From California to Arizona

It's been a while. As usual life got in the way and we were busy enjoying life together as a family on the end of our first road trip. Once we returned back to BC we were also enjoying seeing some great friends and catching up as best as we can! I'll have to share a post with some of those photos once I'm all caught up on this first trip. I'll do my best this next two weeks, but we'll be in Orlando and Las Vegas enjoying more sun and fun!

Leaving San Diego this time was much easier than our previous visit. Instead of boarding a plane and heading back to cold BC for Brett to go back to work, we loaded up the trailer and headed off towards the desert.

It was an interesting drive as we headed east on the 8. San Diego slowly melted away, transitioning into the rocky desolate desert. As we hit an area east of Jacumba, it appeared as if someone had just haphazardly thrown a bunch of rocks into huge piles. It was all that we could see for miles and miles. It was the complete opposite of the sights that we had taken in, in the Pacific Northwest.

As we continued further east we watched the temperature climb and the rocks were replaced with sand. Instead of the oil fields we had seen further north, we were greeted by more friendly wind farms and solar fields, a much more welcome sight for us.

When we finally arrived in El Centro to load up on groceries and other needs, the temperature soared to 37C. We spent about an hour and a half there bouncing around between stores before we hit the road again. Our goal was to make it to Ehrenberg, Arizona for the night. As we made our way through Brawley, California we had to drive pass a sugar beet processing facility. The smell that wafted from the plant assaulted all of our noses and we had to breathe through our mouths for miles down the road. I hope it’s something I never have to smell again for the rest of my life.

The next breathtaking site we encountered was the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area near Glamis, California. The rolling sand stretched for miles, and even from the truck I was able to get some decent photos of them.

From there it was roller coaster road through empty desert and practically empty towns. It was a long day of driving, but worth it once we arrived at the RV Resort in Ehrenberg. We stayed at Arizona Oasis RV Park, and that was exactly what it seemed like after a long day in the truck. Our lovely site backed directly onto the Colorado River, with plenty of grass for the kids to play on!

After a quick bite to eat, we bathed the kids and then headed down to the river for the bonfire that the park has every Tuesday. Unfortunately we missed most of the people, but we lucked out by meeting our neighbours Kevin and Susie.

We spent about an hour or so talking to them, and I wish we could've stayed longer. They were so like minded, and had retired to life in their RV, which they started only shortly before we began our adventure. Even funnier, we had all been in the same RV Park the week prior in Castaic. 

Meeting them was one of those things I loved about what we are doing. Relaxing, enjoying life out in the open, meeting and connecting with new people and having new experiences. As we said good bye to them the following morning, we all agreed that hopefully in the summer our paths would cross once again. 

Leaving Ehrenberg, we had a long day of driving ahead of us. We stopped in Lake Havasu to buy some groceries and eat lunch and then kept on driving directly to Williams. We picked Williams because of it's easy access to the Grand Canyon - especially the resort that we picked. We decided to stay at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and RV Resort. The place was lovely, and most importantly I was impressed with the quality of their washer and dryers. We had run into some horrible one's along our travels, and for the first time I felt that our clothes were coming out truly clean. 

After a morning of some domestic duties, we took the kids out for some fun - starting with the playground on the resort. Nolan is becoming a huge fan of everything to do with playgrounds - especially after seeing how much fun his big sister has. 

After tiring the kids out, we decided to take a wander of the small town of Williams. It didn't take us long to make the rounds to all of the stores, and then with a hungry little girl we decided to settle onto the patio at Historic Brewing Company, and we were so glad that we did! The food was excellent (I could have eaten ALL of Halle's Mac n' Cheese), but the beer was even better! 

We had a wonderful first full day in Williams, but tried to call it an early night. The next day we were off for an adventure at the Grand Canyon. I'll save one post just for our day at the Grand Canyon - the most impressive thing I have ever seen in my life! I can't wait to share it!

Our Weekend in San Diego

San Diego has quickly climbed the list of my favourite places to visit. As we hung around the pool and the beach on this trip I kept imagining living there - even though the act of making that move would go against everything we are trying to do with our life. Regardless, we had a wonderful time, especially spending time with Brett's sister and her fiancé over the weekend. 

We began our weekend at the Farmer's Market in Little Italy in Downtown San Diego. We had discovered it last year and bought some snap peas and strawberries since we were staying in a hotel. This time we went with the intention of buying lots of yummy groceries to bring back to the trailer, and we succeeded. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, Cara Cara Oranges, Asparagus, snap peas, bread, eggs and other tasty goodies made it into our bag. 

With food to eat, we headed back to the RV Resort and packed up to head to the beach. We met Brett's sister and her fiancé at the beach at La Jolla shores and spent a wonderful afternoon playing in the sand and waves. 

There's nothing I love more than to see my family enjoying time outdoors, getting some vitamin C and, of course, dirt under their fingernails. We got a video of Nolan's first experience in the ocean and all he wanted was to grab the water and sand, and he kicked his legs enthusiastically as the waves rolled in around him. 

We stayed on that beach until the sun started to set and the tide came in far too close to our belongings. From there we headed out for fish tacos for dinner, followed by ice cream cones for dessert. It was one of those perfect Saturdays, that as I fell asleep, I felt so grateful for a fun day and happy family.

The next day we tried another farmers market in the Gaslamp district, but it wasn't as big as we had expected. Instead, we enjoyed a yummy brunch at Rustic Root and then headed back to the RV Resort. We spent the afternoon just hanging out by the pool and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was then that we decided we wanted to extend our trip by an extra day. That's the best part about not making reservations too far ahead and leaving our schedule open. We can stay an extra day, or choose a short or long day of driving. At the end of all of this, I'm pretty sure we'll still arrive back in BC by the end of April/beginning of May.

