Cars Should Have Names Too

My family has had a habit of naming their cars. It all started with my cousin’s car Trudy. I am not sure why her name was Trudy, but it fit her personality perfectly. Trudy was an older clunker hatchback. It reminded me of a little old lady with her own little quirks. Trudy was an awesome car. My cousin and I went on many adventures in Trudy. You had to talk nicely to her and sometimes say Come on Trudy to get her to go or start. She was well loved by everyone who rode in her. My cousin was a college student at the time she owned Trudy. I miss her.  My other cousin had a car who was named Sherman. He had started staying with my grandma after my grandpa had passed away. He was there to keep an eye on our grandma and to keep her company. I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s house so I got to hang out with my cousin a lot. I always liked that, because we are twelve years apart in age, so growing up I didn’t see him as much as my other cousins. I would see him on occasion at family things. He used to run me to the store and take me to Mc Donald’s and other places. Sherman always smelled like fabric softener. I never did figure out why that was. I think he had some in the trunk.

 My aunt had a Neon who was named Janis. Janis became my cousin’s car and we drove to Texas in Janis. She was of course named after Janis Joplin. My mom had a car named Gracie too. The car my mom drove when Noah was really little was named The Green Car. The Green Car was the best car ever. Noah named it because it was green. The Green Car was always in the stories I would make up about a little boy named Noah. Do you name your car?

Check out my post about naming your car and learn about some of the famous named cars in movies and TV.

Poisonous Snakes at the Rest Stop

It’s important to be safe at rest stops. We love to travel and go on day trips. One time we were coming back from the outlet mall in Ellington Florida, it started pouring really hard as it tends to do in Florida. We had to pull off the road because we couldn’t see anything. It was honestly pretty scary and not safe to continue driving. Thankfully we found a rest stop to just stop at and wait out the rain. As you know, rain storms like this usually don’t last long in Florida in the rainy season. After the rain stopped, we decided to get out and use the restroom. As the rain was clearing and I could actually see the signs that were right in front of me, I saw a warning sign for snakes. Not just your garden variety of snakes, but venomous dangerous snakes. If you know me at all, you know I hate snakes, venomous or not. I was pretty scared to get out of the car, but we had a fairly long drive. I was very aware of my surroundings that day.

I was used to alligator signs and occasionally seeing an alligator off in the distance, but snakes was a new thing. I have been in situations where snakes were probably present, but they didn’t make themselves known to me or I would have freaked out. I think I am more scared of snakes than alligators. I could just cut up the alligator and deep fry it. I have heard horror stories about rest stops. I am sure you have heard them too about women being kidnapped at rest stops and people hiding in their backseats waiting for them to return.  While most of them are probably just urban legends, it is good to be vigilant with your safety especially if you are alone.

Here is my post about Rest Stop Safety.

Eating Healthy on the Road with a Picky Eater

My son Noah is the pickiest eater in the world. He is very specific about what he wants to eat, he has a really hard time trying new things. He is stubborn like his mama. He won’t eat meat. He won’t eat chicken nuggets. He won’t eat hot dogs, or fish sticks. When we travel it can be a total pain to feed him. He doesn’t really have any options at McDonald’s or Wendy’s. He used to just get apples and milk or sometimes ice cream and milk. I have learned that while I would be fine with McDonald’s, Noah isn’t good with it, unless I let him get ice cream. That is a great treat every so often but not for a meal. I have started packing him foods and stopping at places with healthier options. I used to be able to eat McDonald’s and other fast food a lot, now it is an occasional treat. I am getting older and I feel that it makes me feel sick and greasy if I eat too much.

We don’t have allergies but it would be harder to eat on the road if your family did. Noah is pretty good about eating the stuff I pack him like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Honestly, the only “fast food” Noah eats is Steak N Shake and Panera. I don’t consider either fast food. He will occasionally eat Subway because they have good cheese sandwiches and lettuce. That’s what he told me a week ago. I don’t really mind though, because he’s not obsessed with fast food like I was when I was a kid. I only got it once a week but I loved it so much. It was my favorite thing about Thursdays or spending time with my dad because I knew I could have fast food. Of course I love my dad but fast food was just a huge bonus. I think it’s important to start good eating habits young and when you are traveling it’s difficult to remain consistent. 

Here are my tips about Eating Healthy on the Road.