Started Disneyland at 9am yesterday
, left at 1130pm. 
Too tired, woke up with a wicked cold. Today we switch hotels, closer to Disneyland.
, left at 1130pm. Too tired, woke up with a wicked cold. Today we switch hotels, closer to Disneyland.Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Well the sun rose we decided to make a run for Disneyland. So out from Gilroy to the coast, through Castroville with their fields of artichokes 
and on to Monterey. Monterey, we had heard, has world class aquarium. So we paid our 80 plus dollars with high hopes, but it was quite a disappointment. Although the layout was nice, the fish on display were less than impressive. Hailey had been looking forward to seeing whales and dolphins but she had to settle for otters and a singular seal. Reilly had wanted to see their collection of sharks but they only had three that were more than 3 feet long and none of those were over 6 feet. We're really looking forward to Sea World in San Diego now. Then we went through Mr. Eastwood's former reign of Carmel-By-The-Sea and on down the coast. Along the winding headland cliff-edged roads we drove into a pullout to take a picture of an old bridge. 
It was here that I saw a man with two ducks running around and a cage on top of his worn down 1983 Chrysler station wagon(which he obviously lived in) with two rabbits and a young turkey (chick?) in it. The kids came over to see the animals and he was very upbeat and friendly despite his current situation. He had collected some nice shells on the beaches far below and gave them to the kids when they gave him 5 bucks to buy his ducks a meal. Previous to meeting him we had been having quite the discussion on what we all wanted to get out of this trip, after our encounter the kids realized if this guy could be happy that some of their complaints were a bit petty. We headed further down the coast and saw first hand the results of the freshly extinguished brush fires.
We arrived in Big Sur as it started to get dark and the Delica was getting low on diesel, after asking around we found out there was no diesel there and none down the coastal highway so we had to turn back towards Carmel. It was dark as we came upon our new friend again, he was sitting on a rock overlooking the Pacific playing guitar for his pets the black rabbit on a rock the turkey in his jacket to stay warm. We thanked him for his lesson to the kids and gave him a few bucks more, he then placed the black rabbit on his head 
and proceeded to recite a tragic poem his father had written about life at sea. So we fueled up in Monterey and navigated through the dark backroads to Salinas and down the 101. I decided to pull an all nighter at the wheel while the others slept and after a few quick stops to nap we made it as far as Santa Barbara by morning. On the advice of a local passing by, we had breakfast out on the public pier. He told us to ignore what we saw on the menu and ask for the 2 dollar breakfast that they don't advertise. Pancakes, bacon and eggs. Not a bad deal. Then we made the final 100 mile drive to Anaheim which felt more like 200. It's 9pm now and I'm sitting poolside typing this as the kids have a final swim of the day.
and on to Monterey. Monterey, we had heard, has world class aquarium. So we paid our 80 plus dollars with high hopes, but it was quite a disappointment. Although the layout was nice, the fish on display were less than impressive. Hailey had been looking forward to seeing whales and dolphins but she had to settle for otters and a singular seal. Reilly had wanted to see their collection of sharks but they only had three that were more than 3 feet long and none of those were over 6 feet. We're really looking forward to Sea World in San Diego now. Then we went through Mr. Eastwood's former reign of Carmel-By-The-Sea and on down the coast. Along the winding headland cliff-edged roads we drove into a pullout to take a picture of an old bridge. It was here that I saw a man with two ducks running around and a cage on top of his worn down 1983 Chrysler station wagon(which he obviously lived in) with two rabbits and a young turkey (chick?) in it. The kids came over to see the animals and he was very upbeat and friendly despite his current situation. He had collected some nice shells on the beaches far below and gave them to the kids when they gave him 5 bucks to buy his ducks a meal. Previous to meeting him we had been having quite the discussion on what we all wanted to get out of this trip, after our encounter the kids realized if this guy could be happy that some of their complaints were a bit petty. We headed further down the coast and saw first hand the results of the freshly extinguished brush fires. We arrived in Big Sur as it started to get dark and the Delica was getting low on diesel, after asking around we found out there was no diesel there and none down the coastal highway so we had to turn back towards Carmel. It was dark as we came upon our new friend again, he was sitting on a rock overlooking the Pacific playing guitar for his pets the black rabbit on a rock the turkey in his jacket to stay warm. We thanked him for his lesson to the kids and gave him a few bucks more, he then placed the black rabbit on his head and proceeded to recite a tragic poem his father had written about life at sea. So we fueled up in Monterey and navigated through the dark backroads to Salinas and down the 101. I decided to pull an all nighter at the wheel while the others slept and after a few quick stops to nap we made it as far as Santa Barbara by morning. On the advice of a local passing by, we had breakfast out on the public pier. He told us to ignore what we saw on the menu and ask for the 2 dollar breakfast that they don't advertise. Pancakes, bacon and eggs. Not a bad deal. Then we made the final 100 mile drive to Anaheim which felt more like 200. It's 9pm now and I'm sitting poolside typing this as the kids have a final swim of the day.Sunday, July 13, 2008
The second day in San Francisco was great too.
