The Salvateenies: The Big Trip

This past weekend we embarked on the babies' first big road trip / vacation. As Joe quoted at some point leading up to our departure - before you have children, you take vacations...after children, you go on trips.

On Friday we loaded into the rented mini-van (a Kia Sedona - nice and roomy, but no fancy bells and whistles like automatic sliding doors). We rented the van because once we put the babies and their strollers into our SUV, we're pretty much full. Impressively, the van fit two adults, three babies, one playpen, three sleep positioners, three portable high chairs, three suit cases, one hanging suit case, one portable cooler chest of baby food, one duffel bag of diapers and formula powder, one diaper bag backpack, one bag of baby toys, one bag of toiletries, and a bag of mini-water bottles and snacks for the trip.

We will definitely need to get a mini-van, but I vote for getting the bells and whistles. Oh, and we'll need to remove one of the second row seats to make a sort of hallway to the back seat - getting Caroline's carrier through - slash - up and over the high-backed second row chairs and into the spot in the "way back" while balancing between the two chairs was not fun. Add to that having to remember to put one baby in the second row and then get out, go around, and put the other one in from the other side lest I get stuck inside the tiny center of the van with no possible way to exit. Both good things to learn before we make the big purchase.

The babies did amazingly well on the journey. Luckily, the van had a separate climate control for the rear seating area so they didn't get too hot. Caroline had no problem being all alone in the way back and the boys enjoyed looking out the window while they rode. We hooked up the baby view mirrors and for the first time I could actually see them in the rear view!

After a visit with Grandma Salvatore and Great Aunt JoAnn in Livermore, we continued down the center of the state to a stop off of I-5 near Bakersfield. I thought I'd been clever, reserving a room right off of I-5 so I wouldn't have to bail out and go inland to 99 and lose time. Little did I know that my little choice, on the Stockdale Highway, was right in between two major construction projects on the highway. We were warned to get off the highway to avoid the back-up, but then we would have hit the back-up coming back north to our exit, so we sat for an hour to go 8 miles. Sadly, this also put us past the babies' feeding schedule, so they wailed for the last 20-30 of those 60 minutes. We pulled into our Best Western (across the "street" from the Rodeway Inn) and next door to a Jack in the Box drive-thru. Other amenities included a Chevron gas station that shared its premises with a Blimpie's sandwich shop and Broaster Chicken outlet and a Shell gas station with an AM/PM/IHOP combo.

After quickly feeding the babies, we elected IHOP for the grown-ups' dinner. I was a bit nervous taking the babies in - taking up a table for six when we were only buying two dinners. Plus, the babies were sated, but they might decide to scream their little heads off for no reason. But no reason to worry - at 6:30 in the rest-stop IHOP there were about six tables in use, none of which were lacking a child under the age of six. People barely even noticed us!

The hotel had one crib, shown below housing Max:

We pulled out the Pack n Play for the other babies, though Caroline didn't make it too long before she requested to come cuddle with me. The next morning we were up, showered, fed, and ready to hit the road again for Laguna Beach and the wedding.

The ride was, again, pretty smooth. There were some hang ups getting through LA, but only one scarily aggressive driver, and about three hours later we were pulling into the valet lot of the Hotel Laguna, where we were met by my sister-in-law (and mother of the bride). She'd actually been waiting for someone else, but she quickly offered to help us unload and schlep babies inside. The room wasn't ready, so the bellman brought our HUGE pile of luggage upstairs to wait in the closet while we waited in the lobby and fed the babies their 1pm bottle. We were, as always, sort of a spectacle. We saw family members as they came and went and all oohed and ahhhed over the babies. We also saw friends of the family who instantly knew who we were because of the babies. And there was also a random stranger who told us she had triplets of her own - now 34 and parents to her 12 grandchildren. She said that it gets easier and more fun, and warned us against pigeon-holing any of the babies into specific roles or comparing them to one another.

The Hotel Laguna is lovely - right on the ocean, with a beautiful courtyard where the wedding would take place and a charming restaurant with a terrace overlooking the beach.

But then you go upstairs.

First off, the elevator is not big enough to accommodate our double stroller, so we had to remove the babies, break down the stroller, carry them in (with the stroller in tow) and then reverse the process at the top of the ride. Once in the room you are met with a wall of humidity that is not deterred by the ceiling fan or the unscreened and unguardrailed window that is cracked open with a view to the beach. The beige paint on the walls is faded and old and the bathroom is a nostalgic trip back to your 3rd grade lavatory, complete with original 1920's era hexagonal tile floor and a free-standing sink caulked clumsily to the wall.

Here we were given two wooden cribs. Plus the pack n play, that meant everyone had their own place to sleep. But there was no sleeping! We had a few hours before the wedding and first thing on the schedule was to introduce the babies to their ... umm ... second cousins? The bride is the Salvateenies' first cousin, and these were her nieces (daughters of the babies' OTHER first cousin) and her soon-to-be step-children.

Daniel and Max are looking up at Cousin Jennifer, with new family member Madison at their side.

Athena and Elista liked making the babies giggle, but Athena was a little grossed out when Daniel tried to touch her with his slobbery hands.

But she was fine with Caroline, who was a little less slobbery.

Elista looks a little bored with Max here, but she was having fun.

While Daniel wondered what it was about his hand that Athena thought was so icky.

The girls got summoned to put on their party dresses and get ready for pictures, so we were left alone for a while. We tried to get the babies to nap a bit before the wedding, then fed them early and got dressed. More about the ceremony and reception next post!