Cross Country Road Trip- Part 7

Our drive from New Mexico to Arizona was beautiful.  I am officially in love with this area of the country.  Outside of Albuquerque was pretty boring, but once we got into Arizona everything was beautiful.  The weather continued to stay dry, but not as hot as I imagined.  We stopped immediately in Arizona at welcome center to stretch our legs and have a picnic lunch.  We usually eat in the car, but today we had time so we took advantage of the beauty the state offered.  

State number 18!

How beautiful are those rock formations?

He was pretending to be a Robot

Saying "Yay Arizona!"

Yep, not in Connecticut!

The remainder of our trip was stunning.  We could't stop pointing to this and that.  There was so much to see.  The boys loved seeing the trains for miles, there weren't any trees obstructing their views.  

We eventually came into Flagstaff, which was a whole different kind of beautiful.  I looked like a forest.  Lots of pine trees everywhere.  Everyone was outside running, bike riding, and just walking to the stores.  What a great place.  I think it is high up on my favorite places I have ever been.  There was so much to do, and the weather was simply perfect.  I hope to return while we are in California.  

We headed to bed early that evening, due to another time change and the fact that we will be up in the morning for the Grand Canyon!  

Cross Country Road Trip- Part 6

On the road again!  We have departed Oklahoma after a wonderful stay and are headed to New Mexico with an extra person!  Our friend A joined us for the next part of our trip to New Mexico, as she is driving her husband's car to Vegas.  

We loaded the cars, Daddy Step, Z Step, and the dog in my car, and A, E Step, and I in the other car.  It was nice having a friend to ride along with.  

Oklahoma was pretty boring.  I was not personally a huge fan of this state.  Perhaps there is more to see, but I wasn't a huge fan in general.  I was eager to get out.  

Our next state was Texas.  I was excited to see it, but it proved to be just as boring as Oklahoma.  Even more so in some ways.  We only passed through the top part, so that probably explains it.  I hope to someday venture into Austin and Dallas though.  

State 16

Texas

More Texas.  Look how far you can see of that road!

We eventually made it into New Mexico and we were officially in the desert in my opinion.  Lots of nothing, sand, and little green.  But the dry heat was wonderful.  It didn't feel nearly as hot as it was.  

State 17

We made a few stops along the way, including one at a rest stop in New Mexico.  They advertise with billboards like crazy around here, and we were needing a bathroom break.  We stopped in a rest stop that had signs for miles.  It had some of the most tacky knick knacks I have ever seen.  There was a lot of elvis, cowboy boot lamps, and weird ceramic figurines.  I was pretty tempted at some of it, but somehow I held myself back from a big purchase.  

We made it to our hotel in Old Town, and were ready to explore New Mexico!  

E Step's Grand Fall

This post is a bit tough to write, so stay with me here.  It still gives me chills to think about this, but it's life and accidents happen.  I hope by typing it up all my other parent friends can realize that these things do unfortunately happen, and there isn't much we can do to prevent it.  

Our next stop on our trip was to Rolla, Mo.  It was 6 hours from Kentucky, and was a nice and quick stop before hitting the road the next day for Oklahoma.  However, we only made it to Rolla for under an hour.  

Rolla wasn't exactly the nicest area.  The hotel we were staying at was ok, but not perfect.  Let's just say this is not a place I ever want to return to.  

As we walked into our hotel room, Daddy Step had E Step on his shoulders.  The dog bolted forward a bit, and ended up causing E Step to fall off his shoulders onto the concrete.  D Step is just under 6 feet tall, so this was quite a fall.  

We immediately knew something wasn't right.  Not only did we know that anything over 3 feet tall is a means for a hospital visit (he fell once before at that height onto a marble floor and we brought him to the ER) but he wasn't crying.  He immediately looked tired, and began whining.  This was not good.  

We rushed next door, where there was a walk in clinic.  They informed us that there were no machines there for a child, and we should to go the ER.  But as we got into the parking lot, he began going unconscious.  I rushed back inside and asked that they could call 911.  Within less than 2 minutes, there were 2 ambulances, 3 cop cars, and a fire truck.  They rushed into the room with oxygen and about 5 paramedics.  He was put on a stretcher, and loaded into the ambulance.  I rode along to the nearest hospital, while my husband brought Z Step in the car.  

At the hospital, they had to sedate him in order to get him a CT scan.  It wasn't easy watching this, but it was for his best interest, and I knew it had to be done in order to see what we were working with.  

