Day 34

We got an early start this morning. We headed into the city where there was no traffic. We went and met a friend and his fiance for some Dim Sum. I haven't had Dim Sum in years, so I was pretty excited. We told the kids we were having Chinese food for breakfast, and they got pretty excited too! The place we ate at Rincon center, downtown. It wasn't what the kids were expecting, but they really loved it! Especially the duck!
By noon we were on the road again (we had two cars now, since Scott's truck was at Michi's). The traffic was worse than the evening before. And it lasted all the way to the other side of Santa Rosa. After a few potty stops, a grocery store shopping and 3 naps, we were home! We got to the house at about 6:23pm!
Over all I would say this trip really made me appreciate where we live and the climate we live in. It feels great to be home!

Day 33

We got kind of a late start leaving Bakersfield. We cut over to Interstate 5, and it was a clear path to the Bay area. We could have been to my cousin Michikos by 4ish, if there wasn't so much TRAFFIC! Michi and Scott talked about different routes, and in the end we probably saved some time. But I still considered it a real pain!
We had a great time visiting with cousins. Our kids were happy to be out of the car and playing with familiar people. We had a great dinner and a late night of giggles.

I forgot to mention that today, on my 29th birthday, I got asked if I had an AARP card while checking into the hotel. Didn't know I looked that old!

Day 32

Had kind of a late check out (9am) this morning from the hotel. It is about 150 miles from Las Vegas to Barstow, and I wanted to be there by 12noon. Since it is my birthday, I had a check list I wanted to accomplish.
1. Leave Vegas
2. Re-enter California
3. Listen to music I wanted to listen to all day (hello Michael Franti!)
4. Show up on my grandparents door to surprise them for an afternoon.

And...we accomplished everything! We showed up at my grandparents house at about 12:30. My grandma's reaction was just what I was hoping for. Shock, shrill gasping and happiness! She thought we were already home, so it was such a huge surprise! My mom suggested we maybe give them 20 minutes notice, but my grandma said she is glad we didn't. She loved being so shocked.
The kids got a chance to run around, play in the sprinkler, have Del Taco for lunch, have popsicles and strawberries w/whip cream for desert. Truly spoiled!
We left at about 5:30 and headed to Bakersfield. By 7:30 we are all tucked into bed at the Hampton Suites (yeah Hampton!). I swear it is nicer than the Aria in Las Vegas. Maybe not as fancy, but at least we have a fridge, microwave, free popcorn, free internet, free breakfast and nice big room. Can't say the same for the uber fancy Aria!
Tomorrow we are off to the bay area. Spaghetti with cousins Friday night, Dim Sum Saturday morning with friends and home Saturday evening!

Barstow!

Day 31

Another sunny morning in Vegas. This morning was about running errands as we are about to depart towards home. We had our own version of a continental breakfast (thanks to Trader Joe's) in the hotel room. Next we picked up the rest of our clean laundry at the laundromat. Then we had the oil changed and fluids checked. By this time it was 12:30 and Scott was done with his conference. We picked him and his co-worker up and headed to PF Chang's for some Chinese food. Very goood!

We had a relaxing afternoon afterwards. We cut down of list of 3 things to do, down to one. We walked over to the Bellagio to watch the dancing fountains. The kids thought it was great and it was well worth the trek over.

Back at the hotel we had a quick picnic and off to bed. Early start tomorrow as we head towards California!

