Mills' First Road Trip

Austin Lee
September 11, 2023

Hello Friends and Family,

I hope you all had a GREAT Labor Day weekend and didn’t miss us too much! We are glad to be back in your inbox!

The weekend before Labor Day we took Mills on our first family road trip to our favorite city: Asheville, NC!

The Family all loaded up for the drive to Asheville! - Atlanta, GA | 8/25/2023

We had absolutely no idea what to expect with Mills in the car. Prior to this trip the longest he had ever spent in his carseat was 40 minutes driving from the hospital where he was born to our house.

Mills snoozing in the car on the way to Asheville. - Somewhere in GA | 8/25/2023

As we prepared for our trip we learned that the new guidelines for time in the carseat is no longer than 2 hours at a time. (I think some people say no more than 2 hours out of every 24 hour period…but that seems ridiculously restrictive.)

We specifically planned this trip because:

Asheville is the most familiar place we have traveled.
He was named after one of our family members who was born in Asheville. (William Wedgebar Underwood)
The drive is 3.5 hours.

We are a road trip family and as such we wanted to practice stopping along the way for a car seat break, feeding, and/or diaper change. Additionally, Asheville is so familiar to us that no matter what happened we both knew our way around and could adjust plans on the fly.

This turned out to be an incredibly good idea. So if you are expecting a baby, want to take your family on their first road trip, or know someone who has, let them know.

Austin and Mills at the hotel in Asheville. - Asheville, NC | 8/25/2023

He did pretty good in his car seat. There were a few bouts of crying as he wasn’t used to sitting in that position and we did make a feed stop just south of the North Carolina border.

Courtney and Mills ready for dinner at Wicked Weed. - Asheville, NC | 8/25/2023

We walked downtown for dinner in Asheville, bought some chocolate at a local chocolate shop and decided it was time for bed.

Courtney, Mills, and Willow in front of the Flat Iron Hotel. - Asheville, NC | 8/26/2023

The next morning we got up early and had breakfast at Early Girl Eatery. Then we stopped to get a picture in front of the Flat Iron Hotel that our friend Nicole is renovating! We can’t wait to book a night there when it’s done! (Looking good, Nicole!)

Willow enjoying the music in the park after breakfast. - Asheville, NC | 8/26/2023

After breakfast and a walk around downtown we headed up to Mars Hill where Austin went to college and currently serves on the board of trustees. Austin took a few minutes to speak to the incoming first years students at orientation and then we did a little 2 month photoshoot right on the quad.

Austin speaking to incoming first year students at Mars Hill University orientation. - Mars Hill, NC | 8/26/2023 (Photo by Dr. Tracy Parkinson)

Mills on the quad at Mars Hill University. - Mars Hill, NC | 8/26/2023

Mills and Willow hanging out on Mars Hill University’s quad. - Mars Hill, NC | 8/26/2023

After a short drive back to Asheville and a nap, we headed out for dinner. This is where knowing the city well came in handy.

We had 45 minutes to eat before we needed to feed Mills. After driving to New Belgium Brewery where they had food truck night, none of the food trucks had any gluten free options for Courtney.

We then drove over to White Duck Taco and the line was over 40 people deep. With time running out, we pivoted back to downtown where Courtney dropped Austin off at Barley’s to pick up pizza while she took Mills and Willow back to the hotel.

Austin got the pizza and walked back to the hotel just in time to have dinner on the patio while feeding Mills.

Mills on Sunday morning getting ready to head home. - Asheville, NC | 8/27/2023

Before we knew it, Sunday morning had arrived and it was time for us to head home. Mills got a little playtime in the hotel before driving home.

Courtney working with Mills on “standing up”. - Asheville, NC | 8/27/2023

We made two stops on the way home: One for food and one for the 2 hour limit. It was a great first family road trip and we learned a TON about traveling with an infant.

The whole family safe at home after a great weekend in Asheville. - Atlanta, GA | 8/27/2023

As with most things related to Mills we took this trip with as few expectations as possible. This was the first trip to Asheville I can remember where we had no reservations at a restaurant and no firm plans to be anywhere at a certain time.

(Well, except for speaking to students at Mars Hill University. Of course I managed to find someway to schedule something that required us being somewhere at a certain time. Sorry, Courtney!)

Road trips are always going to be different from now on. As my mom always told me when I was growing up: “Different isn’t bad, its just different.”

I invite you to adopt that lesson in your own life. It hasn’t failed me yet.

I can’t wait to tell you all about the NEXT different road trip! It’s going to be GREAT!

Until our next adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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