After just a short amount of time, he was out of the machine, and in the room again while the doctors got to see the results.  They eventually came in and broke the news:  E Step had a fractured skull.  He needed to be medevaced to St. Louis Children's Hospital immediately.  

I had lost it at this point.  Everything had been just fine 30 minutes ago.  We were going to go swimming.  It happened so fast.  The worst thoughts began floating through my head, but the doctor assured me that though the fracture was very deep, there was no swelling, bleeding, or brain damage. Thank god for that, but it was still the scariest moment of my life.  

They intubated E Step for safety, it was to help prevent any kind of swelling.  I couldn't stand and watch it, so I left the room.  It didn't take them too long.  

There was not enough room for any of us in the helicopter, so we had to drive the hour and a half to St. Louis in my car.  We had already paid for our hotel in Rolla, and were not able to get our money back.  Oh well.  This was more important than that.  

Along the way we began thinking about hotels in St. Louis.  We were told we would be there at least a few days, so a hotel was needed.  The dog complicated things further, and the fact that there was a convention going on in St. Louis made things even more difficult.  After lots of searching, my brother in law found the nearest hotel- a Sheraton in Illinois.  It was 14 miles away, but it would just have to do.  

D Step dropped me off at the hospital, while he brought Z Step and the dog to the hotel.  They ended up staying there the night, while I stayed at the hospital with E Step.  

It was a tough night.  E Step wasn't fully sedated, because they had hopes of removing the respirator in the morning.  He woke occasionally and was not happy about where he was.  They had to suction him from time to time, and that woke him.  He threw up a few times as well.  And I put a blanket on him at one point.  He doesn't like blankets.  Because that was the worst of his issues at that moment.  I got no sleep that night.  Our night nurse was wonderful.  Everyone there was wonderful.  St. Louis wasn't the nicest place, but gosh their staff at that hospital were all amazing.  

The next morning, at rounds, the doctors (11 of them!) had determined it was ok to take the respirator off.  Thank goodness.  It was taken out, and he was taken off of all medications.  That was a very good sign.  They hooked him up to oxygen for a short time, just for some extra help.  He slept for another 2 hours, and D Step and Z Step arrived at that time. 

E Step woke up around 9 am that day.  He was not happy about being hooked up to the oxygen, so that was successfully removed.  Thanks to being intubated, he had a very sore throat, which was normal.  He didn't seem too upset about it, but you could tell it irritated him.  

E Step had a lot of things attached to him at this point.  2 IV's, a heart rate monitor, and they were checking his pulse.  He didn't seem too upset about them at this point, he was still a bit groggy.  He was quiet all morning, before eventually falling asleep in the afternoon.  

After lunch, we were able to drop Z Step off at their "sibling playroom."  This was a genius idea.  It was a place that I could drop Z Step off into, while we focused on E Step.  They had lots of toys, a huge slide, and a play kitchen.  He was a happy boy.  

E Step taking a nap with his favorite toy

I was exhausted at this point.  I could barely keep my eyes open, and I was grumpy.  Daddy Step held E Step, while I was able to rest a bit.  I got maybe 20 minutes of sleep, which was more than I had gotten all day.  

After picking Z Step up, we hung around for a bit before heading back to the hotel in Illinois.  The nurses were so kind, I was comfortable with leaving for a short time.  Daddy Step was going to take the night shift so I could go to the hotel with Z Step and sleep.  

After a quick bite and a shower, Z Step and I were in bed, and my mother in law was on her way.  She had flown in from Connecticut, because we were told we would be there until about saturday.  

The next morning, I woke up to good news.  E Step had a better night.  They were taking his collar brace off, and he was off the liquid diet!  They had hopes of discharging him that day, after a signature neurology!  

That day we waited.  And Waited.  And waited.  Z Step went to the children's playroom twice.  E Step started getting frustrated.  He suddenly realized he had IV's in.  He ripped his chest monitor off.  He realized they were checking his pulse with his toe.  He was irritated with being stuck in a crib all day.  He wanted to run.  He wanted to play.

E Step saying "Get me out of here!"

It took until 8:30pm for neurology to come and sign off.  We were happy to say goodbye to St. Louis Children's Hospital.  Though the staff were very friendly.  

Discharged and ready to leave this place!

We packed up that evening, very tired for the past few days.  We hit the road at 6am the next day for our trip to Oklahoma, luckily we didn't lose as much time as we thought we would.  

