Ride, Play, Hurl
The other day we drove past a car pulled off to the side of Interstate 70. This is a fairly normal but extremely unsafe occurrence. As we were driving past I noticed a car seat sitting in the grass and a Dad frantically, diligently, disinfecting with a paper towel. "iPad," my husband and I instantly blurted, feeling the pain of the family on the side of the road. So I write this post as a warning to other families: beware your kids using the iPad while driving. Heed my warning so that you, too, do not end up on the side of some road, cleaning up chunks while your child sits miserably covered in throw up.
This happened to us while on the last leg of our trip back from the Sawtooth mountains one summer. We arrived late for an expensive night of sleep, a quick swim in the pool and breakfast in Rock Springs, WY. The dread of returning back to work was setting in and led us to take the long, scenic route home. This route traverses miles and miles of open range with signs of development few and far between. We followed the Yampa River about 45 minutes through Hayden, CO where we turned right at a huge power plant in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. We drove past cowboys riding through fields of yellow mountain flowers and green mountain valleys dotted with white, barren tree skeletons.
I have no regrets about taking the scenic route. It was beautiful, quiet, unknown. Kenedy and Tucker both fell asleep for several hours of this drive but Tucker woke up, and for the first time in two weeks, we broke down and pulled out out the iPad.
Tucker loves to play with a mini toy car on a racing app. Of course this was Tucker 's game of choice after many days away from the screen. He started playing this game (simulated driving) while riding down a particularly curvy portion of Hwy 131. And, sure enough, my daydream about buying that ranch with the blue roof and the beautiful orchard that would grow up out of the surrounding fields...was sadly interrupted.
Our Rock Springs hotel offered free breakfast. The kids love just about everything offered as a part of these free breakfasts: boiled eggs, oatmeal, waffles, yogurt, fruit cocktail, orange juice. Two weeks of hiking, climbing, digging, swimming and playing every waking hour led them to eat about three times the normal amount. Plus the car was packed to the point of bursting so the backseat was full of pillows, stuffed animals, workbooks, and shoes.
In other words...Tucker's iPad hurl was no small ordeal. As the stench started to fill the car, we pulled over as fast as possible and mobilized. Poor kid. He was buckled into his car seat, covered in throw up. As cars zoomed dangerously by, adrenaline kicked in. I unbuckled him and started pulling off clothes, pulling out toys, the pillow case, the iPad. Kris grabbed a roll of paper towels and soon enough we had things cleaned to a tolerable level. More cars whizzed by as we tossed stinky clothes in plastic bags and hopped back into the car--home, a washing machine and a shower was starting to sound better despite the chaos. Phew! The iPad will never be the same, though. The residual of one last day of roadtrip, and a reminder: do NOT ride and play unless you are willing to deal with hurl.
This happened to us while on the last leg of our trip back from the Sawtooth mountains one summer. We arrived late for an expensive night of sleep, a quick swim in the pool and breakfast in Rock Springs, WY. The dread of returning back to work was setting in and led us to take the long, scenic route home. This route traverses miles and miles of open range with signs of development few and far between. We followed the Yampa River about 45 minutes through Hayden, CO where we turned right at a huge power plant in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. We drove past cowboys riding through fields of yellow mountain flowers and green mountain valleys dotted with white, barren tree skeletons.
I have no regrets about taking the scenic route. It was beautiful, quiet, unknown. Kenedy and Tucker both fell asleep for several hours of this drive but Tucker woke up, and for the first time in two weeks, we broke down and pulled out out the iPad.
Tucker loves to play with a mini toy car on a racing app. Of course this was Tucker 's game of choice after many days away from the screen. He started playing this game (simulated driving) while riding down a particularly curvy portion of Hwy 131. And, sure enough, my daydream about buying that ranch with the blue roof and the beautiful orchard that would grow up out of the surrounding fields...was sadly interrupted.
Our Rock Springs hotel offered free breakfast. The kids love just about everything offered as a part of these free breakfasts: boiled eggs, oatmeal, waffles, yogurt, fruit cocktail, orange juice. Two weeks of hiking, climbing, digging, swimming and playing every waking hour led them to eat about three times the normal amount. Plus the car was packed to the point of bursting so the backseat was full of pillows, stuffed animals, workbooks, and shoes.
In other words...Tucker's iPad hurl was no small ordeal. As the stench started to fill the car, we pulled over as fast as possible and mobilized. Poor kid. He was buckled into his car seat, covered in throw up. As cars zoomed dangerously by, adrenaline kicked in. I unbuckled him and started pulling off clothes, pulling out toys, the pillow case, the iPad. Kris grabbed a roll of paper towels and soon enough we had things cleaned to a tolerable level. More cars whizzed by as we tossed stinky clothes in plastic bags and hopped back into the car--home, a washing machine and a shower was starting to sound better despite the chaos. Phew! The iPad will never be the same, though. The residual of one last day of roadtrip, and a reminder: do NOT ride and play unless you are willing to deal with hurl.
