This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Sprint
I like spending Christmas at home. I like Santa coming down my chimney and leaving gifts under my tree and my children having memories of waking up surrounded by Christmas magic in their own beds.
But one year we made an exception. John, my husband Tom's youngest brother (he has eight) was getting married in Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico on December 23, 1998. We couldn't resist - how could we NOT go? It would be such a great cultural experience for our kids to travel through Mexico...to experience a Mexican wedding!
It took quite a bit of preparation...and that's when I remembered the other reason why we never traveled on Christmas. I am one of those procrastinators who waits until the week before Christmas to do my shopping, and my cards arrive closer to New Year's Day than Christmas Day. But this time I had to have everything ready way in advance, and I came through with flying colors, down to every detail. We borrowed a large cooler for food; I bought books about traveling in Northern Mexico and a laminated, easy-to-fold map. We even let Santa know we'd be traveling, but gave him permission to come on inside the house and leave most of his presents under the tree (wink, wink!) because we wouldn't have room in the van for anything extra on the return trip.
Tom's parents traveled from Florida to our house. We would caravan to the wedding. The night before our departure, we spread a map on the dining room table and plotted our route - we'd head west on I-10 to Arizona and then turn left. From there it was a straight shot to Huatabampo. Easy!
But by the next morning Tom and his dad had changed the route, to my and my mother-in-law's grumbling dismay.
"It'll take hours off our trip!" Tom claimed, pointing to a narrow line on the map that twisted and turned acrpss the middle of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
"Are you sure that's even a road? Look how thin that line is!" But our protests fell on deaf ears.
I could have said "I told you so" two nights later when we were crawling at 20 miles per hour through the mountains along that thin line, but I was too busy praying and watching out for potholes..."Hail Mary, full of grace...POTHOLE!...the Lord is with thee...POTHOLE!...", translating the many "Curvo Peligroso!" (Dangerous Curve!) signs, and vowing to never take another trip with this man again. (I found out later my mother-in-law was making the same vow.) I was grateful for the pitch darkness - I suspected there were sheer drop-offs on the edge of the road, but I preferred not knowing for sure.
When the sun rose, it revealed a valley dotted with Saguaro cactus - we had made it through the mountains alive! Soon we entered civilization - Ciudad Obregon - and almost wept at the sight of the Holiday Inn. We straggled in to the breakfast buffet like a group of parched, ravenous wanderers to an oasis.
We were back on familiar ground - a highway took us in to Huatabampo and our hotel was in the center of town. The next few days were as wonderful as we had expected...we met John's fiance, Yadira, and her family. None of them spoke English - my high school Spanish really came in handy! We took a side trip to Huatabampito on the west coast of Mexico...on the Sea of Cortez, I believe...where we collected armfuls of spiral shells. The wedding was beautiful, even though we didn't realize we wouldn't eat until 1am - we were starving! The next day we traveled back into the mountains just a bit to Los Alamos, a colonial Mexico town, all decked out for the holidays. We toured the cathedral, explored some shops and enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner there before heading back into Huatabampo for Mass.
Christmas morning we arose before dawn to head home, and what do you know? Santa had actually dropped a gift off for each of the kids!
It had been a memorable trip - it meant a lot to John to have some of his family at the wedding and it was a wonderful experience for my kids to really experience another culture. But I admit...it still felt great to cross back over the border into the United States...one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.
Visit the BlogHer.com special offers page - you've got 8 chances to win a $200 Visa Gift Card!
To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me about one of your funny holiday road trips - or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 9 am and will end Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 5:00 pm. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct. (This contest is closed! Thank you to all of you who participated. I'll notify the winner soon!)
Rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
- This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
- You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Happy New Year! Happiness and success in 2011.
Posted by: school_dubl | 12/28/2010 at 09:24 PM
I liked your site, you are very interesting to write. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Posted by: JOBS_frend | 12/25/2010 at 04:56 PM
Last Christmas I made the drive from my home in rural South Central Kentucky to my parents' home up north. It was December 23rd and a horrible ice storm struck at the Ohio/Kentucky Border. I was literally several miles from home and I had to make reservations from my cell phone for the nearest hotel, after spending 6 hours stuck between highway exits due to an accident on the narrowed one-lane highway (due to road construction). Not having internet access on my phone, I used the phone numbers listed in my navigation system to call the nearest hotel.
