Day 13: ... and Now We're Off to Portland

We've now pared down all our stuff to just four bags, one for each person, plus carry-ons, and left the rest at G's dad's. His grandfather, Bob, arrives bright and early to see us off.
We all pile in the minivan, sans GGP Bob (not enough room), and head off to Sacramento International Airport. We've basically made the trek up north because it actually cost us $100 per ticket less to fly out of SMF than any of the Bay Area airports.

It actually works out better because we can leave our stuff and minivan at Jody's (G's dad) and get a ride to and from the airport. There was no way we would consider leaving our van in Oakland -- not a good chance of coming back to the same van let alone a van.

We are all flying to Portland, and G will fly back to Sacramento and then drive back to Austin with his dad. I will fly back with the kids later to Austin as G doesn't want to subject them to the long drive back home.

Our flight is at 11:20 and we are out the door by 9:13. We get there in record time (40 minutes) and get in line to check our bags. Did I mention we love Southwest Airlines?

Day 12: To Rocklin We Will Go...

We say goodbye to the Bay Area and head up north to Rocklin.

There, G's dad introduces us to Tops Yogurt, a terrific little frozen yogurt shop that sells by the ounce (.39¢). They offer fourteen different flavors, including the staples French Vanilla, different variations of chocolate, and the ever-popular EuroTart (yogurt flavor). New flavors are rotated in every two or three days.

The best part is the 100 different toppings you can add to your creation including a dozen different sauces, including butterscotch, marshmallow,  and a chocolate hard top, fresh fruit, chopped up candy bars, and everything from popular kiddie cereals to a selection of chocolate chips, and the kids' favorite -- all sorts of theater candies like gummy worms and Nerds and even candy corn.

Day 11: from the East Bay to Marin

You can’t visit the East Bay and not drop by the Berkeley Thai Temple for some delicious homemade Thai food. You can easily walk there from the Ashby BART station, though you'll probably spend a few bucks first at the weekly City of Berkeley Flea Market where you can get anything from batteries to socks, jewelry and fashion, international foods to just about anything you can imagine. 

The Temple is at 1911 Russell and MLK, next door to the Berkeley Tool Lending Library (which is undergoing some sort of renovation). If you drive, get there early so you can find street parking--please don't block driveways or park illegally. Be courteous to the neighbors and don't litter as some don't enjoy having the weekly onslaught of Berkeley-ites on their streets and the Thai community had to undergo a rigorous campaign to save Sunday brunches at the Temple.

Day 4: San Diego here we come!

We got to sleep in a little this morning but as soon as Storm wakes up, he can't help but wake his baby brother up. So off we went to the complimentary fully-cooked breakfast. This was a nicer set up where you got to choose from a menu of 2 eggs w/ bacon or sausage or a 3-stack pancake with hot syrup, all served with hash browns (my favorite) and toast. Alternatively, you could have cereal, oatmeal, granola, yogurt, or fruit. They also had a nice selection of bagged teas along with the requisite breakfast beverages.


After breakfast, we all went swimming in the pool. The other hotel guests were very friendly and we struck up conversations with several of them. There was a family from Persia, another from Germany, and we met two brothers from Guam who were there from San Diego for a ballroom dance contest that Kyle, 8, was competing in the cha cha, jive, and polka, later that afternoon.

Day 3: Arizona to California

The kids did not sleep in as we hoped they would so we all got up and headed to the La Quinta Inn Tucson Airport Bright Start Breakfast. It was basically the same as yesterday's continental breakfast but with fresh fruit, oatmeal, and yogurt, and we had a nice view of the pool. We took it easy this morning and I took the kids swimming while Gordon packed things up and looked for his phone. Did I mention he lost his phone in White Sands? Luckily, someone found it and called his dad, who emailed me and the guy will send it to him once he gets home from his vacation Sunday.

We then took off for the Salton Sea, on the way to our next hotel. It was hot hot hot! The temperature was in the mid-110's the whole drive. But hey it was a dry heat so it only felt like 100! If it were this hot in Austin, I think we would have melted. We stopped at Carl Jr.'s to give the kids a break to run around in their indoor playground. The tides have turned and now it's Storm who's eating everything (he has now discovered fried zucchinis) while Ocean barely touches his food. 

We continued on our way and went through 3 different checkpoints, one of which was an agricultural check at the California border. At the last checkpoint, A. Houston (attired in long sleeve shirt and gloves) actually asked for my green card and said I was supposed to carry it with me at all times but he waved us on. The view of the Salton Sea was quite nice, with a mountain range as a backdrop. We stopped at Mecca Beach but when we opened the doors, the stench of dead sea creatures was overwhelming, not to mention the dozens of flies that swarmed in. We quickly hopped back in and spent the next few miles trying to get rid of all the flies. The baby was inconsolable -- he did not appreciate having his one opportunity to run about snatched from him but neither Gmoney nor Storm wanted to even try a different beach. So we headed up to Indio, where we had dinner at El Mexicali Cafe 2 which G describes as traditional Mexican American food -- big plates, soupy refried beans, and a not-so-good $6.75 house margarita with blue salt. Although I did get to try a dish with cactus in it. 

We then made it to the Best Western Palm Desert Resort on Hospitality Row, where we all just collapsed. It had been a long hot day of driving with not too many stops because it was just too darn hot. We all were in bed and asleep by 10:30.

Day 2: New Mexico to Arizona

Carlsbad Caverns: It was a terrific day weather-wise: 66 degrees when we got there, 56 in the caverns, and 76 when we came back out. It rained lightly as we got ready to go.

