I know, it's been a while since I've written, and alot has gone on since then. The major event was of course...well...is it my husband's new job, or our new baby on the way, or our awesome family vacation. It could be all of them, but today I'll focus on the vacation, since it came first. Well, the baby news came first, but announcing it came later, so I'll try to record it in the order that the world knew about things!
Anyhow, since most of my readers are on facebook, I'm not going to post a million pictures of our trip. I'll just list where we went, and what we did (more for my own memory, so I don't forget).
We started out early on Feb 4, heading down I-5 towards California. All the way through Oregon and then at Grant's Pass, we veered over to the coast, ending our first day in Crescent City, CA. This is the start of the Redwood Forest, so that was pretty exciting for this prairie girl. Those trees are huge! We stayed the night right on the water (probably wouldn't have if we'd known a tsunami was coming the next month, as that is where the huge waves hit after the Japan earthquake) Anyhow, it was beautiful, although pretty cold and windy. We took advantage of the hotel's pool and sauna, as well as running down to the local deli for soup and sandwiches.
The next day we headed south on Hwy 101. This follows the Redwood Forest as well as the coast down to San Francisco. I had really wanted to see the Golden Gate bridge, but we neglected to put that in the waypoints of the GPS, and it took us the most direct way instead, which happened to be over a different bridge across the Bay (the northern most one). Because it was almost dusk, and we were still quite a ways from our destination, we continued on the path we were on. I did get to see the bridge (about 1 mm. tall) far out across the water. It'll have to do for now! We then got lost in Oakland due to another GPS failure (the exit was on the opposite side of the freeway as we were told it was going to be), and that was a bit unnerving. We managed to get back on the route, and made it to Gilroy, CA that night.
Gilroy is the 'Garlic Capital of the World', and you can smell it as soon as you're getting near. We had to try some garlic stuffed olives, which we fabulous. We also headed out to Casa De Fruta, which is an old farm-turned-tourist-trap. We had fun there, and then headed south towards Solvang, CA (via the backroads that the GPS kindly took us on) The drive was beautiful through some of California's most beautiful farmlands and vineyards. California sure is bountiful when it comes to producing good things to eat!
In Solvang we found our hotel, and then headed out to discover. It's a small Danish town with cute shops and all sorts of curiosities. We ended up getting there late enough that many of the shops were closed, but we did get to a few. By then we were hungry, so Greg remembered Andersen's Pea Soup (http://www.peasoupandersens.net/history.shtml ) in the next town over so we went there for supper. It was delicious, and we found out there was another one on our way home, so we visited it again on the return trip! We also enjoyed the pool at our hotel again, and then hit the road early the next morning.
We headed south from Solvang to the coast, following it to try to find a beach to go to. California's beaches are private, making it difficult to find a good one easily. We did find a state park, so paid the toll and played in the sand and splashed in the waves a bit. It was 0830 in the morning, so it wasn't real warm, but after that, we were headed towards the desert, and I knew our chances of finding another beach were slim to none. We then headed through LA (with an emergency kiddo potty stop just as we reached the city limits, of course!) and onwards towards Arizona. We ended up getting to Greg's brother's house in the evening, and surprising our nieces and nephew there. Then to Grandpa and Grandma's for the night.
The next few days we spent in AZ, catching up with family and just relaxing and visiting. Didn't do anything too thrilling. Went to church and caught up with the folks there, and let the cousins play alot.
On Monday morning we got ready to go. Greg had to make a quick trip to our old chiropractor to get readjusted, and then we dropped by Grandma's work to say our goodbyes and we were on our way. We stopped at my great Aunt R and Uncle J's house in western AZ, and then headed north towards Las Vegas. We reached Hoover Dam about dusk, so just drove around and looked without getting out of the car much. It was pretty chilly, so we headed on to our hotel a few miles further. We had hoped to drive down the "Strip" to see the Las Vegas lights at night, but alas, we had a boy with a tummy ache and 2 more kids who didn't want to be buckled in for 1 more minute, so we stayed put at the hotel and ordered pizza.
