Back from Maine! to and fro...

We didn't even realize that our most recent trip to Maine was scheduled for Memorial Day weekend (well Thursday - Sunday). We booked the last weekend in May because we knew we wanted to visit my mother-in-law this summer, and wanted to do so before the peak of the summer tourist season, and prices went up.

This was baby C's third trip to Maine. We went last July and for Thanksgiving 2009. Getting to Grandma's house is a bit of a hike, we first fly to Portland, Maine, rent a car at the airport, and then drive the 100 miles to Belfast, up on the mid-coast of Maine. Going, our flight was delayed about 1.5 hours... we left our apartment at 8 am on Thursday morning, and arrived at the Comfort Inn in Belfast at 4 pm. So with the delay, a lunch stop, and what seemed like a slow go out of the Portland airport, it was really a long day of traveling. For all of us.

But baby C was pretty good. He napped and nursed on the flight, and the flight attendant gave him this biscotti/cookie thing that he really liked. He was fussy in the car, but we stopped about 30 minutes into the drive for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays, and there he really liked eating french fries and pumpernickel croutons from the salad bar. That seemed to fill him up because he then slept the rest of the drive!

Considering we put 460 miles on our rental car (in four days!) baby C did pretty OK in the car. He had his moments, but we tried to time the longer drives around his naps. And we were conscious of trying to give him enough play time to stretch his legs when we weren't in the car. Snacks, a favorite book, and lots of toys... along with daddy in the back seat to entertain... helped!

This was also the first time we traveled with the Britax car seat... and what has come to be known as the "body bag," aka JL Childress Ultimate Car Seat Travel Bag. We checked the car seat as soon as we arrived at the airport (no charge). But we decided to bring our smaller suitcase and duffel and avoid the $25 checked bag fee on US Airways.

Coming home, C slept a good portion of the drive back to Portland. Near the airport, as per our custom, we stopped at the Olive Garden and C enjoyed some breadsticks. We arrived at the airport pretty early for our 3 pm flight, so C was able to run around and blow off some steam. And luckily, our flight home landed a half hour early, so we were home with enough time to play before bedtime. And speaking of sleep, C slept pretty good in the hotel, I think his best travel sleep yet. In fact, the first morning, my husband woke me up at 6 am because C was not up yet (we worry when this happens). C was fine, he was just "sleeping in"... which meant waking up at 6:15. The next day he was up a little earlier and the third morning we were back to a 4:30 am wake up, but at least we had 2 out of 3!

Will post more on all the fun activities we did in Maine. The weather was perfect, and we really had a great visit!