out and about again

we're out again! We are currently at Cove Pallisades at Lake Billy Chinook with family and some family friends. The boys love playing with cousins, digging in the dirt,the bugs, and of course, grandpa's boat! It has rained a bit today & Grandpa played a game with the kids inside. They are having a blast! They are hopeful the rain will go away so they can go on the boat again. It is nice camping with others and splitting up the responsibility of the meals rather than doing it all myself like on the road trip. It is nice to just stop and enjoy the campground rather than move on after one or two nights. We didn't bring the bikes because we used them one time in a month, but we totally would have used them here. Bummer! I will post pictures later. :)

Our Driving Stats

3,542 miles covered

9.6 miles per gallon, average

369 gallons of gas

our engine was running 101 hours (we THINK...It re-sets after 100 hours, and we don't know if it re-set during our trip or how many times...)


~~Tonight, I said I wish we had 10 washing machines, laundry goes so much faster that way. Karry said "we can go stay at a KOA tonight if you'd like." :)~~

So here's a glimpse of what we listened to on our i-pod. Not everything, as I didn't start jotting songs down until later in the trip. Bolded songs are favorites. Reds are mine, Blues are Karry's, Purples are both of ours, and a ** after a song means it is a favorite of the kids. We also listened to some sermons, and sometimes just talked--that's fun too, you know. :) Our top 2 favorite songs from this trip will have ~~ on the ends. We had our ipod on shuffle mode, so the list is kind of random, but anyways, ENOY!!

