Kyleigh's Story - The First Road Trip (from VA to IN)

My husband, his brother, and I took Kyleigh to visit her great grandparents in Indiana this past weekend. It was a short notice so we didn't get the airline tickets. Also since we will be flying for Christmas, we thought it would be good to drive this time, so we can compare both car travel and air travel with a baby.

Friday night we left the house a little after 9 PM. Kyleigh took a pretty long nap from 4 PM to 7 PM, but we couldn't get on the road then. Otherwise, we would get to Indiana too early (4 AM the next day) and no one could take us in.

The plan was to have my husband and his brother alternate driving, and I would take care of Kyleigh and sleep in the backseat, so they could both catch up their sleep the next day and I would continue to take care of Kyleigh in the meantime.

3 hours into the trip, my husband and I both realized car travel was a bad idea. Kyleigh was soaking wet from her sweat, and we couldn't let her stretch because she had to stay in the car seat. When she got hungry, we exited at the nearest exit, without knowing the town. The name was "Friendsville" and we thought it would be a nice little town. It turned out that the only buildings in the town were 3 bars and a closed gas station.

We stopped at the closed gas station and fed Kyleigh. We took off her clothes so she could cool down, but we couldn't keep her out of the car for too long because the wind was really chilly. My husband helped me change her on my lap, and Kyleigh was not comfortable at all.

Then something really scary happened. We were all back in the car and trying to get Kyleigh to calm down. A motorcyclist, riding on a sup'ed-up motorcycle with loud engine and green neon lights around the exhaust pipes, rode into the gas station parking lot and made a big circle around us. We sat in the car and didn't move at all. Gladly he just went on his way and didn't find trouble with us any further.

So, the most important lesson learned is to never stop at just any exit. Next time we will need to research the rest stops and exit areas before the trip.

After the motorcyclist left, my husband changed seats with me and was able to keep Kyleigh quiet. So I went ahead and continued the trip. Unfortunately, the next couple of hours were the most horrible route to drive. I couldn't see very well at night to begin with, the route was full of grade 5% to 8% up and down hills, the construction closed the road down to one lane, the orange cones/plates were placed on the lane lines on my right (which meant they were really close to the car and the reflective lane lines were all covered), and the paint of the lane lines on my left was almost completely worn off. I basically had to guess where I was driving, because I could hardly see anything.

I started to get drowsy so I stopped at a gas station, but it was again closed. I just couldn't believe there were so many non-24-hours gas stations outside of the DC area. Having the previous bad experience, I continued driving until I could find the next rest area. I changed seats with my husband and I slept on and off for the rest of the trip.

I feel very bad for Kyleigh. I know she had a horrible ride. The car seat was way too hot and she got very sweaty. Then the cold wind was blowing hard on her when we were at the gas station. She couldn't drink the formula comfortably, and she couldn't stretch her limbs. She's a tall girl and her legs stick out of the car seat, but due to age and weight restrictions, she had to be cramped up in there. The street lights were shining in her eyes. I tried to block them with the blanket and the car seat umbrella but it wasn't always successful.

In conclusion, Kyleigh (and I) hated the drive.