Harmony In Chaos Travel

After spending the night in Scottsdale, we piled the family back into our rental car and drove the almost five hours to Las Vegas.

Usually we would have taken the short flight between our destinations but since it was the end of peak tourist season in Arizona, the rental car companies were running some great one way promotions to get their cars moved to other states. We were able to get our car for nine days for right around $60 total since we picked it up in Phoenix and were dropping it off in San Diego. For that price we just had to try out the family road trip with all three kids!


Here are three things I learned from this experience:

1. Airplane activities don't always double as road trip activities - On airplanes, our older kids tend to play with washable crayons and markers, stickers, and their kindles. I quickly realized that stickers and markers weren't a great idea for a four, three and one year old in the back seat.

2. There is some novelty in driving through a different landscape - Our kids were fascinated by the number of cacti outside their window as we drove through the Arizona desert. Whenever they would start complaining or getting bored, we would ask if they could find a cactus and they were instantly distracted.

3. Gas station snacks are expensive - This is something I have always known. If we would have started the road trip from home, I would have packed plenty of healthy snacks in the car before we left. Since we flew down to Phoenix, I was somewhat limited in what I could bring in our luggage. We ended up making a stop at a gas station for a potty break and we knew we needed to add a little variety to the snack situation. We ended up paying close to a dollar a piece for three cheese sticks!


The flight between PHX and LAS is about an hour. When you figure in the time needed to check bags, get through security (which is taking longer and longer these days), waiting at baggage claim for you bags, and then going to get another rental car, we would have easily been at four hours. That doesn't take into consideration the possibility of aircraft equipment problems, weather delays, missing baggage, HUGE lines at the rental car desk, and traffic to and from the airport.

In the end, I am happy that we made the drive. It was less stressful and on this trip, we only had to make the one potty/gas station stop, and we were all nice and comfortable in our own seats.