Travelin' Thru, Jason Castro
Happy to be Stuck with You, Huey Lewis
Say You Miss Me, Wilco
~~Shout to the Lord (Idol Gives Back)**~~
Wildflowers, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Square One, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Atmosphere Remix, Toby Mac
Gotta Go, Toby Mac
Phenomenon, Toby Mac
Ill M I, Toby Mac
Fresher than a Night at the W, Toby Mac
Burn for you, Toby Mac
Get Away Car, Toby Mac
Stories, Toby Mac
Diverse City, Toby Mac
Trudog, the Return, Toby Mac
Gone, Toby Mac
Atmosphere, Toby Mac
Boomin', Toby Mac
Made to Love, Toby Mac
Holy, Holy, Tim Hughes
Real Gone, Sheryl Crow**
Spending My Time, Roxette
Ooh Boy, Real McCoy
Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts**
Lovely Day, Out of Eden
Cantina Band, John Williams
These Words are My Words (I Love You, I Love You, I Love You), Natasha Bedingfield
Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner, John Williams
Route 66, John Mayer
You are holy, Joel Engle
Our Town, James Taylor
Better Together, Jack Johnson
Don't Cry, Guns & Roses
Best Days, Graham Colton
Wild, Wild West, The Escape Club
Everything Glorious, David Crowder Band
No One Like You, David Crowder Band
Oh Praise Him (All This For a King), David Crowder Band
Here is Our King, David Crowder Band
No Need to Argue, the Cranberries
Dafodil Lament, the Cranberries
Mr. Jones, Counting Crows
Right Here Waiting, Clay Aiken
Route 66, Chuck Berry
Be Glorified, Chris Tomlin
Your Grace is Enough, Chris Tomlin
How Great is Our God, Chris Tomlin
Holy is the Lord, Chris Tomlin
Sh-Boom, The Chords
Wasted, Carrie Underwood
The Last Time, Bread
It Don't Matter to Me, Bread
I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
Love Shack, the B52's
Lonely People, America
Cryin', Aerosmith
Livin' On the Edge, Aerosmith
All that Matters, Addison Road
Hummingbird, Wilco
Poetically Correct, Toby Mac
Slam, Toby Mac
Catcha Fire (Whoopsie Daisy), Toby Mac
Hey Now, Toby Mac
Down So Long, Jewel
Hands, Jewel
A Thousand Days, Clay Aiken
Before He Cheats, Carrie Underwood
Jesus Take the Wheel, Carrie Underwood
Holding Out for a Hero, Bonnie Tyler
Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bonnie Tyler
Getcha Head in the Game-High School Musical**
Don't Dream, It's Over, Sixprence None the Richer
Bop to the Top, High School Musical**
What I've Been Looking For, High School Musical**
Stick to the Status Quo, High School Musical**
~~Hallelujah, Jason Castro~~
Lips of an Angel, Hinder
Midnight Train to Georgia, Gladys Knight
I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, High School Musical**
Breaking Free, High School Musical**
Start of Something New, High School Musical**
When There Was Me and You, High School Musical**
Hemorrhage, Fuel
How to Save a Life, the Fray
Lost in Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
We Can Work it Out, David Archuleta
Wild World, Cat Stevens
We're All in This Together, High School Musical**
Blackbird, Carly Smithson
California, Belinda Carlisle
In Too Deep, Belinda Carlisle
Love Never Dies, Belinda Carlisle
Nobody Owns Me, Belinda Carlisle
Fool For Love, Belinda Carlisle
Circle in the Sand, Belinda Carlisle
Lullabye for a Stormy Night, Vienna Teng
You Never Let Go, Matt Redman
Where the Streets Have No Name, U2
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Song 2, Blur
She's a Woman, Chikezie
Blessed Be Your Name, Tree 63
Upside Down, Jack Johnson**
People Watching, Jack Johnson
Talk of the Town, Jack Johnson
Jungle Gym, Jack Johnson
3 R's, Jack Johnson**
I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight, Cutting Crew
Let it Be, Brooke White
Your Song, Elton John
Daniel, Elton John
Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road, Elton John
Candle in the Wind, Elton John
It'll All Work Out, Tom Petty
How Can I Keep From Singing, Chris Tomlin
Daydream, Jason Castro
Yesterday, Syesha Mercado
God Be Merciful to Me, Jars of Clay
Rock On, Larry Boy, Veggie Tales**
Hair, The Cowsiels
It Ends Tonight, The All American
I'll Be There For You, The Rembrandts
Groovy Kind of Love, Phil Collins
I Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie & the Blowfish
Let Her Cry, Hootie & the Blowfish
I Go Blind, Hootie & the Blowfish
Let God Arise, Chris Tomlin
Everlasting God, Chris Tomlin
Sonny Came Home, Shawn Colvin
It's Still Rock & Roll to Me, Billy Joel
California Dreamin', the Mamas & the Papas
Tiny Dancer, Elton John
If I Fell, Jason Castro
Every Breath You Take, Brooke White
Hello, David Cook
Somebody to Love, Jefferson Airplane
Cruisn', Huey Lewis & the News
Day Tripper, David Cook
It Must Have Been Love, Roxette
When the Saints, Sarah Groves
Beautiful One, Jeremy Camp
Good Day, Jewel
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
With Or Without You, U2
Nights Are Forever Without You, England Dan & John
Put Your Records On, Corinne Bailey Rae
Lonely No More, Clay Aiken
Without You, Clay Aiken
All 4 Love, Color Me Badd
Run-Around, Blues Traveler
Regarding Steven, Blues Traveler
Crazy Love, Van Morrison
Time of the Season, The Zombies
Killer Queen, Queen
Don't Stop Me Now, Queen
Blackbird, Sarah McLachlan
As Long As I Can Dream, Expose
Foolish Games, Jewel
I'm Sensetive, Jewel
You Were Meant For Me, Jewel
Come Sail Away, Styx
Elanor Rigby, David Cook
For Your Name, Chris Tomlin
Holiday, Madonna
It's All Been Done, Barenaked Ladies
Born to Be My Baby, Bon Jovi**
Wild is the Wind, Bon Jovi
I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
Irreplacable, Beyonce
New Soul, Yael Naim
Far, Far, Yael Naim
Soak Up the Sun, Sheryl Crow
Sunday Morning, No Doubt
Don't Speak, No Doubt
A Horse With No Name, America
Black Velvet, Alannah Myles
Breakaway, Kelly Clarkston
Behind These Hazel Eyes, Kelly Clarkston
Because of You, Kelly Clarkston
Addicted, Kelly Clarkston
Making Love Out of Nothing at All, Air Supply
Long Ride Home, Patty Griffin
Imagine, David Archuleta
Rio, Duran Duran
Too Little Too Late, Jo Jo
The Wonderful Cross, Craig & Dean Phillips
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing, Aerosmith
Glory in the Highest, Chris Tomlin
Awesome is the Lord Most High, Chris Tomlin
Glorious, Chris Tomlin
Uncreated One, Chris Tomlin
Rejoice, Chris Tomlin
Amazing Grace, Chris Tomlin
Everything, Chris Tomlin
Enough, Chris Tomlin
Not to Us, Chris Tomlin
Famous One, Chris Tomlin
Come Let Us Worship, Chris Tomlin
The River, Chris Tomlin
Unchanging, Chris Tomlin
Walkin' After Midnight, Kellie Pickler
Fading Like a Flower, Roxette
Billie Jean, David Cook
Dream On, Aerosmith
Golden Gate Bridge, Rose Melberg
Loose Talk, Rose Melberg
I Will, Rose Melberg
California, Melissa Ethridge
Could've Been, Tiffany
Happy Together, Brooke White
As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight, Cutting Crew
More Than a Feeling, Boston
Forgive Me, Group 1 Crew
Everybody's Got a Song to Sing, Group 1 Crew
Galatea, Joanna McMeikan
You're Beautiful, James Blunt
Little Sparrow, David Cook
Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Guns n' Roses
Angel of the Morning, the Pretenders
Walk Like an Egyptian, the Bangels**
Hazy Shade of Winter, the Bangels
Eternal Flame, the Bangels
The Look, Roxette**

