Sunday, July 6, 2008

Home at Last

3,094 miles in 20 days.

It was fun, it was relaxing, it was an adventure, it was maddening at times, it was our road trip.

And now it's over.

We're home, and we're all happy about that. It was a wonderful trip and we saw some lovely scenery, had fun times, and enjoyed visiting with family and friends, and now we're on to the next chapter of our lives: The Rest of the Summer.

Trip Highlights (Heather Version)

  • The beach at Carmel. (Before the lightening storm!)
  • Pt. Lobos Preserve, south of Carmel, for all the seals and the incredibly beautiful walk on the rocks.
  • The swimming pools at Hearst Castle.
  • The beach at Pismo Beach. An ocean view from Marie Callender's (who knew the non-gourmet vacation could still include a view from the dining room?)
  • Lunch at American Girl Place.
  • The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
  • High-fivin' Charlotte after her first roller coaster ride.
  • Steph's blackberry margaritas poolside.
  • Reading my book by myself (priceless opportunity on this trip!) on the porch of our cabin in Mammoth Lakes in the sun, for like an hour.
  • Yosemite National Park, an amazing place.
There were many more highlights, but those particularly stand out. I'm not going to review the lowlights - why go there? There weren't many of those anyway.

Tyrone (!) and I thank you for bearing with the inaccuracies of the Jott transcriptions and reading this blog about our first big family road trip. Don't despair - there will be others. We have discovered that we're well suited to this kind of vacation as a family, so stay tuned for news about some other summer driving adventure...

Love from,

Feather, Tyrone, Baggie and Shallot

Friday, July 4, 2008

Did I mention that we...

Did I mention that we are in Portland? I am feeling pretty punchy after a long day in the car, the girls wish we were in Seattle they are ready to be home and we feel we'll be on Sunday after we attend Elanor's family re... listen

Powered by Jott

We are starting a trend...

We are starting a trend for a new kind of Tailgating Party. We are at a movie theater parking lot. Eating peanut butter and crackers and Byron and I are drinking gin and tonic. Because no restaurants are open and we're waiting for a movie to begin. listen

Powered by Jott

And now a word about...

And now a word about food, we have managed on the trip to avoid McDonald's and almost every other fast food chain except for Subway and Starbucks. How we managed to do this I'm not sure, but somehow it all worked out. listen

Powered by Jott

Today we are traveling...

Today we are traveling from Mount Shasta to Portland and last night was our last night in a motel on this trip. We are all getting excited to be home, but also enjoying our last few days of vacation. listen

Powered by Jott

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Tonight, we are in Manteca,...

Tonight, we are in Manteca, a rather unremarkable town, East of San Francisco and we are enjoying cool time and we'll go to dinner soon. listen

Powered by Jott

So, Curry Village was...

So, Curry Village was pretty fun and as much like a refugee camp as want to experience. The proximity of the cabins is quite close. listen

Powered by Jott

In Yosemite, we stayed...

In Yosemite, we stayed in a valley at a place called Curry village in a canvas along with 4 million other people. listen

Powered by Jott

We are finally back...

We are finally back to Verizon network range, so I can do a little bit more blogging. We enjoyed two glorious gorgeous days at Yosemite National Park, which was as pretty a place as I could ever dream of. It was stunning. listen

Powered by Jott

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The most expensive gas...

The most expensive gas we have seen so far is at June late along Highway 395 and the cost for a gallon of gas is $5.14, good thing we have a full tank. listen

Powered by Jott