The Oddyssey

We left Charlotte at 3pm yesterday afternoon and drove until 11pm, with one stop for dinner for about an hour. The kids remained awake for the entire time, and (defying all explanation) they were perfectly well behaved and spent the entire time watching DVDs.

All four of us spending the night in a hotel room together was not the greatest experience... I shared a bed with Ben and that kid moves around more in his sleep than any human being on the planet, I am sure. Several times I woke up and discovered him lying on top of me. Combine this with the fact that the only room left in the hotel was right off the lobby, and you can imagine what a restful night's sleep I got.

This morning we continued our journey, and once again the kids were completely occupied with their DVDs (thank you Backyardigans inventor!) We stopped at Chocolate World to give the kids a break from the car and to be able to say things to Ben like "Hey Ben you were born right THERE and you spent the first week of your life right THERE and Dad and I used to eat chinese food right THERE all the time while I was pregnant with you."

Thus it was that we arrived at the Poconos (24 hours after leaving Charlotte) without incident, and I can honestly tell you that the whiniest person I had to deal with on our oddyssey was Joel.

Some highlights: The mechanical singing cows at Chocolate World, of which Becca was deathly afraid; Ben with Mr PayDay, of which Becca was also deathly afraid, and Becca looking innocent after upending a bag of frosted flakes on her lap during the last half hour of our drive.