Day 30

Woke up early again. Scott got a few hours asleep after going out last night to do laundry. We had no clothes clean, except some random PJ pieces. After Scott left for the conference, the kids and I went in search of some cheap breakfast. I did some research online about inexpensive breakfast buffets. I found out that Terribles Casino has a $8 adult buffet, with half price for Olivia and Nathan, and Eli was free. Now I had to only find our car.
Remember that we had to park in the RV lot. Not only that, it was the RV lot at the hotel next door. I swear these casinos are built in such a maze on purpose so you can't find your way out. The kids and I walked and walked and walked. We rode a Tram only to find out that we were already in the right spot and had to ride the Tram back. We ended up somewhere where one of my choices was a service exit. My thinking was that at least it will lead us outside. And it did. But it led us to a construction lot with lots of workers who didn't speak English. After some strange looks, confused conversations, I wasn't getting a good feeling and I retraced our steps back. 45 minutes later I found our car. Our stinky, dirty car never looked so good!
I found Terribles no problem. I thought "how bad can a breakfast buffet be?" Really, how terrible could Terribles be? The answer was worse than I could imagine. Basically I paid $17 for us all to eat canned fruit and chocolate milk. Nothing else was edible; and I am not a picky or pretentious eater. I was super TERRIBLE!
After breakfast, I had a few errands to do. Then I figured we deserved some time by the pool. That went smoothly, until even the water couldn't keep us cooled off. We headed back inside where there was an Ice Cream restaurant. They make daily different gelatos, ice creams and sherbets. I had the Mango sherbet which was excellent. The kids had standard chocolate. But the cost! 4 small cones was $30!!!!
After overpriced ice cream, we took our afternoon siesta. Usually Olivia can't fall asleep, but today we all took a 2 hour nap. We slept through the hottest part of the day, got cleaned up and went out exploring by foot.
Since I am not a seasoned Vegas traveler, I don't have a clue where stuff is located. It was suggested that New York, New York would be fun for the kids. We got some bad information about a Tram that takes you there, but we ended up down the strip at the Belligiao. About 4 miles later (no joke) we ended up at NY, NY which was really just 2 doors down, the opposite of where we went. We got some good exercise and were hungry for our dinner.
After dinner, the whole town was lit up. The kids found it pretty exciting. But they are country kids, and walking the strip with them was nerve racking. Not because of people, but because of cars. I finally got a system down where we all were connected to each other. Whew!
Our last stop was the M&M World store. 4 floors of ever imaginable M&M souvenirs. Even a whole floor devoted to Xmas decor. We left with a puzzle, name bracelets and uniquely colored M&M's.
We are all in bed again and ready to start all over again tomorrow!!!

Day 29

Woke up at 6am to noisy trucks and porta potty smells. We got up and immediately started packing up, promising the kids we would go find a restaurant back in Sedona. After a nice, hearty meal (think Golden Harvest meets the Southwest), we got back on the road towards Las Vegas. I have lots of mixed feelings about coming to Vegas. It isn't my type of place to begin with. But in the summer and with 3 kids, I was really dreading it. Plus, Scott is working almost the whole time. But I have decided to take it in stride and if all else fails, the kids are thrilled to watch endless TV in a hotel room.
We crossed the Hoover Dam in the late afternoon. The temperatures reached 120 degrees, but the views were beautiful. We got stopped for extra screening before crossing the dam. I guess the Yakima rack means we could be carrying guns or other explosives (at least that is what they questioned us about). The extra screening is a response to 9-11-01. There is major construction going on for 20 miles before and after the dam building a bypass. Pretty soon you won't automatically cross the dam, but have to make an effort to visit it. Super impressive stuff.
We got into Vegas at 5:30 and to our hotel, Aria, by 6pm. Our car is too big for the subterranean parking. I had to park with the RV's and get a ride back.
Hotel is very nice (I still love the Hampton though!) with lots to do without ever leaving it. I feel a little claustrophobic looking outside, but I think that could subside in a few days. It is nice to have a bed again, but I am looking forward to Thursday morning when we hit the road again. As Eli says "Hit it Mama...hit it!"

