MoM | 10 Tips for Road Tripping with a Baby

Road trips are a Quirk family tradition. We’ve been through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, back and forth to NYC, up into Canada, the Icelandic countryside and to the outer banks of North Carolina and back. We really like driving! And by we, I mean Adam drives and I navigate old school style with a road atlas. We used to cover up to 10 hours a day (depending on the trip) but with a little guy in tow, we’ve revised our roadie. Here are my top ten tips for making the most of long drives with smallish children (as a reference, Felix is 10 months old!)

1. Start with a Clean Car Sure, it sounds obvious, but my fellow parents know how puffs and crackers and this and that can end up squished into every crack of the back seat. Before we left for our trip, I did a full at home detailing job. Wipe up that dash, vacuum, and toss those old coffee cups and empty bottles (and receipts and and and). Another thing I do before we leave are pack some plastic grocery bags (folded neatly because I’m like that!) into each door. You never know when someone is going to get carsick (true story!) or just want to use it for dirty diapers. 

2. Fuel Up on Thursday Morning  Gas prices tend to jump a bit on weekends or before holidays, so get your gas a day or two before you leave. This also allows you get in a good stretch of driving before needing to stop. Which leads me to… 

3. Honor the Nap If it all possible, we’ve found it’s best to leave right at nap time, stop when baby wakes up and do a diaper change, nursing session and coffee pit stop for mama and papa. Thankfully Felix naps best in his car seat or stroller, so this is a saving grace for us! When we get back on the road, one parent moves to the back seat and plays with baby for a while (usually me) untll we get to another stopping point or near the next nap time. The worst thing you can do (in my opinion) is skip naps before you leave in hopes your baby will take an extra long second nap. Sleep begets sleep in the Quirk house! We’ve made this mistake before and Felix wailed all the way from Indy to Fort Wayne (or about two hours) and it was all. mommy’s. fault! 

4. Pace the Toys Like most children, Felix has his favorite toys. Instead of giving him access to all of them at the same time, I give him one at a time until he tires of it and wants to move on. I also rotate in snacks and books to switch things up a bit. Some lull him to sleep and others make him concentrate. Babies can get bored too, so it’s also fun to throw in something he hasn’t played with in a while for variety. When all else fails, the kid always goes nuts for a half full water bottle or trail map too!

5. Wipes! Lots and lots of WIPES! I like to have at least two packages of wipes in the car, so they’re reachable at any moment (usually in the middle of the floor in the backseat and another pack in the trunk). Not only are they good for baby messes, but mommy messes (spilled coffee!) or good for cleaning hands/faces. We’ve used Seventh Generation wipes since Felix was born and our latest stash was a gift from them as they’re a new What I Wore sponsor! Thanks guys!

6. Combine Important Items into Kits I used this concept on a flight back in March and it works well for the car too. I take gallon sized plastic zip bags and put in everything I might need. For example, I’ll do a diaper change bag (a couple of disposable dipes* + wipes) in one, an outfit change in another, snacks in a third and small toys in another. So instead of riffling around in a bottomless pit of a diaper bag, I just have a few possible things to reach for!

**On our latest trip we opted to go with disposable diapers in lieu or cloth because we didn’t know what the washer/dryer situation would be like in someone else’s place and I didn’t want to be toting around a bag of dirty diapers back and forth to Michigan! I’ve since used them on another weekend trip, including overnight! I love them even more. Again, thanks to Seventh Generation for providing a pack of them for us to try out. I like them a lot (no leaks!) and will definitely purchase them again for myself. They don’t have the smell of traditional disposables (which I loath) and are also free of any dyes, inks, petrolum based lotions.

4. Road Snacks! Adam and I eat pretty healthy at home, including our snacks, but when road trips happen, we like to treat ourselves to a bunch of goodies at the gas station. Twizzlers, Combos and Big Red are my favorites! I also got some new snacks for Felix along with a new container of puffs (Puffs! What would we do without ‘em!?) I also give him freeze dried apple slices that he can slobber on for longer stretches.

