This Little Trooper

Cora is now officially my favorite little road-tripper.  During the entire day yesterday I think I heard only 1 little whine, when Signing Time ended for a few minutes.  Other than that, she sits happily in the backseat, content until we let her out of her dungeon.

And yes, I do mean dungeon.  We have a little car.  Strapped on top is a small Thule cartop carrier stuffed with camping gear.  Next to that her stroller is tied on, along with her travel high chair, and Nick's current experiment: a solar panel hooked up to a battery.  You know, in case you need to air up your aerobed or charge your laptop in the redwoods. Just what you never knew you needed.

Inside the car is packed to the gills.  Little girlie's carseat is rear-facing in the middle of the backseat, with coolers and bags strategically stacked around her so that nothing will fall on her if things shift.  And they are literally stacked to the ceiling.  So our sweet girl is essentially in a dark little dungeon, left alone to sign to herself, chew on her Sophie and be entertained by the ever-present Signing Time DVDs.  We've thought about rearranging, so she can be by the window and actually see out.  And we may actually do that.  But with her little sun sensitive self and the current outside temperatures in the 100s it hasn't seemed urgent to rearrange.  So for now she's rocking her little backseat cave.

Today is Day 5 of our trip.  Yesterday, we drove for a few hours and arrived here in Atascadero, California to spend time with one of Nick's childhood best friends, and his wife and daughter. 

We enjoyed last night eating great food and catching up with good friends.  Cora is getting used to her new 4-year old friend Olivia and is tolerating the 2 chihuahuas pretty well too. Since it's ridiculously hot, we'll be taking a 20 minute drive to the beach for the afternoon.  Yes, California at its best!