Day 28

Left our little mountain, meadow campsite today. It really was perfect, except for the no swimming thing. And it would have still been ok, except we were the only people in 25 square miles who didn't have fishing poles. So we took our chances and headed back to Oak Creek Canyon hoping to find campers leaving. And we did. Lots of them. The first camp ground we came to had lots of fantastic spots open, but the creek was just a trickle for splashing in. That would be fine, if there was nothing else. So we headed up the road to the only other campground, which was tiny with only 16 spots and no RV's allowed. All of the spots were reserve only, except a couple. And now we know why.
The swimming was fantastic. We got some great photos and everyone had such a good time in the creek. There was a large rock for jumping, shallow water for wading and deep water for snorkeling to watch fish.
Now the campsite was not so fantastic. It was small, but we could have lived with that. It was very close to the main road, so the traffic was noisy and all night long. We could have lived with that too. We were close to the bathrooms, which normally is great. But our campsite was down wind from the ventilation pipes to the sewer pits below the bathrooms. That we could not live with. It was 24 hours of porta potty smells. Even the inside of the bathrooms didn't smell that bad. Nothing we could do. Had to tough it out. But, I would never camp there again. I would camp at the better campground and drive to swimming!

Day 27 - Part 2

Ok. By 9:30 we had been up for 3 hours and done everything we could think of. Make breakfast, eat breakfast, wash dishes, play card games galore and go for a walk. So we changed our mind about staying at the campsite (no swimming...remember) and go for a drive towards the San Francisco Peaks. We had a beautiful drive up the mountain where we discovered that some forest service roads were still closed to the ongoing fire. We got lots of great pictures (coming later...need quicker internet) and had a fantastic picnic in a beautiful meadow. The weather quickly changed to rain, so we headed back the campsite for dinner, sunset and bed.

Hoover Dam! 117 degrees!!

Nevada!!

Day 27 - part 1

What a wild night! Wind was crazy wild. Our new little tent held her own. We only got a sprinkle of rain, but the wind was intense. Nice and cool again this morning. 50% chance of thunderstorms. Official elevation is 7200 feet. This is higher then when we were at the Grand Canyon. We plan to hang out today and give the kids a break from the car.

Day 26

We woke up and had a wonderful breakfast at Hotel Sandi before we checked out at 10am. Our destination was Sedona area. There was a campground that we wanted to stay at called Oak Creek Canyon, but we knew we were pressing our luck. You had to make reservations 3 days in advance, and only 1/4 of the sites were available by reservation. The rest were first come, first serve. We passed through Sedona (which was super beautiful, but very crowded) and headed deeper into the canyon. The temperature dropped into the 80's. It didn't take us long to figure out that we weren't going to find a camp spot. Everything was full, and all the day use spots were filled with people. Even if we could have found a spot, it wouldn't have been the kind of camping we would have liked. We pushed North towards Flagstaff. We could see really dark clouds in the distance and knew it meant rain. We headed into the Mormon Lakes area of the Coconino National Forest. The temp dropped into the 60's and we got a few sprinkles of rain. Every campground we came to was also full. Mormon Lake was beautiful, but for fishing only. The last campground in the area was called Ashurst Lake & Forked Pines campgrounds. We literally found the best spot left. There were 3 total spots, but only one was very private, beautiful views, easy access to the lake and close to the bathrooms. We lucked out finally. Our elevation is 7000 feet and there are NO bugs. Texas camping was nice, but the bugs were crazy! It is very peaceful here and cows freely roam around us. Pictures to come later.

Day 25

Scott had some work to today in the morning, so we got on the road about 2pm. Our destination was Phoenix to spend the night with Aunt Sandi. By 3:30 we pulled into her house while our car thermometer read 117 degrees. We wasted no time getting into our swim suits and jumping into the pool. Hotel Aunt Sandi has a wonderful pool that the kids swam in for hours. When Sandi got home at 5:30, her thermometer read 120 degrees. To me, everything over 105 feels the same...too hot. Sandi made a wonderful dinner of BBQ chicken, corn and watermelon. She had jelly beans for desert. What made them special was that the only sugar in them was honey. They were the same flavors as Jelly Belly's (pear, popcorn, etc), but with a honey taste. They were super yummy. I saved the bag because I want to find them again.
Hotel Sandi is a great destination for those traveling through the Phoenix area! Thank you!