8. Make a Playlist (or pick a good digital channel) In my day, we actually called these Mix Tapes, even though they were really just burned CDs.  Now we have the ability to play music through our cell phones, so I just pick a channel on Spotify and we go with it! In the summer I like 90s Hits or John Mellencamp!

9. Or Listen to a Podcast! We love This American Life, Radiolab, Mystery Show, Serial and Here’s the Thing. 

10. HAVE FUN! Babies and Kids (and dead car batteries) require flexibility. Like parenthood in general, a sense of humor and a lighthearted spirit make for the most memorable experiences. Sometimes you’ve just gotta sing louder than the baby can scream (granted he’s not in danger or anything serious) or accept that your 3 hour drive became a 10 hour journey.

Thanks again to our sponsor Seventh Generation, a brand we’ve used in our household for years.  Seventh Generation lives its commitment to “caring today for seven generations of tomorrows,” with plant-based products formulated to provide mindful solutions for the air, surfaces, fabrics, pets and people within your home – and for the community and environment outside of it.

Quirk Road Trip Part II | Asheville, NC

Asheville, NC This mountain town was right up our alley with a free spirited, hippy vibe and amazing (amazing!) food. Read on for our many restaurant recommendations, where we stayed and what we did while in the Blue Ridge Mountains plus where we ate during our pit stops in Louisville, Charleston, WV, Washington DC and Durham, NC! 

Check out the first portion of our vacation HERE! 

We left Wednesday and Thursday nights up in the air and didn’t have anything booked ahead of time, leaving us flexibility to stay in Raleigh Durham or go to Asheville early. We ended up doing the later and booked our first AirBnB rental at 2pm the day of our arrival.  

(Use this link to get $25 off your first AirBnB stay) 

We stayed in West Asheville, which was an easy drive into downtown and close to Sunny Point Cafe, where we dined twice. Our studio apartment rental had a small kitchen and private garden entrance and was pretty cute! It was in a basement (and had a little bit of a basement smell, which was easily remedied by lighting a candle the host had available) and we could hear a bit of the shuffle of the host’s family upstairs, but really no big deal. It was also really inexpensive (we paid $88/night) and far better than staying in a hotel. For a budget Asheville stay, we’d absolutely recommend it!

On the last night of our trip, we switched to a different AirBnB rental that I’d booked before we left and we really loved this place. It was a private two bedroom home (pictured above) in the River Arts District in an area called Chicken Hill (which lived up to it’s name with SUPER steep hills). Our host was so flexible (we arrived early) and had things like cereal, milk and coffee available to us. Plus the place was just cute! The home is located next to a highway (with a slim bank of trees between) but the window AC unit masked any sound at night.

Tupelo Honey Cafe This downtown spot came highly recommended and also ranks in my top restaurants of the trip. We went for a late lunch and sat on the patio without a wait.  To start, we shared fried green tomatoes over grits and this dish might be the very best thing I ate all week. AHHH-MAAAAZZZ-ING. So so good.  Adam had a crazy Bloody Mary that was like a salad and a drink that he enjoyed. For our meals, I had buttermilk coated and fried shrimp and Adam did a soup and salad.  They also bring out biscuits before the meal and those were delicious too. I wish I had bought the cookbook when I was there because I can’t stop thinking about those grits (something I wasn’t raised on and don’t eat in Indiana). Man, oh man. Good stuff

Tupelo Honey Cafe 12 College Street Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 255-4863

Sunny Point Cafe We ate here twice during our visit and loved it both times. For our first meal, we both got the Huavos Ranchos, and (lucky us!) were there on donut day (Thursday!) so ordered a cinnamon sugar and maple glaze.  Slammin all around.

The second visit I had carrot pancakes with cardamom butter (OMG) and Adam had a breakfast sandwich. I’d be in trouble if I lived close to a place like this!

