Tag Archive for 'Road Trip'

The only kink in the trip

Published on Thursday, August 13, 2009 in The Great Road Trip of May 2009 and Travel. 3 Comments Tags: , .

As you may remember, a few months ago, we took The Great Road Trip of May 2009. It was awesome, and we can’t stop raving about it.

In fact, here is what we’ve discussed so far in the story:

I’ve implied up to this point, that the entire road trip was a success…and it was, over all. One could gather from our enthusiastic story-telling that a “successful” trip means that every minute of it was perfect.

It wasn’t.

So, what happened?

Was it the little temper-tantrum Claire had one of the days in San Diego? No, not really…but it was a doozy.

One afternoon, Claire reached her wit’s end and had a full-blown tantrum in front of her aunt. Luckily, it happened when we were back at the hotel and not out and about. It was time for my sister to head back to her place after spending the day exploring with us. We were going to grab dinner and explore a little on our own. All of a sudden, Claire snapped.

We’d been gone a week, and she was done.  She wanted HER bed, HER stuffed animals, HER kitties, and HER house, and she wanted them NOW.  Never mind we were half-way into a 2,500 mile road trip. Never mind we were days (literally) away from home.

She wanted what she wanted, and she wanted it 2-minutes ago, thankyouverymuch.

I let Claire scream and thrash around on the hotel bed, and I apologized to my sister. Wanna see three?  This is what you get sometimes with three. I knew that all we had to do was ride it out, but my sister isn’t used to this kind of thing.  Still, she didn’t even bat an eye. In her opinion, the fact that it had taken a 3-yr old this long to get upset was amazing to her.

We said our good-byes for the day, set the time to meet in the morning, and we turned our attention to the preschooler in the room.

My hubby and I looked at each other and knew what to do. Napless, cranky-pants? Time for a drive! We scooped her up and strapped her in the car seat. About 30-seconds into our little afternoon drive, and Claire was out like a light. We kept driving as she snoozed, and she woke up a completely different person.

So, that little meltdown wasn’t really a kink in the trip.

So, what was?

Well, the last night of our stay in San Diego seemed to go well. We’d had fabulous food, a blast on the beach and awesome adventures.  It was time to hit the road in the morning…next stop: Flagstaff, Arizona!

Daddy tossed and turned a lot that night, and by morning, it was evident that something was not agreeing with him. And, that’s putting it lightly. No, I won’t share. You’re welcome.

He was sick. By our calculations, it was something he’d eaten the day before, and we were able to pinpoint it. There was only one restaurant we’d visited that he’d eaten something different than the rest of us. At every other place, he’d had the same thing as at least one other person (me or my sister or Claire), and no one else was sick, so that had to be it.

But, that didn’t change the reality of the situation. This was a kink in the trip, if I’d ever seen one…

“What do you want to do?” I asked him, concerned. I was concerned for him and not our trip agenda. “Do you want me to push our reservations out a day? Stay here to recoup and bump the trip out a day? We could totally do that. I could make that call right now…”

After some deliberation, we decided that we’d press on.  If you’re going to be down for the count, it’s best to do it on a day when the only thing on the agenda was “get from Point A to Point B.”  I’d do all the driving to Flagstaff, and he’d try not to make a mess in the car. It seemed like a fair trade.

Before we loaded up the car, I was able to find a drugstore…all by myself! And, this was pre-Glenda! I was so proud of myself. I got what I needed and headed back to tend to the sick and finish packing.

So, we headed out. Needless to say, that was a long drive…for all of us. But, we both held up our end of the bargain. I didn’t complain once about the hours I spent behind the wheel, and my husband was able to keep it all together.  Claire was concerned about Daddy, but she had a great time road-trippin’.

We got checked into our Flagstaff hotel, and with Daddy curled up on the bed, we enjoyed our Pizza Delivery Fare, served picnic-style in the room. Claire and I had a chance to play in the hot tub before calling it a night.

It was the end of a very long day…496 miles long, to be exact.

