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Arizona

Jan 282012

We have reached the desert! The land is flat and dusty. The sky is blue. People grow cotton. And we can go outside without jackets.

Tonight is the last night of our time in Arizona where we got to visit with my sister Mary’s family. The thing I looked forward to the most was getting Autumn together with her cousins. There have been a few challenges, mostly to do with the need to share and hitting when sharing wasn’t happening, but overall it has been awesome.

We all had a great day at the Goldfield Ghost Town. It was a cheap, entertaining place to visit and really beautiful next to Superstition Mountain. The kids enjoyed dressing up as cowboys, watching a gunfight, and exploring the different places in the town. That night we went to San Tan Flats to eat “cowboy food” (as my sister called it). This ended up being burgers, potato cakes, and an awesome margarita. Everyone lit fires in barrels and listened to a guy sing country music. Very fun place to dine outside!

We also had fun around the house. Mary taught Clayton and I how to make espresso on her machine and we have had tasty lattes every morning (and most afternoons too). We also made a “volcano” for the kids by combining mentos and diet soda. This is something Autumn has looked forward to for a long time. It was a brief explosive volcano experience, but a lot of fun. Tonight we made a fire in their backyard firepit and ate s’mores. Bonfires are always fun, especially when none of the 6 children get burned or their eye poked out.

Thanks Broussards for letting us crash your house and relax with you these last couple of days!

Road Tripping

Travel No Responses »

Jan 232012

I probably wouldn’t have chosen to endure 3639 miles in a car with 2 small children if it weren’t for necessity. But there are certainly advantages to road trips.

1. Seeing People
This is the most obvious benefit to a cross-country road trip. We planned our route to see as many family and friends as we could. It’s helpful as we endure long days in the car to know that at the end we will see people we love.

2. Seeing Countryside
The United States is a massive country. I have been reminded of this the last two days as we drove south through 3 states. Weather changed from snow, ice, and cold slush in Washington to dry, sunny, high wildfire alerts in L.A. We started in city, meandered through mountain passes, and then ended in the flatlands of almond growing country in California. Town names varied from Grants Pass and Rogue River to Los Banos and Grapevine.

Living in Hawaii for the last 3 years I completely forgot about Rest Areas, “Next Gas 30 Miles” signs, and cruise control. And I know in my head that chain stores are everywhere, but it’s really amazing to see the same stores repeat across 1000 miles. We’ve gone to Starbucks every day and gone to Targets twice to restock supplies. Driving through the Sonoma area Clayton remarked, “It’s strange that we are in one of the culinary capitals of the country and our only options for lunch are McDonalds and Taco Bell.” Part of the road trip experience I guess!

Not the Roadtrip We Imagined

Travel No Responses »

Jan 212012

Now I know from experience that the northwestern United States is beautiful. I was looking forward to driving south from Seattle looking at the mountains and the coast. But our first day out was less about seeing the scenery and more about making sure we could see the lines on the road and car in front of us. It was also a lot about staying within those lines and off the bumpers of the cars in front of us.

Day 1 was full of rain, spray, limited visibility, and mostly careful driving. What we can say is we made it safely to our destination in one piece. Since we can’t see the countryside from our car we are supplementing it with a trip to Cabela’s this morning so Autumn can see some wildlife.

Oregon Bound

Travel 2 Responses »

Jan 202012

It’s been a hectic few days here. With all the snow and ice making the roads crazy we had to delay picking up our car from the port. Today was the last day we could get it without incurring additional fees. Clayton and dad headed to Pier 18 this morning at 7:30am to make an attempt. Fortunately the temperature rose to 34 degrees, which meant that the ice had begun melting on its own and the salted roads were completely passable. They made it safely to the pier to get the car.

It was a sad little snow-and-ice-covered car. But it made it unharmed and with just enough gas in the tank to get it back to my parent’s house.

So this morning we head to Oregon! We are getting a late start but hope to make it to Eugene by this evening. We still need to book a hotel (we delayed making a reservation just in case we couldn’t leave today), but plan to do that once we hit the road.

The road trip begins…