Roadtrip

Recently, we hit another milestone. Family roadtrip! And it doesn't seem like all that long ago I was the one in the back of the car, whining, "Are we there yet? I'm bored. Drive faster" All of a sudden, I'm the adult? Whoa, how exactly did that happen? I dunno. But nonetheless, we packed the minivan, loaded the kids, and set off for No. Cal. The plan was to drive from Los Angeles to Carmel. Normally, its a 5-6 hour drive, but... Apparently, with kids, it takes longer. We had a stop in Santa Barbara, ate some pizza and stretched out our legs. There is a park smack in the middle of Isla Vista, complete with a children's jungle gym. Surprise, surprise. I lived in that town for, well, a long time.. and I never knew there was a kids park. 2.5 hours later, we were back in the van, continuing up north. We finally arrived at our destination, about 10 hours after we departed. The kids did great on the road, with minimal fussing. I was pleasantly surprised. We checked into our hotel. Real nice place, one of the few we could find that had suites, which we needed to house all of us. It was pretty late, and we needed food ASAP. There was one of those 'upscale' markets across the street. There I got food to go, including $9 a pound mac & cheese! Call it what you want, organic, artesian, etc... its still pasta and cheese.. people, please... That said, Casey did eat that stuff like it was crack...

Each morning started with a trip downstairs to the breakfast room. It was sort of like a B&B, with provided breakfast. And each morning, I would prepare a bagel with cream cheese to bring back to the room for Casey. For other meals, we found it much better to bring food back to the room, as opposed to eating out. Kids fared much better that way. And if the kids are doing good, we are all doing good.

A couple of the highlights were the Dennis the Menace children's park. The kids had a blast there. The Monterey Bay Aquarium was a hit. We also rented a giant bicycle that sat 6 adults and 3 children, and pedaled along the waterfront.

Da boys on the giant roller slide at the Dennis the Menace Park, Monterey, CA



Daddy and Casey at the touch pool at the Monterey Bay Aquarium


Daddy and Sydney