We started at the zoo and spent 3 hours there. Then it was off to Lombard Street to join the line up of tourists to drive down the curviest street in the world. 
I think a brake shop would be a good business to start in this town, the angles of the hills are unlike any other city I know of. Next, we had ice cream at Ben & Jerry's right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, amongst the hippies. 
It seemed fitting that since this was the home to the Grateful Dead that my flavour ice cream was Cherry Garcia. 
As evening started to fall we knew we had to head down the highway but time for one more stop we found a cool shop called Trader Joe's. Tons of in-house brands, including their own beers! The majority of the food was organic, but the most surprising thing about the store was the prices. They were by far the best we've found, organic or not. As we left San Francisco southbound on the 280 we agreed we'll swing by here on the way back up. The next morning we had breakfast at a little-known restaurant (Scottish I think) called McDonald's. That's pretty good seeing as that's been our first Rotten Ronnie's stop of the trip. We finally found a laundromat in Santa Clara and another Trader Joe's too! After that we headed down to Gilroy - The Garlic Capitol Of The World. As you come into town through the numerous fruit stands the air smells of garlic (what a surprise). Every once in a while you pass a semi on the roads loaded with garlic bulbs.
We lunched at a barbeque restaurant, Famous Dave's. "Those were the best ribs in the world I bet," Hailey states. Our camp site is at San Luis Reservoir about 30 minutes out of town, and if you like standing under the hot air hand dryer in the public washroom, you'd like the weather. 
At Hollister, just south of here there is a motorbike rally so there been tons of bikes around. 
The sun is starting to set on our second evening here, when we see the sun again we have to make a choice. 
Either we head out to Santa Cruz on the coast or head East to the I-5 and make a run for Disneyland.
We started at the zoo and spent 3 hours there. Then it was off to Lombard Street to join the line up of tourists to drive down the curviest street in the world. I think a brake shop would be a good business to start in this town, the angles of the hills are unlike any other city I know of. Next, we had ice cream at Ben & Jerry's right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, amongst the hippies. It seemed fitting that since this was the home to the Grateful Dead that my flavour ice cream was Cherry Garcia. As evening started to fall we knew we had to head down the highway but time for one more stop we found a cool shop called Trader Joe's. Tons of in-house brands, including their own beers! The majority of the food was organic, but the most surprising thing about the store was the prices. They were by far the best we've found, organic or not. As we left San Francisco southbound on the 280 we agreed we'll swing by here on the way back up. The next morning we had breakfast at a little-known restaurant (Scottish I think) called McDonald's. That's pretty good seeing as that's been our first Rotten Ronnie's stop of the trip. We finally found a laundromat in Santa Clara and another Trader Joe's too! After that we headed down to Gilroy - The Garlic Capitol Of The World. As you come into town through the numerous fruit stands the air smells of garlic (what a surprise). Every once in a while you pass a semi on the roads loaded with garlic bulbs. We lunched at a barbeque restaurant, Famous Dave's. "Those were the best ribs in the world I bet," Hailey states. Our camp site is at San Luis Reservoir about 30 minutes out of town, and if you like standing under the hot air hand dryer in the public washroom, you'd like the weather. At Hollister, just south of here there is a motorbike rally so there been tons of bikes around. The sun is starting to set on our second evening here, when we see the sun again we have to make a choice. Either we head out to Santa Cruz on the coast or head East to the I-5 and make a run for Disneyland.Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Dissention in the troops!
Mill Bay is the most beautiful town we have seen yet. Everything from the high school to the Safeway parking lot is pristine and beautiful. The homes are meticulous and the tropical foliage breath taking, even the air smell wonderful. Camping for us however was not so wonderful. After finally finding a site that was full we decided to camp in an overflow parking lot next to the camp site. The kids were looking forward to chasing lizards again but we put a stop to it since there were rattle snake and mountain lion warning signs mounted throughout the campsite. It was a very long and hot night. To our amazement the kids slept like logs, mom and dad however were not were not so lucky. There may have even been mention of turning towards home by one or two family members that day! Today was a new day. We drove 20 minutes or so into San Fransisco. Hailey and Reilly were completely taken by the Golden Gate Bridge. The first thing we did was book into a hotel. No questions there! Our hotel is across the street from the zoo and 2 blocks from the beach.
