I thought it would be wise to get the California to Oregon trip documented before I forgot or got too busy to make it happen. Above is a short, short video of the highlights of the trip.
The setting: Susie, Balin's mom retired this year from 20 years of teaching kindergarten. Her husband, Michael, wanted to surprise her with the whole family coming for the weekend. The week before Balin was actually in Southern Oregon working for the week. He got home on Saturday the 4th of June and we left bright and early on the 5th. Lucky for him I had packed the car with our camping supplies, made food and got the kids entertainment all set up so all he had to do was hop in the car and stop at the nearest Starbucks for our traditional "start of vacation" latte.
From Prescott we headed West to Carpenteria, which is south of Santa Barbara. We got in after drivign 8 hours to find it raining and cold. We found our campsite, which was incredibly underwhelming and disappointing, pitched our tent in the mud and went out for dinner - and drinks. The trip was starting out on the wrong foot with the poor weather. That night it rained so hard we had a difficult time sleeping. Perrin actually sat up in bed and said, "if it rains like this again I want to get a hotel". I second that notion.
The next morning we woke up to scattered clouds and sun breaks over the ocean. We quickly made breakfast and then headed to the beach, where the tide pools were out in their splendor. The kids were thrilled at their discoveries, from sea anenome's, sea stars, muscles and sand crabs to huge crabs and conches. It was really cool and well worth the night in the rain. Shortly after the beach we packed ourselves up and went into Santa Barbara to hang out for a bit - which was so much fun. Side note on Santa Barbara: what a gorgeous city. Not only is it close to L.A. but it's also "separated" from the rest of California. The parks and beaches are gorgeous and the things you can grow there are amazing. We prepped the kids, especially Sam, for possibly going to college there as both Balin and I would love to visit.
We had a short drive that day, heading only north of San Luis Obispo. We stopped in Solvang, a decidedly Danish community, walked around and then had a wonderful picnic lunch at the park. After another couple of hours of driving, we arrived at our campsite in Morro Bay, which was right on the beach. Though it was windy, it was beautiful. Our neighbors turned out to be a pastor and his family from Switzerland who were making the epic journey down the coast of California. They were quite friendly and it was fun to talk about Switzerland with them.
From Morro Bay we were hoping to go through Big Sur and Carmel by the Sea but there was a landslide on the 1 which closed down the highway. So we went back through San Luis Obispo and headed up the 101 to Monterey Bay. Sam was really excited about going to the aquarium which turned out to be a great couple of hours. Our camping spot for the night was Half Moon Bay, just south of Santa Cruz.
Wednesday was our day to drive through San Francisco on the 1 and head up through Healdsburg on the 1. It was pretty impressive that morning going from pretty unpopulated areas between Santa Cruz and San Francisco to the "City" - the density was intense and a little overwhelming to be honest. The 1 takes you right through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate bridge, which was pretty impressive. Unfortunately we didn't really have the time to stop and sight see in San Francisco as we were headed farther north to Fort Bragg. Where we did stop for coffee and a snack was Healdsburg. I think it was the cutest town we had seen yet. Under an hour from S.F but yet seemingly a world away. And the gardens....oh the gardens. Hydrangeas were side by side with stunning old fashioned roses - that alone could make me want to move. There were lots of small artisian shops that I was trying to go in but to no avail. The Children prevented such delights. Hence, it will happen. Next time I go to Sonoma County there will be no children with me. Sorry kids.
We stopped for a picnic lunch at Anderson Valley Brewery, which was a completely solar powered brewery. Balin said the beer was pretty good, but we both agreed that the atmosphere could be so much more. We had decided that we would do our best to hit as many breweries as possible on trip. I think we made it to 5 or 6, which isn't bad considering I don't really drink beer. Other than the Great Basin Brewery in Reno, Nevada they all lacked atmosphere and great food. They were okay but nothing exciting.
Our night in Fort Bragg was probably our best of the trip. We stayed in a Mackerricher State Park there that was known for it's seal pups. Though we didn't see many pups or seals for that matter, the camping was great and the ocean was gorgeous. It was probably best that we ended with these ideal camping spot instead of beginning with it as our expectations of the trip were set pretty low with the camping in Carpenteria. This campground was the first one that Balin and I said we could see ourselves staying for a week and being content. It was just lovely.