I arrived at the scariest, ugliest hotel in the state, but I have never been so happy to have a warm, dry place to sleep!
Posted by: mervtheflamingo | 01/01/2010 at 09:53 AM
My most eventful holiday road trip began December 26, 2006. We drove from our home in North Platte, 4 hrs east to Omaha where we were to catch a flight to Burbank, CA the next day. To be truthful, the action started on Christmas Eve when I had both ears hurting. I knew I had an ear infection, but all of the doctor offices were closed. I suffered through and made it to the doctor on the 26th, barely in time to get out of town at a decent hour. So anyway, the drive down was fine. The next day we get up, head to the airport and board the plane. This was the first time I had ever flown. Yeah. Sick as a dog! Turns out, I’m not a great flyer! We had a layover in Las Vegas and as soon as we get into the airport, I lost my balance and fell on my hands and knees. Then, I got up and made it (in record time) to the restroom…which I got to know real well. Everyone in our party wanted to eat…that was just about the last thing I wanted to do and my husband coaxed me into eating. Then, on to Burbank. As it turns out, the Santa Ana winds were vicious, we had an extremely rough flight…and I cried the entire time. It was horrible. We did finally make it to Burbank, and on to our destination of Disneyland…and the entire trip I had motion-sickness. Car, plane, bus. Uggghh. It sucked.
It wasn’t until we got home that I realized why I was so sick...I was pregnant. After suffering from infertility for 6 years, we were finally adding another little one to our family. While being sick like that was bad…it ended up being a blessing. My daughter Paige is now a 2 year old who lights up my life!
[email protected]
Posted by: Sky | 12/31/2009 at 04:23 PM
Think they'll let you out to pee if you're stuck in the holiday traffic line at the US Canada border for hours and hours? Think again. And then plan your pregnancies accordingly.
Posted by: kathleen poling | 12/31/2009 at 03:10 PM
tweeted: http://twitter.com/princessla66/status/7231654055
Posted by: Lydia | 12/31/2009 at 05:55 AM
I have a crazy road trip story! My friend had just found out that his father was getting married the next day to a woman he had met a few weeks ago online (but never in person!). The first time the couple would see each other was at their wedding! My friend wanted desperately to try to get to his father and talk him out of what he thought was a bad idea so we drove all night to try to "stop the wedding", like they do in movies! Our trip was ridiculous, exhilarating, but serious at the same time. We got there too late though! (The woman later ran off with all of the husband's money and it wasn't her first time doing this to someone!) It was crazy!
Posted by: Lydia | 12/31/2009 at 05:32 AM
We had a fun road trip to San Antonio Sea World last Independence Day. It was my baby's first long trip in a car, but to my delight, he didn't give me any hard time at all. At my husband's request, I started telling stories to keep him awake while driving. Funnily but not surprisingly, my baby fell fast asleep while hearing my stories:P
Posted by: Bing | 12/31/2009 at 04:13 AM
Tweeted here: http://twitter.com/Leighbra/status/7227269834
Posted by: eryn | 12/31/2009 at 01:57 AM
blogged: blogged blogged: http://sweetqt.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/sprint-giveaways/
[email protected]
Posted by: Eve | 12/30/2009 at 10:53 PM
http://twitter.com/shopgurl/status/7222495008 tweet [email protected]
Posted by: Eve | 12/30/2009 at 10:52 PM
I remember that once my extended family went with us to kings dominion. There were children in the care and we stopped almost every 10 minutes because they had to pee. we were so annoyed. [email protected]
Posted by: Eve | 12/30/2009 at 10:51 PM
I have blogged about this awesome giveaway:
http://courtenayslife.blogspot.com/2009/12/blogher-gives-you-9-chances-to-win-200.html
Thanks!!
