Mila Monday: Road Trips - Real life, on purpose.

We had such a good time on our spring break road trip to Antelope Canyon that I really wanted to do something similar for fall break. Something fairly close to home, but interesting and new that we’d never done before.

(Fun fact: one of my hobbies is planning trips I will probably never take. I put together an Italy itinerary years ago, shared it in conversation with a friend, and they eventually used it as the basis of their own trip. I’m so proud.
There’s an entire folder on my laptop with domestic + international adventure plans if you ever need some inspiration. )

Unfortunately David had a couple work trips while the kids were out of school and wouldn’t be able to go on an adventure with us. That left me tentatively planning a road trip with just me + the kids. Despite the kids being pretty great travelers, I wasn’t sure I was up for doing things solo. So I semi-invited my mom…and she jumped right on board!

I’m reeeeeeally glad she did. Things are just so much easier with two adults. Like, I could drive and she could divvy up snacks. Or I could take one kid to the bathroom while she stayed with the other two.

When I was a kid, she took me + my siblings on road trips by herself a couple times a year, but it was always just to our grandma’s house and back, which makes some things a lot simpler. Still. She was brave. Maybe someday I’ll try a solo road trip with kids, but that day is not today.

Anyway, we had a lovely time in New Mexico. We saw white sand, black lava rock, red mesas, purple mountains…and I ate the spiciest burrito of my entire life.

It was enchanting.

(Which should not have surprised me as much as it did. Their state nickname is literally “land of enchantment.”)

I’ll write up a full trip recap soon, if only to share more photos of White Sands. That place is UNREAL and still kind of an under-the-radar destination. You should go. I can’t stress that enough. It is SO COOL.