little walked around with us all weekend to look at all the trucks. Little miss McKenna was in the Boba Carrier quite often. We bought her a cute peterbuilt onesie, I can't wait to see it on her- I still tried to get her to bed on time when we were away- it was easy enough to get in the big rig and lay down. On Saturday we were in the truck parade, all the locals lined up the streets to see all the nice trucks parade by, there was a lot of candy throwing and trucks honking . It was neat to see the passion everybody had for trucking and truckers.
On a side note, I was anxious about the trip because McKenna doesn't sleep very much and still cries loudly - a lot. As a first time Mom I was anxious about what people were going to think, bringing a baby to a truck show, or to rest areas, or to truck stops, or eating out and making a scene at a restaurant. After awhile, you stop thinking about what other people are going to think and just do it. And I'm so glad we did. She did exceptionally well the whole trip. And when eating out, if she got fussy I took her outside or fed her. Breastfeeding is a miracle on so many different levels. She had her moments, mostly happening at night before bedtime. But I wrapped her in the wrap and just walked up and down the road, she eventually would calm down and sleep and it made me burn some calories. With all that eating out and sitting in the truck, she must have knew I needed it. She did great. My breastfeeding experience has been nothing short of a challenging and incredible journey and I can't wait to share that in another post. But as far as going away- just needing me for food- was perfect.
Sunday morning we left the truck show to go back to Tim's house to visit and hang out for one more day, the weather was absolutely gorgeous- I met a few more of Garett's trucking friends, it was nice to finally put a face to all their names. We left MN Monday and started to truck on home. Our first road trip away was awesome. Of course we'd like to make it a yearly tradition, but I believe with anymore than one child, well. Let's just say- one baby on a trip like this was a good enough experience. . I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