We spent the morning on the beach watching surfers and playing in the water which by the way is still freezing cold. When will it warm up? 
After cleaning up we took the kids to Fisherman's Pier. Dinner was clam chowder in a sour dough bowl, Hailey agreed it tasted better than canned clam chowder. 
We asked them what their favorite part of today was and the highlight for them was watching a single sea lion in the bay posing for all who would watch. They were so happy 
and it was totally free. That right there makes this trip so incredibly worth while. Tomorrow we go to the zoo and other stuff!Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A few days away from wifi
July 6th
We pulled out of Eureka and only made it about 30 miles down the road before we came to Humboldt Redwood State Park. We were bound for Leggett for the drive through Redwood Tree, but by chance we took a scenic side route called the Avenue of Giants.
About half way through we came upon a campground and now that the long weekend is over there was vacancy. The campsite is amazing, it's actually in the middle of a redwood grove. When the breeze picks up you can smell the redwoods. If you've been to the "Flying Over California" ride at Disney's California Adventure Park, it smells exactly like that!! The kids became California State Park Junior Rangers after taking a class and a tour of the redwoods, they got badges and log books. At the group campfire Reilly won a Coast Redwood seedling which he can't wait to plant when he gets home. That night after our own camp fire(yes, the fire wood was redwood) we slept in until 9am.
July 7th
It was hard to leave Humboldt Park, but we set off again. In Leggett we found one of the few drive through trees but the van was a smidge too tall.
On the windy mountain route from Route 101 to Route 1 Hailey then Reilly took turns getting car sick, the microsuede apolstry cleans up quite well actually. By the time we got to Westport the van was running on fumes. As we pulled into the one gas station/liquor store/deli it was almost my turn to be sick when I was told that the nearest diesel was still another 15 miles South in Fort Bragg. At Fort Bragg we fueled up, groceried up and got some take out from Safeway and took to the deserted beach at Jug Handle State Reserve for supper. Tons of kelp on the beach and many varieties of wild flowers growing out of the cliffs.
South from there, Nicole fell in love with every little coastal village we came upon. We agreed just driving this coastline would make a great vacation. We watched the sun sink into the Pacific just past Anchor Bay then set up camp at Gualala for the night.July 8th
After another scenic drive along the coast we've just pulled into Mill Valley, just North of the Golden Gate Bridge. Time for supper.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Redwoods
Leaving Cresent City, we came upon a long beach with tons of people, nice waves and a few surfers. Reilly ran in as soon as he could get his trunks on. He had broken his skim board soon afterwards. Despite what you hear, London Drugs doesn't have the best quality skim boards! After the water we headed into the Redwood State Park. You hear that the redwoods are big, but seeing them in person is something else.
After the big trees we headed down to Eureka for the night. Good Night.
California!
We left Newport under clouds and rain after we took full advantage of La Quinta's free breakfast and their laundry facilities. We stopped at Ona Beach State Park for brunch and walked the beach for a couple hours.
The beaches are incredible here and you rarely see anyone else. Onto the Dunes near Florence, amazing! As you drive through town you can see dunes in the background higher than the stores on the street. The campground at the dunes was full but we spent the full day there climbing and descending the dunes. The kids spent a couple hours in the lake there. Another hour south we were in Coos Bay for the fireworks. The lead-up to the show was filled with local(yokel) colour. About 200 people with about only a full set of teeth between them setting off fireworks in the crowd until the actual show. The real show itself was spectacular.
The beaches are incredible here and you rarely see anyone else. Onto the Dunes near Florence, amazing! As you drive through town you can see dunes in the background higher than the stores on the street. The campground at the dunes was full but we spent the full day there climbing and descending the dunes. The kids spent a couple hours in the lake there. Another hour south we were in Coos Bay for the fireworks. The lead-up to the show was filled with local(yokel) colour. About 200 people with about only a full set of teeth between them setting off fireworks in the crowd until the actual show. The real show itself was spectacular. 
Because the local townsfolk were so peculiar we headed down the highway after the show, stopping at about midnight at a rest stop on the beach at Ophir. A peaceful sleep with huge waves crashing on the shore all night. We spent the morning skim boarding at Harris Beach State Park and finally at 1pm we crossed the line into California. And here we sit in a Safeway parking lot stealing someone's Wifi signal to bang this out on the keyboard. After a few groceries we're off to the Redwoods.
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