Pregnancy Urinary Trek Part 1: 101 South

The reason this post is so late is because I turned a 4 hour drive into a 7 hour one. My father came up last night, and then this morning we drove from Oakland, making our way slowly to Buellton. Needless to say, I had to make some stops along the way.

Stop #1

First we stopped in Gilroy. We got enormous fountain drinks and pastry type snacks (mine was nearly a quiche while my dad's was something sugary that I can't even hope to eat right now) from Panera. And of course, I used the bathroom.

Stop #2

My dad wanted to check out Ross for some shoes he really likes (that supposedly they carry) so we went into Ross and looked around. Discovering nothing, but having spent a good bit of time, I needed to use the potty again before we left. Luckily, nextdoor was a Target. Targets are pretty good about keeping their bathrooms clean, so I waddled inside and used the potty while my dad wandered around.

Task complete, we continued our journey southward. Unfortunately, my dad needed to get gas in the car which meant we needed to stop a little sooner (again) than I was hoping. In any case, we decided to stop in a shopping area in Salinas where there was (coincidentally) a gas station, restaurants, and a Ross. Hmm. Imagine that! Well, we got gas, then checked this second Ross for these mythical shoes (alas, no luck). By this time, we decided we should probably get some lunch (and of course, use the potty).

Stop #3

Well, not too far from the Ross was a Famous Dave's. Since I've had a hankering for BBQ like...my entire pregnancy, we high-tailed it over there. I used the potty before lunch. Ate lunch. I used the potty after lunch (are we seeing a trend yet?). When I got back to car, the remaining of my bucket drink from Panera was warm and gross. I switched to my water bottle (a necessity to avoid Braxton Hicks even though it would mean I needed to stop again).

Stop #4

We made it as far as King City where I had to stop. We took the first promising exit and noticed there were about a thousand choices. I thought, well let's go to Starbucks. No one will go there... I chose poorly. There was a line at the counter (10 people). There was a line at the bathroom (2 people). I glanced around the bathroom line and asked if there was only one bathroom. The man at the front of the line said there were 2, and the woman in line said there was a line. Almost as soon as she said this, the man said "But you're pregnant so you can go ahead of me." The woman looked up and gaped at me in horror. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even look!" She was mortified. Then she went on in a whisper, "It's a lot of pressure, huh?" I nodded and smiled. "Yep. Pretty much." Well, my dad also had to use the bathroom, so he had to wait. The result? I was not waiting in a second line to get a drink, only to need to pee again and have to wait in the line again. We left.

Stop #5

Well, I thought I could wait longer, but my dad wanted to stop at the single rest area on the 101 south, so we did. It was an easy off and on the freeway so it made pretty good sense. I was thankful for the speed the stop allowed us. By this point we didn't have much further to go, but my dad did have to make a stop in San Luis Obispo to get a very specific wedding present. So close and yet so far!

Stop #6

This was the most complicated stop yet because Google took us a weird ass way to get to the place we were going. Google. Ugh. We did however get there, my dad bought what he was planning to buy and then decided he wanted to check out this very crunchy grocery store, New Frontiers. This was fine, except of course, it meant we were taking even more time. I was getting cranky. I was zonked. I needed a nap. I used the potty one last time and instead of getting another drink, we pushed through the remaining 50 minutes of driving or so to Buellton. Once at my parents' place, I peed yet again, put my feet up, and drank some ice water.

The nap came a little later.

Thus is the tale of my 7 hour drive from Oakland to Buellton. I'm sure my stops next week driving back home will be just as many, and hopefully just as clean. :-)