Day 2: it’s a war of attrition. Let’s be honest here, when traveling with little ones the key is to tire then out so they sleep as long as possible while driving. Day 2 came pretty close to this as we played all morning and took off for Arizona mid-afternoon eventually getting in late, but with sanity in check.

Some of the highlights included: 2 hours in the desert sun by the pool; a trip to Cabazon CA to see the legendary dinosaurs; a roadside park dedicated to Route 66; our dog getting a stomach bug; wind turbines for miles; and the loss of a tray of french fries when the infant went under supervised for 2 seconds.

Here’s the rollup:

Total distance: ~ 400mi

Total time:  8 hours

Pit stops: 4

Infant meltdowns: 3

Toddler meltdowns: 1

Total number of dinosaurs experienced in Cabazon CA: 50

Total number of wind turbines along a stretch of I-10: 987 (give or take)

# of times the Lion King Soundtrack played: 10.5 (progress!)

# of servings of In and Out fries lost when the infant tossed them off the table: 3

# of episodes of doggy diarrhea: 2 (fortunately not in the car!)

# of times I nearly lost my sanity: 2 (progress!)

Before I forget– I got a run in! Nothing special just 4 miles around Palm Desert. It was like 77 but felt like 102. The nice thing about Palm Desert is that it’s a laid out like a bunch of squares, so running around the block made for a nice trail to follow. Yeah it smoked me though. This heat thing— oy!

Getting in late we were exhausted but felt that tinge of victory. We popped open a bottle of wine and had a glass. It was delicious. Who cares if it was nearly midnight?! We had a California red blend called Phigment. It was smooth, robust, and simple. Exactly what two parents need after a day on the road with kids. It went down way too easy, but we limited ourselves to one glass. We put the cork back in and went to bed. We were done.

Next up: the Grand Canyon. Stay tuned.