Christmas prep

Have you ever really thought about how you prepare for Christmas? I’m guessing you probably put up your Christmas tree & decorate it, maybe put up lights on the house. You might take in your local Christmas festivities or sights, whether it be performances, viewing the neighbourhood lights & decorations, or attending the community display or activity. You go out to your favourite stores to present shop for friends & family, stock up on food at your preferred grocery store and possibly even order gifts and such on line for delivery to your door, or to someone else’s.   

You know where you need to go to do all these things, you just need the time. 

Now, what if you weren't in your familiar environment? What would you do? What if your location changed often enough that you had to find out where the grocery stores & shopping were before you could even go there to get your items? What about a Christmas tree, and decorations and doing Christmassy things? 

These are all things we are addressing this year.

Sure, we may be on the road traveling and seeing the sights, but we still want to celebrate the holidays.  It’s a bit harder, but definitely doable. It just takes a little ingenuity and research to find out what’s happening in the area. 

We don’t have floor space for a tree, but we do have empty spaces on a few walls. I’m quite happy with how our wall tree has turned out. I cut the shape & put it up, and the kids have had fun choosing & making decorations for it. Other decorations (lots of paper snowflakes) around the rest of the place make our home feel a bit more festive.  It is annoying that we don’t have any of our Christmas stuff with us, but oh well, can’t do anything about that right now. At any rate, a few trips to Michael’s and such, and voila, Christmas decoration conundrum solved.  No lights this year, but that’s mainly because I haven’t found any I like.

Shopping for presents has been a bit more of a challenge as it takes a bit of time to get the lay of the land, so to speak, and then navigate through the unfamiliar stores (and the same store in a different place is often not laid out the same).  As well, driving through unfamiliar streets is not always comfortable (or easy with the big dually!).  I’m noticing that legal U-turns are the norm in California for getting turned around, but they just aren't feasible with the long box! Also having only one vehicle sometimes makes it more difficult for everyone to run the errands they need to (especially when trying to purchase gifts).  But we get er done. 

Lily on the train at CALM

Every community has something going on for Christmas, and Bakersfield is no different. During our week in Bakersfield we've walked (and taken a train) through the California Living Museum’s (CALM) dazzling Holiday Lights display (and looked at their reptile house & their big cats) and visited the Kern County Museum’s holiday festivities, which included a musical lighted tree, skating (on artificial surface – too funny), and tubing (down those big slide ramps used at fairs, with actual ice at the bottom). Both events were interesting, quite busy with people, and both helped us feel like we are actually taking part in the holiday, rather than just watching it go by(like we've watched so many miles of road go by).  

It’s been challenging preparing for the holidays, especially having moved a few times this month, but interesting too. Seeing how other places prepare for and celebrate the holiday has made me think a bit more about traditions and how much the Canadian environment influences what I think of as the Christmas season. I know it’s nearly Christmas, but I’m finding it a bit odd not being in the snow & cold at Christmas. I’m so used to short days, chilly nights and snow meaning winter – and Christmas. Here the days are short (dark by 5), but it’s only cool out, not cold (we all needed long sleeves and a jacket, but definitely not cold weather gear) and there’s no snow (although I guess Bakersfield does get some; definitely none in San Diego though!). 

Regardless of all this, it’s time for one more move before Christmas arrives. We’re off to the Bay area to see my family. Although I’m missing the snow at the moment, I’m glad I’m not in my frozen north homeland, trying to drive my home through it. Stay safe everyone, and Happy holidays!

Unsustainable

Since we entered California it seems like we've been on this crazy whirlwind tour of theme parks & attractions. The kids and Bob have definitely been leading the charge on this one, and I’m pretty sure they could keep this up for as long as there are attractions to see (and there are a ton of things to do/ places to go in south Cal.). Me, not so much. I want my quiet time. I need my quiet time. While I know that we just had a quiet stop in White Tank Mountain, AZ it feels like a million years ago (rather than just two weeks). 

Going to all these places is great fun & interesting and often educational in some way, but, it is true that you can have too much of a good thing… we do have responsibilities and this is not a vacation! While a big part of this adventure we're on is to see the sites and visit new places, there has to be a balance to it. Swing too far one way or the other and something needs to change. The pattern we've been on the last few weeks is not sustainable. It's exhausting and our recent stops have been rather expensive.  

