Tour De South 2012: The End.

We got up early on Friday to leave Florida and start the trip home.  It was sad to leave my grandparents behind, but it was easier knowing that they would be home in less than a month.  (Which, incidentally, is now less than a week!)

 

We hit the road and headed for Atlanta.  We decided to take 81 home instead of 95 so that we could see my best friend from high school on the way back.  Any decision to see an old friend is an awesome one in my book!    

Playing "Peek-a-you" in the car.

We stopped once along the way at a Chick-Fil-A so the baby could play on their playground.  We let her go all the way up to the big kid slide, which was a bad idea because she decided she didn't want to come down the slide and resulted in me having to climb my way up the slide and pull her out myself.  Another mom's kid was stuck up there too, and I ended up pulling him out too.  It was awkward and hilarious and the people around us hated us because they had to listen to say a million times, "Come down the slide, baby, come down the slide!"

Our trip took about 8.5 hours because we hit some pretty terrible traffic.  Sweet Pea took it like a champ until the last hour or so, I whined like a 5-year-old, and the hubby had to pee really badly.  It was rough.  But once we made it all was well again.  Sweet Pea took to K like my husband takes to southern sweet tea. 

 "Hand?  Hand?" She always has to hold hands when she's in her stroller.

 

 

 

 

Looooved the teenager with the guitar!  She should have gotten her own
quarters for her adorable dance moves.  

We had a wonderful burrito dinner with K and her husband.  We only wished for more time!  K and I stayed up nice and late and talked about life while drinking tea.  It felt like sleepovers in high school.

Our trip home the next day was, thankfully, pretty uneventful.  We stopped in Greenville, SC to walk around and get some lunch.  Their downtown is gorgeous and has the neatest park.  We even got gluten-free pizza for lunch!

 

Then it was another 8 hours of driving.  We did it, and we survived!  We really only stopped for a bathroom break or two and to get gas.  We would let Sweet Pea wiggle a little (mostly she was happy if she just got to spend a minute or two pretending to drive!) and then turned on another episode of Elmo. I am thankful for that little red furry guy, but I am also happy to never hear that voice again.  ;)

I was nervous about this trip.  I thought it would be too stressful and expensive, and we went back and forth over whether we could handle it.  I finally talked myself into it by realizing that in the long run, the memories were going to be worth it.  You know what?  I was TOTALLY right.  It could not have been a smoother, more fun trip.  We got to see people we love and spend lots of time making special memories.  You only live once.  So take your baby on road trips!

 Thank you Grandpa and Grandma and friends for the stellar vacation!  :)

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