Oh, Mexico! 2010

Bahia de Conception

We went to Mexico this winter, drove down hauling our ’62 Cardinal travel trailer.  Our 2 year old is now a road trip pro and we have figured out her limits, when to stop, when to nap, when to buy new toys. We mostly drove up the Baja peninsula. She had a fear of oceans in Cabo, so we found a quite beach locale without waves and called it an Ocean Lake. She seemed convinced and we spent the afternoons collecting shells. Read more »

West Coast Road Trip ’09- Newport, Oregon

From Eugene, we had lunch in another cool little Oregon town, Corvalis, before heading to the coast. Unfortunately, we didn’t see much of it because it rained the whole time, but we did have one clear morning where we took advantage of the chilly beach and absorbed more ocean. We ended up at the very cool Newport Aquarium, which our daughter absolutely loved.

Newport Aquarium

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West Coast Road Trip ’09- Eugene, Oregon

After Crater Lake, we headed for Eugene, Oregon and landed at the very cool Eugene Whiteaker Hostel.

Great Hostel

We splurged on a room there to be decadent for Father’s Day and, since our camper was parked in a camp site, stayed in the camp site the second night. The Whiteaker hostel composts, recycles and grows some of their food. Hostels are always a great place to meet fellow gypsies. Read more »

West Coast Road Trip ’09- Week 3

After climbing a volcano, I was ready for some serious relaxation. Since we have a hot tub at home, we are spoiled, and all I could think about was soaking in some hot water. That is when we found the wonderful and quirky Stewart Springs Resort, a historic clothing-optional mineral bathhouse in the mountains of northern Cali, east of I5.  They were very cool about having a kid. I had anticipated the possibility of having to trade off bath time with my hubby, but we ended up being able to spa simultaneously. Read more »

West Coast Road Trip ’09- Lassen Volcanic N.P.

The peak of the peak of Lassen Peak

This weekend my family and I hiked 2.5 miles with 2,000 ft elevation gain in two hours (only one way, that is) up a volcano, half of which was in the snow, at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Phew. The last portion was most grueling with some iffy snowy ledges and very steep scree-covered switchbacks. Read more »

Stuck in Oakland- West Coast Road Trip ’09

Anyone who travels knows that there is always one day/week/incident that serves to test your travel endurance, push you out of your comfort zone, and annoy you thoroughly. We have hit our wall. The truck needed to be fixed and a one day job has turned into three. Without a car, our camper parked outside a friend’s house on a busy street, and a gimpy dog who can’t walk very far or take Bart, we were forced into a Motel 6. Read more »

Left Coast ’09

Santa Barbara has a mini marine center where kids can pet sea creatures like sea cucumbers, star fish and crabs. There is also a little under water tunnel for them. My daughter loved it and ran around screaming, “fish! shark! water!”

Touching a Shark

Santa Cruz isn’t all hippies and stoners (okay, mostly), it also has a fun and fairly inexpensive boardwalk amusement park. My daughter was too young for most rides, a two year old would have had more choices, or even a more adventurous 20-month-old, but she loved the carousel, which is a hundred years old.

Historic Carousel with Daddy

By the way, I feel it is important to mention… that 30 Toddler Songs CD that I praised in a previous post, well, beware. My daughter asks for, “kids songs,” every time we get in the car and I’m ready to tear my head off and throw it out the window if I hear “Old McDonald” one more time.

First Leg of West Coast Road Trip ’09

Our fancy "retro" paint job on this fixer upper

Our '66 Cardinal Travel Trailer

When my daughter was six months old we spent five weeks on the road with her driving to New Orleans (from New Mexico) and back. Things were different then. We owned a ’77 Dodge Santana Camper Van and my daughter did not walk or crawl. We sold the van and bought a travel trailer so that we would no longer have three vehicles. More importantly, my daughter, at 20 months, walks and talks, all the time. Yet, the adventerous ones that we are, we are taking another five week road trip, this time to Los Angeles and up the coast to Portland, OR. We have managed the first part of our trip and made it to L.A.

I put a lot of preparation into this trip from fixing up our ’66 Cardinal travel trailer (including setting it up with a solar power system) to packing all our basic needs, but my biggest priority was entertainment. Read more »

Spring Break Road Trip ’09: Day 5

Today we had something very special planned for our daughter, the Albuquerque Zoo. Our daughter absolutely loves animals, can’t get enough. And, I can’t deny, we were pretty excited too. Unfortunately, we got off to a rough start. The accumulation of days on the road with poor sleep and a low fever from teething, had put her in a terrible mood and she ended up crying all the way there. Even when she drifted into a nap, she would awaken crying and calling, “MaaaMaaa,” every fifteen minutes or so making her very grumpy.

Elephants at the Zoo

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Spring Break Road Trip ’09: Day 4

Waking up in Cloudcroft was a pleasure. At 9,000 feet, the air was cool, just like we were used to at home. While vacationing, especially with kids,  it is great to stay at a locally owned hotel in the middle of town and be able to walk everywhere. This is particularly appreciated when you have been road tripping around and want a break from the car for a while. We easily found a coffee shop and were grateful to discover a basket of toys and books for our daughter to occupy herself with as we fed her fruit from the couch while sipping on our tea and nibbling quiche and egg sandwiches. Ah, luxury. Read more »