Our last day was a long one. We drove up the coast and headed inland towards Weaverville. Interestingly, I thought I had never been to much of California before but it turns out I had. I had vivid flashbacks of renting a motorhome with my family and my dad's brother and driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, visiting Alcatraz - though the main memory of that trip is my uncle saying he never wanted kids. :) He never did. I also remember going to the Winchester Mansion in Santa Cruz with my dad. My dad used to have stores in California, back in the 80's, and occasionally I would drive down and back with him. We would wander all over northern California stopping at every random place and surprisingly we never got lost - or at least I didn't think we did.
We spent our last night camping in the Trinity Alps. I had been told long ago from a hiking friend that the Trinities were spectacular. I had really high expectations. I mean, I had hiked in the Enchantments, which really live up to their name. Mount Rainer and the North Cascade Park were regular hiking grounds in my growing up years - Washington State has some pretty amazing mountains - which made for really high expectations. Needless to say I was disappointed. The KOA we stayed at though was nice - clean, pool, lake....mosquitos. The next morning though we were up and moving as we had a destination and it was close at hand.
Friday we arrived in Medford and were greeted by Balin's brother's family. They had us over for lunch and the cousins all got a chance to hang out and get reaquainted. Bailey, 1.5 years, love Sam and would chase him and then sit on him. Perrin and Bryn quickly sequestered themselves into Bryn's room while the rest of us chatted and got caught up. By 2pm we headed to the airport to pick up Charlie, who flew in from Denver. From there we all headed out to Selma to give Grandma her retirement surprise.
As you can see from the video the surprise was effective and all were greatly pleased. The weekend progressed with dinner together, playing at Grandma's house, going to the park in Grants Pass followed by taking the Jet Boats to dinner. Saturday night Balin and I stayed in Grants Pass at a hotel and had a lovely time walking around and hanging out. We left the following morning to pick up the kids and head south to Reno. We said our good-byes and were off.
The trip to Reno was uneventful but beautiful. Lassen National Park earns it's status as a National Park. The volcanos were plentiful, tons of lakes and not a lot of people. Perfect for a week of camping, but not on this trip. We arrived in Reno in time for dinner and then met my mom at Circus Circus. We took the kids to the gaming area and they had a great time. The next day the kids went in my mom's car - who had driven from Seattle to Reno the day before - and we headed off to Henderson. There is NOTHING in most of Nevada - in a beautiful, hot kind of way. It was a very long drive from Oregon to Prescott - about 2.5 days with children, but it was well worth it.
All in all this trip was one of the best trips ever. The kids had a great time - they were really well behaved and loved camping. It was wonderful to participate in Susie's retirement weekend and let her know how much we all love her. I think that was a big take away.
The other take away for me was we, as a family, got an opportunity to make memories in extrodinary places. I read a book this week, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller where he talks about the elements of a good story/movie are the same elements that make a good life. It was an excellent and inspiring read and one of the things that struck me the most was that most memorable scenes in the movies don't take place in regular places - they take place in interesting places or surrounded by interesting events. We had many amazing places and events to make this road trip memorable and I'm thankful. The other thing Mr. Miller said was that watching a movie about a guy sitting on a couch isn't very interesting - it's actually boring - as much as watching a movie about a house wife who cleans, cooks dinner, reads to the kids (depending on the book), goes out to dinner with girlfriends, goes to the gym. Not very inspiring. But a mom (thinking about myself, not projecting this onto anyone else here) who does some of these things in new and interesting environments, well that might make for a little more inspiring movie. I got some video of an event that happened while we were at Mackerricher park that represent this idea to me. It was around 3 o'clock and we all were hankering for a little somethin' cool to drink. I poured everyone a coke (a true camping treat) and we took our chairs, put them at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean and drank our coke. It was memorable. Was the activity all that interesting - no, but the setting was stunning.
My hope in the coming days and months is to live a more memorable life- to see outside the box of ordinary and take the extra effort to make things interesting and fun. (We're not talking extraordinary here - just more interesting.) An attitude of thankfullness and being positive will go a long way in making these hopes come true - which I'm practicing daily.
Keep posted for upcoming scenes from Der Schweiz. We leave tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 10:40 and will be in our apartment Monday evening. Looking forward to the movie scenes comin'.