Here is where I’d share pictures from this travel day, but there are none for May 11, 2009…the day that my husband would just soon forget and quite honestly doesn’t remember much of anyway.

Stay tuned for the next installment…this time with less sickness and more photos! :)

Now we know why so many people live in California

Published on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 in Photos, The Great Road Trip of May 2009 and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

As you may remember, we took a 12-day Road Trip in May!

In May!?  It’s almost August now? What?! Where did the time go?

Just as a refresher, here is the route we took and our adventures up to this point:

Let’s get on with the next installment of our saga, shall we?

Where did we end off? Oh yes. “It was all we’d hoped it would be…and more.”

And it was!

We drove to California and checked into our first hotel on the 6th of May. We were there for two nights before heading down the coast to stay in another hotel on the beach for a few nights.

A hotel on the beach.

Just typing that out again makes me long for the sand and the soft breezes.

We loved California. Up to this point, there are only three places in the world (so far) that my husband and I have exchanged glances and have said, “We could live here. For real. We could totally live here.”

For those of you keeping track at home:

  • Where we live now, Colorado.

Well, add San Diego, CA to the list. We would move there in a heartbeat.  Granted, I’d cry buckets if I had to leave Colorado, but I think my tears could be dried by the soft ocean breezes.

Yes, it’s expensive. (But, it’s not cheap where we live now.) Yes, there are earthquakes. (Every location has it’s “thing…”) Yes, there are lots of people. And, now we know why… Because California is incredible!

On our California leg of the trip, we visited LegoLand. This was a specific request by Daddy. He said he Claire would love it. Well, he was right! My sister and brother-in-law joined us in our LegoLand adventures, and we all had a fantastic time!!

In addition to LegoLand, we visited the San Diego Zoo. What a great Zoo! When we first arrived, one of the greeters saw us looking at the posted map and suggested we take the bus tour around the Zoo (it would show us 75% of the zoo, and then we could decide where to focus our energies). At the end of the day, we took the Skyfari (gondola ride) back down across the Zoo, surveying the park from the sky, and it was an awesome end to a lovely visit.

Claire’s favorite excursion, in California and the entire trip, was “picking shells” at the beach. We could do that for hours, and did! It was so much fun to just stroll along the beach and explore. It’s a good thing we don’t live near the beach, or you might never see us again!

The memories we created and the adventures we had in California will last a lifetime. It seems rather insufficient to mention them in a few paragraphs and go on to the next stop, but that’s how it goes. Claire still raves about “picking shells” at the beach, to anyone and everyone that will listen, and it was months ago. This has really made an impression, and I love that the memories are still alive for her. The more she mentions it, the more it just seems like yesterday…and that’s a wonderful thing.

Next stop on our tour? Flagstaff, AZ. Stay tuned!

How do ya like them apples? They didn’t. They were confiscated.

Published on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in The Great Road Trip of May 2009 and Travel. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

It’s time for another installment in The Great Road Trip of May 2009 Adventure Saga! It may have been in May, but it just seems like yesterday. We were gone for 12 wonderful days, and I love reliving our adventures!!

You can read about the route we took and our adventures up to this point:

After our stay at The Grand Canyon, we headed to the next destination on our map: California! I have wanted to visit California for as long as I can remember. My husband visited as a child and has had some business trips there, but I just have never had a chance to go. Now that one of my sisters lives there, and my husband had some time-off to burn, this was the perfect excuse to go!

The drive from the canyon was going smoothly, and we switched drivers after a while. It was my turn to drive. We joked that with Momma driving, we’d get there even faster! (But, for the record, I tried to keep things somewhat on the legal side of the speedometer.) ;)

Still, with every mile, we were getting closer to California, and we couldn’t wait!

Off in the distance, I could see a checkpoint of sorts.

“Is that Border Patrol?” I asked, excited to have reached the border…finally!

“Oh no. Our apples!” my hubby said under his breath.

“What? What about our apples?” I asked. “What does Border Patrol have to do with our apples?”

