Friday: Road trippin’ in Caravan style

What surprise it has been to find myself at a point in my life where the sight of a new minivan can make my heart skip a few beats.

For this trip, we had Some Serious Stuff (including the mega stroller) so we pushed the limits of Paul’s per diem and splurged an extra few bucks on a minivan. It was a basic Dodge Caravan, no extended “Grand” cabin, no power gear, nothing but the basics… and it was pretty nice.

We tested the ‘van on the open road Friday afternoon, driving down to New Bern, NC. The drive took us about 9 hours — traffic around DC, slow backroads, and frequent stops to let the kids run around — but we made it! Amy, Kevin, and Brayden were already there — I spent the rest of the weekend as paparazzi.