Day 33, Tuesday, May 20, 2008--Home!!

We're HOME! We've got the laundry going, and we've emptied out the fridge & freezer of the trailer, and stripped the linens, and we've got cupboards to empty and things to organize. We've been going through mail, and checking messages, and the kids are playing with the things they have missed (Isaac-Legos, Kaleb-his Webkinz, Noah-Playmobil horses & trailer). Ruby loves crawling here but is freaking out if she's separate from us. We've been so close to her at all times, she could hear us even when we layed her down for a nap in the trailer. Her crib is a little scary to her now, I think.

Our house feels HUGE. Did it GROW? I can't believe how much space there is here! I'm used to trailer life! Isaac and Noah are playing up in the bonus room, it's strange to have them so far away.

Our cat was a little scared by us at first, and had to sniff us before she'd come out from under the boys' bed. Yes, it's really us, we're here! She's quite content sitting next to me now.

I've been compiling a fun list of songs we listened to on the trip, I'm going to post that later. But for now, I just have to tell you, before we watch anything that's on our DVR, who we think and hope will win American Idol. We've missed it for 1 month...We have to catch up and find out if our favorites are gone!!

Here's who we hope will win:
Karry--David Cook or Carly Smithson
Brenda--Jason Castro or Brooke White

Here's who we think will win:
Karry--David Cook or David Archuleta
Brenda--Jason Castro or David Archuleta

Off to explore this mansion (shouldn't I be paying a ticket price for the entry or something? :), and to get some things done!!

Day 32, Monday, May 19, 2008

• We made bacon and waffles in the morning. Mmm! We also had fresh cherries we'd picked up on the road yesterday, in Oregon--fresh picked, that day, from CALIFORNIA! Doh! We just came from there! ;)
• We tried to go pay for the extra night (which I'd talked to someone at the park about on the phone, and they said we'd just take care of that when we got here, but the office was closed when we came in that night), and they had booked our site for the night....There was one other hook up site left, and Karry came to talk to me about it, ran back down to the office, and somebody else booked it during that time......We wanted to stay 1 more night, but had to leave!! Ugh....I was frustrated by the park's dishonesty to me over the phone. It's a very nice park, we'd love to stay here again sometime. Oregon parks seem less flexible than California parks...and busier, which seems so strange to me, it's COLD here!
• I brought the boys down to the beach while Karry buckled Ruby into her carseat (she was tired) and hooked up the trailer.
• We drove to a new campsite, 30 min south of where we were, dropped off the trailer, and then headed back to Newport.
• We ate lunch in a very empty Abby's Pizza and witnessed a road being blocked off (right out in front of the restaurant) because of a bomb threat. Scary!!
• We went ot the wax museum, and Ripley's Believe it or Not, and the Underwater Sea Garden. We stopped in the Rogue to see if they had any of their bottled rootbeer. We like different types of bottled rootbeer and wanted to try it when we were in Newport 2 years ago, but they were out. Well, they were out of it this time too!!!
• I went into an antique mall, which was very fun. Karry watched Ratitoulie special features with the boys.
• We ate dinner at the original Mo's in Newport, and had such yummy dessert. They make a brownie bottom (no nuts!) cheesecake which was sooooo good. We had multiple people make mention of our nice family, 4 kids, 3 boys, and sweet girl tonight. :) Old ladies are particularly fond of Ruby. :)

