Our Big Road Trip of Summer 2017.
(Week One.)
This year Kc and I decided to do a fun road trip up the coast. My parents planned a reunion in Sunriver Oregon and so it seemed like the best way to get there was to take the scenic route and visit and travel with family along the way. We wanted to visit places we had never been and enjoy being together. We left on July 1st and drove for 8 hours to Lake Tahoe, a place to which I had never been. We spent two nights there and then headed to San Francisco to visit Kc's older sister Angie and little Brother. From there we headed up the coast with Angie and her kids to the Redwood Forest. After camping in the redwoods we drove up to Florence, Oregon and met up with my sister Bethany to play around on the sand dunes before heading to our reunion. And that concluded our first week on the road.
Tree of Life.
Tree of Life.
My goal was to make this trip fun! More about joy in the journey than getting to a destination. So, we made whatever stops we wanted whenever we wanted. Our first stop was after a few hours at the tree of life of the highway. It was fun to run around on the salt flats for a bit and crunch some dirt under our feet.
Lake Tahoe.
I wanted to go to Lake Tahoe because I had never been and it seemed like a good place to stop on our way to San Francisco. I had read up on things to do but I think I was still a little overwhelmed when we got there as to what things to choose. We had brought our bikes with us and so after a yummy breakfast at the hotel we started our day with taking a bike ride around the lake. Olive had just learned to ride and it was a little scary to just put her our on a bike path, but she did great and she loved it. It was really beautiful and really fun. We took a wrong turn somewhere because we really had no idea what we were doing, and so we had to cut our ride a little short, but it was probably better that way as we didn't have a lot of time to spend in Tahoe.
Later in the afternoon we went to a beach on the lake. We tried to make it to incline village to see some sights but the traffic was so bad around the lake that we just decided to stop at a beach and play there. It was fun, but we had somehow made it onto some private beach without knowing it and as Kc ran back to the car to get something he could't get back in and so we kind of cut the beach time a little short also, but it was good because we went back and had a fun dinner and walked around and went swimming at the hotel and just had a good night together. I feel like we did everything wrong in Lake Tahoe and still had an amazing time. It's just good to travel and be together.
San Francisco.
Really the best selfie we could manage at the time.
Kc and I had been to San Francisco once before when Olive was a little baby, but we had never crossed over the famous Golden Gate bridge and so we were excited to do so on our way over from Lake Tahoe. The traffic was busy to get there and we accidentally took a turn up the hill to the viewpoint instead of crossing the bridge, which was bumper to bumper. At first I was frustrated with myself for giving Kc wrong directions, but it turned out to be perfect because it was such a beautiful overlook of the water and the bridge and there wouldn't have been anywhere to park, but since we were stopped anyways we just rolled ours windows down and took in the breathtaking views and enjoyed the moment. Once we finally did cross the bridge we found somewhere to park so that we could walk across it. I think because it was a holiday weekend there were lots of people there. The wind was other worldly, and we didn't really have access to our warm clothes because of the bike rack in the back, so I strapped Elijah to my chest in a baby carrier and wrapped him in a blanket and we braved our way towards the bridge. When I look at the picture of us on the bridge I just have to laugh at the whole thing, but it really was such a fun adventure.
After we left the bridge we met up with Kc's sister Angie and her kids. They ran and played at the park with beautiful views of the bridge and it was nice to be out of the car exploring somewhere new, and to be with family. We got dim sum that evening at my request because I just love dumplings and San Francisco is known for having some of the best dim sum. It was a fun dinner and the kids were of course being quite wild.
The next day was the Forth of July and we decided to go visit Kc's brother Greg and his wife Heidi who had just moved to California. We made a fun stop on the way over at the most magical place that I don't even know the name of (I will have to ask my sister in law.) The kids played hide and seek and walked on logs in this enchanting forest, we saw seals and the blow of a whale from a far distance and then we went down to the beach and played by the water and rocks. There was an older lady sitting on the beach and the kids came to play by her, you always worry about your kids bothering people so as I tried to corral my children she immediately gave them her binoculars to look at a seal at the end of beach, and as they impolitely asked for some of her food she (with my permission) joyfully let them have some of her pasta. She had a slight accent that I couldn't quite place, but once she excitedly asked if we had some Irish blood in us (from the red heads) I immediately knew she was from there. She was so sweet and she kept telling me that I was such a good mum, and that she loved children. I don't know her or anything about her story, but when I just think of her it makes me smile and hope that she is somewhere feeling happy today. When people are so unexpectedly kind it warms your heart in such a way that you remember that people are good.
After we left the beach we went to Greg and Heidi's for dinner. Heidi was 9 months pregnant and since her last labor went so quickly she didn't want to go too far from home so we stayed there and chatted and spent time together. It was good to slow down the pace a bit and spend some time with family we don't get to see often enough. I am sad to say I didn't get any pictures of us together and I am feeling bad about that. It would have lent to a good memory. I love any time that Elijah gets to spend with his cousin Zeke who is only a few months apart from him. I wish they could grow up together. I hope they will be good friends.
Redwood Forest.