Gordon insisted we make the trek down the natural entrance of Carlsbad Caverns, and now I know why. 

It was 86 when we arrived in Artesia for lunch at the Everspring Chinese Buffet. There were quite a few Chinese buffets on the drive from the caverns to Artesia but we decided to keep going. The food at Everspring was perfectly edible and the staff was very friendly.

Next stop is White Sands, which is white because it is made of gypsum. It had just rained so the dunes had a hard coating. The kids had a blast running around. Ocean did a face plant running down a sand dune toward this really cool outcropping.

Day 1: Texas to New Mexico

The drive started out great. The air was cool and it rained and poured sporadically as we headed west. The temperature never rose beyond the mid 80’s and we didn’t mind the rain much as it sure as heck beats 100° weather. We were making really good time when we got a flat at Iraan, TX. Gmoney pulled over and changed the tire though I wanted to call AAA to do it. We continued on our way driving at 60 miles per hour instead of 80 mph as we had before. I called AAA Roadside Assistance and they were very helpful and gave me the numbers for four tire centers in Fort Stockton. I called all four and we decided on the last one, which quoted us the lowest price, and because I liked the mannerisms of Howard, the person who answered my call. 

We made it to McKissack Tire Service and they promptly replaced the spare. If you ever get into any sort of mechanical trouble near Fort Stockton, I highly recommend this place. Howard and his son Dudley were extremely nice and didn’t try to overcharge us. Their front wall was filled with thank you letters from hapless travelers they assisted over the years. When I asked permission to snap a photo of a rendering of the town, not only did Howard give me a copy of the poster, he also gave me a really nice pen that doubles as a flashlight – mentioning that women always liked it. Before we left, he suggested a couple sights for me to take photos of.

Estimated Time of Departure: 11:00 am

it's 4:00 am and I just created this blog. Haven't done much packing. Spent much of the night fiddling with my blackberry -- synchronizing the calendars etc. so my itinerary is available at the touch of a button. Spent more time updating the GPS and inputting our itinerary only for it to completely erase all my hard work because it ran out of juice... Gmoney just woke up and berated me for still being up at this hour -- how I need my rest because we have a long way to drive tomorrow.

We're shooting for getting out the door by 11:30 and driving from here to Carlsbad, NM. Our plan is to do a state a day. We should get to San Diego by Sunday. The schedule is tight -- with just enough time to get from place to place, spend a little bit of time sightseeing, and then back in the minivan and heading off to the next destination.

The kids went to bed late (after 10) so hopefully they'll sleep in some this morning and we can get most of the packing done.

Well, I better get some shut eye or I won't be worth much later -- never was a morning person!

Follow along -- let's see how we fare.

Actual Time of Departure: before 11:00!

So I grab multiples of clothing types and throw them in the suitcases -- there's no time to pare down so I'm sure we're overpacked but since we're driving instead of flying I don't have to worry about excess baggage fees, at least not until we fly to Portland. There's a bag for each of us, and one with accoutrements for the beach, the portable DVD player, the diaper bag, both our laptops, all the audiobooks we'll be listening to, books and training materials for me, candy and snacks, the cooler, and finally, G's acoustic guitar.

Yes! We actually get everything and everyone in the car by 10:53 -- way before our scheduled departure of 11:30 (when we say we're leaving at 11:00, it usually takes 30 minutes to get the boys ready and out the door, hopefully without forgetting anything important). You have no idea how long it takes Storm to get his shoes on -- especially if the TV's on -- it doesn't matter if it's an ad for hemorrhoids -- he is hypnotized!

I already filled up the tank last night on my way home ($2.51/gal at Costco) and we went over everything last night with Jerrod, who will be semi-housesitting for us. Doors are locked, windows are closed, house in semi-disarray but we'll have to deal with that when we get back. We spent the last week organizing and cleaning because we wanted to come back to a feng-shui'ed house. Oh well. Shoot! I forgot that G's dad will be driving back with him --they'll just have to overlook the boxes in the hallways and all my papers on the dining room table and my desk. Darn it! See! If I weren't blogging this I would have forgotten all about that! Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

And off we go...

Getting ready to hit the road

Did I mention that after Gmoney came out of our bedroom, there was a loud thud, and then the baby cried? Yes, he rolled right off the bed because there was no one there to block him. I know, I know, at 2 years old, he's not a baby anymore but that's what we call him. I know two sisters who still call their younger brother "Bé" (Vietnamese for baby) and he's in his thirties! Hopefully we'll get out of this habit by the time Ocean's three (for privacy purposes I'm using their translated names).

ok, so after I posted my first blog and shared it w/ some friends and family, I headed off to bed. I usually like to leave the window open because I can't stand stale air but summer nights in Austin are just too hot so I leave the door ajar instead. G's up now and won't be going back to bed -- then again, he went to sleep w/ the baby so he's well rested -- and the lights are on, which means it's a little too bright and I really need to sleep. So I close the door and head back to the bed, only to walk straight into our brass four poster bed in the dark and now have a nice goose egg over my left eye. It could have been worse. I sleep w/ my head elevated in the hopes the swelling won't be too bad.

When Ocean wakes up at 7:00, I give him a bottle and he goes back to sleep. I decide to get up because there's a lot of packing left to do. We run around finding things, gathering things and manage to get quite a lot done before he finally wakes up at 8:30 -- mainly because Storm is up and jumped in the bed with him. It's just such joy to hear them playing and laughing together.