5 Packing Tips for an Awesome Road Trip!!!

It’s weird that I rarely talk about it considering I lived there for almost 30 years. It is the city I was born, raised, graduated high school and University. It is the city where I met my first love and my true love! Winnipeg is where HBear was born. I have so many memories of my hometown I wouldn’t even know where to begin… Perhaps that’s why I rarely speak of it?

Getting ready for our big trip back East got my mind racing. People I haven’t seen in years… Places that have changed… Going there… Without my Mom.

As I reflected on the good times, the great times, and the not so great times I realized that the majority of my memories include my Mom. Of course they do! My Mom moved to Winnipeg when she was 13 years old. The house my Mom grew up in… That was the house that I grew up in too. We went to the same schools and had the same teachers. Without even knowing it, I followed in her foot steps so closely that I even made the same dumb mistakes that she did. 

What would it be like without her?

As we drove the weirdest thoughts crossed my mind.

I thought of sitting in the car in the Civic Centre parking lot. Mom had the Eurythmics cranked and we belted out Sweet Dreams… loudly. I was wearing a winter jacket and a tutu so it must have been winter and I must have been going to dance class. It’s a new memory or at least one I don’t remember having before.

I remember eating silver dollar pancakes with home fries from the little restaurant below her work. I remember her coming in to get me and the huge smile that lit up her face when she saw me in the corner ringing up her tab.

As we pass grain elevators and hay bales I reflect on my childhood and my road trips as a little girl. I remember the time our car broke down in Estevan Saskatchewan 😂, we were travelling with my Auntie and she went on ahead to our hotel in Swift Current, Motel 5000 (WITH a waterside) we had to stay in this little town and get the car fixed. The only thing open was an Esso Station so we played cards there for hours. The only hotel was completely booked with construction workers so they offered us this little abandoned house (we named it Motel 5  😂). Mom was travelling alone with me, my sister and my friend lol. What a trooper! The house was dirty and old and we heard the pet rats in the cellar scratching underneath us all night! Good times  😂.

From there I remember the last time we drove this same route to Winnipeg. It was 5 years ago exactly. All 5 of us made the drive out to my SIL’s Winnipeg wedding. I was 6 months pregnant with SBean. I can almost see us sitting at the rest stop as we drive by it. I can hear her laughter as she giggled at something HBear did that pleased her.

I am nervous going back to my hometown. Will I miss it so much I want to stay? Will I remember the things that made me want to leave? Will it bring me closer to my Mom? Will it break my heart to remember the old times? Will this be the last time I see my Grandpa? Will everyone think I have changed? I have had 2 kids since I saw some people, do I look different? I AM different, will I still fit?

As we drive I get more and more anxious, scared and excited. Only time will tell I suppose. I don’t want to dwell on my insecurities because my bullshit affects the entire trip so I make a clear decision. I am going to relax and go with the flow 🙄…  😂.

I don’t have a recipe this week. I do however have a few road trip survival tips about travelling with an 8 year old and a 4 year old!

Packing tips

1- Overnight bags: I gave the Girls summer backpacks for their end of school gifts. They use them to carry whatever they need to whatever activities we are going to. For travel purpose they were their overnight bags. Each had their pj’s for the hotel, a sweater, sweats, socks, underwear, their stuffy, their water bottles and a change of outfit. They were responsible to bring their bag into the hotel and put their stuff back into it in the morning. Making them responsible for their things is a great lesson that will help them in the future. My Mom and Dad packed everything. When I started going on trips on my own… well I absolutely sucked at it! In fact, to this day I hate being the Mom at the end of a road trip. I want someone else to bring everything in, unpack, make dinner, and then do ALL the laundry lol. Teach them young to help out and then their future won’t feel so overwhelming.

2- To Do Bins. I stocked up on Usborne books, I found a few sale items at out local kids stores sudoku puzzles and connect the dot puzzles, grabbed some card games, their summer journals and 3 library books each. I also added 4 books about each of the provinces we  were travelling through.

3- Maps. The best way to have your kids follow along is to go to your local CAA office and ask for road maps. I cut them out take them to Staples and get them laminated. Dry erase markers allow the kids to follow along and cross off where we have been and look to where we are going. 

4- I bought $ Store stuff to help with storage in the vehicle. Trays to eat on, suction cup shower things to stick to the window for pencils and crayons, a hanging basket attached to a dog collar for their small items and neck pillows for those wonderful little naps that they rarely take.

5- Daily clothing bags. I know some people think I’m crazy but I find security in being organized. It makes me happy and allows me to enjoy my vacation. I hate rifling through suitcases trying o find outfits for 3 people. When I’m not in my own house I like to keep things as organized as possible, mostly to save time and my sanity PLUS… no arguments! I organize each person with their daily bag. Inside is undies, socks, a day outfit (tank top, t-shirt, shorts), a evening outfit (pants, long sleeved shirt and sweater) and pj’s. Do we wear everything in the bag? No. I take out all the bags and line them up in order and then 1 suitcase will carry our laundry home and 1 holds all the stuff we didn’t wear. Honestly, it wasn’t much but at least now I can hang them back up and I can take 1 suitcase into the laundry room rather then trying to remember what was worn and what is clean. PLUS… no arguments! Also, we stayed at different houses throughout our trip so it was easy to grab our ziplocks and know that everything was in there. How so I spell relief?
O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N 😊. 

Soooooo what does travelling with Ninja, Dad, HBear and SBean look like? Well let me tell you…

Day 1

4:30 Alarm goes off.

5:20 Wanted to leave at 5. But… 

5:30 Dad started to pat his pockets 😳. No phone. Turned around in Trout Creek. 

5:45 Left again.

