7:30AM
Our road trip has officially begun! I have been mentally preparing for this long trip for the last few months. Driving this fifteen hour all day excursion is never easy. I’ve only driven the whole thing myself when we moved down here five years ago. I made the same trip twice during my last pregnancy, I was even in my first trimester (6 weeks) for one of them, but I didn’t drive at all for that one. My biggest concern now is that I don’t get really nauseated or fatigued. We have plenty of high protein snacks with us in the car and I’m hoping my latte will help stifle the nausea for the next few hours.
7:45AM
Our son is asleep in the backseat and I can see my husband in the truck in my rearview mirror. My sister and I are reminiscing about our childhood. I’m sipping my latte and it seems to be doing it’s job so far. There’s not much to see at this point in our journey … just flat mostly barren desert landscapes. I always find it much more enjoyable to drive North rather than driving South. The scenery only gets better and I am yearning for some green grass and leaf filled trees.
8:45AM
Our baby boy is still asleep and my sister and I are enjoying our conversations and each other’s company. It’s kind of like girl-time; a rare occurrence for me in the last five years. My husband is still close behind. Nausea is creeping up on me though so I reach for the sunflower seed trail mix I made the evening before.
9:30AM
Now comes the first big highway change. My husband was quite nervous about missing the exit so he called my cell phone to make sure he didn’t go the wrong way. I can see him in my rearview mirror still but I’m busy reading signs so my sister talks to him. I tell my sister, “just make sure he is going north/east and he’ll be fine.” He makes the exist just fine right behind me. Only two more major highway exits.