One Last Vacation Post {Vacay 2012}

Our vacation by the numbers:

We drove 2192 miles. That doesn't include the rental car we used in Seattle or any of the public transportation we took in the other cities. 

Our longest day of driving was 669 miles.

I managed to take 1600 photos on our vacation. That is 1600 exact. Weird, right? Think that is a high number? Remember that I didn't have a camera for a couple of days. It could have been worse! 

Oh, and that was just with my camera. On my phone, I took 371 photos. 

We visited 10 independent coffee shops/roasters along the way. We tried to stop at another one, but it was closed for "employee development".

We stopped at Starbucks too many times to count.

Not counting breakfast, I cooked 7 meals in the motorhome.

And we actually only ate fast food 4 times. Well, unless you count Chipotle as fast food, then it would be 5.

The kids played at 5 parks.

I did 3 loads of laundry during the time we were gone.

Ian only cussed the 1 time on the trip...30 minutes into the trip. And let me just say, please don't cut off motorhomes. It sucks for both the driver and the passengers! 

P.S. Remember how our camera broke when we were in Canada? Because we bought our camera while living in the UK, Canon USA won't fix it. Apparently there is a huge market for people smuggling in Canon's from other countries and re-selling them here. That sucks for us. 

Children's Books

Practically everyone out there (well, parents at least) have heard of the classic kids book Goodnight Moon. Honestly, the book isn't that interesting. Definitely not one of my favorite books of my kids. But Connor seems to really be into it. Or maybe its just how wonderfully I read it. I digress.

Anyway, the first parody of it I saw was Goodnight California. I thought it was cute. Cute enough to buy for someone as a present (not one of my kids though...I am super cheap and alway get their books at thrift stores).

While we were in Portland, we visited Powell's, the largest independent book store in the world. If you are ever in Portland, I highly recommend it. It was like being in a library. So amazing. But, to get to my point. I ran across a book that is totally up Connor's alley - Goodnight iPad.

Crazy, right? But so stinking funny. And given that Connor is obsessed with iPads (sad, right?) I thought it was funny. He wasn't as obsessed with the book and instead ended up taking home a Maisy book, but still.

I am thinking these books are mostly written for the parents...to entertain us on those nights when we have to read the same book over and over and over again.


P.S. I almost peed myself while looking up these books on amazon and seeing them offer kindle edition of board books...does that mean the baby can safely gnaw on the kindle when the book is open?!

Home {Vacay 2012}

We made it home. After a stop off in Portland for two nights, we decided to power home in one l-o-n-g day. And when I mean long, I mean 16 hours. Stops included, but still. It was a long day. Good thing we managed to sneak in two stops at independent coffee roasters, because who knows where we would have ended up without those stops! Plus, it was at one of those stops (a stop that I was complaining about) that I picked up the most adorable high chair for Isla. Call it my one souvenir of the trip.

I have to say, my kids really were troopers through the whole trip. There were times they didn't want back in their car seats, and I had to bribe Connor a little, but once they were seated, they were mostly content. Connor is a toddler, so there was the occasional meltdown over a dropped toy. But I am still in awe at how smooth everything went with driving over 2000 miles with a 10 month old and a 2.5 year old.

After walking in our house, Ian and I were both blown away by its size. I guess living in a motorhome for two weeks will do that to you. I was also blown away by how clean we left it. Seriously. I remember it being messier, so that was a pleasant surprise. And the cherry on top was the fact that my brother-in-law came over and did our yard work for us...including pulling the weeds! Bro-in-law of the year! Of course, I don't have another one, so he kind of wins that competition every year. Regardless, I was still blown away.

To recap, amazing trip. Saw so much. Drank way too much coffee on the trip. The kids behaved amazingly well. Made it home safely. And so thankful for my home and my family.


P.S. Back to regularly scheduled blogging soon...maybe just one more post about the trip. I promise. I think.

Oregon Coast {Vacay 2012}

I've never done much exploring of the PNW. I was clueless about how beautiful it is up here. Especially the Oregon coast. Honestly, I thought there wasn't much in Oregon before this trip and I could never understand why my uncle wants to move up here so bad. Now I get it. It is beautiful and there are coffee shops everywhere!