“I don’t think they’re labeled. Oh well. I forgot all about that,” he said.

“Forgot about what?” I asked, my interest piqued.

“You can’t bring unlabeled fruits or vegetables into California,” he said. “And, I think I bought the organic ones this time. There’s no way they’ll let them in…I totally forgot about that.”

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR APPLES!?” Claire calls from the backseat.

“Nothing, Claire, but California has rules. We’ll just tell them about the apples, and they’ll decide what to do.”

“ARE THEY GONNA TAKE OUR APPLES!?” Claire asks, obviously concerned. She loves these apples. I love that she loves these apples.

“Probably, Claire,” Daddy says. “But, that’s okay. We’ll get more apples.”

It’s our turn, so I pull up, roll down the window and smile at the agent.

“Where are you coming from?” the agent asks politely.

“Originally, Colorado, but most recently, The Grand Canyon,” I answer.

“Do you have any fruits or vegetables in the car?”

“Actually, we do. We have some apples from Colorado in the cooler. Do you want me to pop the trunk?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“ARE THEY GONNA TAKE OUR APPLES!?” Claire yells. “HEY! ARE YOU GONNA TAKE OUR APPLES!?”

“It’s okay, Claire. Don’t yell. They’re just doing their jobs. Even if they take the apples, we’ll be fine. It’s no big deal.”

“Ooooh, five green apples. Scary!” I think to myself.

Sure enough, the five green apples had no stickers. They were promptly confiscated and thrown away. Or, maybe someone had them for lunch. I didn’t actually see them go in the trash. ;)

We were sad to see our five little green rejected apples go, but at least the agents were nice about it. We didn’t cause a ruckus, so we were allowed to proceed to California, albeit sans apples.

As we continued into California, we turned on a highway that was stretched out through the desert, for as far as we could see. The road was undulating, curving up and down in waves and dips. It was wild to see and even crazier to drive on! You would see a car coming toward you, and it would disappear, and then reappear again, and then disappear as though swallowed by the earth. It would reappear again at the crest of another hill.

This road was like a roller coaster! Talk about a wild ride!  Claire was entertained to no end, and we all had fun, as was evident by the whoas, whees, and ooooohhhhs that accompanied each dip and wave.  To be honest, I was glad I was driving, because I’m not sure my stomach could have handled the ride as well from the passenger seat!

As we got closer and closer to the coast, we started to get a glimpse of the ocean. We saw our first palm tree.  Our visions of what California was were turning into reality.

After a long day of driving, we made it to our hotel.  More of our adventures in California were just moments away from beginning, and we couldn’t wait.

Stay tuned for the next installment! But, I’ll give you a hint: It was all we’d hoped it would be…and more!

Grand is a pretty good way to describe it

Published on Monday, June 15, 2009 in Photos, The Great Road Trip of May 2009 and Travel. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

As you know, our big trip this year was a 12-day road trip out to California via The Grand Canyon. We had a blast, and one of the reasons it’s taking me so long to get these updates posted is that when I open up the folder of our pictures, all of a sudden, hours have gone by! It’s so hard to not get sucked into the memories.

I love reliving the trip, and I hope you enjoy this next segment!

You can read about the route we took and our adventures up to this point here:

The first night in the tent left a lot to be desired, Holiday Inn of Camping or not. The wonderful part of being out in nature is that you’re out in nature. The not-so-wonderful part of being out in nature is that you’re out in nature.  ;) The birds wake up at the crack of dawn. The sun comes up pretty early. Those two things combined make the preschooler in the tent pop up out of her sleeping bag, raring to go, whether the adults are ready to go or not.

I would have been in a much better mood had my pillow situation been a lot better than it was. I remember vividly, standing in our bedroom at home and talking to my husband about how I wanted to take a real pillow with me. We weren’t low on space; we were sleeping on a queen-sized air mattress! This was going to be car camping…not “real” camping. I’d sit on it if I had to. He called me a wussy and said that travel pillows we had would be just fine.

Against my better judgment, I left my pillow at home.