Day 24

We woke up early (moving west in time zones helps!) and got on the road by 10am. Not much exciting happened today. We crossed the Continental Divide and came back into PDT. By 1pm we reached Tucson. We did a bit of clothes shopping for Scott who didn't bring work clothes with him. We checked into our hotel, ordered chinese food and watched movies. Scott has a meeting in the morning, so it will be an early night.

Conversation from yesterday morning:

Nathan: Olivia....you are soooo lucky!
Olivia: Why?
Nathan: Because you are a girl and get to wear dresses (side note: I never told him he couldn't wear dresses!)
Olivia: Oh.
Nathan: Maybe when I grow up I can be a girl and wear dresses.
Olivia: No Nathan. When you grow up you will still be a boy.
Nathan: Oh. (sad sigh)
Olivia: That's just the way it is. You are what you are, and you have to be happy with it!

Pictures!!!

The cheapest gas I have found on this trip...outside Houston

Krause Springs, TX

Grelle Recreation Area, Lake Travis, TX

Pooped after a long day of swimming and BBQ

Just before the terrible lightening storm...

After the storm...on our way to Balmorhea State Park

Day 23

This morning we woke up to bright West Texas sun. Our campground was unique to me in that it is a wide open prairie with no trees or privacy. But I kinda liked it.

After breakfast, we did a quick re-pack of the car (we have it down to a science). As Olivia helped Scott with the tent she called out "hey Daddy..what kinda bug is this? Is it a type of beadle?" Scott came over and to our surprise we had been camping on top of a scorpion.

We headed over to the swim area. I didn't know what to expect, except that I knew there was lots to view underwater. Balmorhea pool has concrete slab sides, but river rock bottom. The entire pool is almost 2 acres in size and is home to lots of fish (including catfish), turtles and other living organisms. It is like swimming in a river with stairs and a handrail on the side. There was also several diving boards. The pool has lots of shallow areas, but also a large deep end where you can snorkel or scuba. Very unique place. Especially since we were in the middle of the desert and the pool is constantly fed by a natural spring.

(pictures from Texas State Parks site)

By 1pm we got on the road and headed to New Mexico. Our drive time was much shorter today. Only about 4 hours. Driving through El Paso was interesting. For about 20 miles we could see Mexico and eventually the city of Juarez.

By 4:30 we got to our hotel (yeah Hampton!). The front desk suggested a restaurant that is a local favorite. La Posta has been open and serving food for 70 years. They have a huge tequila selection and lots of authentic New Mexican food. Scott ordered several traditional margaritas and I had a blackberry/habnero margarita. They were heaven! Our food was good, but service was slow. It might have been the fact that the restaurant was super busy with a long wait. We got there just in time.

Now we are back in the hotel, doing laundry and ready for tomorrow. Tucson!

Day 22

After a late start due to having to retrieve our camping gear and Scott having a conference call, we finally got moving out of town by 1;15pm. We were making pretty good time heading towards Balmorhea State Park when we saw dark clouds up ahead. At the same time we forgot about getting gas in Sonora, TX so we were running low quickly on gas. I know...it doesn't sound smart. But all things work out for a reason. We had to take a detour and head North about 15 miles off course in search of gas. As we approached the gas station the wind started in huge gusts and we could see lightening in the distance. The sky turned black and we could watch the clouds move very quickly towards us. We knew it was a thunderstorm and tried to head out of it. We weren't quick enough. Lightening stuck and forked 3-ways just off the shoulder of the freeway where we were. About 200 yards. It made the entire car shake and the kids got very frightened and started to cry. We flipped around and headed towards town again. The first building we came to happened to be a hospital. We pulled in and got inside just as the hospital lost power. A nice nurse showed us some toys as the generator kicked in and turned on a few lights. We waited out the storm before moving on. Now that we are 100 miles away, we can still see the lightening as it moves on. Very beautiful to look at...from far away. We got to our destination, set up camp and got online to check the radar...nothing more heading this way. In my mind, the fact that we were so low on gas was a good thing. It got us to a town and eventually a safe building. Otherwise we would have been driving on the interstate when the storm hit with almost no shoulder to pull over on.
All is well and safe. Don't mean to alarm anyone. Very tiring day. Moving on tomorrow afternoon.

