It certainly is nice to be within driving distance of grandparents. For instance, last week, when I discovered Heather would be visiting my parents to escape the noise of roadwork outside her window, the boys and I were able to hop in the car for a short visit! Although I don't enjoy doing the drive to Inyokern often, eight hours isn't too bad for a visit with family.
As for the drive itself, thank goodness for the invention of the portable dvd player. My memories of long drives as a child involve roaming around our cavernous station wagon, playing games, reading books, and sighting license plates. We had great fun, but the key element was that we could move. We could go find new toys, reach the travel game board, even lay down if we were tired. No more. These kids today are strapped in. If they drop a toy, they're out of luck. Especially when there is a solitary driver. Occasionally, I can reach back and retrieve the lost article, but not all of the time. I need to drive! So, to alleviate the constant demands for assistance, I welcome a few hours of Winnie the Pooh, Animusic, and School House Rock.
Once we arrived, it was really all about Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma is popular when it comes to story time and computer time. Grandpa is the outdoors guy, responsible for fish re-population and bird-seed distribution. Oh, and it was a little about Dodge and Seamus, too. Noah especially loved petting Seamus' head, convinced he loved the gesture...and it appeared that he actually did! Dodge joined my boys on tortoise hunts throughout each day as they wandered around the vast desert land (adults in tow, of course, as a King snake was on the loose!).
It was a wonderful time. If only we could somehow reconfigure the U.S. so that California, Arizona, and Wisconsin all abutted one another. What fun we would have!
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