Broccoli and French Fries & a 11 hour 12 hour drive...

On Monday we embarked on a 12 hour drive from Virginia to Massachusetts.  We have 3 kids, so we know that a 10 hour BC (before children) drive is really 12 hours.  We also know that any drive past 9 hours consists of at least 3 potty breaks, 1 gas stop, a minimum of 1 temper tantrum, an untimely nap and a traffic jam in Connecticut.  More on Connecticut later...

We left Richmond at 6:20, only 20 minutes behind schedule and immediately all the small people in our car fell asleep.  There is a goddess and she likes me- proof, right there, in the nap.  After a quick stop at the golden Moo, where we grabbed a potty break and a meal to go.  Because the gods are smiling on us again at this point in our drive, B fell asleep around 11am, so we popped a movie in for our big kids and let her sleep.  She slept through our 1st planned fuel stop... so we didn't stop.  She slept through our back up fuel stop... so we didn't stop.  The NJ Turnpike came and went, and still, sleeping B and no traffic crisis & no melt down.  By this point, we're starting to feel cocky.  At the top (TOP!!!) of the Garden State Parkway, B woke up in a cheerful and happy mood so we stopped.  It's at this point that I decided that I needed a healthy alternative to lunch of BK or Nathan Dogs.  Well, that left Sabbaros Pizza... so I got the veggie loaded meat free pizza.  It happens that I like broccoli, sweet onions, tomato and spinach on my pizza, and I have trained my children well.  C ate the onions and spinach- off my pizza, and forwent her Nathan dog.  G picked the tomato off my pizza and forwent his Nathan Mini Dog Bits.  B picked all the broccoli off my pizza and ate C & G's french fries.  My kids chose my veggies over their carp.  I could cry.  ~sniff~  I could really because at the end of lunch I was starving.  I wasn't going to eat Fries and Hotdogs.  Uhg.  Could you think of anything less appealing to eat while you're driving?  So, after we finished our lunch, which was a LONGGGGGGGGGG stop, over an hour, we hopped back on the road to the Tapenzee Bridge.  

The weather was clear, and you could see The City skyline on the eastern horizon.  It was really cool.  NY passed, and we entered CT.  And then, I fell asleep.  Wait, Sean was driving, it's not THAT exciting of a story.  Except that I was having a really nice dream about Viggo Mortensen.  And suddenly, I was wide awake as we came to a screeching halt.  Of course, CT.  There's always a traffic jam in CT.  There doesn't even have to be a reason- no accident, no break down, no nothing.  Just 30 minutes of 3 mph traffic, and then, back to speed.  But now, B has been woken up and is screaming at us that she's "all done" with her car seat, and even Baby Mozart isn't working, and to top it all off I couldn't go back to sleep and find out exactly what Viggo had in mind, but I have a feeling it was going to be good.  Dennis Leary nailed it when he said, "Connecticut is the 5th ring of Hell".   But we muscled through and made it without another stop.

We made our 12 hour drive in 11 hours 6 minutes, 2 potty breaks, 1 fuel stop, a veggie filled lunch, 1 temper tantrum, 1 (delicious) nap, and a traffic mess in Connecticut.  Life isn't all bad.  Of course, now we're in MA with H's parents... so, we'll have to see how it all plays out!