Sunny Point Cafe 626 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 (828) 252-0055

Mellow Mushroom For our first dinner we felt like salad and pizza and were really happy with our experience at Mellow Mushroom. We ate on the funky patio, listened to trivia night and had the pretzels, Enlightened Spinach Salad (large enough to share) and the Holy Shittaki Pie (from their site: Olive oil and garlic base, Shiitake, button and Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella and MontAmoré cheeses. Drizzled with garlic aioli and black truffle oil. Garnished with fresh chives and shaved Parmesan). So so good. Also, great service, happy people and a wonderful welcome to Asheville! 

Mellow Mushroom 50 Broadway Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 236-9800

Farm Burger We kept things easy for dinner and went to Farm Burger, known for it’s grass fed beef burgers. You order your fixings a la cart and I had my burger with a fried egg, tomato, lettuce and mayo on top. Adam ordered sweet potato fries and chicken pot pie slides (warning: incredible!) and we really enjoyed the overall vibe and meal. You order at the counter and seat yourself (we sat on the patio outside).  I could see myself eating there once a week if I lived in town! 

Farm Burger 10 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 348-8540

Lexington Avenue Brewery  We sat at the stone counter up against the sidewalk and I tried a Cheerwine (cherry soda) and Adam had a beer. We ordered the beef sliders and Lab Lox (from their site: Thyme-citrus cream cheese wrapped in house cured salmon with dill pretzel lavash, apricot coulis, smoky mustard, salmon mousse, pickled red onion and flash fried kale). Super super delicious.

LAB 39 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 252-0212

Corner Kitchen A part of the Biltmore village, this upscale spot is located in an 1895 home and has a menu that changes week to week.  This was our last meal in town and by this time, we’d been eating a lot of filling, rich meals and ended up just getting an entree and calling it a night. I had the lamb and Adam had the meatloaf and both were really good. We were kind of tired and had a bit of the end of vacation blues so we were in and out in less than a hour. I’d love to go back with a really empty stomach (and after I have baby so I could enjoy a glass of wine!) Reservations Recommended.

Corner Kitchen 3 Boston Way, Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 274-2439

The Biltmore One of the largest homes in America, built by George Vanderbilt in 1895, and is the perfect trifecta of history, nature (it’s set on 8000 acres) and fanciness. We bought out tickets online (which saved us $20) and also got valet parking (something we never do, but really came in handy for my tired, pregnant self). We also did a guided architecture tour which was $17/person and absolutely worth it (you get to go up on the roof and the views are stunning). Our 3 hour visit was a little tiring for me, but it was the only really touristy thing we did on this trip and we both enjoyed ourselves. If you’ve read Empty Mansions or watched Downton Abbey, you’d love it too! More photos to come! 

The Biltmore 1 Lodge St, Asheville, NC 28803 (800) 411-3812

Hot Springs Adam really wanted to check out some natural hot springs while on our trip and found a little mountain spot that offered just that. Before I describe this place even further, you should know this was not fancy, but it was a lot of fun. If you love camping and being outdoors, you’ll enjoy it (but if you’re more of the luxury hotel spa kind of girl, I’d suggest finding something else).  So here’s the set up: there are multiple spa style hot tubs that are re-filled with naturally heated mineral spring water for each guest (or set of guests). It’s between 100-102 degrees and overlooks a bubbling stream. The cost is $15/person for a hour and we had a lot of fun! We brought a cooler with ice (in case the water was too hot for me) and some drinks and really enjoyed just relaxing for the hour. I mainly soaked my feet but got in for a few minutes a couple of times.  The 40 minute drive from Asheville was really pretty too and we enjoyed getting off the beaten path a bit. 

Hot Springs For Reservations Call 828.622.7676

Shopping There are lots of cute shops throughout the downtown area and two I really liked were Nest Organics and Minx. I ended up buying a Boob Dress at Nest (it’s a brand cut so you can modestly nurse your baby and can be hard to find) plus a set of non toxic blocks, a hand carved baby rattle and a little finger puppet.  Minx was such a cute shop too and if I weren’t pregnant I would have bought so many things! The price points vary widely (a lot of reasonable $100 and under dresses plus some fancy pieces upwards of $300). The store clerk was so friendly and I’d love to shop there again! 