It also hasn't left enough time for properly attending to certain tasks – things like, oh, school for one!  December is already a short month for school, even before taking a bunch of extra days off. I had planned to take a complete break over the holidays (two weeks just like back in Alberta), but I also wanted to finish some of the units Morgan’s been working on, first. Social studies (the bane of my existence!) and the current Science unit are so close to being done, but it’s pretty difficult to get them done if we don’t make time for it! 

I also need time in my house, to just be here.  

Now, I don’t mean that I want to sit on my butt and do nothing but eat chocolate all day (although that does sound good – the chocolate part, that is). I mean that I actually need a whole day in my house!  (or two or three!) It’s a cluttered mess at the moment, and desperately in need of a deep clean. And Christmas decorating! There are a myriad of other small things that need attending too. 

L.A. and San Diego have just so many things to do; so many attractions & places to tempt us away from taking care of our “regular” lives. And so, to avoid all that temptation I convinced the family to leave the sun & sand of the south coast and move up to Bakersfield. There are a couple reasons to come here, which I will get into later. 

We received several dubious looks and comments from fellow campers at the resort in San Diego who asked where we’re going next. There's nothing to do there they all said (which I highly doubt is true, considering that people, and families, live here). It does mean this place is perfect for my intentions to do nothing more than catch up on school work & life and get ready for Christmas. We’re here for a week and then will be moving up to San Francisco to spend Christmas with my extended family (oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!  It’s been too many years since I've seen them all, and they've seen us all, and I'm excited.)

NOTE: As I read this post, a couple thoughts came to me…  I think the rest of the family actually could sustain the life they've had the last couple of weeks for as long as there was money in the bank. They seem to all love amusement/ theme parks and Morgan would happily ditch school in favor of nearly anything else! I’m the one in the family who stresses about meeting school deadlines and keeping expenses to a dull roar and all that stuff. I can never quite let it all go. I never have been able to. I do wish I could let it go and live in the moment more, but I also think someone has to be the responsible one! 

And, boy, oh boy, after one good solid day where Morgan made good progress in his school work, I caught up on laundry, we walked to the playground, prepared for some work on the trailer tomorrow, watched a movie and met several of our campground neighbours (who are all extremely friendly) I feel so much better about life in general.  

I'm pretty sure we can fit some fun activities into this week, just better balanced.  

San Diego

This week has gone by so quickly. Two days

of doing nothing more strenuous than Grade 2 (which can be quite stressful at times!) and walking across the street to play in the sand at the beach of Mission Bay, here in San Diego at the beginning of the week did wonders for my energy levels.  I built a little sandcastle, which survived the overnight tides, but was then thoroughly vanquished by busy beaver children.  (What is it about my two that makes them want to smash and destroy!?) And I finally felt rested. 

Snowball fight!

Which of course meant it was time to be busy again! Off we went to visit SeaWorld, since it is included in the So. California City Pass, which we had purchased at Disneyland (and which would expire on Sunday). We spent the day riding rides and taking in the myriad of animal shows. The Sea Lion show was entertaining, the dolphin & whale show mesmerizing and the dolphin & seal/sea lion exposure tanks were quite interesting. We missed the iconic “Shamu” show mainly because my own monkeys were much more interested in playing in the artificial snow in the winter area (which was admittedly, great fun).  Actually, I think the snow was my favorite part of the whole place.

After visiting SeaWorld we met up with an ex-work friend of Bob’s from his old workplace (and said friend’s family) for sushi at a local restaurant.  The restaurant was quite busy, and due to a hiccup in our navigational skills we ended up out of sync with them (and thus ate at separate tables).  We still had a nice, if brief, visit. 

These 2 belong in the zoo!