Stuff safe...on the road again

Day 21

Left Krause Springs to explore the nearby campground with access to Lake Travis. Grelle had a boat ramp, rustic camping and great swimming in warm water. We decided to set up camp and spend the day swimming. We loved that it was private and offered lots to do. After swimming till about 6pm, we got dressed and headed into town for some BBQ. We ate at the County Line where Olivia could have as many ribs as she could eat. Afterwards, we headed back to the camp site. When we got there, a new vehicle had pulled into the campsite next to us. It was a very funky van, with no windows and two very creepy men inside. Our kids were asleep when we laid them in the tent. Scott went to use the bathroom and they heckled him on his way there and back. They continues to give weird looks and our guts told us this wasn't a safe situation. It might have been different if there was anyone else in the park, but since there was no one for miles, we picked this kids up, threw what we could in the car and drove back into town. We found a hotel and spent the night in a cozy bed. We are on our way now to pick up our tent. Did we over react? We might never know...but I am ok with never knowing. Not when it comes to the safety of the kids. Scott is the type to give most people a chance and even he didn't feel safe. I am a believer in listening to your instincts.
Pictures to come soon. On our way to West Texas today.

Day 20

After a stressful night of not feeling confident that we would get an early start, we were fed, showered, packed, packages mailed and out the door by 10am. We stopped at Outdoor World just outside Houston to get the kids some rolled up Thermarests to sleep on and some new camping chairs for Scott and I. After that we headed towards Austin and stopped at a wonderful deli/bakery. Weikels makes wonderful deli sandwiches and more german baked goods than you can imagine. Scott and I shared a hot pastrami and the kids shared turkey with apple strudel for desert.
We left and made it to our destination of Buescher State Park. It seemed like a great spot with a lake and hardly anyone there, but we were soon not thrilled with it. The lake was for fishing only (you couldn't have paid me to swim there) and the campground was only so-so. We quickly decided that we should have headed to where cousin Andrew had suggested. Krause Springs is a private campground with both a man made pool and a natural creek fed pool. We got back in the car and headed towards Austin again. Krause Springs is a beautiful place and we would love it, except that on weekends it seems to be the hot spot for the entire county's under 25 crowd. We have a peaceful spot to camp, but the swimming is dominated by drunk stonners.
We are doing more research as I write on where we will head out to in the morning. Our only goal is to be in Tucson by Thursday.
I got some great pictures, but my internet is too slow to upload...will upload when I reach civilization.

Day 19

No pictures today.
We got up early, packed the car and headed down to the beach. We got in a quick 2 hours, used the outdoor shower back at the house and hit the road.
Back in Houston, it was a nonstop "get ready for camping" marathon. We unpacked, so we could wash laundry and repack. I got two huge boxes ready to ship home (thanks Mom!) and did a grocery shopping. We had a nice dinner with Aunt Inez at a Tex Mex restaurant called Picos. I had the best Ceviche I have ever had! Scott and I shared fish bowl margarita and the kids demolished their standard bean burritos.
Back at the house we had a cupcake desert with Aunt Sharon, Uncle Ira, Rachel, Andrew, Becky and Aunt Inez. After some tearful goodbyes (love you Sharon!) everyone went home to pack for their respective trips.
We are ready to hit the road again in the morning!

Day 18

After an early morning (shaking house made me wonder if we needed to throw what we could into the car and get the heck out of Galveston), I got a bit more sleep before I rewoke up. One quick glance outside and we knew that we wouldn't be having a beach day. We decided to ride the ferry (Hwy 87 that operates 24 hours per day) between Galveston and Bolivar.

Forgot that I haven't ridden on a ferry boat since I was pregnant with Olivia. Then I wasn't sure if I was seasick or if it was morning sickness. Now I am sure. I don't have sea legs.

We did have a nice view though. Pelicans, a light house, dolphins and huge cargo ships...