Nest Organics 51 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 258-1901

Minx 64 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 225-5680

Louisville, KY After an early (6:30am) start to our trip, we had our first stop in Louisville for breakfast and went to our favorite area - NuLu/Market Street. We had a quick breakfast at Toast on Market (and I don’t even remember what I had) but I do remember it was good and kept me full until lunch. So many good restaurants in that area (Harvest, The Garage). See my full post on 48 hours in Louisville here. 

Toast on Market 620 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 569-4099

Charleston, WV For our first day lunch break, we stopped at Pies and Pints in downtown Charleston. We both had salads and split a small Grape, Rosemary and Gorgenzola pizza. So good! 

Pies and Pints 222 Capitol St, Charleston, WV 25301 (304) 342-7437

Washington DC We actually booked an AirBnB room for Sunday night in DC, but after lunch decided to skip it and drive straight through to the beach, and we’re so glad we did.  While in town we ate at Founding Farmers and had a mixed experience.  We both loved our drinks (grapefruit soda for me, Bloody Mary for Adam) and my meal was awesome (crabby eggs benedict) but Adam’s plate was not so good (sausage gravy benendict).  We sat at the bar to avoid the wait (it was Father’s Day) and Adam loved their set up. Compared to everything else we ate on our trip, I’d give it a B-, although I received lots of positive recommendations from friends. 

Founding Farmers 1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC | (202) 822-8783

Because we were already on Pennsylvania Ave, we walked down the street and checked out the White House, which actually had me really excited. I’d visited DC for a class trip back in the late 90s but all I remember were protesters and only had a disposable camera at the time. We then took outfit photos across the street and then Adam suggested skipping town and I agreed! 

Durham, NC We had also planned to spend a day or two in the Raleigh Durham area but realized the heat (mid 90s and humid) would be too much for my 7.5 month pregnant tail to bear.  We did stop for a quick lunch at Watts Grocery, which came highly recommended. The food was pretty good (I had fried chicken on a biscuit, Adam had onion rings and deviled eggs) but the service wasn’t incredible. It was actually pretty bad, which unfortunately tarnished our experience. Let’s just hope our server was having a bad day and that’s the exception, not the norm. 

Watt’s Grocery 1116 Broad St, Durham, NC 27705 (919) 416-5040

Quirk Road Trip | Shenandoah Valley & Outer Banks

WhatIWore: It’s fair to say after 9 days and 2000+ miles, Adam and I are bonafide road warriors.  Our most recent vacation took us through the Shenandoah Valley, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and inland to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We ate some of the best food of our lives, had gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery. Read on to hear more recommendations for the first part of our trip! 

Our best vacations have a mix of beautiful natural settings, a little history and a little something fancy. Driving through Virginia and North Carolina certainly gave us ample doses of all three. 

Staunton, VA The impetus for our journey was our friends’ wedding. We always like to stay in the bridal party’s recommended hotel, which was the Stonewall Jackson in Staunton.  I really love cute old main streets and late 19th century/early 20th architecture and this little town had great examples of both. 

Zynodoa - Our first official meal of vacation was at the upscale local farm-to-table restaurant Zynodoa. There was a little mix up with our reservation (which made me a little crabby after being on the road all day), but once we were seated, everything fell into place.  The bartender made me an awesome ginger, mint, cranberry faux cocktail and Adam ordered a martini.  The menu changes according to ingredient availability (and I don’t have a perfect memory for the dish names), but Adam had a pork belly small plate while I ordered something tasty with crab on it. Both delicious. For our main dishes, Adam had a house made pasta with pesto and mushrooms and I had a grilled shrimp dish. Again - incredible. For dessert we had an amazing strawberry shortcake.  I would highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the area!! Reservations Recommended.