And given that there was less sightseeing to be had and more down time, it worked well for the kids. They had time to run free in a park. There was a skate park next to the kids play area and Connor was very intrigued by it. He wanted to sit in the middle of it, which obviously I didn't let him. And he kept pointing at people's skates and saying he wanted to put them on.

Isla had a 6th tooth break through while we are gone. That is probably the culprit to her cranky night times...which of course are awesome for me!

We spent some time in the most adorable town, Astoria. They have this amazing little trolly. It is only $1 to ride and is an hour loop. There is a guide on it who tells the town's history while you are riding. More than worth the $1 it cost! They tried to let Connor ring the trolly bell, but he got stage fright, so Ian rang it for him.

In Astoria, we stopped at one of the many independent coffee shops we have visited on this trip. It was there we discovered that we have another coffee lover on our hands! Ok, so she really just had the foam. But Connor loves our coffee and we don't put sugar in it. So, it will be interesting to see where Isla lands on the whole coffee thing.

We travelled down the coast today to Tillamook before heading inland to Portland. There were beautiful views to be had...which made up for the less than stellar road.

Tillamook, you say? Yep. We drove out of our way to hit up the cheese factory. Because, we are cool like that! It really wasn't anything to write home about, but they did have an amazingly large cheese sample bar. And their ice cream was so freaking good.

Now we are in Portland and ready to take on a little more adventure before heading back south to California.

Seattle - Day 2 {Vacay 2012}

Another good day in Seattle. We started out at the first Starbucks store, hoping to beat the rush. No such luck. So we waited in line. The coffee tasted the same as every other Starbucks out there...and I was suckered into my first tourist purchase of the trip, a mug. At least it's useful. 

We then took the monorail to the Seattle Center. I am pretty sure the monorail was the highlight of Connor's day! Our friends Richi & Naseem went up into the space needle, while Ian and I took the kids to the children's museum. It was a good way for the kids to burn off some energy, but compared to the children's museum in Las Vegas, it was pretty lame. 

Next we went on a duck ride. Connor almost had a serious meltdown on it. He thought we were going to make him get in the water. Every time we would get him cam down, the tour guy, trying to help, would say "we are going to go in water!" to Connor and he would freak out again. Oddly enough, once we actually went into the water was when Connor settled down and began to enjoy himself. As for our tour guide/driver, he was so lame, it was insanely funny and entertaining. And thankfully, no one except for Connor had those annoying duck whistles on the tour and Connor didn't really take interest in his. 

We ended our day by heading to Capitol Hill for some sushi and coffee. Connor ate some wasabi. After calming down, he learned a new word "spicy". It was cute, sad and funny all at the same time. 

Tomorrow we head to the Oregon coast where more adventure, and hopefully a little less walking, awaits us. 

Seattle {Vacay 2012}

With sunsets like this, I am pretty sure I could fall in love with Seattle. Fast. Actually, I don't think it would take any convincing. Ian and I used to talk about moving to Seattle. Back in the day. Instead we chose the oh-so-picturesque Modesto. But back to Seattle. We just happened upon this sunset tonight. Isn't it amazing?

We also enjoyed some of the other finer things to be found in Seattle. Like the Giant Shoe Museum...

Never mind the fact that Connor was more entertained by putting the money in the machine than actually seeing the world's largest collection of giant shoes!

And we did not forget the public market. Ever since I saw the episode of Stephen Fry in America where he eats fresh little doughnuts from there, I have wanted to go.

Who knew a market could be so busy?! Seriously. It was out of control. Then trying to push a stroller through the madness. Not so easy. Oh, and add on to that the occupants of the stroller - one kicking random people and the other one screaming at the top of her lungs. But, we did manage to get ourselves some of those little doughnuts. And they were good. The kids liked them too.

We also managed to walk around a ghetto part of town, watch a commercial being filmed, see the aftermath of a fire under one of the piers - total chaos, yet so calm, stop at Barnes & Noble for some playing time for Connor (I LOVE that all B&Ns seem to have a train table) and hit up an independent coffee shop for Ian.