The setting: Susie, Balin's mom retired this year from 20 years of teaching kindergarten. Her husband, Michael, wanted to surprise her with the whole family coming for the weekend. The week before Balin was actually in Southern Oregon working for the week. He got home on Saturday the 4th of June and we left bright and early on the 5th. Lucky for him I had packed the car with our camping supplies, made food and got the kids entertainment all set up so all he had to do was hop in the car and stop at the nearest Starbucks for our traditional "start of vacation" latte.
From Prescott we headed West to Carpenteria, which is south of Santa Barbara. We got in after drivign 8 hours to find it raining and cold. We found our campsite, which was incredibly underwhelming and disappointing, pitched our tent in the mud and went out for dinner - and drinks. The trip was starting out on the wrong foot with the poor weather. That night it rained so hard we had a difficult time sleeping. Perrin actually sat up in bed and said, "if it rains like this again I want to get a hotel". I second that notion.
The next morning we woke up to scattered clouds and sun breaks over the ocean. We quickly made breakfast and then headed to the beach, where the tide pools were out in their splendor. The kids were thrilled at their discoveries, from sea anenome's, sea stars, muscles and sand crabs to huge crabs and conches. It was really cool and well worth the night in the rain. Shortly after the beach we packed ourselves up and went into Santa Barbara to hang out for a bit - which was so much fun. Side note on Santa Barbara: what a gorgeous city. Not only is it close to L.A. but it's also "separated" from the rest of California. The parks and beaches are gorgeous and the things you can grow there are amazing. We prepped the kids, especially Sam, for possibly going to college there as both Balin and I would love to visit.
We had a short drive that day, heading only north of San Luis Obispo. We stopped in Solvang, a decidedly Danish community, walked around and then had a wonderful picnic lunch at the park. After another couple of hours of driving, we arrived at our campsite in Morro Bay, which was right on the beach. Though it was windy, it was beautiful. Our neighbors turned out to be a pastor and his family from Switzerland who were making the epic journey down the coast of California. They were quite friendly and it was fun to talk about Switzerland with them.
From Morro Bay we were hoping to go through Big Sur and Carmel by the Sea but there was a landslide on the 1 which closed down the highway. So we went back through San Luis Obispo and headed up the 101 to Monterey Bay. Sam was really excited about going to the aquarium which turned out to be a great couple of hours. Our camping spot for the night was Half Moon Bay, just south of Santa Cruz.
Wednesday was our day to drive through San Francisco on the 1 and head up through Healdsburg on the 1. It was pretty impressive that morning going from pretty unpopulated areas between Santa Cruz and San Francisco to the "City" - the density was intense and a little overwhelming to be honest. The 1 takes you right through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate bridge, which was pretty impressive. Unfortunately we didn't really have the time to stop and sight see in San Francisco as we were headed farther north to Fort Bragg. Where we did stop for coffee and a snack was Healdsburg. I think it was the cutest town we had seen yet. Under an hour from S.F but yet seemingly a world away. And the gardens....oh the gardens. Hydrangeas were side by side with stunning old fashioned roses - that alone could make me want to move. There were lots of small artisian shops that I was trying to go in but to no avail. The Children prevented such delights. Hence, it will happen. Next time I go to Sonoma County there will be no children with me. Sorry kids.
We stopped for a picnic lunch at Anderson Valley Brewery, which was a completely solar powered brewery. Balin said the beer was pretty good, but we both agreed that the atmosphere could be so much more. We had decided that we would do our best to hit as many breweries as possible on trip. I think we made it to 5 or 6, which isn't bad considering I don't really drink beer. Other than the Great Basin Brewery in Reno, Nevada they all lacked atmosphere and great food. They were okay but nothing exciting.
Our night in Fort Bragg was probably our best of the trip. We stayed in a Mackerricher State Park there that was known for it's seal pups. Though we didn't see many pups or seals for that matter, the camping was great and the ocean was gorgeous. It was probably best that we ended with these ideal camping spot instead of beginning with it as our expectations of the trip were set pretty low with the camping in Carpenteria. This campground was the first one that Balin and I said we could see ourselves staying for a week and being content. It was just lovely.