As I was tossing and turning the first night, I regretted that decision. I may or may not have taken pleasure in the thought of smothering a certain someone with my inadequate travel pillow. Maybe. ;)

The travel pillows we have work wonders if you’re sitting upright in a plane or on a train. But, they are terrible if you’re trying to sleep on them like a real pillow.

My Pillow of Doom plus Little Miss Signing Sunshine bouncing around our tent HOURS earlier than we anticipated made our first full day at the Canyon a bit rocky.  (pun totally intended)  I tried as hard as I could to summon my patience, and so, Claire and Momma went on an early morning nature hike while Daddy slept a little bit longer.

That afternoon, after a day of hiking, Daddy purchased a souvenir at the lodge…a pillow! It has a wonderful pattern on it, and it matches our bedroom set. And, because I’d let him sleep in, he and Claire let Momma take a nap in the tent on her new pillow while Daddy and Claire learned how to play with the frisbee.

Needless to say, that next night was a thousand times better than the last.  And, Claire LOVED camping…and when you’re traveling with a preschooler, isn’t that the most important opinion in the group?  ;)

But, enough about the camping part of camping. What about the canyon? The Grand Canyon is unbelievably beautiful. The photos we have do not do it justice. Looking out over the vastness of it all doesn’t even seem real, let alone trying to capture its majesty on film.

I am so glad we camped there for two nights. We had a chance to see so much of the canyon without being rushed.

There is a bus that runs along the rim, following the hiking path. We decided to start out hiking and make it as far as we could before hopping on the bus and riding back to the campground. It was the perfect plan, and we were pleasantly surprised when it worked out well.

Cracks & Layers

Cracks & Layers - Click for more detail!

One of our friends had let us borrow their backpack child-carrier. There was no way we wanted to take a stroller with us on the hike, and we weren’t sure how long she could last.

3 feet on the edge - see the tiny roads beneath us? Click for more detail!

3 feet on the edge - see the tiny roads beneath us? Click for more detail!

Well, imagine our surprise when she hiked A MILE AND A HALF all on her own! We’d let her wear her little light-up princess sandals, and I think that’s the most action those princesses have ever seen! :)

When her little legs had gone as far as they could go, that’s when we strapped her into the backpack. We are so glad that our friends let us borrow it, but the jury is still out on whether or not it was worth it.

We were able to hike an extra mile, but neither Daddy nor Claire liked it. My husband is used to hiking with a 40-lb pack, so her weight (barely 34 lbs.) wasn’t an issue. For some reason, it just wasn’t possible to adjust the backpack properly, and it soon became a torture device. That coupled with the fact that his normal backpacks don’t wriggle around and complain probably added to his stress levels. :)

I think the funniest thing that happened was when Claire said, “Daddy? I don’t like this backpack. My back hurts!” It was all he could do to mutter, “Your back hurts? I don’t even want to hear about it.” :)

Two and a half miles of hiking provided us with plenty to see. We got some wonderful photos, and we all had a fabulous time exploring. We hopped on the bus and rode back to camp. After taking a break (and that much-needed nap I mentioned earlier), we had a snack and then drove out toward the East Entrance, where we’d come in the day before. We’d zipped by it so quickly in our mad dash to get to the campground and get set up that we wanted to explore it some more. We were able to catch the setting sun as it slipped into the canyon, and the shadow portraits we took were amazing.

Shadows on the edge

Shadows on the edge

I have more shadow portraits to share, but you’ll just have to be patient.

As I mentioned, that night was much better for everyone. Claire still woke up at the crack of dawn, but my patience levels were bolstered by a good night’s sleep on an awesome pillow, so we were ready for the day. We broke camp and headed out, leaving the Grandness of the Canyon behind us.

California, here we come!

Stay tuned for the next installment of The Great Road Trip of May 2009!

Anatomy of a Road Trip

Published on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in The Great Road Trip of May 2009 and Travel. 2 Comments Tags: , .

