When you hear the term, “road trip” what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it’s that crazy, sexy trip to the city with the girls, or the debauchery weekend in Vegas with the guys. Others consider road trip to be the annual family vacation to the lake house, or the quick and quiet retreat to the beach. Whatever “road trip” means to you, I imagine that it’s usually something special. For me, road trip encompasses all sorts of different experiences, some fun, some dangerous, and of course, a few that were probably considered illegal. However, everyone experiences a road trip that is cut above the rest, one that can be categorized as life changing, one that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. For me, that road trip was the 3-day trek Zared and I made when we relocated from Reno, NV to San Antonio, TX; THE shotgun move of my lifetime. Just a single mom with her 5 year-old son traveling half - way across the country; anxious, excited, with a lot of huge hopes.
“Are you sure, you can’t stay? We can figure this out, we’ll help you, Heather!” my girlfriend Robyn said as she packed my shoes in a box.
“I can’t stay. I have to go to Texas. I have to do this for Zared. If we don’t leave now, I can’t imagine what will come of his life, or mine.” I explained trying to hold back the tears.
Now, I don’t want to go into too much detail of why we moved to Texas. It’s a lot to discuss in one blog post. Plus, I’m not sure if I’m ready to unload the difficulties of my life story just yet. Perhaps I’ll write the details in my future book. Perhaps.
Ok, to shed a bit of light on the situation, Zared’s biological father had personal issues big enough to where I had to make the decision to move Zared away from him and out of Reno.
If you are a parent, and you had to go thru a situation similar to this, I empathize, dearly and sincerely. It is a hard thing to do. For all parties.
I contemplated moving to the bay area because both my sister and cousins lived there. The move seemed easy considering it was just 3 hours away from Reno, but it would also be very expensive. I also considered moving to Vegas because that’s where my parents live, however Vegas never struck me as “family friendly” and to be honest, I didn’t want to raise Zared there. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was lost. All I knew was that I needed to make a move, and fast because he was starting kindergarten that late August, and it was already the end of July!
Just when all hope felt lost, Marji (bay area sister) called me and suggested that I move to Texas. Our eldest sister Phyllis lives there, and the two of them actually decided that moving to San Antonio, TX would be my best option. It’s affordable, the schools are great, plus I’d be close to family. I made my decision to move to TX and within 3 and 1/2 weeks I sold/donated most of our belongings and fit what I could in my Toyota Camry.
We hit the bittersweet road with an open mind and an open heart. I was so sad to leave Reno, NV, my home of 10 years. At the same time I was so excited to start a new life for Zared and me. It took us three days to arrive. We left on a Tuesday, arrived on a Thursday, and that following Monday Zared started his first day of school. And you know what? We never looked back; because why would we? Change is about moving forward, not backward.
When you hit the road with your loved ones, what are your favorite go-to snacks to pack? Zared is obsessed with pancakes! And because my favorite road trip story is about him, I thought I’d share this clean-eating pancake popper recipe that you can take on the road. It’s the perfect bite-size treat that satisfies the sweet tooth!
Chocolate Chip Pancake Poppers
1 cup dark chocolate chips (unsweetened would be ideal)
1 egg
1 cup almond or coconut milk
1 cup coconut or almond flour
2 tbsp Stevia or Truvia
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cooking spray
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini muffin tray
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, (dry ingredients) whisk in a bowl
Add egg, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla (wet ingredients), whisk until well combined
Add 2 tablespoons of batter to each mini muffin and bake for 15 min
Allow pancake poppers to cool before you package them up and take them on the road!