She was blowing snot bubbles this morning, and she had goobers from raspberry bars (like fig newtons) all over her disposable bib...All of her real bibs are in our dirty laundry baskets...This is what we've got til we get home (unless we buy 1 more cheesy bib from a souvineer shop, which we don't want to do!)!!

The boys playing down at the beach, throwing rocks into a little stream.

Kaleb's 2nd attempt at photography. :) His first attempt cut off my head.

Us at Abby's Pizza.

Karry eating his favorite food. I think it was chicken and vegetables. mmmm good! ;)

This was very interesting to see: it looked like little pink shrimps falling off of this not-so-sterile-looking metal thing into a big dump truck. There were birds landing on it all, and eating it. We were really grossed out by this...Is this REALLY how they ship little shrimps? We went in the shop right by there and asked what was in the truck. It was actually just shrimp shells, which, we learned, are used for fertilizer!

The boys with the diver from the Underwater Sea Garden show. They asked him all kinds of fun questions. Isaac's so funny, look at his arm around the guy. Silly kid...

One of the sea lions we saw righ tover the edge o a bridge.

Us at Mo's. Noah (and the other boys) weren't really paying attention to the fact that we were getting our picture taken.

The waitress gave them little shark toys:

Day 31, Sunday, May 18

• In the morning we went hiking in the Redwood Forest. I'll tell you that story along with the photos below. :)
• We drove to Beverly Beach to go camping. When I mapped it at home, I had calculated 2.5 hrs between the two locations. I think the program I use at home is desperately flawed because the timing calculations have been off by a minimum of 1 hour, and this time they were off by about 3 hours. Yes....It took about 5.5, maybe 6 hours to get to Beverly Beach from Crescent City. CRAZY!!
• We had a campfire with the kids once we got to Beverly Beach. Campfires are so fun!!

Our car looked teeny in the Redwoods. We got permission from our campground to check out late (1 pm instead of 11 am) so that we could take a scenic route on a road where trailers were not advised.
We decided to go hiking. We knew we were looking for a particular trail, and we saw a sign for it, so we pulled off to the side of the road (one of the few areas to pull off on this crazy, gravel road!!). We had no clue that a little bit further down the road, there was a parking lot for the trail we were looking for!!! :)

We walked half a mile down a beautiful trail, and then came to a problem: the bridge was out, and there was (though it's hard to see here) a creek down below.

Our options were A. Turn around, B. Walk across this huge, steep fallen down tree (like a giant balance beam, with a rock-bottomed creek 10 feet below. :) It was scarier than it looks here!!

Option C: Walk across the creek on the rocks.

We chose option C! Karry helped all of the kids across....Ok, and me!! :) The rocks were quite slippery, and it was just nice to have a hand to hold!!

We got to the other side of the trail, not really knowing where it would go. We walked a ways more, and then found a loop that we walked around, which was about a mile, we're guessing. It was amazing...BEAUTIFUL....There is NOTHING like the amazingness of standing below those huge trees. I recommend everybody go to the Redwood Forest and go hiking!!

We ran into another couple along the loop and they shot our photo! Do you see how HUGE this tree is? Wow!!! When we were on this loop, we saw a sign that said that the trail we had just taken was closed, due to the bridge being out, and people were advised to stay off of the trail. Oops! We're actually really glad we didn't see a sign like that on the other side, the trail was SO fun, and going across the creek was an adventure!!

