Onward and Southward

I have rarely asked my kids to spend more than one day at a time in the car. We have managed to vacation close enough to home to achieve that, or we have chosen to fly instead of driving to keep vacations fun. Last summer, we did a lot of long trips as part of our move, but we all knew that there would be a few of them, then they would be over, and the move was worth it.

This summer, we chose a destination that required a two day car trip, since having the car at the other end of the trip was an important factor in the whole experience. I managed to bring my bike along and take it for some nice rides as well. I explored places that I had heard of but never seen because they were further than walking distance from our house at the beach, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Meanwhile, on day two of our trip show you the getting there part of the fun. It is sitting in the car watching a video on the iPod. It is playing with two phones at once, still unable to make Mom's phone just vibrate when a Pix message arrives.
Somewhere out there must be those mountains that indicate that we are getting closer. This valley seems to go on forever.
There they are, finally visible in the distance. We drove faster than the trucks, but slower than most of the cars over the mountains. It was nice to get to the part where downhill helped us move with traffic.
Almost there for the second night's rest.We spent the next day shopping at the thrift shop and visiting my girl's first choice for college at this stop. The weather was unusual, and we could see the mountains. This shot just reminds one of what happens when the government thinks a city needs a sound wall then runs out of cash before completing the project.

Tripping out

A couple of weeks ago, we set out on a journey to the past in the present. We were going places we have been before. Some of us have been more recently, for others of us it has been longer. The past goes back farther for some than for others. We started at the crack of dawn, and I carefully used my camera and not my phone for this first shot, since it looks like I was driving at the time, enjoying the sunrise behind me as we headed southwest. I would hate to use my phone without the hands free device, and it is so difficult to take pictures without actually holding the thing. Of course there is no law against taking pictures while driving.Art and beauty are in the eye of the beholder. Some like to photograph, others simply climb. The last time he climbed this one, he had a mouth full of cotton to absorb the results of an extraction. This time he escaped with a blister. Behind him, his father records the moment in pixels.Some of what there is to see is not above but below. The golden light of sunset, enhanced by the smoke of northern California wild fires lights these beauties.At the end of the day, the sun sets on a bridge and a photographer. We have a few more miles to go before we sleep, then even more miles before we sleep in the same place for more than one night. Travel takes time, but the experience is somehow worth it.

What's In? What's Out?

I had some help with this post. Last week, while I was in Southern California, my niece was in Northern California. We are rather fond of In-N-Out Burger, but living in Washington as we do, we do not eat their burgers as often as we might like. When one of us has the opportunity to partake, we share the joy with the rest, originally by cell phone call accompanied by the sound of chewing yummy food, but now be text messages accompanied by pictures. On their way south, my sister's car missed Redding, so their first burgers came a bit later. Here is what I received from her:
Lunch anyone? Hmm. . . what sounds good?
This place looks nice.
Hmm, what is there here?
Looks like they have burgers, I like burgers.
Look at all these people working hard to make me food.

Gosh, I wish we had something to do while we wait.
We can look at the artwork hanging around. These look like fun, we could do these.
FOOD!!

These are tasty.Food for everyone.
That was tasty.
. . . Except whey you live in Washington :'(
While they were having lunch, we were in a meeting with an admissions counselor at my daughter's college of choice. I put my phone on vibrate, and we had a good time with the messages when the meeting was over. We sent her this picture so she would know where we were.

Now I know the real reason I bought her a cell phone for graduation.

On the road again

Tomorrow morning at zero dark thirty, which will be after sunrise here in the far reaches of the north, we will all pile in the Fit for another installment of the great adventure which is the American Road Trip. Everything is already in the car except people and pillows. The bike is not on the back yet, because it does not fit in the garage that way, but it only takes a few minutes to rectify that. We are aiming for Weed or Redding tomorrow night then all the way to the southland the next night to stay with my sister-in-law. Our house is well guarded by delightful neighbors, and our Shadow is staying with a nice lady who loves to take care of dogs for other people. I am looking forward to seeing all of my loyal readers in the next two weeks.

Happy Trails

Who ordered the weather?

My boy and I went to the local theme park yesterday. He had a free pass which was good any day this summer. I had a free pass that was good if I drove my Toyota into the parking lot yesterday or next Tuesday. Since I will be in Southern California next Tuesday, touring my husband's alma mater, yesterday looked like the day. It was hot on Monday. It is pleasantly warm today. Yesterday it was overcast and it rained for a few hours in the afternoon. Would it be too much to ask for some sun at the water park? We started with a train ride which gave us a tour of the facility, including this terrifying trestle.We saw the water slides from the train. This is as close as we came to them. Note the sunny blue sky.One reason we did not start on the water slides after the train ride is here on the right. The conductor on the train announced as we went by the blue and green pile of spaghetti that it had opened the day before. Who wants to go on water slides under a cloudy sky when there is a new roller coaster in town?We moved a little closer to check it out properly. First we went up the right hand tower backwards. Then we went up the left hand tower forwards. We went around a few loops in between.It seems to be a rather dangerous affair, given all the warnings on this sign. Either that or their lawyers are a bit overpaid for writing sign text. We went up, down, around, upside down then we did it all again backwards. It might have been more interesting if I could see something other than the seat in front of me. We were hanging from the contraption with our feet dangling in open space, which somehow enhanced the experience. The boy said it rocks. Mom said once was enough. They closed it when it started to rain. My boy had to resort to other entertainment. Here he is in his favorite seat on the corkscrew. Once was enough for me on that one too, but he kept running around to do it again and again. Lots of folks left the park when it started to rain, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
This sign was written by a lawyer who needs to talk to someone with a degree in English. We both agreed that if we did not cut in line, we might be thrown out.

There was no line for this interesting attraction. A few hundred miles south of here, people wait all day to fly an elephant. Maybe the counterclockwise ones are more fun.
Along the lines of when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, my son so no problem getting wet while spraying everyone else on the blaster boats. Once he was soaked to the skin, there was not much wetter to get.
My chauffeur is getting ready for driving school in four years and two months. He did pretty well, but I decided to drive the Toyota home myself. His sister is glad I brought home what she thinks is her car in one piece.

We had a good day, but next year, could you please schedule Toyota Tuesday on a day when it is sunny?