Our next stop was the Red Wood Forest. My sister in law Angie and her three girls headed up the coast with us to camp for a night. I really wish I would have been able to stay here another night because there were so many more things I wanted to visit, but I was happy with our time here and I'll just have to come back again. On our way up to the camp site we stopped and drove through a tree. The kids ate and played in the cute little tree house there. I love watching the cousins get to spend time together. We made another short stop for dinner on the coast at a little place recommended by my friend. One of my favorite things about being on the coast is all the fresh seafood. I could eat from the sea every meal every single day, and I am glad to say that so far my children love seafood as much as I do. We ran out to the dock and looked at the beautiful view and then got back in the car. I had wanted to make one more stop at the Paul Bunyan statue even though it was close to getting dark. We had traded Olive for Simone in our car so that June and Olive could be together and the service was not very good so it was difficult to get ahold of one another. We had somehow gotten ahead of Angie and when we pulled off at the statue we tried to flag her down but she didn't see us, so it was just Kc, Elijah, Simone and I. I am a little sad that Olive missed it but it just gives me another reason to come back.
It was dark when we finally got our camp site and the kids were pretty tired. We set up the tent with headlights on and tried to put the kids to bed as fast as you can in a new exciting place after being in the car for half the day. I think it was actually a good thing to have the kids so tired because they seemed to fall asleep pretty quickly. Throughout the night the kids kept crawling back and forth between beds and by morning time we were all in one big pile. Can't say I got any good sleep, but I'm used to that, and that is something you are always willing to sacrifice for the magic of camping. In the morning we headed off to take a little hike in the redwoods. We went to a place that was suggested by the ranger there, it was a short half mile hike that turned out to be so amazing. On our way over Elijah had fallen asleep in the car so Kc stayed back with him while all the girls headed down the trail. Not too far along the path we got to a little bridge over a stream and it was so magical like someone had sprinkled pixie dust everywhere. The girls laughed and played there for an hour or more just walking on logs, skipping rocks, and finding little creatures. After we returned from our hikes we said our goodbyes and headed to our next destination.
Florence, Oregon.
After camping in the Red Woods we headed up to Florence Oregon to meet up with my sister Bethany to stay a couple nights and play in the sand dunes. On our way up we made a pit stop at a dinosaur park I had read about called the Prehistoric Gardens. I felt that it was a bit overpriced but totally awesome and well worth paying for if your kids love dinosaurs as much as mine do. What I loved so much about that place was the layout and environment. It was just so northwest and felt so prehistoric. You walked through these winding paths that were covered every inch in greenery and ferns and little streams passing underneath bridges. I am a total sucker for that type of thing. I wish we had had more time there but it was starting to get dark and we needed to get our hotel.
When we got to Florence it was already evening and we spent the night at a Park Motel off the 101 right by my sister. In the morning my original plan had been to go rent ATV's and drive them around the sand dunes ourselves because taking a sand dunes tour seemed lame to me, but my dad convinced me that it would be well worth it so we decided to do that instead. He was right. We got the ride of our lives. Those drivers clearly know the sand dunes really well and how to control those cars, and the driver did things I would never have had the courage to do on my own. Like fly sideways down a cliff. We got amazing views of the dunes and completely covered in sand. It was also fun that it just happened that my sister's family and ours all fit perfectly into the dune buggy together. I was surprised that Elijah seemed to enjoy it more than Olive, who has always been a lot more cautious than our little daredevil Olive, but I am just happy that I can throw my 2 year and 4 year old into a vehicle careening down cliffs at full speed and know that they wont have a panic attack about it because I love taking them on all our adventures.
After our Dune Buggy adventure we got lunch at Mo's in town. It was really good, I think the best meal of my whole trip. Everyone loved what they got and it was a very kid friendly environment which was good for us and the 6 children we had with us. After ice cream across the street we headed back to rent some sand boards to take back to the dunes. We spent the afternoon sand boarding, sand sledding, and playing in the dunes. Despite the multiple wipeouts leaving me a little cut up, we had such a fun afternoon there and I am excited to visit again someday.
The next morning we were headed to our next destination which was our family reunion in Sunriver. We decided to make several stops on the way while we were still on the Oregon coast. We stopped at a seal cave, a paid facility where you go down in an elevator into a cavern where you can see seals hanging out in a big cavern and learn about them. Then we visited another famous spot off the coast, Cape Perpetua. It's a spot on the water's edge where there is a big hole in the rock and as the tide goes up the water overflows over the rock and sucks back in through the hole in a perpetual motion. The water has to be high enough for this phenomena to occur, and while we were there at about high tide it seemed the water still wasn't high enough to have this effect, but you still saw the water rise up through the hole with the tide and get sucked back in. It was pretty amazing to look at. The kids loved playing in water that had accumulated in little pockets along the rock because some of them had tadpoles and crabs in them. My sister and I parted ways at that point because she decided to head right to Sun River and I wanted to make one more stop at a light house before heading back off the coast. I had heard that Yaquina Bay lighthouse was one of the best ones on the coast so we drove another 30 minutes or so to that destination. The lighthouse in and of itself was pretty cool, it was an old building that had some of the original things in it and showed pictures and the layout of functions and everyday life of the family that had lived there. While the lighthouse was fun I think what people love so much about that lighthouse is the beautiful surroundings that it is placed in with a huge beach down below to play around on. Unfortunately we didn't have time for that and so we will have to save that for another trip. After the tour of the lighthouse we headed to Sun River. And that concluded the first week of our month long trip out on road.
