Disney World in Orlando, Florida! Where else? I of course envisioned a nice short three-hour flight, then on to fun times, right? My hubby’s vision? He decided on a thirty-three hour long drive to Florida! Not only with eight kids, but with the two grandmothers in tow as well!

(Can we say suicide mission?)

We started off early Friday morning. We headed to the gas station so we could gas up and get windshield wiper fluid. What my hubby didn’t count on was our son Derek filling up, too … on soda!

He asked if he could get a drink. No problem, Mel mumbles. We all get back in the car, ready to go. Well here comes Derek with his soda. Two sixty-four-ounce big gulps! He climbed into the back of the Suburban and proceeded to pass it around to all the kids. Well, we did teach him to share, right? It went downhill from there! Within forty-five minutes Derek, among others, had to pee. (No surprise there!)

Also, Alexi, who was only two at the time, was wired tighter than a Swiss watch from all the sugar and caffeine. I told Derek not to give him any soda, but he didn’t want his soon-to-be little brother left out! He was literally bouncing off the insides of the truck. He would pop out of his car seat and land into someone’s lap. They would try unsuccessfully to get him back into his seat, only to hear the cry of a thousand banshees in agony!

Finally someone would grab him and double seatbelt themselves with him. That would last a total of five seconds. Mel and I are neurotic about car seats and seat belts, so to say it was nerve-wrecking was an understatement and we weren’t even out of the state yet!

Then to add even more to the formula, Derek, in his infinite fifteen-year-old wisdom, tells Alexi that he needs to behave because we’re on our way to see Mickey Mouse! Now for the next four hours, we had to hear every few seconds, “Where Mickey? Where’s Mickey?” We would tell Alexi that he would have to go to sleep, then when he woke up, he would see Mickey. “Okay!” he would answer with a big grin. Five seconds later, like any normal two-year-old, he would bellow, “Where Mickey?”  

I love my sons dearly, but I wanted to throw Derek out the window at this point and have him take the baby with him! How horrid was that?

At this time we were just getting into New York City. Aw, New York City!

Mel is driving on the George Washington Bridge and Alexi did his jack-in-the-box, pop up out of his baby seat thing again. My hubby instinctually peeked quickly back to make sure someone had him. Mel turns his eyes back to the front and, yeah you got it, he missed the on ramp! So now we are in some downtown Manhattan Street, at high noon, on a Friday!

To say that Mel was upset is another understatement! He absolutely hates being stuck in traffic. My hubby has been known to drive for an hour down side streets to go a distance of a mile just so he doesn’t have to stand still in traffic!

(I know, men!)

I thought he was going to blow a gasket! Of course, my mother and his mother are talking about pulling over and going shopping. He looked like a cartoon character with his eyes bulging out of his head!

At this point we are going about two miles an hour. Eric just had to tell us that the old guy shuffling down the sidewalk with a walker just passed us again!

Not helping, kid! 

Tune in tomorrow for the last episode of the ultimate road trip!

(Part 1) | Part 2