We had to go over some fallen trees, and under some. :)

After the loop, we had to go back down the way we came in, to get to our car. The loop connected to a parking lot. If we'd exited there, we would have had to walk down a very narrow, windy, dusty gravel road for a while (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile?) to get to our car. The trail (and even "fording" the creek again) seemed safer than the road!! I thought I'd roll up my pants, take my shoes off and walk across barefooted (wade) this time. It felt like my feet were sitting inside a bowl of ice cubes!!! YIKES! That didn't work!!

The boys and I coming up the trail from the water. It was a little steep here. There were steps to get down to that bridge that was missing, but this was an alternate path. :) Karry said this was the path for wheelchairs (instead of using the steps). Funny guy. :)

It was a Sunday and once again we were missing church, but we were all in awe of God in these woods. The kids were asking how God made the trees, and the ground we were walking on. We talked about Isaac making his pictures, and asked what he has to start with, and he said "paper, and crayons," and Kaleb said for a painting you need paint and paper, and Noah said to make a Lego car, he needs wheels and Legos. We explained to the kids that God started with NOTHING to make all of this wonderful stuff, and isn't that amazing!?!? We can never make what God made, and He did it with nothing.

That's all for the Redwood Forest. It was so incredibly fun going hiking there! Driving away from it was crazy--to see how huge the forest is, and how big it all looks, and to know that we were walking through a tiny little chunk of it and there is so much more to explore! I wanted to go back and spend a month just THERE exploring those woods!! This picture was of one of our views as we drove. I think this was in Oregon.

Sitting around the campfire. We were in Oregon, so it was cold. :) The campfire didn't last long, everyone wanted to go in and get warm!!

Home is in sight...

I think we are 100 something miles away from Grants Pass. Our plan is to drive 2.5 hrs today to get to Beverly Beach (in Oregon), after a visit to the Redwoods, of course, and then stay at Beverly Beach either 1 or 2 nights, and then drive 2 or so hours back home. I am torn on whether to stay 1 or 2 nights. This has been a fantastic road trip and we've enjoyed it very much--in that sense, I don't want it to end. On the other hand, I am missing home life...The things I miss the most:

Warm Showers...well, showers with warm temps that last more than 5 min. Today the pilot light was out and my shower was very, very cold.
Our Cat...I worry that she must be lonely! Our friends are checking on her, but the poor little thing must miss us so much.
A couch to relax on...we have a couch here, but it's Isaac and Kaleb's bed. When they're down for bed, all we have is our bed. I just want to hang out on the couch for a bit.
Not wearing "camping clothes." Even going into the city, I've constantly felt like I looked like a camper. I just want to dress up pretty 1 day, and then the feeling will be over. :)
Our own laundry room...We've seen some pretty decent public laundry rooms, but it stinks to have to fork out $10 in quarters every time we do laundry. Most of the laundry facilities close at 8 pm, so no throwing a load in just before bed. We got a new washing machine a few (or several?) months before we left on this trip...I miss it. :)
Our backyard...Just letting the boys run out and play in our safe, fenced backyard while I cook dinner or clean up the family room or whatever. Playing at playgrounds on the road always takes at least one parent standing out at the playground, in the hot sun...
Closet Space...I'm kind of tired of all of my clothes being wrinkled!!
Cooking....I've cooked very few meals on this trip, and I really like to cook. I've been reading Rachel Ray and Bon Appetite magazines and I want to cook!!!
Familiar Faces...We have seen so many zillions of strangers on this trip. Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came.... :)

Karry misses work, but then he added "a little bit." :) And TV. And shaving in the shower.

The boys miss toys and stuffed animals. Ruby misses space to crawl.

