Road Tripping, Day Three

Today we were in our traveling groove. We started the morning with a wake-up call by the family alarm clock, Zack. He was generous enough to come into my room from my parents’ room (where he slept) in order to fulfill his role as Darcey-waker-upper. Why that boy doesn’t come with a snooze button is beyond me.

Zack was campaigning for another McDonald’s breakfast, which was soundly vetoed by all involved. We ended up with a nice compromise – Jamba Juice and Winchester’s Donuts. The perfect combination of sweet and too sweet.

In what is starting to become a vacation tradition, it occurred to me about two hours outside of Salinas that I hadn’t seen my cell phone in a while. If you recall, in June I left my cell phone in my shorts pocket and ran it through the washing machine. I replaced it, only to have it start working again three weeks later (and after I had given it to Noah who gave it to a friend.) I called the hotel after searching through the mounds of rubble in the minivan, but no luck. I keep thinking it’ll turn up somewhere, but I recall Darcey bringing the phone into the bathroom and when I took it out, I put it somewhere secure, so she wouldn’t get it again. Neither did I, apparently. Vacations are murder on my cell phones.

We decided to head down the Pacific Coast Highway for the scenic coastal drive. This was one of the things that my mom had on her list of things to do before she dies. Anytime we can mark something off someone’s list, we’ll totally do that thing. The Pacific coast drive is at once stunning and nauseating. It’s especially painful for a person who gets carsick easily, who is also trying to write things down for her blog. Two Dramamine and moving to the front seat cleared things up before I got too miserable, and putting away the notebook helped a lot too.

The highlight of day three was the pit stops. Every time we stopped for gas, a bathroom break, or to stretch our legs, we were treated to beautiful vistas. The kids’ favorite stop was Morro Bay where I let them “get their feet wet” in the ocean. Yeah, well, apparently they think their feet grow out of their shoulders, because they were soaked to the bone within five minutes. But they adored it.

Noah and Zack had the time of their lives. We only played for maybe 20 minutes but they enjoyed every second of it. Darcey got freaked out by the first wave, but as long as Grandma or I were holding both her hands she was fine.

Today we found our road tripping sweet spot. We had a good six hours of driving time, but we broke it into two hour chunks. Two hours seems to be about the time that everyone is getting a little restless and could use a 15 minute break. Since the point of this trip is to enjoy the journey and not just rush to the destination, two hour breaks work. And we’ve broken Darcey to the point where she only had one minor freak-out today. The boys, who have heretofore been nearly invisible, were starting to make their presence known, so it’s probably good to put in a couple of rest days in Thousand Oaks.

Tomorrow: Hanging out in T.O. with family, going to the beach.

Here are some pictures from Day Three:

At some random roadside restaurant with a gorgeous backyard. And public bathrooms.

What is up with this pose?? I have no idea if he's trying to shoot me or just be cool.

This is hilarious - it's the first time these kids have ever seen a pay phone. I had to tell them what it was called.

At Morro Bay, getting our feet (and a little more) wet.

Before Morro Bay, we stopped at this sea lion preserve. Or possibly they were seals. Whatever they are, they're safe here.