In the morning, we took our drive down the Strip, and wow! some of those buildings are amazing. I had mixed feelings about the whole place. In awe in some ways, but disgusted in others at the lavishness and waste and sinfulness that goes on there. We decided to head back to Hoover Dam for a closer look, and I'm glad we did. So much history there, and amazing architecture to design both the Dam and the Pat Tillman-Mike O'Callaghan Bridge (which is now open) We then had to get on the road to make it to my uncle J and aunt H's for the night.
After a lovely visit and comfy night's rest and delicious breakfast, we got back on the road. We stopped first at Simonian Farms which has the most amazing raisins I have ever tasted. Most of them are jumbo, so they have way more flavor, just due to size than any you'd find at the store. We then drove all day (lunch at Andersen's Pea Soup again) and ended up for the night in Redding, CA. A snowstorm was brewing, so that's as far as we dared to push it in the dark.
The next morning, the road conditions didn't sound great, so we were prepared for the worst. We ended up having to chain up for about 30 miles (which means driving max 35 mph), and although the roads didn't get too bad, they were pretty slushy/soupy. Then it was smooth sailing through OR (and rain clouds, of course) all the rest of the way to Kalama!
It felt good to go on vacation, but even better to get home. We spent 8 days in the car (some longer than others), and although the kids did very good, it was still tiring! I do love the family time of being able to visit so much, and pointing things out to the kids. Also, having Greg around all day, every day was really nice too. We seem to kind of forget about 'us' when he goes to work and we get caught up in the tasks of every day. It was nice to refresh (or maybe 'reboot' is a better word) our family once again.
The one thing that our family laughed about for most of the trip was James' theme he came up with. When I'd give the kids a snack I once said "no choking" as a joke/warning. Then later I had told someone that there was "no whining" allowed on our vacation. James took these two comments and whenever we ate something or someone was complaining (usually Elise because she was bored or something), James would shout out, "No Whining, No Choking...you know the rules". It was pretty cute!
Anyhow, since most of my readers are on facebook, I'm not going to post a million pictures of our trip. I'll just list where we went, and what we did (more for my own memory, so I don't forget).
We started out early on Feb 4, heading down I-5 towards California. All the way through Oregon and then at Grant's Pass, we veered over to the coast, ending our first day in Crescent City, CA. This is the start of the Redwood Forest, so that was pretty exciting for this prairie girl. Those trees are huge! We stayed the night right on the water (probably wouldn't have if we'd known a tsunami was coming the next month, as that is where the huge waves hit after the Japan earthquake) Anyhow, it was beautiful, although pretty cold and windy. We took advantage of the hotel's pool and sauna, as well as running down to the local deli for soup and sandwiches.
The next day we headed south on Hwy 101. This follows the Redwood Forest as well as the coast down to San Francisco. I had really wanted to see the Golden Gate bridge, but we neglected to put that in the waypoints of the GPS, and it took us the most direct way instead, which happened to be over a different bridge across the Bay (the northern most one). Because it was almost dusk, and we were still quite a ways from our destination, we continued on the path we were on. I did get to see the bridge (about 1 mm. tall) far out across the water. It'll have to do for now! We then got lost in Oakland due to another GPS failure (the exit was on the opposite side of the freeway as we were told it was going to be), and that was a bit unnerving. We managed to get back on the route, and made it to Gilroy, CA that night.
Gilroy is the 'Garlic Capital of the World', and you can smell it as soon as you're getting near. We had to try some garlic stuffed olives, which we fabulous. We also headed out to Casa De Fruta, which is an old farm-turned-tourist-trap. We had fun there, and then headed south towards Solvang, CA (via the backroads that the GPS kindly took us on) The drive was beautiful through some of California's most beautiful farmlands and vineyards. California sure is bountiful when it comes to producing good things to eat!
