September 4, 2011
We left the house at 11am, on the dot, and arrived at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Clinton, SC, around 9pm. It was a long day.
The kids were mostly good, on par with what I expected given their ages and personalities. We stopped at several rest areas along the way to eat and stretch — one near Jacksonville, another just after crossing into South Carolina, and then the last one about 15 miles from Clinton. At the last one, we assessed how we were all feeling and made an informed decision to stop.
Stopping for the night is non-trivial with two kids, as there’s no just-pop-inside-with-an-overnight-bag. Still, very much the right move given the circumstances. It started to drizzle as I was unloading the car, and the last leg of the trip is through mountains. Ups and downs with screaming, over-tired kids, limited visibility, rain, and a driver fast approaching sleepytimes? No thanks.
Son was weirded out by the hotel room, but he only napped for a half hour in the car, so he was at a disadvantage dealing with everything being quite tired. He was a trooper, though, and while none of us woke up feeling what I’d call “refreshed”, we were glad for the stop. The room is a little tight for what is termed a “suite” but we’ll make the best of it.
Today can be summed up with the following photo:
Originally published at bbhart.com on October 5, 2011.