Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce

Well it seems that we saved the best part for last.  What an amazing five days we had in Utah/Arizona enjoying these famous landmarks.  We hit all kinds of weather along the way, ranging from really hot to freezing cold and snowing, but it was fantastic none the less.

We began in the Grand Canyon.  We went straight there from Vegas, and arrived just after lunch.  We opted to go and see the north rim as opposed to the south, as we had read that it was far less popular, but just as spectacular, and we hoped to avoid the crowds.  Well, if only 10% of visitors to the canyon go to the north rim, then we can only imagine how many people were at the south rim!  It was so busy that we weren't even able to eat in the dining hall that night - there were no reservations left at all.  We were able to book for the next night, but only at 5:30pm, as all the other times were already fully booked.  There were a couple other options for dinner, so no worries.  The dining hall was in a beautiful spot, with a view of the canyon from almost everywhere in the room... no wonder it was so popular.

We took a short walk down a narrow path that led to the edge of the cliff overlooking the canyon.  I felt incredibly dizzy and a bit scared a couple of times, to tell the truth, but we made it in one piece.  I think we must have taken hundreds of photos.  It will be hard to choose the best shots... wish that I had that new camera right about now.  Ah well... we'll come back one day when we can hike to the bottom of the canyon, and not just see it from the top.  We did another hike the following day, and took more and more photos.  We gave Emily our little point and shoot camera and she went crazy.  Some of the shots were really good, actually... our budding photographer in action again.  This is an incredible self shot that we found.  So incredible!

It was a rough night of sleep for both Matt and I that night... while he was out at the lodge that night, I was sitting on the bed reading when I saw something scurry across the floor.  You guessed it... a little mouse!  I lost sight of him for a bit, but when Matt came back I got up to let him in and saw the little rodent scrambling out of our backpack on the floor!  I really hate little creatures, and so it was hard for me to let him live, but I didn't see that we had any choice.  Let's just say that I was extra sensitive to noise that night and insisted on waking Matt up when I thought the sounds were getting too close.  But, all long nights come to an end, and mice, thank goodness, are nocturnal... and the next day we woke up to snow!  It had come down during the night and was still falling as we left for the dining hall to have breakfast.  It was so white outside that we couldn't even see the canyon.  Of course, as I went to take a photo of it, the battery ran out on the camera. :)  I guess that's what happens when you let kids take photos all day the previous day.  We have a bit of evidence of the snow, but not much... it was already melting as we pulled out and started on our way to Zion.   The roads were a bit slushy, which made for interesting driving, but we did just fine.

Zion was our next stop, and we made good time, arriving mid afternoon.  The drive into the valley is quite spectacular, and Emily was oohing and aahing in the backseat the entire time.  The road winds its way down into the valley through a series of switchbacks and tunnels.  What a feat to build it!  The hotel here was, I think, our favourite of all the places we stayed.  It was called the Desert Pearl Inn, and it was located in the middle of town with the red sand cliffs rising up behind it.  The rooms were incredibly spacious, with a full kitchen for us to make our own breakfast... and the kids and Matt made good use of the pool and hottub while I regrouped after the day's long drive.  It is so wonderful to stay in a hotel when it is actually nice. :)  We were getting a bit tired of lodges and hotels at this point, but I actually contemplated staying an extra night here because I liked it so much.

We took a shuttle bus into the canyon the next morning and spent the day exploring the trails and sites there.  Impressive, that's for sure.  It seems that this area inspired many religious figures in US History - you have the mountains named after prophets, for example.  There were several chipmunks along the trail and the kids had a great time with them.   The town was also impressive, in the way that it blended in with the red rock landscape around it.  Everything seemed to be build to look as though it had been cut out of the rock itself.  We wandered the streets a bit that afternoon before the kids asked for more pool and hot tub time, even in the rain.

The next day we left fairly early, and made our way to Bryce Canyon.  We were a bit worried that we had damaged the car when we filled up on our way; there was a manhole sticking up far too high above the ground, hidden from view, and as we pulled away from the pump we bottomed out on it.  It seems that the VW is as well built as we had hoped, though, and it carried on.  Bryce was only a couple hours journey away, and we arrived just after lunch in time to hike the canyon.  This was to be the most strenuous hike we had asked the children to do on the trip.  We hiked a total of four miles, but with a huge elevation change along the way.  The hike into the canyon was easy enough, going down the switchbacks and coming out into the impressive valley below.  The kids loved the name of the formations and kept saying the word "hoodoos" over and over again for fun. We came prepared, though, and managed to get them up the other side of the trail using gummies for "energy pellets" every 100 meters or so.  The views were breathtaking and perhaps my favourite of all three canyons.  I was surprised by the beauty of it, and shot nearly 200 photos!   I went out that night at sunset to take more, and Matt rose early to capture the sunrise vista.

