Salted Caramel Milk and Road trips with kids for a special occasion

This post is written in collaboration with Darigold for its new Salted Caramel Milk and as always the opinions and stories in this piece are written by me.

We drink milk on a regular basis but salted caramel milk reminds me of a milestone birthday or special occasion.  The salty sweet and creamy taste is luxurious and decadent and I love that it can be an everyday indulgence in cereal or coffee or it can be a treat all on its own once in a while.  The other day we had a long road trip for a celebration my aunts were throwing for my parents’ 65th birthday and I thought I’d bring the kids some locally made Darigold Salted Caramel milk we were sent to try as a special treat for the journey we had ahead of us-road trips with kids are so much better with good snacks. I picked them up from school and they were happy for the weekend and for the treats I had packed.

The journey between my house in Seattle and my parent’s house in Vancouver BC is about a 3 hours drive and after chatting with my kids about their day and after they tucked into their milk and snacks, we settled into our long-drive routines. The kids get about an hour of screen time (they are 9 years old) and they bring books and other activities for the car.  We always make sure we make a stop or two to stretch our legs and use the bathroom.  If we don’t want to stop too long, we’ve always found the rest stops between Seattle and Vancouver to be easily accessed from the highways and they’ve always been surprisingly clean.  (Do you have any tips for road trips with kids?  I’d love to hear below!)

With kids on their devices and an open road ahead of me, my mind usually wanders and reflects.  I thought about my parents turning 65 and they seem so young and in love-they are high school sweethearts and they’ve known each other now for most of their lives and they are such role models for my husband and me.  I thought about all the people who would be coming to celebrate with us-people I’ve known from my childhood, and people I know from stories of my parents’ work lives and family members that we don’t get to see on a regular basis.  My parents are kind, generous, friendly and caring people.  They love special days and celebrations and our lives have been dotted with so many celebrations for birthdays and achievements throughout my years.  I love how things that are special remind us to think of the days that culminate in these occasions-the every day days that add up to make 65 years and a lifetime of memories.  My parents’ party was sentimental and lovely and hearing people talk about them and seeing pictures that my aunts had collected on posters for the party reminded me of how much love and joy my parents have brought to so many lives.

Today I’m back in Seattle and a little tired from the weekend and I’ve poured a bit of salted caramel milk in my morning coffee for a special treat for myself.  My weekend has come full circle but my heart is so full.  It’s always a little bittersweet, or maybe even salty sweet coming back from a weekend like this.  I’m happy to be home and thankful that it’s only a 3 hour drive and I could be back at my family home and that’s a comforting feeling even as a grownup.

Do you take road trips with kids?  Do you have any special snacks that you bring?

(PS. As stated above this is a sponsored post for Darigold and I love sharing locally made products and the viewpoints in this post are my own.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)