The Thing About Long Car Trips. . .

. . . is that you usually end up eating in the car. When we started our long journey last Friday night, we went through the drivethrough at Portillo's. There's nothing like hot dogs and cheese fries to start off a 5 hour journey in a rented minivan.

The other thing about car trips with kids is that they tend to sleep while the vehicle is moving. Grandma Toni and Aunt Sarah went with us on our journey north, and that meant each child had a treasured relative to wait on him hand and foot. (At least as much as is possible while squished into a minivan packed to the ceiling with the various accoutrements of infancy and toddlerhood.)

Aunt Sarah sat next to baby Henry and fed him a bottle. This was why we rented a minivan, so that someone could stick a bottle in Henry's mouth when he got hungry. It worked like a charm. Soon, he fell asleep, and before long, both of my boys were completely out. They slept most of the way, and we arrived at our hotel room before midnight.

But the other thing about long car trips is that when little boys sleep for five hours in the car, they think it's morning time when we try to go to bed at the hotel. Henry, for example, kept Greg and I awake most of the night. We turned out the lights, settled down, and then Henry started cooing. He was wide awake, ready to play, and happy as a clam. All. Night.

A similar situation happened on the way back, and Henry kept me up from about 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., my prime sleeping times. So that is why I'm exhausted today.

The thing about long car trips is that they are exhausting.