6:35 What’s that smell? I put my hand back to lift HBear’s blanket and my hand lands in a huge pile of drool. Why is Lenny drooling? Oh wait that’s not drool 😷.The dog puked in HBear’s To Do Bin and on her blanket. BTW we were barely in Kelowna. This was going to be a LONG day. 

7:00 Back on the road.

7:30 “Mommy I gotta poop… right now.” – SBean 

7:39 Stop in Armstrong for Bean to poop.

7:45 On the road again.

8:20 “Mommy how do you get a baby in your belly?” -SBean 😳 

9:10 Revelstoke pee break. NOT, longest line ever. Get breakfast instead. It was super smokey because there were huge fires during at Roger’s Pass.

9:30 Full bladder but on the road again.

11:00 Finally pee in Golden.

2:30 Pass Canmore and the dark grey clouds open up and we see rain for the first time in over 7 weeks!

3:00 “I gotta pee bad!” -HBear. We turn off but have no way of getting back. U/turn. Finally get across to gas station. My take away from this trip is… never cross the highway to pee. Wait for a gas station on the side you are travelling it ALWAYS works out for the better.

3:30 Drop off Lennox at Muttley Crue Dog Kennels. “OK we just need a little bit of info about the dog. Is he gluten free?” 😳

5:00 Stop for gas.

6:20 Get to the restaurant in Medicine Hat. I read online that Skinny’s BBQ was the best for ribs but it closed at 7:30. On a Saturday night. On the August long weekend. 🤔 So instead of going to the hotel we go directly to the restaurant. Get inside. Out of ribs 🙄. Yup. Out of ribs. Ok at least you have beer, we can deal. Wait you’re not licensed? 😒 Aside from the 2 facts, we had delicious dinners and it was a cool little place. I especially liked how quickly we were in and out! The food was fast but not fast food. The fresh pickled cucumbers, coleslaw and the potato salad were phenomenal. My pulled pork was so good I finished first!

7:30 Checked into the hotel. 

8:15 Finally hit the pool!

9:25 Get ready for bed

9:45 Big Hero 6… again but this time with commercials. Yay.

10:30 Snore.

Day 2

6:00 Alarm.

6:30 Continental breakfast at the Spice House. My bagel tasted like curry. Yuck. When we walked in Brown Sugar was playing and the Girls squealed in delight! “It’s our breakfast song!” Parenting pat on the back 😊.

7:00 On the road again. It’s +12 outside 😒.

7:30 A herd of charging deer come from the north. I see my life flash before my eyes. Ninja stealthily brakes and they all dart around us.

8:00 “So what do you think HBear?” I said pointing outside. She looks around and said, “it’s so… empty.” Interesting.

9:15 First pee break of many. Notice that they sell windshield wiper fluid… for -45 weather!

9:25 Find a classic rock station that has zero static! We must be getting close 😂.

10:45 Stop at the Welcome to Moose Jaw sign to find a geocache. We chose to get our Saskatchewan badge in HBear’s Gr1Besty’s home town. 

11:00 Another pee break. So…. I let the Girls go into the big stall and I took the small one. 2 minutes later I hear screaming and crying. As HBear sat down to pee SBean opens up the door wide and refused to close it. Like drop down refused. HBear was extremely embarrassed when an older woman walked in and started talking to them both 😳. I felt so bad for her. I quickly got in there but the damage had been done. I explained that all woman pee and we all do it the same way. I explained that the old lady probably changed a million diapers in her many years. She calmed down but it took SBean a while to apologize. I love road trips 😒. 

12:05 McDonalds.

3:15 I see the sign saying Manitoba border 5km. We wonder why no other province has a sign telling you about the upcoming border. We all agree it is a last minute warning to any potential visitors  😂. 

5:50 Pee break right outside of Winnipeg.

6:20 Hello Winnipeg. Turn it to 94.3fm and the first song was Sweet Dreams from the Eurythmics. Full circle.

7:00 Pull up to my Bro’s and meet my brand new niece… PrettyPenny 💕.

7:30 After a tour of the house we ate some Winnipeg pizza and had a delicious salad straight from my Bro’s garden. 

8:15 I hate to eat and run buuut…

8:25 Pull into our home away from home, my SIL’s! My Inlaws got in a few hours before us and JQ and the rest of the family are waiting for us with big hugs! The kids played hard because they missed each other this past month. We had wine and more wine lol and then cleaned up for bed.

12:15 Head hit pillow… I assume 😂.

NOTE TO SELF… As we drove and SBean got closer and closer to a meltdown of epic proportions, it occured to me… Ninja choose to drive the whole way instead of shifts like we had previously discussed because driving is easier than being in the back with the children 🤔😜.

Did you know that we actually did stuff before we even left for our trip? lol Of course we did! HBear was in Hoodoo Adventure Camp with her Gr3Besty 😊 for 3 days. They kayaked, went bouldering, rock climbed, paddle boarded and hiked.

We also went to the park together and had frozen yogurt from Very Berry.

 

SBean had 1 morning at Fitkidz Gymnastics and she LOVED it!

 

While both Girls were at camp… I caught up on podcasts and got my toes done 😜.

Before we went on our trip we made sure to clean out Bubbles and Blurple’s tank. It was so cute, SBean tried hugging the fish and was singing, “I love my fishy. I love you so much Bubbles. I will miss you my Fishy.” 💕

I took Lennox for our last walk. The smoke was so thick. Now that he is leaving I reflect on our time together. And then he takes a massive steaming dump and the lovey feeling I had dissipates and I’m left with a feeling of relief 😂.See ya Lenny!

I can’t wait to show you everything we did on our EPIC road trip. Come back next week for a full recap of the time,

The Maier’s/Castle’s/Hachey’s Took on Winnipeg!