We've really taken it easy with travelling this past year while Grace has been a baby. Our longest road trip was to Santa Barbara for Sara and Dustin's wedding -which was great because we had lots of help once we were there. This past weekend we went to Palm Springs with some friends who have kids that are Caiden's age. We left on Friday at 11:30am and it was about a two and a half hour drive. The kids did surprisingly well considering they didn't fall asleep like we were hoping and we only had to stop once for a bathroom break!
We stayed at the Westin in Rancho Mirage, one of the best kid friendly hotels we've been to. There was a slide at the pool, they had animals all over the property and kid games set-up all around as well. When we arrived we went straight to the pool and met our friends. That night we went to a Mexican restaurant in town -which we decided afterwards that it might be best to just get take-out and eat at the hotel the next night.
The sleeping arrangements weren't too bad. Before we left we had Caiden lay in a pack-n-play to see if he'd still fit in one. And he did! So we brought two of them and put the kids in those and Marc and I still got our king size hotel bed! Caiden slept great while Grace was a bit uncomfortable because she's been sick with a nasty cough. She woke up around 3am and coughed for a good few hours. She kept Marc and I up but Caiden slept right through it. Needless to say coffee was our first stop Saturday morning. After breakfast at the hotel we headed back to the pool. We stayed until about noon and decided it was family nap time.
We all took a two hour nap and headed back to the pool around 4pm. We stayed for a few hours and then Vishal went to get take-out while we bathed the kids. The hotel is so huge that it wasn't hard to find a spot to eat. We went to the hotel lobby area that is outside with fountains and tables and let the kids run around and play while we ate and drank wine. We headed back to the room around 9pm. It was another crappy night sleep for everyone except Caiden. Grace woke up at 2:30am and coughed for another two hours before falling back asleep.
Sunday morning our intentions were to go to the pool for another hour before heading back home. Instead we decided to nixe the pool since Grace was just getting more sick and we went to one of our other favorite hotels and breakfast spots in Palm Springs -the Parker Hotel. Marc and I stayed there last year when I was pregnant with Grace and Sara and Dustin watched Caiden. We went to breakfast and walked the grounds for a bit before heading back.
The drive home wasn't too bad either -considering Grace only napped for like 20 minutes and Caiden didn't nap at all. We pulled in the driveway at 2:30 and put the kids straight to naps. They must of been happy to be in their own bed because I had to wake Caiden up at 6pm and Grace also slept for a few hours.
All in all it was a great trip. I think waiting until Grace was over one year was key when you have four people inside a hotel room. We only hear that it keeps getting easier and easier to travel with them so here is to more travel!