The cabins here were again very nice, and we slept quite comfortably.  We only spent one night, as we had some driving to get done in order to make it home by Victoria Day.  The kids ate a quick breakfast of anything we could find in our snack bag, and we hit the road.  I had a Starbucks filer pack from the previous hotel, so I made myself a coffee and was fine to drive for a bit before stopping for breakfast.  Coffee was indeed my best friend for the next few days, averaging eight hours of driving each day.  Matt's back was still not in good shape, so I drove the entire trip, much to his frustration... he would have loved to drive, I know, but it just wasn't an option.   We stopped in Bellingham to do some clothes shopping for Africa at Carters and REI before hitting the border.  It took almost two hours to get across, but we rewarded ourselves with White Spot on the other side before heading to Ken and Cynthia's for the night.

We are home now, and life is settling back into its normal patterns... aside from the growing list of things to do before our big move next month, but... one day at a time.  This was certainly a trip to remember.  That is what we will do.  Thanks for sharing the journey with us!  Wherever you are, remember the value of time spent doing the little things with those you love... we can get so busy with "life" that we forget to live each moment to the fullest.  I hope I can carry this approach into life overseas and try to slow down a bit... whatever am I rushing around for anyway?  :)

Disneyland and more...

Matt has been doing a fantastic job choosing hotels for the trip.  He really could start his own travel company, I think.  He has a way of finding great hotels (nice, clean, spacious, modern, etc.) for really good prices, and he is a professional expert at getting us upgrades for no extra charge.   Disneyland was no exception to the rule.  He managed to get us a great room, which they upgraded to a family suite for no additional charge... it was a large room with dividing doors to allow us to have private sleeping quarters - the kids in bunk beds and the parents with a king, each room with its own tv to boot!  Very fun. The kids loved being back in bunk beds.  I think they have missed having their own space.  They tend to fight a bit in the same bed, especially when it's a double.  Nine times out of ten, though, we have found them snuggled up together halfway through the night, which is too cute.  Em usually finds a way to put her arm around her little brother.  :)

So, the hotel had a free shuttle to Disneyland.  We got up early and had breakfast at the greasy spoon across the street, instead of paying $6 for a boiled egg at the hotel.  Not after the ticket price for Disneyland.  My goodness!  We didn't realize it would cost more than the hotel!  It took us both a bit aback, to be honest... but it was money well spent in the end.  We managed to get on one of the first shuttles.  Our thought that the park would be less crowded after spring break was obviously a thought that thousands of other people had as well.  The line-ups were still quite long.  The first day we spent our time at Disneyland.  The kids were overwhelmed and overjoyed, of course.  The highlight of the day, however, was taking in the Alladin show at California Adventure.  This made me feel much better about the cost of the tickets.  It was like seeing a mini Broadway production.  Really well done.  The kids loved it too.  Matt stayed awake for most of it.  :)

The second day at California Adventure was, in our opinions, even better than Disneyland.  The rides were all more kid-friendly, and the line-ups were a lot shorter.  The way that they have designed it to feel like a fairground is really smart, including the traditional rides such as ferris wheels and swings that fly.  These were the kids’ favourite rides of the day.  Mine was the roller coaster, although I almost lost my lunch with the upside down section.  Matt’s back was still really bugging him, so he stayed firmly on the ground.  Emily and I took in lunch at Ariel’s Grotto, where we were visited by nearly all the Disney princesses while eating our lunch on the outdoor patio.  She was in heaven!  The glass of wine at lunch helped me get through it. :) 

Matt took Zachary back to Autopia so he could drive his own car again.  Then we all met up to finish things off with an underwater Nemo ride.  Two very full days, if I do say so, but fun. 