Our last day was a long one. We drove up the coast and headed inland towards Weaverville. Interestingly, I thought I had never been to much of California before but it turns out I had. I had vivid flashbacks of renting a motorhome with my family and my dad's brother and driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, visiting Alcatraz - though the main memory of that trip is my uncle saying he never wanted kids. :) He never did. I also remember going to the Winchester Mansion in Santa Cruz with my dad. My dad used to have stores in California, back in the 80's, and occasionally I would drive down and back with him. We would wander all over northern California stopping at every random place and surprisingly we never got lost - or at least I didn't think we did.
We spent our last night camping in the Trinity Alps. I had been told long ago from a hiking friend that the Trinities were spectacular. I had really high expectations. I mean, I had hiked in the Enchantments, which really live up to their name. Mount Rainer and the North Cascade Park were regular hiking grounds in my growing up years - Washington State has some pretty amazing mountains - which made for really high expectations. Needless to say I was disappointed. The KOA we stayed at though was nice - clean, pool, lake....mosquitos. The next morning though we were up and moving as we had a destination and it was close at hand.
Friday we arrived in Medford and were greeted by Balin's brother's family. They had us over for lunch and the cousins all got a chance to hang out and get reaquainted. Bailey, 1.5 years, love Sam and would chase him and then sit on him. Perrin and Bryn quickly sequestered themselves into Bryn's room while the rest of us chatted and got caught up. By 2pm we headed to the airport to pick up Charlie, who flew in from Denver. From there we all headed out to Selma to give Grandma her retirement surprise.
As you can see from the video the surprise was effective and all were greatly pleased. The weekend progressed with dinner together, playing at Grandma's house, going to the park in Grants Pass followed by taking the Jet Boats to dinner. Saturday night Balin and I stayed in Grants Pass at a hotel and had a lovely time walking around and hanging out. We left the following morning to pick up the kids and head south to Reno. We said our good-byes and were off.
The trip to Reno was uneventful but beautiful. Lassen National Park earns it's status as a National Park. The volcanos were plentiful, tons of lakes and not a lot of people. Perfect for a week of camping, but not on this trip. We arrived in Reno in time for dinner and then met my mom at Circus Circus. We took the kids to the gaming area and they had a great time. The next day the kids went in my mom's car - who had driven from Seattle to Reno the day before - and we headed off to Henderson. There is NOTHING in most of Nevada - in a beautiful, hot kind of way. It was a very long drive from Oregon to Prescott - about 2.5 days with children, but it was well worth it.
All in all this trip was one of the best trips ever. The kids had a great time - they were really well behaved and loved camping. It was wonderful to participate in Susie's retirement weekend and let her know how much we all love her. I think that was a big take away.
The other take away for me was we, as a family, got an opportunity to make memories in extrodinary places. I read a book this week, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller where he talks about the elements of a good story/movie are the same elements that make a good life. It was an excellent and inspiring read and one of the things that struck me the most was that most memorable scenes in the movies don't take place in regular places - they take place in interesting places or surrounded by interesting events. We had many amazing places and events to make this road trip memorable and I'm thankful. The other thing Mr. Miller said was that watching a movie about a guy sitting on a couch isn't very interesting - it's actually boring - as much as watching a movie about a house wife who cleans, cooks dinner, reads to the kids (depending on the book), goes out to dinner with girlfriends, goes to the gym. Not very inspiring. But a mom (thinking about myself, not projecting this onto anyone else here) who does some of these things in new and interesting environments, well that might make for a little more inspiring movie. I got some video of an event that happened while we were at Mackerricher park that represent this idea to me. It was around 3 o'clock and we all were hankering for a little somethin' cool to drink. I poured everyone a coke (a true camping treat) and we took our chairs, put them at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean and drank our coke. It was memorable. Was the activity all that interesting - no, but the setting was stunning.
My hope in the coming days and months is to live a more memorable life- to see outside the box of ordinary and take the extra effort to make things interesting and fun. (We're not talking extraordinary here - just more interesting.) An attitude of thankfullness and being positive will go a long way in making these hopes come true - which I'm practicing daily.
Keep posted for upcoming scenes from Der Schweiz. We leave tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 10:40 and will be in our apartment Monday evening. Looking forward to the movie scenes comin'.
Comments
I wish we could have seen you, but I know how it is when you have a short time with family. When I go to WA I always think I'll have all this time to see friends, and then we end up letting the kids play with the cousins the whole time. Have a great time in Switzerland!