Day 30, Saturday, May 17, 2008

• We left Jellystone at Cobb Mountain and started driving towards Crescent City. I think we left around 11:30 am, and our GPS said it would take 5 hours and 45 minutes, or something like that.
• Not long after we were on the road, cars were stopped and we couldn't really move (it's not easy to turn around a trailer!!). I grabbed food out of the trailer for us to eat for lunch. We got my computer to try to map out another route. We were just stopped there...We saw several emergency vehicles drive past us and even heard a helicopter.
• After quite a while (I think an hour or so), cars started moving, yahoo! But they told us to go to the side...There was a power line that was low, and we wouldn't clear it...We had to wait with the buses...We finally got to go, I don't know exactly how long it took, maybe 30 or 45 minutes more.
• We stopped 2 times for potty breaks, and to get gas, and to get cell signal to call our campground (we hardly had cell signal all day!!).
• We drove through the Redwood Forest and it was beautiful. At one point we saw a semi truck and it looked so tiny compared to those trees!!!
• In the evening, we stopped in Eureka for dinner at the Samoa Cookhouse. I'd read about it in one of the California books. There used to be cookhouses in all of the logging towns. This is the last one left in the west! It's all you can eat, but they serve what's on the menu that night and you don't have a choice. Kids 4 & under are free, the other two kids were like $5. You get iced tea, tea, or coffee free with your meal (or you can order other drinks). Tonight's meal was a vegetable soup, salad, homemade bread (and croutons), roast beef, fried chicken, baked potatoes, corn, and apple pie with whipped cream. It was all very good!! The setting was fun, and we all enjoyed it (although the boys were getting a bit sleepy!!).
• We got to drive through some redwoods in the dark. Thankfully the signs along this part of 101 have been so clear--amazingly clear--big flashy electronic (solar powered) lights saying "sharp grade ahead, use caution," or "35 mph turn--your speed, 38" or whatever!! We saw 2 elk!! Around dusk is when we see so many animals! I forgot to say that near the Yogi Bear camp, after going grocery shopping, we saw SO many deer!! Like maybe 15 or 20 on our 3 mile trip to the campground!!
• Karry and I started brainstorming on a book we're going to write together. :) More details coming whenever it's published. :)
• We pulled into our campground at 9:30 pm. It was a verrrrry long day!!!!!

The accident that held up traffic so long. I wonder if the person even made it. There was smoke when we first pulled up to the scene, and no emergency vehicles were even there yet. I wonder if the person (or people) even got out before it caught on fire? Were they killed when the car flipped? Was the helicopter life flight?

Noah at the cookhouse.

Ruby with her messy bib!!

Karry with the baby smiley wavy girl!

Kaleb, who ate all of his chicken to go on what he was certain was a tractor ride...but it wasn't...Karry just said, ok, well if you're so sure it's a ride, you have to eat all of your chicken before you can go on it. That kind of motivation always works for Kaleb. I felt bad for him that there really wasn't a ride. ;)

Me & my Isaac buddy. Isaac loves to sit by me at dinner. He's a cuddly boy, especially when he's tired. Tonigth he was really tired. He didn't even want apple pie, just bread with jam on it.

The boys next to a buoy, which was outside the cookhouse (and I think there was also a museum there of old logging stuff, but we didn't see all of that--just some stuff inside the restaurant).

Day 29, Friday May 16, 2008

• We were originally going to be leaving Jellystone in the morning and heading to Crescent City.
• We decided to stay an extra night. Jellystone has been such a fun campground!! It was a true vacation from the busy vacation!
  
• I woke up with a cold and a headache and took a nap in the morning when Ruby went down (after I made French Toast!). Karry brought the boys out on a pedal boat around a pond! Fun!!
  
• It was super hot out, so we all went swimming. It was Ruby’s first time in a pool, and I think the first time our whole family has gone swimming together (I’ve been in the water with the boys for swimming lessons, but that’s it!!). We spent 2 hours in that pool—nice and shallow (3’ to 4’ and then 3’ again) and perfect for the boys. Noah wasn’t crazy about swimming and preferred to sit on the edge and kick his feet in the water (we did pull him in and try to get him to swim with us though!!). Kaleb loved it the MOST of all of them. He did not want to leave, he wanted to stay there for the rest of the day!
  
• We came back to the trailer to eat a light lunch (us—french bread w/spinach dip, the boys—cheese & crackers, and yogurt), it was so hot out and we didn’t want much to eat.
  
• We were planning to go out on the peddle boats again, but the office was closed and we couldn’t get the life jackets. We just let the boys run around the grass & play by the big Yogi Bear figure while we sat on a bench in the shade.
  
• It was time for Ruby’s afternoon nap (ok, our day was a little off—it was really about dinner time, but we were exhausted and figured she was too!!). We got her down to sleep & played Jungle Book for the boys, and then we got to take a nap. I still wasn’t feeling great, and when Ruby woke up, Karry brought all of the kids to the (very nice) playground and let me keep sleeping. He woke me up at 8:30 pm. Yes….I know, our day was a little strange!!
  
