Packing is never easy for a skiing trip. So much equipment: 5 sets of skies, 4 sets of poles (Ali doesn't use any yet), 5 sets of boots, helmuts, winter boots, ski clothes, long johns, fleeces, pool clothes (our hotel had 3 pools in it!), etc. We laughed about not being able to fit one more thing into the car. We even had a roof box!
The girls sat in the middle row and T sat in the very back (we had one seat up and one down). They all had their own set of head phones so they could chose to listen to the DVD that was playing on the built in screen; music (either radio or one of the 5 CDs I had in the system) or they could plug it into a game (Mia had her Leapster and T had his Nintendo DS). Curt and I listened to his iPod (mostly podcasts of talk radio which we miss and love) on the speakers.
The girls sat in the middle row and T sat in the very back (we had one seat up and one down). They all had their own set of head phones so they could chose to listen to the DVD that was playing on the built in screen; music (either radio or one of the 5 CDs I had in the system) or they could plug it into a game (Mia had her Leapster and T had his Nintendo DS). Curt and I listened to his iPod (mostly podcasts of talk radio which we miss and love) on the speakers.
Mia chose mostly to listen to the new Pink CD that she loves. Her favorite song is Rockstar. I have a funny video of her with her headphones on belting out the words - or what she thought the words were... T also listened a bit to music but spent 1/2 his time watching movies and the other 1/2 playing his Nintendo. Ali slept for about 1 1/2 hours but also watched movies, snacked and watched out the window.
Now that Ali is 3 years old our road trips are much, much easier. We had to do a few side of the road stops for pee breaks but other than that it was pretty smooth sailing! We stopped once for food as they have the best road side restaurants in Austria. There's a chain of these restaurants that have indoor / outdoor playgrounds and are extremely kid friendly. I have the map in the glove box of the car that marks each of their locations. The food is spectacular and very, very fresh! It's self service with 5 types of homemade soups, an amazing salad bar, a fish grill, a meat grill, huge cake section, a juice section with about 8 types of amazing fresh squeezed juices (or combinations of), a coffee section, etc. Curt and I often wonder if these would work in America instead of all the fast food crap that is on the side of the freeways.
Once the sun went down, we all got a kick out of watching the moon and Venus. The evening before (at sunset) it was the closest and clearest but Saturday was also very cool. I took this snap while we were driving.
Without stopping or traffic, the drive from Budapest to Zell am See is about 7 hours.
Now that Ali is 3 years old our road trips are much, much easier. We had to do a few side of the road stops for pee breaks but other than that it was pretty smooth sailing! We stopped once for food as they have the best road side restaurants in Austria. There's a chain of these restaurants that have indoor / outdoor playgrounds and are extremely kid friendly. I have the map in the glove box of the car that marks each of their locations. The food is spectacular and very, very fresh! It's self service with 5 types of homemade soups, an amazing salad bar, a fish grill, a meat grill, huge cake section, a juice section with about 8 types of amazing fresh squeezed juices (or combinations of), a coffee section, etc. Curt and I often wonder if these would work in America instead of all the fast food crap that is on the side of the freeways.
Once the sun went down, we all got a kick out of watching the moon and Venus. The evening before (at sunset) it was the closest and clearest but Saturday was also very cool. I took this snap while we were driving.
Without stopping or traffic, the drive from Budapest to Zell am See is about 7 hours.