From Disneyland, we went south to visit and stay with Bob and Peg, our old neighbours from Pender Harbour.  It was so amazing to see them both, and to spend some quality time in their beautiful coastal town.  It’s almost as nice as Lee Bay!  The neighbours aren’t as nice, though, if I do say so myself. :)  We had such amazing food, of course, with Peg as our hostess.  Bob made us breakfast one morning too.  We were truly pampered.  We attempted to return some pampering with dinner at one of their favourite spots on the water a bit further south.  A great spot, with really nice food. We got to spend a day on the beach with Peg as well, which was a nice treat.  These moments were a nice surprise, as Bob and Peg were originally not going to be in San Diego when we came... and we were grateful for the chance to spend time with them again.  Just like old times. 

The San Diego Zoo and Legoland added to our fun adventures in California.  The zoo was not all that we thought it would be, but maybe this is because of our feelings about zoos... I don’t think that Matt or I have really ever been to more than a handful of zoos in our lives, but we both come away with a very sad feeling.  The animals all seem so mournful and sad outside of their natural habitats.  It feels wrong to be staring at them from the other side of the fence.  I have a hard time with the statements from people passing by, telling the animals to get up and do something, or telling them to get up off their “fat ass” and give them a show.  It feels more like a circus than anything.  We cut our trip to the zoo short for this reason.  We figure the kids will be seeing lots of animals in the wild when we get to Africa later this year.  I know we’ll both prefer that too. 

Legoland was quite fun, although the ticket price once again made us gasp.  It is amazing how much money these places are taking in!  And the line-ups are incredible.  We went on a school day, thinking again that the lines would be short.  They were nothing compared to Disneyland, of course, but we still stood in line for almost 40 minutes for a roller coaster ride at one point.  The park itself is very well done, though.  The kids’ favourite part was the miniature world, where everything is made of lego, and they have automated cars and boats and trams running.  They have models of major cities in the area - they have New York, for example, and the subway running under Grand Central Station, through downtown.  They show the subway as a cross section under certain parts of the town.  The Golden Gate Bridge, with the cable cars in San Francisco were also on display.  The kids spent at least an hour here, and were sad to leave.  All in all, I would say that it was fun for the kids... not as fun for the adults, though, and definitely overpriced. 

Thus concluded our time in California, and we turned our path to the east and on to the Grand Canyon... with a stop in Vegas, of course. :)   

We are actually already in Zion, so I will get another post up tonight about the amazing Grand Canyon.  What a great spot!  Truly majestic.

Santa Rosa to Disneyland

We set out on Friday morning for Santa Rosa from the beautiful Lost Whale Inn in Trinidad.  We decided to take the scenic route, winding our way along the breathtaking coast through Mendocino before heading inland.  It was a long drive, and we broke with it up with several stops along the way.  We arrived in time for dinner, which our good dear friends from Geneva had been kind enough to prepare for us.  Their three energetic boys greeted our sleepy travellers and, within five minutes, they were all outside exploring the wonderfully big back yard, looking for creepy crawly creatures and jumping on the trampoline.  The adults got down to the business of sampling local wines and catching up on four years of adventures on the part of both families.  The next two days were spent in beautiful, sunny weather, with most of our time being spent outside.  We went for a hike in the hills around Santa Rosa, went to visit a couple wineries, and paddled down the Russian River.   We also had a wonderful dinner out “sans enfants” at a local restaurant, while a lovely woman took on the challenge of caring for all five of our little ones.  Heaven bless her!

The winery that is most worth mentioning was Benzinger - a biodynamic (one step above organic) vineyard in the Sonoma valley.  We went on a tour of the vineyards, their winery and the cellar.  The wines were amazing, and we were pleased to see this sort of family owned and operated vineyard doing so well in a competitive market.  They use insectariums to bring in natural pest killers, and use parts of their large property to farm other animals to fertilize the land.  Very inspiring and we were so pleased to visit here.  We bought a couple of their wines to take along on our journey. 

We said our goodbyes on Monday morning, and set out for San Francisco.  We treated ourselves to a fantastic boutique hotel in the centre of Fisherman’s Wharf, just steps away from Ghiradelli’s Chocolate Factory, called the Argonaut.  From there, we set out on what the kids claim to be their number one experience so far on this trip - the DUCK bus/boat tour of San Francisco.  It is a converted amphibious vehicle from WWII that is now used for a land and water tour of San Francisco.  The tour guide was really the highlight for Matt and I, with his ridiculous Corrine-like jokes and a song to go with every punchline.  He kept us laughing all the way, and made sure to embarrass everyone on the street he caught looking his way.  It was a lot of fun, that’s for sure.