• So then, at 8:30, Karry started a fire, we fed Ruby dinner, and then we cooked little smokies and then smores over the fire. The kids went to bed around 10 pm, and we stayed up a bit to see the special features on the Breach dvd (great movie!!). CRAZY, but very fun day!!! (breakfast--11 am, morning nap--noon, lunch—4 pm, afternoon nap--6 pm, dinner—9 pm…a little off, but fun!!).

this is our campground, and our fire pit is on the left. I think every 2 sites share a fire pit, but there were only maybe 12 families camping in this place that has over 100 sites. The sites were very spacious. Rustic (unpaved--some look like they used to be, and the grass was a little high in some areas, esp. next to the fire pit, I thought!), but the campground was overall a very fun place for families to stay. The drive there (coming from the south) is CRAZY, but we had such a nice time, it was worth it!

This is a Yogi Bear stuffed animal we got on our road trip cross country, at a Jellystone Park in Maryland. Kaleb got this bear when he was 2. :) He knew we'd be coming to this campground on this trip (Disneyland was a surprise, but we told him about this campground) and he brought his Yogi Bear. We just thought this was such a cute photo!!!

Day 28, Thursday May 15, 2008

• We left Half Moon Bay and drove toward the Jelly Belly Factory.
  
• We mapped it incorrectly, apparently, and ended up at a Jelly Belly store, about 20 minutes away from the factory.
  
• There was an outlet mall that we drove past—we have driven past several on this trip, and I don’t usually care that much about them (they’re the typical outlet mall stores). This time I saw 2 stores I really like & haven’t seen before—Bath & Body Works and Gymboree (outlets!!). I got to run in to both stores, and found some particularly great deals at Gymboree!
  
• We finally got to the Jelly Belly Factory & we were starving for lunch. We ate at their café, which cost around the same as a meal at Disney (though it was better food!). We got 1 philly cheese steak sandwich & onion rings to share, 1 small pizza & French fries for the boys to share, 2 bottles of water, and 2 small lemonades for the boys to share--$30. Can you imagine if we didn’t share?
  
• Well, the factory tour was free! We got to wear some funky hats and then walked around the factory and learned how they make the famous jelly beans.
  
• We got some jelly beans at the store, and let the kids each pick out some of their favorite flavors. That was fun!
  
• It was SOOOO extremely hot that day, our car thermometer read 103. In San Diego, Kaleb had prayed for sunshine (during the 60 degree days), and his prayer was answered. On this day, Kaleb asked “can I pray that it won’t be so sunny?” and we said “sure!!” and he prayed for that. Later, randomly, Isaac said he wanted to pray for Grandpa, that he’d be safe if he did any dangerous jobs. ;)
  
• We drove north to Cobb Mountain. The roads were crazy, and windy with 20 mph switchbacks. I hate roads like that (these ones were super duper scary!!) and I was thankful that our next campground would not be one we were commuting to & from every day!
  
• We arrived at our campground around 6:30—it was a Jellystone (Yogi Bear) campground, and the boys have been excited about it the entire trip!
  
• We needed groceries (esp. milk!), and asked if there were any stores near by. Karry unhooked the trailer, and then we headed off to a grocery store (3 miles back down the crazy road we had come up!).
  
• We got food for 6-7 meals, 3 boxes of Capri Suns, a couple of days worth of baby food, some snacks, and some dessert, and spent $100—and this was an expensive grocery store. It was a little store, where a loaf of sandwich bread cost about $5 (but we’re camping in the middle of no where and needed food!). The meals (even at this expensive store) cost less than half the price of what we would spend on average @ the theme parks, and we’ve got more quantity than we’d get sharing a plate at a theme park. Crazy!!!
  
• We got back & fed the kids some chicken nuggets, leveled the trailer, put the kids to bed, and then watched “A Cinderella Story” (which we had picked up from Walmart a while back).