In Solvang we found our hotel, and then headed out to discover. It's a small Danish town with cute shops and all sorts of curiosities. We ended up getting there late enough that many of the shops were closed, but we did get to a few. By then we were hungry, so Greg remembered Andersen's Pea Soup (http://www.peasoupandersens.net/history.shtml ) in the next town over so we went there for supper. It was delicious, and we found out there was another one on our way home, so we visited it again on the return trip! We also enjoyed the pool at our hotel again, and then hit the road early the next morning.
We headed south from Solvang to the coast, following it to try to find a beach to go to. California's beaches are private, making it difficult to find a good one easily. We did find a state park, so paid the toll and played in the sand and splashed in the waves a bit. It was 0830 in the morning, so it wasn't real warm, but after that, we were headed towards the desert, and I knew our chances of finding another beach were slim to none. We then headed through LA (with an emergency kiddo potty stop just as we reached the city limits, of course!) and onwards towards Arizona. We ended up getting to Greg's brother's house in the evening, and surprising our nieces and nephew there. Then to Grandpa and Grandma's for the night.
The next few days we spent in AZ, catching up with family and just relaxing and visiting. Didn't do anything too thrilling. Went to church and caught up with the folks there, and let the cousins play alot.
On Monday morning we got ready to go. Greg had to make a quick trip to our old chiropractor to get readjusted, and then we dropped by Grandma's work to say our goodbyes and we were on our way. We stopped at my great Aunt R and Uncle J's house in western AZ, and then headed north towards Las Vegas. We reached Hoover Dam about dusk, so just drove around and looked without getting out of the car much. It was pretty chilly, so we headed on to our hotel a few miles further. We had hoped to drive down the "Strip" to see the Las Vegas lights at night, but alas, we had a boy with a tummy ache and 2 more kids who didn't want to be buckled in for 1 more minute, so we stayed put at the hotel and ordered pizza.
In the morning, we took our drive down the Strip, and wow! some of those buildings are amazing. I had mixed feelings about the whole place. In awe in some ways, but disgusted in others at the lavishness and waste and sinfulness that goes on there. We decided to head back to Hoover Dam for a closer look, and I'm glad we did. So much history there, and amazing architecture to design both the Dam and the Pat Tillman-Mike O'Callaghan Bridge (which is now open) We then had to get on the road to make it to my uncle J and aunt H's for the night.
After a lovely visit and comfy night's rest and delicious breakfast, we got back on the road. We stopped first at Simonian Farms which has the most amazing raisins I have ever tasted. Most of them are jumbo, so they have way more flavor, just due to size than any you'd find at the store. We then drove all day (lunch at Andersen's Pea Soup again) and ended up for the night in Redding, CA. A snowstorm was brewing, so that's as far as we dared to push it in the dark.
The next morning, the road conditions didn't sound great, so we were prepared for the worst. We ended up having to chain up for about 30 miles (which means driving max 35 mph), and although the roads didn't get too bad, they were pretty slushy/soupy. Then it was smooth sailing through OR (and rain clouds, of course) all the rest of the way to Kalama!
It felt good to go on vacation, but even better to get home. We spent 8 days in the car (some longer than others), and although the kids did very good, it was still tiring! I do love the family time of being able to visit so much, and pointing things out to the kids. Also, having Greg around all day, every day was really nice too. We seem to kind of forget about 'us' when he goes to work and we get caught up in the tasks of every day. It was nice to refresh (or maybe 'reboot' is a better word) our family once again.
The one thing that our family laughed about for most of the trip was James' theme he came up with. When I'd give the kids a snack I once said "no choking" as a joke/warning. Then later I had told someone that there was "no whining" allowed on our vacation. James took these two comments and whenever we ate something or someone was complaining (usually Elise because she was bored or something), James would shout out, "No Whining, No Choking...you know the rules". It was pretty cute!
