I’m gonna start talking about our moving experiences here. As I said in the previous blog, due to my husband’s work, we decided to move to Nevada. First episode is from Illinois to Iowa trip.
With a dog and a month and half old baby, our adventure started here!
Prologue
We did study what we should bring when we go on a road trip with an infant. However, we just thought of “just in case” too much. Our car was now full of stuff! I can hardly say it was comfortable lol
Here’s one tip from our son’s pediatrician: “One of you who doesn’t drive should sit in the back, so that you can always keep an eye on your baby.”
So I did. I sat behind my husband and placed Orbit in the middle.
So much stuff! What we didn’t need were so many of diapers and bottles. Plus a sterilizer and a bottle warmer. It kinda took spaces.
- First off, diapers. If we run out, we could always stop at a store and stock more.
- Then, bottles. We had like 8 bottles, which I ended up breastfeeding directly, so we didn’t need it at all nor did breast pump. We could carry maybe a few bottles just in case.
- And finally, we didn’t need to bring a sterilizer for the same reason. Plus, we booked hotels with a kitchen so there was a dishwasher installed in a room.
But, we were also thinking about after we arrived in Nevada. We couldn’t expect the moving truck to arrive on the same day. Worst scenario, we had to live with what we have.
I enjoyed a life in Illinois. I loved a big city, Chicago! I’m gonna miss the life over there, but a half of me was super excited about my new adventure and this road trip💛
Departure
December 5th, 2020 Saturday. It is finally the day of moving out. We are planning to spend 6 days to get to Nevada. First goal is Iowa City in Iowa. Total of 3 hours and 22 min drive and the distance is 227 miles. Not so bad for the beginning. Although, we need to spend at least a half an hour for the breastfeeding break every hour or so, so we are expecting to spend at least an hour and a half additional time. It would be a nice break for the driver too!
At 10AM, after finishing the final check of the house, we departed our, now is old, house.
We decided our stops already in advance!
First stop is at Belvidere Oasis in Rockford, IL. It’s about an hour from the house. There are many food chains that you can select to fill your stomach with. Their restroom was relatively clean I think. It’s an indoor Oasis, so even during the winter, it’ll keep you warm.
We weren’t hungry as we had a late breakfast, so just stopped for a break and took care of Orbit and Aksel.
The second destination was for the lunch break. We searched for an area within an hour or so from Rockford and found a town called Rock Falls. We predicted that there is no Culver’s in Nevada, so we just stopped there to grab some burgers. Probably dogs are not allowed inside, so we drove thru and ate at the parking lot. In my opinion, Culver’s is one of the best burger chains. Although, I always get a chicken burger, so I’m not really sure the taste of beef lol I’m gonna miss you, Culver’s!!
Once our stomach is filled, we headed to the next stop! Finally we are crossing the border to Iowa!
I was curious about this place. It’s called Iowa 80, the world’s largest truck stop. Here’s the link below.
There is a restaurant and gift shop as well as a museum here, but since we had Orbit with us, we couldn’t go inside… So we just parked and took care of Orbit and Aksel. Probably there was a truck carrying animals nearby. Once I stepped outside of the car, I could tell lol
So, as we were just looking at Iowa 80 on the side, we headed to the final destination of the day, Iowa City!
It’s really nice to have a kitchen and breakfast included when we travel with an infant and a dog. We always choose Marriott Residence Inn as we can bring a dog to a stay (with an extra charge). Last time when we stayed at Residence inn in Illinois, Orbit was sitting by the room door whining. Maybe he didn’t like certain smell? But this time, as if he knew we were moving to another location or he was just tired from the car ride, he quietly jumped on the bed and laid down.
Just one heads up. You cannot leave a dog alone in a room, so be careful.
There is a crib available for your stay as well. You can request it when you book or request at the front desk. We have requested in advance, but their “crib” was similar to a pack n play that we have, so we ended up using ours.
That’s the end of the day. It wasn’t a long drive today, but we rested well for the rest of the trip.
By the way, the breakfast wasn’t the hot breakfast due to Covid-19 but easy to grab and go kind. Usually they serve buffet style breakfast though.
Trip continues.