Road Trip

Here's a couple of things I learned on our road trip.

1. Colorado gives great rest stop.  They've spent good money to make nice...safe...clean facilities that look more like parks and nature preserves.  Iowa and Nebraska have not. 
2. It's well worth it to stop by and visit family along the way if you have them.   We did this time and our kids met their great uncle for the first time as non-infants.  They are still trying to connect the synapses on uncle being "Grampy's Brother".
3. Bringing the bulk of your own food is best.  Most trips in the past, we've eaten 2-4x per day at ridiculous fast food joints A, B, and C because it was "convenient".  The net result was feeling absolutely ill by 8AM daily and carrying that through for days at a time.  No more.  We arrived feeling energized and saved at least 2 hours a day on a long drive day (700+ miles). 
4. More and more hotels are becoming pet friendly.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express that accepted pets willingly.  One charged $10 and the other didn't charge a thing.  We brought our two 60lbs beasts, stayed on the ground floor close to an exit door, and had a very convenient stay at both places.

Cheers from CA.