Tom and I don't get away by ourselves very often, but when a friend gets married five hours away in Central New York… it turns into a weekend getaway!
Our friends at Driveshop dropped off a 2017 Kia Sorento SX Limited AWD for us to take on our trip. Because of childcare, I had to drive up by myself and Tom drove up with a friend later in the evening.
Let me tell you, it's been a long time since I've taken a five hour drive alone in the car. I'm used to playing referee in the car and passing things to keep the boys entertained. Do you remember what it's like to take a long drive by yourself? You know… listening to your own music, putting the air exactly how you want it, and stopping wherever and whenever you want or need to stop.
I stopped at the New York Welcome Center to admire this beautiful view and of course, snap a selfie! I look a mess, but when riding by myself I can put the windows down and open the giant panoramic roof in this 2017 Sorento and that's not pretty with hair down.
I love that the Kia Sorento let me select from radio, XM, or even Pandora. I loaded up Pandora on my phone and used the touchscreen console to control the app. Seriously, super easy and exactly what I needed on a road trip!
The majority of this drive was through the mountains and it's absolutely beautiful. The Kia Sorento handled the roads great. To make things easier and safer on me, I turned on the lane departure warning system. I found this perfect for when driving on the highway where we sometimes become complacent and may drift. On the tiny backroads as I got a bit closer to my destination, I turned the LDWS off because on the curves I usually found myself slightly in the other lane for a second.
After I checked into our lodging for the weekend in Cazenovia, NY, it was time to get myself ready for the first activity of the weekend, a big welcome party with lots of yummy food in a relaxed environment. I was happy to drive the bride and a few friends over from the inn. Having the extra room in a comfy vehicle definitely came in handy over the weekend. One of the features I love as a mom are the built-in sunshades in the backseat. A friend mentioned how awesome they were and she meant for herself, not kids!
The next morning started with breakfast with the hubby while sitting outside looking at this view. Everything was kind of a whirlwind during the day. Did I mention I was in the wedding? That means hair done and getting all fancied up.
We do clean up pretty nice if I do say so! Like my shoes? The bridesmaids were allowed to select our own dress style, but we all had the same color. I absolutely love the dress I chose. It was comfortable and the ruching on the side made me more confident about my mommy-tummy.
We partied pretty late into the night and had an absolutely amazing time together. Why can't more friends get married? Seriously though, if you need some more guests at your wedding, we'll be more than happy to join in on the fun!
He's really not a fan of my selfies, but he humors me!
Sunday morning we were up early again because… #parenting. I mean, we slept in until about 7am, which is totally sleeping in for our house. Instead of wasting the morning away, we grabbed some breakfast outside again, walked down and sat on the dock for a few, and then decided to see what we could get into before brunch with the newlyweds.
Tom had an idea of something to do that he had passed Saturday when helping set-up for the wedding. So, off we went! We found ourselves at Chittenango Falls State Park and I'm so glad we did. The falls were breathtaking. And… so was the hike down to get the best view from the bridge and the hike back up was even worse. Take notice I'm not exactly wearing hiking clothes. And flip flops are not your best option for hiking either.
And yes, I did not even bother to take my hair down from the wedding. I really hate pulling bobby pins out of my hair and since it stayed up enough while I slept on it, I figured I'd just leave it up another day.
With all of the room in the 2017 Kia Sorento (especially with the third row down), I did stop at a couple of yard sales in the area before brunch. We ended up not bringing anything home with us, but it was nice wandering around knowing that we could have!
The ride home was a mess. We hit every bit of traffic possible and turned a five hour drive into closer to seven. Not only was there vacation and college traffic we were encountering, but it rained almost the entire way!
Of course, I could not have that giant panoramic sunroof completely open during the downpour, but I did have the sunshade open, which let in some extra light.
Honestly, one of my favorite things about this crossover is the surround view. I had it with the Kia Sedona that we drove last year and was super excited to find it again in this 2017 Kia Sorento. In an area that I am completely unfamiliar with, I found I relied on this even more. In our regular environment, we tend to know how parking spaces are and things like that, but that's not the case at all when you're traveling away from home.
Oh! And let's not forget about the vented seats! In the crazy heat of summer, I'm all about keeping myself cool while driving. You can also use the heated seats if you're cold, which we did not use in August, but would in the winter for sure!
During our getaway to central New York, both of us drove the 2017 Kia Sorento SX Limited and neither of us have a bad thing to say about it. It's definitely on my wishlist of vehicles.
Brenda says
Sounds like a fun trip with a fun car to drive. That drifting in the lane feature sounds like a nice thing to have, just in case, especially on a long drive. I’ve always wanted heated seats. I’m glad you had a nice time.