We were all set to pull out the next morning, but after looking at what we still wanted to do in the area (and where), we decided to stay put for three more days. So Friday afternoon, after getting some school done, we went to the San Diego Zoo because they have pandas, you know.  Lily has wanted to see pandas ever since she discovered that the Toronto Zoo has them. I was all set to wait until we were there for her to see them, but Bob wasn't having any of that! The Zoo is also world-renowned, and we were curious to see what made it so.  It is quite interesting, and there is a lot of growth and trees within the zoo. The paths meander and the enclosures tend to blend with the outer environment, giving a bit more of a natural feel to the place (the birds are in real (tall) trees & the forest seems to surround the big cat pens.  At the same time, the animals also feel more accessible than some of the other zoos I have been to.  The elephants have room to roam & all the animals seemed pretty content. One thing I noticed was that many of the animals were Right There in front of us, and if we had really wanted to, we could have reached out to touch many of them (note: don’t do this, unless you’re in the petting zoo!) We chatted with a keeper as she gave the spider monkeys a veggie snack and I had a nice little chat with a cougar, who sounded surprising like my old neighbours’ cat, Tigger (who has the teeniest meow you ever did hear), and was no more than five feet from me. 

After visiting the zoo, we drove over to Bob’s friend’s place for a more relaxed supper & visit and spent the rest of the evening swapping stories and enjoying the company. I never truly realized how huge a network of contacts/ friends from his old work days Bob has. Getting to meet some of them as we travel, has been quite interesting for me, as it gives me a whole new insight on what work was like, and the relationships that formed through the continent (through meetings/ conferences and the like). 

We stayed out a bit later than ideal for kid bedtimes, and I got to drive the truck home in the dark, through the unfamiliar city (high on my list of things I hate to do), and arrived back in time to pour the kids into their beds before doing the same for ourselves. Good thing Saturday was a planned quiet day. 

No matter how much fun & busyness we’re having this is life, not a vacation. Basic things like groceries still need to be shopped for, and since this is December, Christmas is just around the corner, and there are preparations to be made. Silly me, all of our Christmas decorations & items are packed neatly and tidily in a Rubbermaid tub in the storage unit. I know what I was thinking back in July when I tucked them away – I wanted them safe and secure and I didn't want to pack around the extra weight in the trailer. But now that it’s December I really wish I had brought some of our ornaments & lights with us. If I was thinking, I would have grabbed a handful when I was there in November (but it still wasn't on my radar). So, we picked up a few decorations to make the trailer a bit more festive

There was one more reason we didn't move campgrounds on Friday – Legoland. It is 30 minutes north of our current location and once this place was on the kids’ radar there was no way we were getting out of the area without going (either that or listen to the complaining for days!). Morgan noticed the signs on the way down from Los Angeles and then asked daily when we were going. We purchased our tickets on line, and got a decent holiday deal (way better than at the gate admission). Legoland is definitely geared for younger kids (12 and under), and there were plenty of rides to keep the kids busy. At some of the busier rides, Lego stations, where kids could play & build while parents stood in line, kept them entertained.  The kids donned their mittens to play in the snow area and then Morgan got soaking wet on one of the rides (and then subsequently stood under a big fountain of water in the spray park area). Good thing we had brought his jacket along so he could wear it instead of the (wet) long-sleeve shirt he was wearing! His favorite section of the park was the Star Wars mini scenes, while Lily enjoyed the dragon roller coaster the best. 

What a week (big tired huff). After all this,we need to focus on some regular life, and look at how the rest of the month is going to play out. We really need to get some school work done before Christmas holiday is upon us (and I want to take a complete break from school for a little bit) and I don’t even have a clue if we’re ready for Christmas or not! Time to move out of San Diego...

Man, am I tired! (aka Disneyland week)

I need a nap. A long one.

I am so tired that I can hardly string a sentence together, much less a cohesive blog post! Those darned, super long, exhausting, fantastically fun filled days at Disneyland and a day at Universal Studios combined with a (very) noisy RV park and fighting a bit of a bug have done me in. Totally worth it though!

The whole family is tired and we had the luxury of taking a week to do 3 days at Disneyland. I cannot imagine how vacationing families don’t completely exhaust themselves visiting the Los Angeles area, especially if they only have a few days to experience it all.  

Cute facepaint

California Screamin coaster

I have many thoughts on the past week, and I would love to share it all, but it seems my brain will just not co-operate. Sigh. Pictures will have to do for now. Maybe our new campground in San Diego (Mission Bay RV Resort) will let me rest up and regain my brain cells!  

