Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Triangle Trips and the Traveling Playpen
Since we lived in California for two different three year assignments (Ft. Ord near Monterey and the Presidio of San Francisco) we did a lot of traveling when we took a vacation (military leave). We would go from California to North Dakota and to southern Missouri) It made for a very long trip and a lot of driving. This started when Laura was not quite a year old and Danny was going on five. We built up the floorboards in the back so they were level with the seat. Then I put quilt over the top of all of it. They had a "traveling playpen" to move around in and weren't as cramped up as they would have been just sitting in the seat. This was a very long time before the seatbelts came out. Some of these trips were across the deserts of California, Arizona and New Mexico. This was also long before the cars had air conditioners. When we left Fort Ord, we had a car seat for Laura. This carseat was similar to a booster seat, it was just a small chair that hooked up over the back of the seat. It had a low back and very little padding. Laura would sit in it so nice and never fussed at all, she wasn't a fussy baby anytime. She would fall asleep and her little head would just hang down and bob around and it looked pitiful to me. When I would take her out of the seat to lay her down more comfortable, she wouldn't sleep at all. I even switched places with Danny and got in the back with her. She was so tired and I thought that if I layed down back there with her she would sleep. She layed so sweetly beside me but never did go to sleep. When she eventually got put back in her seat she would go to sleep, and even though it looked pitiful to me---she must have been comfortable or she wouldn't be sleeping.
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I remember building up the back seat and the long drives to see family. It cut down on sightseeing vacations, but always wonderful to see family. Then again when you live in Monterrey, San Francisco and Germany, (and one set of Grandparents live in the Ozarks) you have plenty to see.
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it, we lived in places that some people can only dream of seeing. That trip we took in Germany was awesome. It's realy a shame that Laura was to young to remember any of it. Not many people can say that they have been in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
ReplyDeleteI still say I've been there. I just don't remember much. And what I do remember, I'm not sure if it's really a memory or just something I've seen in pictures or heard about and made a picture in my mind of.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, Mom! To be honest, the little seat that you used for me was more than I thought you used. I wondered if people just let their babies crawl around in the car before car seats. And it's still very pitiful when babies fall asleep in their seats. I agree that it looks very uncomfortable, but if they can sleep, they must not be too uncomfortable.
Your Aunt Sandy actualy gave us that little seat when we came back from Germany the first time when Danny was a baby. It wasn't a seat designed for safety, but was more of a little chair to "boost" them up so they could see out the window.
ReplyDeletep.s. I only used the seat for the long trips. When I drove you little ones around locally you would sit right beside me, kinda like a litle chicken under her mama's wing.
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