Bye St. Louis!  I hope to never see you again!

Accidents happen.  We had assumed that we would have some slip ups on our cross country trip.  Car trouble, or some cuts and bruises.  But nothing like this.  I still can't believe how fast it happened.  It just goes to show you how your life can change in just an instant.  We are incredibly lucky that this accident was not worse.  We are thankful for the entire staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital.  Now, let's hope this trip can continue as normal.  

Cross Country Road Trip- part 5

After our trip into Kentucky, we were headed to Rolla, MO.  This was a bit boring.  We passed through into Indiana almost immediately.  It was about 1-2 hours of Indiana at that point.  But we did stop along the way to stretch our legs and let the dog go to the bathroom.  

State 12

We eventually made it into Illinois.  I forgot we were going through this state.  We ended up driving through it for about 2 hours.  

State 13

We finally made it into our next destination in Missouri.  

State 14

We will be hitting the road to Oklahoma.  

Kentucky

Kentucky was a must see place on our map, as it is where most of my family are.  After 5 1/2 years of marriage, Daddy Step had yet to meet most of my family out there, so it was an extra special trip for us.  

Louisville, Kentucky is a wonderful place that I always enjoy visiting, and my Grandma was nice enough to let us stay.  The boys had a blast reliving some of my favorite things about Kentucky- the wonderful people and my Grandma's toys!

I always remember playing Jenga at Grandma's place as a kid.  Z Step had so much fun doing just that.  

We walked on a bridge that took us from Kentucky to Indiana.  It had some great views of Louisville along the way

E Step playing at the playground

Over the weekend, we got the chance to go to a great splash pad with the kids.  It gave us the chance to see most of the cousins and cousin's kids.   The boys did not stop running around.  

They had a great playground there too!

That evening, my cousin was kind enough to invite us over for some fireworks with her kids.  She has a boy older than Z Step and a boy younger.  The boys hit it off great, and it was nice getting Z Step to play with other kids for a change.  

Our final day in Kentucky was spent at a playground, and introducing Daddy Step to Kentucky's famous dish- a Hot brown!

A hot brown is an open faced sandwich with turkey, bacon,  and a wonderful creamy sauce, browned in the oven.  He approved.  

Kentucky was a great stop to run around, see family, and take a break from driving for a little.  Our next stop is Rolla, MO for a quick overnight.  

Cross Country Road Trip- Part 4

Today marks the longest portion of our journey.  Originally we were going to stop in Columbus overnight, but it ended up that there were no hotels that allowed late dogs.  It was also just a short distance from our next stop in Kentucky, so we decided to just suck it up and drive straight there.  

We drove through lots of trees and countryside.  Pennsylvania is a beautiful state.  Lots of land, lots of farms.  Lots of hills too.  We were able to pick up 2 mugs along the way.  Some states do not have a state mug.  Some just have cities.  Some have nothing at all (Connecticut is one of those), and some have just the state mug.  Pennsylvania happens to be one with 2 city mugs.  

We got a surprise state here.  We went through West Virginia for about 15 minutes.  We weren't sure if we were going to pass through it or not, but were excited to add another state to the list.  

State number 9

We eventually made it into Ohio.  I always hear that this state is flat.  I wasn't seeing much of that at the beginning.  But it was still very beautiful.  Lots of horses, cattle, and crops.  I had been through the state before, but had never gotten to take in its sights like this.  We were able to stop at a rest stop for a coffee mug for the state.  I like this one a lot.  

State 10

We stopped a few miles in for a quick break to run around.  The dog got to run a bit and go potty, and the boys ran around in an open field.  

After some driving, our check engine light came on.  We stopped at a nearby gas station to check it.  We had the car services before leaving Virginia, so we weren't aware of any issues, but we were in the middle of nowhere and god forbid something happened we would be stuck.  A nice man checked the car and told us he could do it, or we could bring it to the dealership for free in Kentucky.  It would make it that far.  Obviously we chose to wait.  

Our next stop was at our friend's mother in law's place.  She had a beautiful home with a lot of land and a pond in the front.  She also had a few chickens and goats.  It was a great break for us all, we had been driving a long time at that point.  The boys got to swim, play, see the animals, fish, and stretch their feet.  

We continued on into Kentucky with no stops after this.  

State 11

After a very full day of driving (5am-7:45pm) we are excited to relax for a few days at my Grandma's house.  