Our boysies with a jelly bean. We weren't allowed to take photos on the tour, so we have 2 photos of our trip there & that's it. :)

I look like I'm so excited about the jelly beans or something. I don't know why I look so excited. :) See the hat I'm wearing? We all had to wear one on the tour. Wowie zowie, think I wanna frame this one.....NOT!! :)

Day 27, Wednesday May 14

• We drove into San Francisco and went to Pier 33 to catch our boat! We were heading to Alcatraz!
  
• Alcatraz was pretty darn cool—we all did the audio tour (well, everyone except Ruby). The boys had a lot of questions about the tour and the whole place. It was super interesting to learn about the lives of the guards’ families (who lived there on the island also!).
  
• A bit of trivia for y’all—do you know who came up with the idea of putting expiration dates on milk? It was during the Depression, and kids were dying from drinking curdled, old milk. The answer—Al Capone. He used his convincing (not asking) to get a local farmer to stamp the due dates on a little cardboard flap on the tops of glass milk bottles. Now, of course, everybody does that. 1 good thing Al Capone did. :)
  
• In 1962 there were 3 men who escaped Alcatraz who were never found. For months (or years?) they’d been gathering spoons from the lunch room an digging away at the vents at the back of their cells (there was a cover plate on it that covered up the holes they were making). One night (after the lights went out, which was always at 9 pm), they climbed through those holes and up the pipes & onto the roof. They got out of Alcatraz and created flotation devises out of rain coats. The next morning, when the guards tried to get them up, they said the guys wouldn’t wake up—the guys had cleverly created “dummy heads” out of soap, with hair and everything (I’m not sure how!). They never found the guys, but the official statement was that they probably drowned. One of the prisoners said that those 3 men were studying Spanish & probably went to South America. Crazy!!
  
• There were tons of other great stories, I recommend y’all visit! It made Karry and I want to see all of the movies about Alcatraz that are out there!
  
• After Alcatraz we went to lunch at the Rain Forest Café, which the kids had been asking to go to every time they saw it. The place is decorated like a jungle and there are big animals that “come alive” every now and then. It was a very cool place.
  
• We went back to Chocolate Heaven to pick up a few more Flake bars, some chocolate bars (Cadbury) that are nut-free and made in England. Mmmm. :)
  
• That evening, we drove to Hayward to have dinner with Karry’s boss (who works in Oakland), Amit, and his wife Jas. It was really fun getting together with them!! They have 2 little boys (3 and 1-1/2, Avi and Rohan) who played with our boys. Ruby loved the space to crawl, and the fun toys. We munched on some yummy spinach dip with bread and other goodies as dinner cooked. Jas made pasta, and salad & bread for dinner (yum!) and there was ice cream and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. She made some YUMMY Indian Chai Tea for us. Oooh, I think I need her recipe! :) We really had fun hanging out with them & hope we didn’t stay too late! We’ve been busy doing so much these days and haven’t had a lot of conversation (besides small talk in line for a ride, or whatever) with people besides ourselves. It was really nice to spend the evening chatting with Amit and Jas, and I know that the boys really enjoyed playing with their boys!!

Noah with more of those yummy donuts from Pier 39!



I think I'd want one of the top cells--those people could see out the window. :)

Ahh! Where'd that key go?

Whew! The door is open!!

The city views are beautiful from Alcatraz. They said that sometimes they could hear laughter & noises coming from the city, which would drive the prisoners crazy. It was a constant reminder of what they were missing out on.

The boys and I at the Rain Forest Cafe.

Karry & Ru-bear. :)

The big elephant that kept making noises.

Lombard St., the crookedest street in the world, I think. It used to be so steep that it was really too steep to drive on, so they added the turns to soften the grade. It's still very steep and very crooked. We wouldn't have made it down this street with the trailer!! :)

Isaac loved going down the hills!! Kaleb and Noah were sleeping. :)

Ruby, with Rohan in the background. Ruby hasn't been in an exersaucer in so long! I usually put her in it at home when I'm loading & unloading the laundry (so she doesn't eat detergent, or kitty litter or whatever is in the laundry room!!). She usually handles it ok, but this time she LOVED being in it, I think especially in the middle of all of the kids playing!!

Our boys with Avi, playing together.

Me with Ruby. She knows what to do when we pull out the camera, doesn't she? :)

Amit and Jas. They were very sweet to us!!