San Francisco was jam-packed with activity, and we made it to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 to see the sea lions and ride carousel #1, a ride on the cable car, Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Factory, the Exploratorium (Children’s museum), carousel #2, the Rainforest Cafe... and we even found time to watch the Canucks beat Nashville in overtime!  The United States are a bit more advanced with their liquor laws, allowing children to come into a bar as long as they are not seated at the bar itself... we sat in a booth watching the game, and the kids coloured away happily.  Very refreshing, actually. :)  I would also like to add that we haven’t had one day of rain or cloud since entering California.  Amazing weather; not even fog in San Francisco!

From San Francisco, we wound our way down to Monterey where we enjoyed two more days of incredible sunshine!  We spent our time looking for shells at the beach, visiting the aquarium, playing at the park, and spelling each off while we made use of the rooftop hot tub area at the beautiful hotel.  Matt worked his magic with the hotel staff by complaining about our parking lot view in the “garden room” that we had asked for... so they upgraded us to an oceanview room for no extra charge.  Gotta love that!  The ocean breeze, the waves crashing against the rocks... it was such a treat.  We turned off the A/C and slept with the windows open.  Not many hotels offer that these days... Matt says that I am making things sounds too idyllic, so let me mention last night’s dinner... in an effort to avoid an excessive room service charge, Matt found a local take-out place.  We ended up feasting on coagulated fettucine alfredo with breaded chicken.  The kids were spoiled with macaroni salad that was filled with chunks of mushroom and horrid looking chicken with far too much bbq sauce.  The whole thing was topped off with the addition of WonderBread garlic bread.  Lovely.  At least he recognized the error and we won’t have to deal with THAT again! 

We left sunny Monterey behind, made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s for some supplies (thanks for the tip, Peg!), and then made our way to the Big Sur area. We stopped at several state parks along the way, enjoying the rather barren, yet spectacular, mountainous coastline.  We ate an incredible little cafe set on a bluff overlooking the ocean, with nothing in view but rugged coastline and open sea.  Stunning.  It was a hippy place, with a fire blazing outside, place to recline on cushions, and lots of room for dancing.  Perfect for our little ones.  We then went back to our little cabin in the woods where we made our own fire and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.  Yum.  It was the perfect end to a great day.

We woke early, made some breakfast and hit the road by 10am.  We had a long drive ahead of us to reach Santa Monica by 6pm.  We took a bit of a scenic route, which ended up being a bit more twisty then we had hoped, but we all made it out to the 101 unscathed and were there before we knew it.  We stayed with Katy and Juan Pablo and their two boys - Abe and Gabe - friends from Bogota.  They generously offered up their home to us for the night, and the kids were able to run around while we visited, ate and even got some laundry done.  What a treat!  The highlights of this 24 hour visit were hitting the Santa Monica pier late at night for a ferris wheel ride with the kids, and hiking up above Santa Monica to get an incredible view of the entire beach and city skyline.  Incredible! 

After the hike, we said our goodbyes and made one last stop before leaving LA - The American Girl Doll Store.  Emily and I went for high tea while Matt and Zach did a bit of shopping.  What an experience.  Emily and her little doll Emily were in girl heaven, of course, and I enjoyed every minute of it as well.  We had her little doll's hair done, bought some matching clothes, and the high tea was unforgettable.  What a racket!  But I figure she'll grow out of it sooner than I can imagine, so I may as well enjoy every minute of it while I can. 

After this we hit the road again and are now at our hotel, just outside of Disneyland.  A whole other world in itself, I understand... I guess we'll find out tomorrow!  We are going to spend two days here, and let the kids go wild... should be fun! 

All in all, the road trip has gone better than expected... we have really found our space.  Somewhere along the way, we noticed that the kids had stopped asking when we would be arriving in Disneyland, and how many more days it would be until we got there.  They don’t even complain about getting in the car anymore.  The stories have been a great help.  But now we are finally here and they are sleeping soundly at last.  The excitement is almost too much to bear.  I think I might need a blog post for Disneyland all on its own.

Portland to Santa Rosa

Giant trees indeed... we have spent the past four days driving through some of the most stunningly beautiful landscape I have ever seen.  The Redwoods are truly impressive, and we took our time exploring the whole coastal area.