Hershey Park, PA

When we planned this cross country trip a few months back, we made the decision to stop at as many kid friendly places as possible.  We knew that long trips in the car along with time changes would make for cranky boys who would need an outlet.  So when we made our trip, we planned on places to stop that would be fun.  Luckily, Hershey, PA was just 6 hours from Connecticut, and it was a perfect place to stop for some fun for the whole family.  

This park was a first for both Daddy Step and I.  I went as a kid, but never made it into the park. 

Why is it that every time we go to a theme park it downpours?  Disney World in 2009 there was a thunderstorm while we were camping out.  Our tent got soaked.  Disney Tokyo in 2010 wasn't much better.  It poured the entire day we were there.  It rained so hard the rain went through my raincoat!  And now, we have arrived at Hershey Park to yet another rainy day.  It looks like the water park that we were so looking forward to will be out of the question today.  

Because we have two toddlers, we are usually up very early in the morning.  The park didn't actually open until 10, and having two rowdy toddlers in a hotel room is not easy for any of us.  So we decided to hit up Chocolate World first.  

Chocolate world is the closest you'll get to the factory.  Unfortunately, they closed that to visitors many years ago.  So instead visitors can go to chocolate world and go on a ride that informs you about the process of making candy.  The boys loved this.  There was singing and lots to look at.  What's not to love?  

On the ride

Showing how the candy is made

After the ride we were able to hit up the gift shop for a few of the souvenirs.  We got a christmas ornament (we try to get one at every place we stop), and a soccer ball with Hershey's and Reese's on it.  My brother had a famous Reese's baseball growing up, and I was desperate to find it.  Unfortunately we never found it at chocolate world.  

We then made our way to the park.  It wasn't too packed, but there were a lot of teenagers on field trips.  Luckily, they weren't going on the kiddie rides!  

The park separates each ride by your height.  Your height determines what candy bar you are, and that determines what rides you can go on.  E Step was a "miniature" and Z Step was a "kiss."  Z Step was just tall enough to be a kiss, so he got a special bracelet to show to the ride attendants.  He was very proud to be a kiss.  

We started with a few basic rides.  The first was ok for both kids, but it was pretty intense if you ask me.  It went up and down and around in circles on little rockets.  E Step likes these kind of crazy rides, but it always makes me nervous that he's going to try to jump out.  Luckily, he was too busy steering our rocket and laughing.  We then made our way to the carousel, where E Step decided to jump off his horse after a few seconds.  

We rode a few more rides after this, including a really cool reese's one.  It was a game where Chocolate battled Peanut Butter.  Two people shot at targets, and you determined who was better, chocolate or peanut butter.  Though if you ask me, there is no better.  They are perfect together.  

Z Step and E Step got to go on a little bumble bee ride next, where they could press a button that made a buzzing sound.  E Step got very upset that his brother wouldn't let him press his button.  E Step had his own button.  As you can see, it was a terrible experience for E Step.  

We went on a monorail next, that took us over the park and told us about it all.  It was pretty cool.  

Those light posts have kisses!  

We rode a few more rides, before heading to some lunch.  And starting up again.  I took Z Step on some "kiss" rides while Daddy Step walked around with E Step in the stroller so he could take a nap. He never ended up napping at that point, so he joined for a few rides.  

That flying one made me nervous.  You moved a flap to fly in different directions.  The boys loved the train.  Z Step rode it twice.  

He loved this ride.  He rode it twice

On the Ferris Wheel

E Step eventually fell asleep, and Z Step and I went back on the Reese's ride, a roller coaster, and he made it to the swings.  

My big boy and I

Z Step loved the roller coaster.  I am not too amused.  

Swinging

We made it to the "kissing tower" next.  This was a huge chocolate kiss that took you up in the air and around in circles so you could see the entire park.  It was a really neat view!

The park

Z Step outside the kissing tower

Daddy got to ride some rides with both boys next.  

We then headed for the gift shops here, in search of a famous Reese's baseball.  Luckily, we found one right away!  It wasn't the exact same as the one my brother had years ago, but it was still Reese's. We picked one up for him, and let Z Step pick one up for when he gets bigger.  He picked the Hershey's one.  It was a great end to a great day!

We returned back to the hotel to some leftovers for dinner.  It was a busy and fun day.  

Notice the bottle of wine?  Yeah, Mommy and Daddy needed that!  

Tomorrow we hit the road to Kentucky, our longest journey.