Note to self: a healthy husband and a well-rested child travel better.
“Nice,” was husband’s comment about my note. “What are you trying to tell me?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m loaded up on pharmaceuticals. I’m fine.”
But his throat is raw and the heavy walkers overhead kept us all from experiencing restful sleep and consequently, we were all a touch prickly this morning.
Coffee, tea, pastry, a nap for the wee one and a couple of hours of putting road behind us and by the time we hit Regina, we were our usual well-oiled traveling machine.
Normally Subway is our only food stop when we travel. Totally my fault. The greasiness, ingredients never to be named and the basic “meat”eaters society in which we live make chain restaurants and fast food chains a none possibility.
On the last trip we allowed Katy a Happy Meal however because the child simply can’t be expected to survive on tuna subs or pickles/lettuce subs. And I have come to see the wisdom of the “toy included” meal when traveling. A kid trapped in a car seat for 8 to 10 hours a day needs something to look forward to, and a Happy Meal toy is good for 45 minutes of novel entertainment. It’s not like when I was kid and had the back seat plus the back of the station wagon in which to spread out.
The toy of the moment in the burger kingdom are replicas of the characters from the animated movie, Kung Fu Panda. Middle daughter, Jordan, took Katy to see it the other night and gave her the Tiger, which flips. It is important to note that the toys are “action” figures. Tiger, I have been told since, needed a companion. I saw the wisdom of this early on in our trip and decided that perhaps a whole hour of fun could be eked out of getting Tiger a “friend”.
We found a McDonald’s on Albert Street as we arrived and dutifully wasted gas in the drive-thru for the meal only to discover as we rounded the corner of the building that it was toyless.
“Do you really need the toy?” Rob asked smallest daughter.
So I took the offending box back inside and made an inquiry of a young drone behind the counter.
“Don’t these come with toys?”
“We stopped putting them in,” was his reply.
I think he expected me to meekly accept this lame and completely nonsensical reason and simply walk away chastened, but I am certain the look on my face told him otherwise. I mean, who the hell buys a Happy Meal for the food?
He handed me a toy.
Snake, which does nothing whereas Tiger flips and hangs by its tail, has joined us now for the duration of our trip and, if she is lucky, beyond. Between the meal and the Ku Fung paraphernalia, Rob and I enjoyed a good two hours worth of whine and other calm shattering incident free travel.
One Happy Meal? $5.84 (CAN)
Confronting Teenage Service Worker? Truly my pleasure
Satisfied and Silent Child? Priceless, people.
anniegirl1138 
There was a time when I was a sucker for those toys too. And I think I was way older than your wee one.
Yes, for the road trip, some things really cannot be done halfway. The fast food paraphernalia is one of them. 🙂
What did he mean, “We stopped putting them in”? Like, “You know, we’re totally wiped out from, like, makin’ change, and just don’t have the energy to put the toys in” or was it more, “Yeah, like, we’re teenage jerks who get our kicks depriving little kids of their toys, and removing all the ‘happy’ from their happy meal”?
Did you ever get an explanation for why no toys? That is very bizarre.
My happy meal toys generally lead to fighting, ’cause they always prefer the same one. Perhaps one day I’ll learn to get two of the same kind.
Sally
ROFL! Good for you!
Ahhh, the road trip. For our 16 hour drives to Florida to visit family, i’d pack small car “presents” – wrapped. The kids knew they had to be good, but typically i’d bust them out when we crossed a new state line… for the life of me, i can’t imagine why they wouldnt put toys in a happy meal – unless they are pocketing them and selling them to collectors on eBay. There’s a market… Sheesh.