An extra day was exactly what we needed to do those last few things we really wanted to do. After checking into Mission Bay RV Resort for one night, we went for beer... I mean LUNCH at Ballast Point Tap Room and Kitchen in Little Italy. Halle was so patient while we indulged, so afterwards we took her to Ghirardhelli in the Gaslamp for ice cream. It was the perfect treat on a hot day. 

In the evening we met up with Brett's sister and headed to Ocean Beach. We walked along the streets, enjoyed a delicious dinner and then took in the sunset from the pier. It was really the perfect ending to our time in San Diego. 

Nolan gets so excited to drink water from a cup, and he does pretty well too

It's almost been a week since we left, and already Brett and I discuss going back. We miss it and how relaxed we are when we're there. The sun, the warm weather and all of the beaches always make for a great vacation. I'm looking forward to our next trip already!

Sunshine in SoCal

It's been a while since I've updated on what we've been up too. We've just been too busy enjoying our time in San Diego with Brett's sister and her fiancee. We were sad to leave them and this beautiful place, but it's great to know we can always come back to visit them.

Our final day in Paso Robles was pretty laid back. I intended to take more photos, but only got a few. In the afternoon we went and had lunch with someone I'd known from high school (we actually went to kindergarten together, then lost touch until high school), and it was nice to see a familiar face on the road and catch up over some delicious food and beer. We had promised Halle a trip to the park afterwards, but by the time we were done eating and grabbing a few groceries, we needed to get Nolan back to the campsite for a nap.

Lucky for us, he fell asleep in the car on the way back, so I sat next to him with the truck door open, while Brett and Halle went to enjoy the pool. Once Nolan was awake, we went over to join them.

I loved seeing Halle trying to swim. This trip has brought out her imagination and sense of adventure, and it's been so wonderful to watch.

We enjoyed our long stay in Paso Robles, but the next day we were off driving down to Castaic. We picked this as our next step as it was about halfway between where we were and San Diego. It also stopped us just north of LA so that we didn't have to hit LA traffic after a long day of driving.

Once we were set up we ran out to get some groceries and then enjoyed dinner back at the resort. The next day it was time to get out and enjoy ourselves. We considered heading into the city to see some of the LA sites, but even if you took our giant truck and the dogs out of the equation neither of us were too excited to do the "celebrity" thing or spend time in a huge city. Instead, we opted to do our own thing. We started  a little late, so we headed to Ben & Jerry's  first for "Free Cone Day". No cone's in sight, but we were each happy to get a small scoop of ice cream - even Nolan had his own personal dish. 

Afterwards, we were off to Castaic Lake Recreation area for the afternoon. We enjoyed walking the paths on the gorgeous day, but had a ball finding and playing at all of the different playgrounds in the area. We all got in on the action, including Nolan who is a huge fan of the slide!

Once we were all sufficiently hot, exhausted and hungry we headed back to our campsite. We played bubbles, rolled around on the grass with the kids and just generally enjoyed our last night at this particular RV Resort. It was so nice and quiet, and hard to believe we were so close to LA. 

The next day we made the long drive to San Diego. We made it pretty much a straight drive down, got settled into our site at Santa Fe RV Park and then had a late dinner with Brett's sister and her fiancé  at Cafe Coyote in Old Town San Diego. I mean, when in San Diego you need to eat delicious Mexican food, right?

Thursday we turned into a day of old favourites. We had a slow morning, grabbed some groceries then headed back to the trailer to pack a lunch before heading to Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego. We had visited it frequently during our first stay last February and we knew that Halle and Nolan would really enjoy themselves there. 

After a couple of hours of play time we headed down the street to Seaport Village so Halle could ride the carousel. When we arrived no one else was around, so I decided to ride with Nolan as well. I'm so glad I brought him on - he adored it and squealed with excitement the entire ride.

Friday was a day for new adventures. We started our day off at Hash House a-Go-Go for breakfast and ate way too big breakfasts (which came home with us for breakfast the next morning as well). 

Nolan was happily eating fruit and baby food until our ridiculous coffee's arrived... then he thought we were having ice cream without him and screamed in disapproval that he wasn't getting any!

Afterwards we wanted to give the kids some time for them, so we headed to Mission Bay Park to play at the playground and take the pups for a little walk. It was a perfect afternoon to be there.

Seeing them play together is the best! She was crawling under the swing and he was going crazy giggling (I'm happy to say I got it on video)

As I wandered along with Nolan in his stroller I thought about how happy I was that everything has unfolded the way that it has. If Brett hadn't been let go at work, we'd still be doing the same old, same old - which is fine and all, but we were much happier spending our Friday afternoon at a beautiful park in San Diego with the kids. 

When we had all had enough sun, we packed up, headed back to the trailed and took a walk down the street to the Karl Strauss Tap Room for some beer tasting. 

We drank a bunch of delicious beer, while the kids had some snacks. Nolan was overtired and a little fussy, so I walked him around the patio and store while Brett picked and enjoyed his beer. At the end of our visit we got two growlers filled and a tank top for me, then headed back to the RV Resort. 

It was a laid back Friday night at Brett's sister. We ran by the grocery store then went to their place to make them dinner and hang out - it was the perfect laid back Friday night.

Our weekend was fun and busy, so I'll save our last few days in San Diego for another post! I wish we could go back already....