Our trip started in Crescent City, where we searched for a decent hotel... not a lot to choose from, to be honest, and we turned down two before settling on a place to stay.  At least it was clean, and they had the Canucks game on in the lobby (our two main criteria, of course)... We found a great park for the kids to play at near the water's edge the first morning.  I dropped Matt and the kids off while I went in search of a good coffee and some information on the best places to go in the Redwoods with kids.

With coffee in hand, I returned and we set out in search of grey whales that had been seen that morning off the coast.  We drove the coast line and searched and searched, but we had no luck I'm afraid.  Hit and miss... but it was fun to search.  Then we took a thin, gravel route through the back side of the Redwoods to Stout Grove.  The agent at the tourism information had recommended this to us, and it was perhaps our favourite view of the forest.  The drive was slow but lovely, and we were so pleased to have the moonroof in our car - the kids looked up at the towering trees and oohed and awed as they snapped pictures with their little cameras.  Very cute to watch from the front seat.  We then hiked a short 1km loop and got to look at some really amazing trees.  The kids were most excited when they were able to climb on or inside a tree, but we got them to stand at the base and look right up to the top of them as well... even better than the Sears tower!

We had lunch in a little cafe that offered all day breakfast and then headed south to Trinidad.  Our "California with Kids" guidebook recommended a great little B&B there called The Lost Whale, and we decided to book in for two nights.  The kids have been doing so well in the car, and we thought that a couple of days in one place might be nice for them.  Our room was perfectly suited for us, with a loft where the kids could sleep and a main floor with a bed and bathroom for us.  Our hosts recommended a restaurant in a nearby town that we should visit, so we set off in search of it. Not easy to find, but once we did, we were pleasantly surprised.  The one thing that was certain was that our children would not be noticed at all... the noise level in the place was so high that we could hardly hear each other across the table.  A fun, local hang-out, that's for sure... with all ages represented.  We headed home and were able to put Ems and Zach to bed and then go downstairs to the living room, have a glass of wine while we played a game and/or read, and then come upstairs to bed.  Breakfast in the morning was far too decadent, but amazingly delicious.  Peach cobbler, lemon raspberry muffins, greek frittata, fresh fruit, amazing coffee... so we ate all too much, but wow.  Yum.

The second day there, we took a trip south to Eureka to visit the "Discovery Centre" for kids.  The guidebook listed this as a MUST see for kids, so we were expecting big things... but I guess our standards were a bit too high.  We were thinking interactive area at Science World, or fantastic displays like Vancouver Aquarium... perhaps we have been spoiled?  It was a room no bigger than a large classroom with mediocre exhibits to keep the kids entertained for an hour or so.  We stayed for a bit before heading to Arcata, which the guidebook also said was a must see.  It was a neat little town, with a great central square and fun little shops.  Very surfer meets yuppy, if you know what I mean... lots of people walking around in Bogs with skirts.  :)  We had some great Mexican fare and then hung out for a bit before heading back to the house for some appetizers, a dip in the hot tub, the Canucks game, some reading and some shut eye.  All in all, a full day.

We had ourselves packed and ready to go before the 9am breakfast which we knew we would need to get us on our way to Santa Rosa.  We did our longest drive so far, clocking six hours in total.  We took our time though, and stopped off along the way to keep the kids entertained.  We hit another Redwoods hike, then drove through one of the larger trees (I just HAD to do it!) before taking a very twisty scenic route to the coast.  We went through Mendocino, where we had ice cream on the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful coast as we wound our way towards our friends Justin & Amber's place in Santa Rosa.  By the time we arrived, it was dinner time, and they had prepared a feast for us.  The kids were so happy to be out of the car, and all five kids played wonderfully in the backyard while we had some time to catch up before crashing for the night...

Oh, and I almost forgot to add this, but uploading photos tonight reminded me... en route to Crescent City we stopped at a roadside diner.  The kids were so well behaved that the lady gave us a free cinnamon bun... not just any bun, as you can see.  They are famous for the SIZE of their buns.  ;)