Lily met Santa and lots of the characters

Bad Day / Good Day

No doubt about it. Sunday was a bad day. It started out alright, but as we got closer to LA the traffic volume went up and our speed went down.  Somehow I had completely forgotten to account for all the holiday Sunday traffic that would be wending its way home after the long weekend into our travel plans. Stupid, considering we didn't have to go anywhere, really.   

Still 90 miles from our destination

Time ticked away as we crawled along the I10 - an extra two hours’ worth.  The hour we had gained by switching time zones was completely obliterated by the slow pace. To add insult to injury, we had to stop to clean Lily up after the cherry slushie didn't agree with her tummy. Yucky! Shortly before turning off the I10 onto the quieter CA91 Lily started asking for some supper, but with the crazy amount of traffic, there was no where we could have pulled off. My rant: I've found that with the way the off-ramps are angled, you can’t see what services are off them until after you've passed the exit. It’s also quite frustrating looking for somewhere to stop, in the dark, while going 60 mph and being 53’ long! You can’t stop just anywhere like a car can, and so we resolved to eat once we had stopped for the night (which was now only 30 min away).

The last bit of driving before reaching our destination was on fast, narrow, freeway, full of aggressive drivers, which frazzled the last of Bob’s nerves and made him second guess his final turns. But, we found the campground, pulled in, checked-in, checked out our appointed spot and then Bob went to ask for a site transfer, since he didn't like being right beside the road. After inhaling a bit of supper (about two hours past when we should have stopped) we switched spots. By that point we were tired, frazzled and obviously not thinking clear enough because we then did something extra stupid. We dropped the fifth wheel – meaning we dumped 12000 lbs onto the bed rails & tailgate of the truck. That left a mark! Luckily the landing gear was mostly down, and thankfully we only dented and didn't destroy. Now we have dents in the rails for our tonneau cover and a dent on the tailgate as well as a broken light and two dents on the underside of the nose of our fifth wheel to remind us never to do that again. Ugh! I think this one will go down as one of the worst days we've had. 

Can you see the kids and I on the ride?

Monday, by comparison, was a fabulous day. We visited the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland!   Everyone enjoyed the rides (I actually went on two roller coasters, which for me is a huge deal!), the kids were well behaved and patient in the lines, and were happy pretty much the whole (long & busy) day. It helped that we utilized the FastPASS system (highly recommend) as well as Disney’s disability access pass, to cut down on our time waiting in lines. As a result we spent more time having fun riding the rides and seeing the attractions than waiting in line and dealing with meltdowns (which were noticeably, and thankfully, minor – and evidently were saved for today!).  Morgan loved the various roller coasters, a small world and all of Toontown.  Lily loved meeting the princesses and seeing the inside of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and all the fireworks above it. 

Bring em to Disneyland and all they wanna do is watch TV!

Before we knew it, the day was done. We watched the fireworks, had a late supper, bought me a sweatshirt (because I was cold and I hadn't actually spent my birthday money yet) and then walked back to the RV park. The kids were pooped by the time we got back to the trailer at 9 pm. Morgan had a quick snack and then went to bed, while Lily went straight to bed, barely mustering the energy to get in jammies. I've never seen them crash so quickly! (except maybe the day before where they did pretty much the same) I think we all had great fun, and everyone is looking forward to going to Disney’s California Adventure Park on Wednesday (we have a 3-day pass that we intend to make full use of, but we all needed a break today to rest up!). Tonight we can all enjoy the fireworks from home. How sweet is that!

Big, beautiful Christmas tree

P.S. I finally got the inside pictures of our trailer loaded onto the Truck & Trailer page, if anyone is curious about what our home looks like.

A walk in White Tank

Since Tuesday we've been at White Tank Mountain Regional Park, just west of the sprawl that is the greater Phoenix metropolitan area (we’re actually closest to Surprize, AZ). The park nestles up against the White Tank Mountains in the desert, and being quite close to the city, seems to be a rather popular local destination.

