Traveling with Young Children

We moved our home on wheels on June 22 and drove northward.  Or I should say that John accomplished that on his own for this journey.  I helped my daughter finish up with last minute packing- finally emptying their rental home of last minute items which either needed to go in her van or be pitched.  It was not until about 6PM that we (my daughter and I) headed north for St.Louis, with a very loaded car and children aboard. 
I had expected the worse traveling with a twenty-month girl and a four-year old boy.  The first two days of the trip went well- they were contended playing with toys, paging through books and just looking out the window.  Nathan is trying to understand the concept of states. On the last day of the trip he wondered if we had left "Tuckys" yet ( we understood that as Kentucky).
Two hundred and fifty miles a day was about all they could take.  Evenings and nights were all right with them staying in our rv.  Everything was even better when there was hope for a  pool at the end of a day.  A visit in Atlanta with family also helped the children cope with everything.
But it was on Monday, the last leg of our journey, that we entered into crisis mode.  We were about fifteen miles outside of Belleville, Illinois.  A fly had the audacity to land on the baby's leg!  Now first of all recognize that she has a bad skin reaction to a variety of insect bites,  I am referring here to big red welts, so it is very appropriate for her to react hysterically when any flying creature approaches her.  I quickly unbuckled myself from my seat belt and turned around to comfort her, soon discovering that I had to almost completely throw myself over her body to protect her.  I saw the fly about a couple of feet away but could not reach that far to swat it.  No implement near me to swat it with!  I hung over her for fifteen miles, until we reached Target.  Getting out of the car we opened doors hoping that the offending fly had the sense to get out.  Melissa had an appointment in St. Louis in a couple of hours so we did have some time to kill.  We wandered around the store and Clarissa happily forgot her crisis- a pretty hat helped also.  We bought a black fly swatter.
However,  getting back in the car, Clarissa espied a fly -was it the same one, probably not-thought that one had flown out!  Nathan swung the fly swatter, nearly hitting his sister.  That caused more tears.
We entered downtown St.Louis with me hanging over the baby- I soon learned that she was happiest when I kept my hands over her eyes.  I tried to describe to Nathan all the exciting sights of St.Louis as we entered it on Highway 64-40- like the Arch and Cardinal Stadium.  However, all my joy at seeing everything again was marred by trying to comfort a screaming little girl.  We stopped at Ted Drewes, but happiness there was short-lived for Clarissa.  She was still hysterical.  We stopped at St.Francis park in south St.Louis where Melissa left us for her appointment to complete final papers for the house they were buying.  Clarissa forgot her woes and happily climbed around on the playground with her brother.
However, getting back in the car, there it was again- The Fly.  Fortunately we did not have far to go for our final destination.
John and I are now settled in our usual rv park in St.Charles.  Future plans for traveling are now on hold until our daughter, husband and child get fully moved into their new home.  I am hoping to find an apartment and finally have a permanent place to live- John would like to keep traveling, but he is starting to think that my plan is not so bad after all.  We shall see...