Travel tips

I am back from vacation! We went to Ohio to visit family and attend 2 family reunions.  It was a great time.....for the most part.

I drove there and back. It was a 9 hour drive one way.  As you know, I have 5 kids to travel with. My strategy to keep me from eating too much on the drive was to take no snacks in the car. I know that is not what you usually hear.  I have been hearing in my meetings about all of the healthy treats that could be packed for traveling this summer.  I have learned from my past experiences that I am better off not snacking on the road at all. After all, I am sitting in a car driving.  I am expending very few calories with this activity.

On the way there I was traveling in my minivan with 4 of my 5 kids while following my brother and my mom in another car. Bryan was not able to go with us because he was not able to take the time off of work. We have learned over the years of making this drive that we all need to get out of the car at least once during the drive. We stop for gas, potty breaks and one meal.

We went through a drive-thru for breakfast before we left town. We drove until lunch time. I was surprised no one had to stop to go potty earlier. We went in the rest stop, got lunch and ate it in the car while we continued the drive. We would have normally taken the time to eat in the rest stop but my brother had his police dog with him and it was too hot to leave him in the car. It was just enough for us all to get out and stretch our legs for 15 minutes. No one complained that they were hungry or thirsty during the drive. We ate dinner at my aunt's house when we made it to our destination.

This works for my family for many reasons. First of all, I don't have any tempting treats in the car to take me off plan. Secondly, we don't have to stop for too many potty breaks since we aren't filling our bodies with a lot of food and drink. Thirdly, it saves us money. I know we are spending money at the rest stop on a meal but it's less money than we would have spent if we had stocked up on snacks. When we go to the store to buy snacks, we always buy too many. Lastly, it saves us room in the car. When traveling with 4 children and one of them is a one year old, there is a lot luggage. We need the space in the car for bodies and luggage - not coolers and bags of snacks.

This was our traveling method. It worked very well for me because I tracked everything I ate on the drive and was able to stick to my points. What traveling methods do you have? What have you used this summer?  What do you plan on using for the rest of the summer? Post them here by commenting on the blog.

It's nice to be home. I learned lots more about myself on this trip so I will tell you more about my trip tomorrow.

Corinna

"The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.  He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves." -Mark 6:30-32