Trail near campground

It comes complete with cactus (lots), desert plants, many non-venomous and venomous animals (snakes, scorpions & spiders, oh my!), a 40 site campground (where we are, and that went from nearly empty to totally full for the holiday weekend), the municipal library (where my kids spent two trips playing on the computers & nearly completely ignoring the books!), nature center and many hiking/biking trails. 

nice photography, Lily!

Today we took a walk up the Waterfall trail this morning. The easy, 1.8 mile half paved trail wound through the Sonoran desert, taking us past several interpretive boards detailing the types of cactus in the area, the petroglyphs that can be seen on many of the rocks along the trail, the people who likely made those marks, and the desert in general. It was an enjoyable hike that ended at the mountain cliff & to the sounds of gently falling water. That was a pleasant surprise, since I had expected the waterfall to be dry (this is a desert after all, and the signs all indicated the waterfall only runs after rain). The small amount of water descending the cliff wall slid into a small, but deepish looking pool and then trickled down into a short series of small pools before disappearing into the sand & rock bottomed dry stream bed. 

We paused for a snack in the shade of the cliffs at the waterfall before turning around and retracing our steps back to the trail head. Morgan decided that he was starving (even after having a snack before we set off on the trail) and was extremely unhappy when I gave him only one granola bar & wouldn't give him more. He proceeded to then tell everyone he met on the trail that he was starving and his mom wouldn't feed him. (It was cute the first few times, then got really annoying really fast and by the tenth time he approached someone his mom was pretty unimpressed. And no, I didn't give him another granola bar! Such a mean mom I am!)

hard to get a pic -spider is 1.5" or so

On the way back we saw a spider crossing the trail – a small tarantula we think. It was neat to see, but in general I do better with spiders when they are far away from me!

The walk back to the truck was quicker than the walk up, mainly because it was downhill & now both of the kids had decided they were starving and tired. The promise of lunch once we got back to the trailer kept them moving rather than plunking down on a bench and rebelling.

Lily looking at petroglyphs

Some days I wonder why I bother taking them on hikes when it seems like all I hear is whining and complaining the whole way. And then, once the hike is done, I hear their chatter in the vehicle, take a look at the pictures, and kid-made videos & realize that they did actually enjoy it (all complaining aside).  

Point in case, the video Morgan made while on the hike. I think it’s rather cute. You can form your own opinion. 

Tomorrow we leave here & head to southern California for a rendezvous with something even scarier than venomous desert animals. Disneyland!  (Ok, I’m scared.  The rest of the family is super excited.)

Ineffective

I am an ineffective human.  Ineffective and ineffectual.  And frankly, I’m sick of it. 

It took me two months to hem the edges of the pants Mom made for the kids. I know this because she gave them to me on my October trip to get my braces done. I finally finished them up two weeks after my following trip, where she gave me two more pairs to finish the waistbands on. All in all it took me less than an hour to finish up 4 pairs of pants once I finally got started.

I've booked most of those flights back to Calgary within two weeks of my departure date (even when I've known where I was going to be weeks and weeks in advance) simply because I just didn't get on it.  

There are several projects around here which I either haven’t started or have barely started and then left. Things like decorating, hanging pictures and personalizing the place. Instead, it looks nearly the same as when we bought it. The kids both want their room painted. They even gathered paint chips, and yet, their room is still the color it began as. 

Then there are maintenance things. I didn't get around to re-caulking the split seams on the trailer way back when I first noticed the splitting and now we have water damage on our wardrobe slide-out. All it would have taken was a nice day and about 30 minutes. By the time we did get it re-caulked in Penticton, damage was done, and water was actually sealed inside in the process. Now, it will take a bit more work. (I actually got started on this one this week! I've stripped the sealant and it is drying nicely in the desert air.) 

Don’t even get me started on the “personal growth” kind of things I thought I’d be doing while traveling.

You’d think that I’d have all the time in the world to get things done, explore interests and be creative and yet the days seem to disappear in a blur of schoolwork, meals, kid bedtimes and wasted time. By bedtime I feel like I've gotten nowhere; accomplished nothing. 

