Road Trip Continued

Between Moab and Ogden, we had a five hour drive. We'll stop a lot, we thought. It'll be fine. And we did. We stopped at a gas station. We stopped at the grocery store twenty minutes later. And then we stopped at a rest area a half hour after that. 

"We're never going to get there," Fraser said at the rest area.

We'll make it," I said. "It'll be fine. He'll sleep after this."

After twenty minutes of screaming and asking to get out, yes, Jacob slept. For twenty minutes. And then he was ready again to get out. Excellent. 

After a quick lunch at Arby's where we discovered that Jacob loves roast beef sandwiches, we were on the road again, trying to cover some distance. I tried to distract him the best I could. The same toys you've seen for the past four days don't have the same appeal and after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar so many times I had it memorized, he was getting antsy. 

What set him off was ridiculous by grown up standards but, he is not a grown up. I ate a piece of cheese. He wanted some. I offered it to him. He said no. I finished it. He had a fit. He had a fit for fifty minutes. Screaming, yelling, crying... a good ol' fashioned fit. We tried earplugs which did help a little. We tried music and singing which didn't help at all. The kid is stubborn. He has stamina. Fraser couldn't get out to the car fast enough when we reached Ogden. 

We were done. All of us. Worst day in the car of the entire trip. 

At the hotel, Jacob and I went to the pool while Fraser watched a little football back in the room. Even then, Jacob fell apart at almost everything. Fraser couldn't pick up my suitcase without hearing, "Mama, Mama!" We couldn't change a diaper without a fit. Finally, after a huge meal of trout, green beans and carrots, he was ready for bed. Thank god for the end of the day. 

 
Fraser and I hung out outside, and he told me he didn't want anymore kids. Not after today. I told him these were unusual circumstances. But he had been scarred. The stress of listening to Jacob scream for such a long time was too much for this day. I hoped time and a better second half of our trip would help.

The next morning felt better. We were all in better moods. We had some breakfast, Jacob put on his "deodorant" with his toothbrush, we packed the car and were off. 

Up to Salmon, ID. Another long drive. Not much else to do but continue on. We had to make it all the way to Portland eventually. During our lunch break, Fraser did go into a Walmart to check out the travel DVD players. Eighty bucks. Not that desperate yet. He also looked at the Benedryl option that so many people suggest but decided against that also. 
We made it all the way up to Pocatello without many issues. He took a thirty minute nap and woke up crying again, but we pulled off, gave him a while to get back on track and then continued. 

We took 26 to 93 on up which takes you across long stretches of nothing before you hit the small town of Mackay. We got out in a parking lot and ran up and down a handicap ramp for awhile, went to the bathroom a couple times. The things you do to give your toddler a break without taking so long that you don't make it to you destination until 7 at night. 
This is where things like hay bales, or as Jacob says, "A males", got really interesting. We looked for them out Daddy's side of the car. We looked for them out Jacob's side of the car. They were the coolest things we had ever seen. 
"Jacob! Hay bales, coming up out your side," I said. "Wow, look how many there are. Cool!"
"More," Jacob said. "Daddy."
"Oh yea, I bet we'll see more out Daddy's side soon. Let's keep looking."
Between hay bales, giant irrigation sprinklers, horses and cows, we spent the next couple of hours. Rock canyons and rivers, also super cool. Towards the last 45 minutes he wanted out. Those hay bales got even more exciting. 
"Whoa!! Jacob, hay bales!" 
"Horses, neigh, neigh!"
"Oh, cows! What does a cow say?"
"Mooooo."
You can only tell a kid 'we're almost there' for so long but finally, we made it down my friend Rick's gravel driveway, our axle and oil pan gently scraping the ground. 

 We said hi to their horses and mules who came to greet us and then began jumping on their huge trampoline. Jacob was in hysterics. Couldn't keep himself up half the time but thought the entire experience was great. Rick and Audrey got home soon after. Audrey was showing Jacob how to jump. She also showed him her cool fire pit where there was much digging to be done. Right up his alley.

It's so helpful to have friends who have a child when you have a child. There are toys, there's another child, there are snacks. Life is so much easier for me in these places. 

Even with only a thirty minute nap in the car, Jacob was distracted and lit up. He found Audrey's place kitchen, her stick horse and Cinderella shoes. All very fun.

Bath time around 8, an hour and a half later than usual. But a big tub, tea party toys and a friend - who can resist! He passed out at 8:45. We told Rick that he'd be up between 5 and 6am. That's what he does when we're all together in a room; he knows we're there and starts waking up earlier and earlier. It wasn't until 7:45 that he even stirred the next morning.