Go With the Flow

The trick to the breakfast buffet with three small kids is to arrive ahead of the crowds.

Today was our longest day of driving. We covered over 266 miles. Which comprised 266 miles of “are we there yet?” and “I can’t take it anymore!”. I think there was some lovely scenery too.

Tired kids + tired mommy = change of plans. Decided to postphone Jelly Belly Factory Tour and head straight to the hotel. Rerouting ourselves, we arrived ahead of check-in. Which was fine since all any of us wanted to do at that point was get to the pool.

(Actually, after 266 miles with my kvetchy kids, what I really wanted was the bar. But it wasn’t even 3:00 in the afternoon. And it didn’t seem right to stick the sitter with all three kids.)

A perfect respite. Plus it gave me a chance to teach the kids a new Yiddish word.

M’cheiya = refreshing, life-saver

(Remind me to tell you my m’cheiya story when I get back from camp.)

The water temperature was nothing short of perfect. An hour-and-a-half of fun and frolicking.

Where has the time gone? When did I become the parent, responsible for driving and making reservations? All my siblings and I cared about was staying in a hotel with a pool. And HBO. We had only Showtime at home so it was very thrilling to watch HBO. One summer, we saw “Grease 2” every single day of our vacation.

My kids are no different. “OH — that hotel is SO nice,” gushed Poppyseed as we drove past a motel with a pool in the parking lot. Note to Poppyseed’s future husband — skip the fancy digs. Motel 6 apparently meets my daughter’s standards.

One final observation. Risky to bring a baby who has had insufficient sleep into a restaurant.

Laila tov from the Napa Valley.