Zynodoa 115 E Beverley St, Staunton, VA 24401 (540) 885-7775

If you’re into wine, check out Barren Ridge Vineyards, the beautiful location for our friends’ wedding. (Here’s What I Wore) 

Barren Ridge Vineyard 984 Barren Ridge Rd, Fishersville, VA 22939 (540) 248-3300

On wedding Saturday, we took the bride’s recommendation to check out Charlottesville, which was a 30 minute drive from Staunton. We initially wanted to do a tour of Montecello, but the wait wouldn’t allow us any spare time to check out the town or have lunch, so we bailed.  Instead, we walked around the main street and explored all of the darling little shops.  I can’t remember any by name, but they’re all super cute. There was also a farmer’s market that looked really fun (although crowded), so we had a quick lunch and went home to get cleaned up for the wedding.

Surfer’s Bungalow found using AirBnB (use this link to get $25 off your first stay) 

Adam and I are huge AirBnB lovers and we rented through the site for the remainder of our trip. The Kitty Hawk Surf Bungalow was our favorite rental of the week. It came with a pass to a private beach and had all of the sand toys you can dream of (would be great for families - lots of kids stuff plus towels, an umbrella and chairs for us).  The family renting the room were friendly and fun (the husband hand makes surf boards!). The rental was located in a beachy neighborhood and felt very safe and was a short drive to the next closest town of Duck, NC, where we spent a lot of time. We will definitely be returning to the same spot for our next trip! 

AQUA For our second dinner in the OBX, we went to AQUA, which also overlooked the western bank for an amazing sunset view. This meal was also delicious and we ordered crab dip to start, crab cakes (Adam) and fresh caught tuna (me). For dessert, I had the best fresh home made mint ice cream of my life.  Reservations Recommended

AQUA 1174 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949 (252) 261-9700

Duck Donuts If you follow my Instagram, you probably know that I’m kinda crazy for donuts. If it’s on the menu or a local donut shop is in town, I’m gonna try it out. I can say, without a doubt, that Duck Donuts are the best I’ve ever had in my life.  They’re freshly fried cake donuts (I usually order yeast) and coated and you eat ‘em hot. So crispy, so gooey, so incredible. For all of the gourmet faire we tasted on our trip, these little donuts still rank near the top of my list. Maybe even the best thing I ate (maybe because I consider myself a bit of an expert on the topic!)

Because everything is made to order, you can customize your toppings. We tried: Chocolate, Strawberry, Lemon, Plain and Maple Glaze (with peanuts), plus a cinnamon sugar and a plain glaze with coconut topping. My favorite was my very first bite - a chocolate glazed super piping hot, freshly fried donut. Trust me - my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

When we got home, we immediately ordered the mix and plan on trying to recreate with our family over the 4th of July weekend. I know it won’t be the same, but it’s worth a shot!

Duck Donuts | 1190 Duck Rd Kitty Hawk, NC (252) 480-3304 
(multiple locations in the OBX)

The Blue Point  Thanks to our hosts recommendations, we went to The Blue Point on our first (and last!) night in the OBX.  Both meals were incredible and highlights were the crab soup, crab cakes and Key Lime pie for dessert. Oh! We also had our first soft shelled crab too.  Again on the pricy side but absolutely worth it.  We both feel like the first meal was one of our best (and that’s no easy feat - we ate like royalty on this trip!) Also worth noting, because it’s on the western side of the bank, sunsets here are beautiful. The first night we watched from our table and on our second visit we hung out in a grassy outside bar area in Adorondak chairs. It was great! Reservations recommended. 

The Blue Point 1240 Duck Rd, Duck, NC 27949 (252) 261-8090

Summer Road Trip | North Carolina

WhatIWore: I’m a huge fan of domestic travel. Adam and I have driven through the American West, Colorado, down to Nashville and Louisville and we love exploring our home state of Indiana. 

This summer, we’re attending a wedding in Virginia, are hoping over to DC for a day then heading south to North Carolina for time at the beach and winding our way home through the Tar Heel state.  

In the past you guys have been awesome at sharing recommendations. We love farm to table restaurants, cool coffee shops, awesome trails and hikes and cute vintage stores. Can you help us? Please leave your tips for what cities to stay in (awesome boutique hotels welcome!) and what we should do while we’re visiting!