And I don’t take advantage of those times during the day when I could be doing something productive, creative or just plain relaxing. Some of it is lack of planning. Some of it is inertia or perhaps apathy. There seems to be a healthy dose of illogical guilt in there too (of not spending every minute entertaining or educating my children or of imposing my activity wishes upon the family, or of doing something just for me).

And so I let the day pass me by because I don’t actually know how make a decision and then execute it. 

Truth be told, I’m not so good at making decisions. And yet, everyone seems to think I know what I’m doing and so they look to me to make the decisions. News flash: I haven’t a bloody clue what I’m doing.  I’m just making it up as I go along. Ineffectively, I might add.

Took me 20 minutes to decide what I wanted for lunch today. I wasn't trying to be difficult. Just couldn't figure it out.

Can’t someone else make the decisions?

(Oh yeah, that’s a great way to live!)

There’s another facet to this too – an entirely personal one. I think I've forgotten how to live for myself. How to enjoy life, make goals and move towards them. I'm not sure I ever knew how.

Sure, I can accomplish tasks that have deadlines or need to be done in a timely manner, no problem (school submissions, feeding people, getting laundry done, etc.). But when it comes to doing something that I think would be enjoyable or provide a sense of accomplishment (and doesn't have to be a big thing), even when I have the time, energy & means to make it happen, somehow, many times, I just don’t pull the trigger and make sure it happens. And then there’s the guilt I feel when I do actually do whatever it was I was planning on doing. (Especially when my family stares at me like I've grown another head. Why are you painting Mommy?  Why are you sewing?  The simple “What are you doing?” or “Where are you going? sentences can start the guilt flowing.)

Now what’s up with that!?

I remember a University friend commenting on it. Can’t remember the exact words, but the gist of it went something like: “When it comes to your work you’re fierce, standing up for yourself, but when it’s for you, you just give up.” Over ten years later, the pattern hasn't changed.

And it’s got to change. For my own mental health and that of everyone around me. 

Changing isn't an easy process though. It’s so easy to stay in the self-destructive, familiar grooves (one could perhaps say “rut”) that I've been in for longer than I care to admit. But the alternative is no longer acceptable. 

P.S. Four-and-a-half months and I've finally taken the inside pictures to put up on the Truck & Trailer page.  Will get them loaded as soon as I get some good WiFi – I promise!

Things I miss and things I don't

This is Bob’s perspective…

(I have done my very best to dictate word for word, and not put my words in)

I’m not missing TV as much as I thought.  Either we get enough or I’m just not as interested in it as I used to be.  Maybe that’s because most of the shows I used to watch were kind of wrapping up.

In general I’m not missing the shows I thought I would be.  The biggest thing I miss is the PVR. Just being able to flick it on and watch whatever I want (me too says Janine!). 

I miss work sometimes. Just kind of the routine of it, and the engagement, and having the challenge, I think. 

He asks me.. .Do you miss the old house? (then answers)… I’m surprised I don’t miss the house a bit more.  I miss the space a bit. {I point out we depersonalized it so much in preparation for selling that in the end it really wasn't ours anymore.He agrees.}

I miss having the kids go to school!  Sometimes. And a little bit of the interconnectedness the school brought. The community-ness.

I miss the car a bit. I thought I would miss it more, but I’m surprised I haven’t found the truck as hard to drive and as hard to park as I thought it would be. I mean, Vancouver was tough (the night we had to find a parking spot downtown and finally after a half-hour of hunting we turned down Robson St. and found lots of parking), but other than that it’s been good. Yeah, you have to park a bit further away, but that’s okay.    

I ask him “Do you miss Airdrie?” No, not as much as I thought I would. There are times. Like when we’re at a new grocery store and trying to find things. 

I miss my babysitters. It’s just nice to be able to get out and not worry too much. (time away from the kids is challenging to find!)

I kind of miss the good internet. I miss being able to log on and have the reliable high-speed internet. And I kind of thought we’d get that with the cell phones but it’s just not true. They’re capped and you don’t realize just how much data you use just watching a video or downloading a movie. 

And now for the kids’ perspectives…

Lily: I don’t miss our old trailer (tent trailer). I miss my school friends from preschool & prekindergarten.  And I kind of miss my old bed & my room too. It’s because we slept in different rooms in the old house. I do not miss our old TV’s. I don’t miss the things we don’t have anymore (the stuff we sold). 

