First Family Road Trip

            What do you do when you want to meet your sister's first baby, but airfare is definitely not in your budget? You drive 18 hours with two 4 year olds. We broke up the trip into two days and stayed at a low-cost hotel in VA (sleep sacks and Clorox wipes go with us everywhere). I have to say, as much as I love road trips, I was not how fun it would be with young children. Guess who was more antsy? ME! The kids did awesome. It helped that we set a timer for 30 minutes, and the kids could earn a chip if they were pleasant for the previous 30 minutes. Bribing you say? Maybe. But it totally worked and everyone was happy. They kept the chips and could exchanged them for spending money when we arrived at our destination. Another life-saver was the potty seat in the back of our van. LIFE-SAVER.

We made several stops throughout our road trip- all were free. Ahhh, I love that word....

 

Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C- admission is free on Sundays! 

World's Fair Park in Knoxville, TN- We could have spent all day playing in these fountains. We brought dry clothes and asked a hotel hostess to change in the lobby bathroom before jumping back in the van.  

Coolidge Park, Chattanooga, TN- This is a beautiful place! The water area was a hit for the kids, and  we enjoyed the views. We did spend $2 to ride on the Merry-Go-Round. Splurge. 

Chattanooga Choo-Choo- My son is obsessed with trains, so we were thrilled to find this old train station. It was free to walk around and check out the old trains. We were even able to see the inside of a few cars. Great stop!

Our destination :)