More adventure in Seattle awaits us tomorrow...


P.S. We ended up biting the bullet and buying another camera this morning. Given that we aren't souvenir people and really just take pictures to remember our adventures, we decided to just buy one. I'm happy we did...even if it means we can't eat for the next couple months!

Vancouver & More {Vacay 2012}

Okay, so picking up where I left off...


Mile 856 - A much needed long stop for playing, eating and of course, coffee

Mile 872 - Our first raindrops!

Mile 905 - Pulled into arco to get gas and Connor said "I need icee" Due to his adorableness, I decided to get him one. The icee machine was broken.

Mile 930 - Crossed into Canada

Mile 953 - Arrive at Burnaby Cariboo RV Park

At this point, we ditched our car and took public transportation...

Vancouver day 1:
All in all, we walked 12 miles around the city!

Met up with Richi & Naseem

Got coffee...shocker!

Ate a Japadog - a hotdog with seaweed on top

Walked over a not-pedestrian friendly bridge

Camera broke :(

Public market - where I bought some incredible tasting feta stuffed olives

Met up with Ian's old co-worker from Edinburgh, Grant and his family

Took the Aquabus

Bough lemonade from a kid's lemonade stand

Vancouver day 2:

Drove to pick up R & N and on to Stanley Park

Road the miniature train in the park and drove around the park

Mile 1009 - Crossed back into the USA...with a little drama, but we made it!

Mile 1032 - Stopped at Walmart

Mile 1040 - Spent the night at Larrabee State Park in Washington - This was a random stop, but ended up being a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Just look at the view on the beach. So beautiful!

Now we are camped just outside of Seattle...the adventure continues!

Devastation {Vacay 2012}

I was happily snapping away pictures in Vancouver today when my camera made a weird noise then stopped working. When I looked at it, error 99 greeted my eyes...@&!$ you error 99!!!

NOOO, is what I wanted to scream out loud. Instead I tried to keep it together, while wanting to cry and at the same time beg Ian to buy me a new camera.

After a little research, it appears the shutter went out. Under normal circumstances this would bum me out. On day three of my epic vacation, it makes me want to cry. My iphone won't cut it to take all my vacation pictures, yet I realize it just isn't feasible to go buy a new camera (any camera fairies out there want to help me out?)...or maybe should I say, to buy the camera I want? And my camera will have to be sent away to be fixed.

This picture-taking obsessed girl is bummed.

Canada or Bust {Vacay 2012}

We are well on our way to Canada. Almost there, in fact. Left on Sunday afternoon. Making a quick trip up there, picking up some friends from Scotland in Vancouver (You follow that one? Some friends of ours from Scotland are flying into Vancouver, BC to vacation with us. Yep, we are that cool.), then taking our time back to California. Here are some of our trip highlights so far:

Mile 0

Mile 73 - Ian's first cuss word of the trip - "Damn it truck!" as a truck got over on us. 

Mile 230 - Slept at Camping World outside of Redding

Mile 240 - Stopped for Starbucks

Mile 241 - Filled up with gas...trying to avoid looking at the cost or mpg! 

Mile 290 - Stopped at a railway park we saw a sign for. It was a great stop. Connor didn't want to leave. 

Mile 353 - Crossed into Oregon

Mile 377 - We killed a dragonfly while driving

Mile 413 - Coffee break in Grants Pass, OR

Mile 613 - Our first truck stop experience. They pump your gas for you in Oregon!

Mile 649 - Had dinner at the most amazing brewery - Hopworks. They have a kids play area! 

Mile 653 - Slept in a church parking lot in Portland. The kids had their first sink bath in the motorhome. And this morning, we took our first showers of the trip in the motorhome! 

Mile 656 - Stopped for coffee and Voodoo Doughnut before hitting the road

Mile 662 - Crossed into Washington

Mile 694 - Moved Connor's carseat from the couch to the chair so he can see out more windows

We aren't too far from Canada now. Through Seattle and well on our way. We will be camping in Vancouver for a couple days before heading south again. 

If you would like to follow along with our adventure in real time, follow me on instagram - @JessGrim