Once we landed, we really didn't have any plans except to see what there was to see. We first came to Fort Travis. We ran in the grass, walked the sea wall and played on the playground.

Next we drove farther North and came to the town of Bolivar. Bolivar was hit hard by hurricane Ike 2 years ago. We saw lots of torn up houses, a little bit of rebuilding and lots of lonely piers where houses once stood...

The kids were getting a little bit restless at this point...So we moved on to finding some dinner...

We rode the ferry back into town and stopped at Katie's Fish Market in Galveston. We bought Texas blue crab, Gulf shrimp and Red Snapper. While we waited for our fish to be cleaned up, we watched the fisherman feed the crowd of Pelicans...

We went back to our wonderful beach house and cooked up our feast. We had a shrimp boil with corn on the cob and potatoes, steamed Texas Blue Crab and Red Snapper Veracruz style. The kids loved the shrimp the best. We taught them how to peal their own and they went nuts. We finished dinner off with fresh pineapple and called it a night!

Too tired..post and pictures tomorrow...

Anne and I woke up at 5am to a shaking house. Wild night of wind and rain. Storming again now...

Day 17

Bonnie is a forming...

Got to the beach by 11am and left by 2pm. Kids played in the waves, played with seaweed, dug holes and looked for shells. Scott got in a swim and did a bit of boogie boarding. The sun came out for a few minutes and then we watched the dark clouds move our way.
We had a nice dinner of grilled shrimp, asparagus and pork loin. We are on the hunt for Texas crab, but this weather is keeping the fisherman from going out.
Wind has really picked up and it rained a bit too. Right now radar shows tropical depression Bonnie forming and organizing. I think our beach time is over. Gust of 30 mph at 80 degrees is something I have never experienced. We are all enjoying it... By tomorrow morning the storm should be officially named and have a clearer path.

Day 16

Headed to the beach! Ready for our vacation from our vacation!

Packed up the car and left the house by 12:45. In about 1 hours time we were in Galveston and hungry for lunch. We stopped a local joint called Shrimp N Stuff. Anne had cold boiled shrimp, I had "Texas sized" shrimp and Scott had Shrimp & Oyster. The kids had chicken of course, except that Eli decided he might like what I had. And of course he loved it...

Olivia and Nathan sat like little ladies and gents...

After lunch we set out to find the rental house. To say that the house was in a perfect location and is beautiful and more than fully equipped is an understatement!

We quickly unpacked and then headed to the beach. We had such a wonderful time. The only thing better would be the Caribbean. Warm beach, warm and calm water and margaritas!

The kids played and played and played. They swam (with life jackets!) with Scott in the ocean! And splashed and jumped the waves, hunted for shells, made sand castles and lay in the water to let the little waves roll over them...

The kids were so tired that they had cereal and went to bed. We had watermelon margaritas and popcorn for dinner. Looking forward to tomorrow...

Day 15

We all woke up late this morning. It was a late night on the 4th and everyone slept in. Of course there are some costs that come with having a late night. Olivia woke up with a swollen eye (bug bite) and the attitude of a 17 year old, not a 7 year old. I won't go into details, but it wasn't fun.

We planned to only pack and shop for our beach trip tomorrow, but the kids where suffering from 4th of July hangovers. We needed to get out of the house. It is so hot here and we aren't used to it, so the kids kinda melt at the park after about 8 minutes. We decided to head towards the Galleria and visit the Wall of Water. The whole experience did take longer than 15 minutes, but it cooled everyone off (attitudes included).

Across the street is the huge Williams Tower (formally Transco Tower). It is a beacon wherever you go in the city...

Finally, one last picture before we left...

Afterwards we picked up Aunt Sharon from an early day of work and went to a nearby park. We litterally lasted about 12 minutes before the kids had red faces and sweat running down their face. We left and finished our grocery shopping before heading back to the house. An afternoon thunderstorm kept us inside. Scott took a break from work and played some Uno with the kids and cousin Rachel. We had a nice dinner with everyone including Aunt Inez. We are packing up and heading to the beach...tropical storm or no tropical storm!