Car travel with kids is a fine art. And also a science which relies heavily on experimentation and constant study. Things I now know about kid car travel:

• Meals in the car = easy time expenditure
• books = YES!
• expecting kids to entertain themselves for at least part of the time leads to the most hilarious things to eavesdrop on, whether they are talking to themselves or each other.

In six days we are leaving for a cross country trip from North Carolina to St. George, UT. It will be about four days driving out there, three solid days there with family for Thanksgiving, and four days driving home. Yesterday we did a test run in the shape of a day trip to one of our aquariums. November we are studying the Pacific Islands (Layna adores Moana) and marine biology. Our read aloud is Island of the Blue Dolphins, so I figured the aquarium would fit in nicely for our field trip. In a stroke of luck Garyn had an asynchronous school day (isn’t it weird how many pandemic inventions are now part of our new normal?) so he was able to come along too. We’ve missed having him around on our adventures. The aquarium is about three hours away so it was a pretty full day of driving but the kids are old pros so it was actually quite lovely. Gives me so much hope for our 5,200 upcoming miles in close quarters.

They of course had cheesy pictures taken and offered for sale. I’m cheap so here they are, watermarks and all. The first section was about North Carolina fresh water critters. We were sad the otters weren’t out and about, but Garyn is a boy after my own heart.

A playground at the end is genius. It’s like someone on the design team gets kids. We also met Maverick, a bald eagle whose wing broke and will never allow for flight. He was sweet and more than willing to pose for pictures.

I try to sneak into pictures to prove I was here during their childhoods. Plus, we all kind of live for silly selfies. Speaking of, did you know I’ve always loved great white sharks? They’ve been a favorite of mine since I was tiny…I watched Discovery Channel’s Shark Week way before it was cool.