The Much Awaited Cat Travel Post

I know many of you have been eagerly waiting to hear how it went this weekend, when D and I drove 5 hours to his parents with our cat. For the purposes of blog-nicknames, I'll call our cat Mittens, because that's what I call her around the house anyway. Because it rhymes with kitten. What?
In preparation for the trip, I bought disposable "puppy pads" to line her carrying cage in case of an accident, and I made a portable litterbox out of a 12x12 plastic storage box full of her regular litter, which is clumping and flushable, perfect for travel!

Here's the lowdown on what a good kitty she was:
Mittens was a very good kitty on her long journey with us this weekend. She meowed a lot, but she did quiet down after the first hour, and she was very good about using her litterbox at the house once we were there. She was quiet on the way back, and I think she now understands that just because she's in the carrier, that doesn't mean we're going to abandon her. She spent the weekend hiding on the floor next to the bed on the far side of our bedroom, but when I would come in to check on her, she was happy to hop up on the bed for pettings. She was complacent when we'd carry her downstairs to meet new people, and she did figure out how to run up the stairs back to her room if we put her down in the front hallway.
She only used her litterbox at night, which is her usual pattern anyway, and D and I suspect that she likes digging in her litterbox as a pasttime, because it woke us both up the second night, and we lay there listening to her paw-paw-paw-paw-paw-paw-paw-paw at the litter.
I'm just glad she has a hobby.
We'll still leave her at home for weekend trips, but the next time we have a long trip that we're driving, we might take her with us; she was so good!