Dog Is My Co-Pilot

So after my parents left, I took a couple of days to collect myself and clean our tiny little residence and get organized and packed. Managed to find a rental car that wasn't a million dollars (lots of things cost more in NY, cars included), made some arrangements for our mail and hotels along the way, and then the kids and I hopped in the car for the 19 hour drive to South Florida. I have to admit I was highly motivated from already not having a co-parent for most of 2 whole weeks, and the remaining 4 weeks alone in NY with 2 kids and a dog made the drive seem well worth it. Also the promise of sun and beach was pretty tempting too. The weather had been beautiful in NY all through September and October, but at this point it was starting to get chilly and you could just see Fall closing in.
When we finally got out of the city on that first day, I had the feeling that I couldn't get far enough away fast enough. We had already spent several hours stuck in Manhattan traffic, or dealing with temporary parking (still a nightmare, even for only a couple hours while we finished packing), and the trip to JFK via subway and tram is not exactly a picnic, especially when you still have 7 hours of driving ahead of you once you get out of the damn place.
Banchi sat in the passenger seat the whole way.
And truly, the kids did great. I won't say that there weren't moments where Jonah's questions of "When are we going to BE there?" 27 times in a row made me want to jump out of the car. Similarly, I had this idea in my head that while Jonah was sleeping Maya would easily entertain herself, not need to stop for the bathroom or be chatty, just to keep things quiet and sane for small segments of time. I think I made that deal with myself and not exactly with her. And once you hit Florida and there is STILL 6 hours to drive, it is pretty maddening.
Overall, it was nice. The kids were so happy to stay in hotels and it felt like an adventure to eat out. The scenery kept changing along the way and we listened to The Hobbit on CD, they watched a couple movies and played all manner of magnet games and car toys in the backseat.
We found Jonah's pirate costume at a Cracker Barrel restaurant/store. And those peg puzzles? They bought me many hours of happy quiet kid time.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on a Saturday night...so happy to see Brett and have a place to stay.