No one told me just how much STUFF kids need to travel – oh my. Now throw in the fact that I HATE to pack – absolutely HATE it, but love to travel and I have some new added stress in my life.
Being a mom is awesome, but learning all these little sneak-up-on-you-details are getting more frequent.
The Shawnee Inn – Poconos (PA)
We decided to take a few days with our twins (our Dominican friends) to the Poconos to see each other and the babies as well as spend some time in the country – we can all use a couple days out of the city! The Poconos are only an hour and a half away, so it’s close enough for the first trip to see how it goes. The place we booked is a cross between The Shining and The Great Outdoors – complimented by the bear scene as one ran right out in front of our SUV as we pulling in.
Rewind.
1. Well, I spent the ENTIRE day before packing. Maximo is only 10 lbs and breast feeding so you would THINK he’d only need diapers. I thought to myself – this will be quick – Oh no. Reality check – the vehicle was so full of stuff we barely fit in the tiny little bags Claudio and I packed for ourselves. I had spare outfits, matching outfits, towels, the stroller, the CARRIER so I can walk, warm outfits, cold outfits, blankets, his sleeper. The list goes ON. I mean, at this point, first time parents should just live their first year in a tour bus – because you literally need to take everything the baby owns with you everywhere you go.
2. The car ride. Now, don’t get me wrong I am ALL about safety. But as a child myself – I remember riding in the middle seat of a truck. Was there even a seat? I think I sat on the console?! And I turned out fine. (IRONICALLY there is no photo evidence of this – well I bet there is hidden deep somewhere in my mom’s attic – but who’s going to go get that for me? LOL) So the fact that Maximo is all strapped up in his car seat drives him crazy – and me crazy. He hates to be confined. This makes for a long trip and frazzeled Stephanie. Add to the fact he despises a wet diaper and well, we have a lot of pit stops. And a lot of crying.
3. You still forget something. Since we don’t happen to HAVE a tour bus, we of course, forget something. This was the bug net. Have you ever gone into the woods in the summer right next to a river when the West Nile virus is rampant and your baby hasn’t 
had his shots yet? Yep, we have!!!! So smores by the fire were short lived. Thankfully, we brought more outfits than needed so we could share with our friends (that was their “something to forget”).
4. Check the size of your room before you book. You would think living in NYC we are used to small quarters. Apparently not because when we saw the size of our room, my heart sank. No WAY would we fit everything in it. Down to the front desk we go – excuse me, we’re first time parents and brought our entire lives with us? You don’t happen to have rooms the size of Texas do you? Well maybe they found out about my blog because we got a pretty sweet upgrade to a suite – a whole separate living area! SCORE!
Other than that – we had a blast! It was fun to see green and mountains and BEARS! Did I really forget to mention a $%&*( BEAR ran out in front of our SUV as we were pulling in? OH yeah. haha.