I keep talking about this 12-day Road Trip we just took, but where did we go? How long did we stay? Before I get into the intricate details of all the adventures, it’s time to answer those basic questions.

Here is the route we took:

You can click on that photo to read my chicken-scratches.  No, it’s not drawn to scale. Yes, the roads to and from the different locations were much curvier and more exciting than they appear. :) We chose a path that never crossed itself once, and seeing new scenery out and back was a treat.

So, here is the Anatomy of the Road Trip, each leg of the 12-day tour described:

  • On May 3rd, we left our home and headed south to Pagosa Springs, CO. We overnighted in a Hot Springs Resort.
  • That next morning, we drove to the Grand Canyon and camped there for two nights.
  • Then, we drove to California, where we stayed for two nights in Carlsbad and then three nights in a hotel on the beach in Pacific Beach.
  • From there, we ventured eastward to Flagstaff for two nights before staying the night in Santa Fe.
  • On May 14th, we headed home.

Are you curious about how a Casual Perfectionist prepares for a road trip? Do you want some tips and tricks to a tip-top trip? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post!

Prepare for Landing

Published on Thursday, May 14, 2009 in Auto-Pilot and Travel. 2 Comments Tags: , .

The captain has turned on seatbelt-light, so please put your tray-tables and seat-backs in their upright positions.

I know we’ve been on a road trip that hasn’t involved planes, but every time I think of the end of a vacation, I think of that analogy.

If everything went according to plan, today is the day we trek homeward. Soon, we’ll be landing in reality.

We have the rest of the week off and are planning on using it as a vacation from our vacation. We’ll have time to sort through laundry and emails and the mail our housesitter dutifully collected for us. I’m sure the kitties will be happy to see us. We’ll be sad to say goodbye to our vacation, but we’ll be glad to be back.

I can’t wait to share our adventures! By sharing them, we relive them, and that extends the vacation a little longer in my mind. And, if this vacation is like any other we’ve ever taken, it will all be over in the blink of an eye.

In her defense they are big and shiny.

Published on Friday, May 1, 2009 in Travel. 5 Comments Tags: , .

Buttons.
Big, red, candy-like buttons.
Shiny, shiny buttons.

Claire loves to push my buttons.

Do you know what happens when you push Momma’s buttons?  Claire says I turn into Maleficent.  Heh.  In all fairness, I try to stop myself before I turn into the full-fledge dragon, because we all know how that story ends.  ;)

Why are my buttons so big and shiny these days?  Well, I’m under a deadline!  We’ve been trying to get ready to leave on our trip!  We’re taking an awesome road trip to California via The Grand Canyon, and I can’t wait!

We all road-trip really well (knock on wood), and I can’t wait to get outta here!

But, before we can make our escape, things have to happen.  And, they have been!

We have our various reservations confirmed.  The tickets and maps are printed.  My Trip Folder is organized.  Yes, I have A Trip Folder.  You’re shocked by this?

We just have the final touches to put on the packing, and we’re done!  The dry-run to see if the tent, backpack-child-carrier, and bags all fit in the trunk is complete.  The toiletries and clothing are waiting for the final curtain call.  The camera batteries are charged, and I have the Road Trip iPod Playlist finalized.  Do you think 757 songs are enough?  Do you think I’m kidding?  I’m not.

There is also an art to walking the tightrope between having too many leftovers left to spoil in the fridge and not having enough food to eat before you leave.

And, as fun as all these challenges and deadlines are, they are a bit stressful.  The more stressed I am, the shinier my buttons.  And, how can you not push the shiny buttons!?  It’s practically impossible.

In all reality, Claire and I make a great team.  We’re both doing what we’re supposed to do.  I get to try to keep my buttons hidden from view, and she gets to push them if they’re big and shiny.  So, I’ve decided that I’m not packing my buttons.  They’re staying right here on my desk where they belong.  There wouldn’t be room for them in the trunk anyway.  ;)

Note from The Management:  Due to our trip, there will be no posting on the next couple weekends.  But, regular posting will continue during the week!