Posted by: Courtenay | 12/30/2009 at 08:24 AM
I tweeted this giveaway here: http://twitter.com/FotoMacro/status/7195488476
Posted by: angie | 12/30/2009 at 08:09 AM
Most memorable and funny road trip was when my cat Wookiee was a kitten. He was about 3 weeks old and still being bottle fed, so we had to take him to FL when we went on vacation from WV. We stopped at rest stops to feed him and people would just surround the car and watch and ask questions. He was just a brown ball of fluff and some people did not know what he was. Their reactions were SO funny!
Posted by: angie | 12/30/2009 at 08:09 AM
tweeted http://twitter.com/RePurrPussed/status/7195417592
Posted by: scott | 12/30/2009 at 08:03 AM
LOL funniest memory would be my honeymoon...we were at a waterpark and my wife lost her top...like lost it...gone...she had to run out of the pool and wrap a towel around her and go to one of the park's shops to get a new top!!! LOL
Posted by: scott | 12/30/2009 at 08:03 AM
I just remembered one year where my brother decided to cross the DMZ of the middle line in the back seat, and sprawl out to sleep.
I complained, I whined, I moaned, FINALLY drove my mother crazy enough to turn around and she saw I was wedged into a tiny corned of the seat, with my big brother (8 years my senior)'s legs and feet clear over on my side of the car, up against my door.
I still laugh at his reaction when he woke up to being hit by my mother's magazine. HA! ;)
Posted by: eryn | 12/30/2009 at 04:21 AM
blogged
http://pixie13-justconteststuff.blogspot.com/2009/12/200-visa-gc-from-sprint-blogher.html
Posted by: pixie13 | 12/29/2009 at 09:44 PM
tweet
http://twitter.com/pixie13sweeps/status/7183237255
Posted by: pixie13 | 12/29/2009 at 09:43 PM
The funniest thing I can think of that ever happened traveling during the holidays is the time my dad decided to move us 600 miles from PA to Virginia. We had an early Christmas at Grandma's & left Christmas Eve day. Crammed into this vehicle with boxes of stuff(and a rocking chair tied to the top, can you say Beverly Hillbillies?) was 6 people, including a newborn and a chihuahua puppy.
The truly hilarious part was the startled looks on the faces of the holiday travelers when they saw 3 little faces peering at them from the back windows of an AMBULANCE on the interstate on Christmas Eve.
Posted by: pixie13 | 12/29/2009 at 09:42 PM
I tweeted
http://twitter.com/lunaj1456/status/7179934855
Posted by: Anne G | 12/29/2009 at 07:52 PM
I blogged about the giveaway
http://lunaj1456.blogspot.com/2009/12/chance-to-win-200-from-sprint.html
Posted by: Anne G | 12/29/2009 at 07:51 PM
My most memorable holiday road trip was a trip back to college after Christmas break. My mother decided she didn’t want me making the 7 hour trip alone, so she would drive with me and fly back home. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately my mom came down with food poisoning about 2 hours into the trip, and I had to drive the entire rest of the way, stopping every 30 minutes so she could vomit or use the bathroom. It took forever, and she was miserable. It has been over 20 years and we still joke about that nightmare road trip. After that she always let me drive by myself, and never offered to come “help” again.
Posted by: Anne G | 12/29/2009 at 07:51 PM
For me, it was on a business trip I took that took me and my coworkers to Las Vegas. I'd just bought some new luggage, and I picked it out in a light purple color so that it'd be easily distinguishable from the mass of black luggages on the carousel. We were standing in line at the luggage carousel and I was keeping a watchful eye out for my purple suitcase. Some of my coworkers were making fun of me because it was so bright that they asked how could I possibly miss it? About that time, I saw it pop over the carousel at the other end. Relief! But I didn't see it come around the bend. I kept looking, waiting, watching. No sign. I decided to go toward the other end and as I walked down that way, I saw my luggage being pulled away...by a little girl! Evidently she had the exact same suitcase as me (in the light purple shade!) and thought this was hers. Thankfully I caught up with her and her chaperon to correct the discrepancy but could you imagine--being stuck with a 10 year old's suitcase of clothes?!
carmensechristjunk at gmail dot com
Posted by: Carmen | 12/28/2009 at 04:11 PM