Vancouver to Portland

Good Friday morning, we set out from my sister's lovely home in Vancouver and made our way to Matt's parents' house for breakfast.  Although we knew that this would set us back considerably with the border line-ups, Matt's mother had been gone for some time and really wanted to visit with the kids before our big trip.  Understood... it meant that, by the time we left for the border, there were two to three hour waits at ALL the crossings.
We took our chances and headed for the Aldergrove crossing.  We got into the line up quite quickly and it was a beautiful day for a border wait.  Matt and the kids went walking along the side of the road where a very clever man had set up his ice cream truck.  :)  They each got a treat and enjoyed walking alongside me as I advanced in the line.  The sun was shining, the sunroof was open, and I had my book to read while I waited.  The two hours passed by very quickly, and we were soon at the border. 
I got in trouble for crossing the line behind which I was supposed to stop, of course.  Amazing how grumpy border cross guards can be!  He made a point of coming over to me and telling me that he was not pleased that I had crossed the line.  Truth be told, we had a wasp in the car, and I was paying more attention to getting it out of the car than I was to the large man in front of my car telling me to stop.  I tried to explain this to him (leaving out the bit about him being large, of course), but he remained unimpressed.  When we were waved through to the agent, we were once again asked many strange and wonderful questions.  There are the normal questions: Where are you going? Where will you be staying? How long will you be away?  And then came the interesting ones: Do you have a home in Canada?  Will you be renting it out while you are away?  What do you do for a living?  Are you both working this year? 
We made it through without a search, but we chatted for some time about the sorts of questions that we were asked... the difference between Canadian and US border guards and the questions that we are asked is really remarkable.  The last time we went through the border, we forgot that the Americans would know everything about us, and were asked where we had been living (Colombia), and where the children had been born (Switzerland).  It is always an experience.  I guess there is never a dull moment as a border crossing guard. 
Onward we went to Seattle, where my good friend Melanie and her family live - her husband Jonathan and their lovely daughter Thalia.  We had been trying to find a time to go and visit them in Seattle since we returned to Canada last fall, and only now were able to make it happen.  They live a very interesting life in Lake City... they work with a Mennonite church in the area to support the homeless community living in the Lake City area.  They have become friends with many of them and have been able to come alongside them, providing an environment where they can experience dignity, fairness, justice, and peace.  It is a truly incredible role that they have been able to play in the lives of the people that they have met and continue to meet, and we felt privileged to join in their community's celebration of Easter this past weekend. 
Our time with them was relaxing and refreshing, to say the least.  The children had lots of fun playing with Thalia and jumping on the trampoline, and we made several excursions to parks in the area during the course of the weekend.  We had an Easter egg hunt, of course, and overdosed on chocolate...
Matthew has been suffering a bit with a bad back, so we stayed a bit longer this morning in order for him to get in to see a physiotherapist.  He feels much better now, and has some exercises to keep him limber on the journey south. 
We only made the short drive from Seattle to Portland today, and the children are now dozing quietly in the bed beside me at the Holiday Inn... a swim, some dinner, and eight chapters in Kate Dicamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane which was given to us by our dear friend Nikki.   Good choice!  They loved it and didn't want me to stop. 
Tomorrow we will head south to the Redwoods... so exciting!  I have always wanted to see these giant trees!  Good times...

Pender Harbour to Vancouver

Packing up is perhaps my least favourite part about leaving on a trip.  It wouldn't be bad if we could just leave the house as we want to, but the fact that we rent our place in our absence means that we have to put away all of our personal items, including clothes, toys, food, etc.  It seems that, no matter how long I give myself to complete this task, I can always find a way to be up until midnight the night before a big trip.
We literally started the packing up on Tuesday this week, and didn't finish until 1am last night.  Ridiculous.
But... now that we are out the door, it is liberating.

The inevitable question started even before we reached the ferry, though. "When are we going to get to Disneyland?".  Trying to explain to Em and Zach that we have several stops to make along the way, and that it is going to be a while before we actually get to Disneyland is next to impossible.  We made them a little calendar, with all the details of the trip on it, but the question is still being asked almost every half hour.  It is going to be a LONG trip... but a fun one, I am sure of it.   At least we will not forget it, right?  :)

We are spending the night with my sister and her wonderful family in Vancouver before heading down to Seattle tomorrow.  Breakfast with Matt's parents... before driving on Good Friday, which should be interesting... hope we make it there before dinnertime!

And so it begins...

Packing up

So... we are finally off on our long anticipated road trip to California.  :)

It was originally scheduled for January but we had some health set-backs, so here we are, two months away from our big move to Africa, heading out on a road trip.  Crazy?  Perhaps, but necessary.  We promised the kids we would show them Disneyland, so that is what we are going to do.

I thought a blog might be in order.  Who knows how often I'll post, but I am hoping to keep a journal of sorts about the adventures that we are going to encounter on our way.  Come along for the ride, if you like!

The trip starts this Friday, April 22nd.