Morgan: I do miss my home (house). And I do miss my school. Thanks all. {Bob states he thinks Morgan is fine with everything as long as he has the Wii!}

Time warp

Time moves funny when you’re full-time living in an RV. This is especially true when we are on the move.  It feels like I enter a time-warp every time we do… It couldn't have been only XX days since we were YY?!  It’s hard to wrap my head around the time- location shift (Especially when you put time-zone changes in there too. Most times I don’t even try to figure out distances!) I know Morgan has the same difficulty I do. He has a lot of trouble remembering the places we were at after a few days. Lily has a much better sense of place and time. 

Five days ago I was in Calgary, in a snowstorm, shoveling out at least a foot of snow from my friend’s driveway and then later watching as my plane was de-iced before take-off back to Las Vegas. It felt like I was leaving home and going home at the same time. 

Four days ago I enjoyed the sun and warmth at Lake Mead. It was so nice to wear capris and sandals again. (LOL. I have to laugh. For someone who was so adamantly against going to Vegas, this is the first location we've been to that is pulling me back. But that may just be the fact that it’s also the first place that’s been warm in ages!)

Three days ago we drove into Arizona. The temperature dropped considerably, the wind picked up just a bit and suddenly Christmas decorations and lights were in evidence. Good thing I hadn't put away my winter jacket yet!

I’m glad our day at the Grand Canyon turned out to be reasonably nice (needed a sweater/ long sleeve shirt & lighter jacket) without any wind. 

Yesterday we drove east into light rain, winds and chilly temps (high of 8 C). When we stopped for lunch in the trailer before going up to see Meteor Crater I turned on the furnaces. I haven’t had to do that since northern BC! (they’re usually off for traveling) Warmer jackets, and even mittens were pulled out for our walk outside along the crater rim. After visiting the crater (which is quite interesting, btw), we retraced our drive back to Flagstaff and then headed south, looking for somewhere a bit warmer. Our original goal was Phoenix, but the scenery outside our truck window beckoned us to take a closer look. So we stopped about 60 miles short of the city, not too far from Mayer. (Note: as further evidence of the time warp effect, I started writing this paragraph “Two days ago” until I realized my timeline didn't sync and I couldn't figure out it was “Wednesday” until I stared at my watch!)

Montezuma Well

Today, we managed to escape the rain for much of the day, heading back north, about 30 minutes driving time, to check out Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle National Monument. Tonight, the region is getting its first real solid rain in over two months (hey look, our drought breaking ability is still here!). I can’t imagine this rain in Las Vegas, but the forecast says it’s going to be there too, which doesn't mesh with the image of cloudless blue skies and bright sun that’s in my memory.  

Montezuma castle - 5 stories tall, and way up in the cliff

Maybe that’s part of why I feel like I’m in a time-warp every time we shift locations. I get a snapshot of a place that is completely time-dependent. I know it doesn't always look or feel like the image that’s in my head, but in that moment my experience of a place encompasses and defines it. Each time we have shifted we have changed not only location, but weather, sights, sounds and each place’s unique “feel”. Where we are tonight is so different from where I was five days ago or four days ago, or even yesterday that any amount of time might have passed and I wouldn't really know it!

And yet, I don’t really mind this feeling. It’s also a Wow! Look how far we've come and how much we've seen! kind of feeling. It emphasizes the sense of adventure and fuels the desire to explore further. It hammers home just how big and diverse North America is and how much there is to see, which really is a big part of why decided to set off on this life-shifting trip! Tomorrow we shall continue to mess with the space-time continuum and head to Phoenix. Until next time...

It sure is Grand

Ah, Boulder Beach campground. I think I could have l lived there forever. But there are places to see highways to travel and so we left the warmth of Lake Mead for somewhere a little cooler. Temperature wise and view wise. We were off to go check out a rather famous hole in the ground carved out by a famous river.

Any guesses?

The Grand Canyon! 

After traveling for several hours on Monday, climbing several thousand feet onto the Colorado Plateau, and subsequently dropping 30 F in temperature, we settled ourselves into the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, in Williams, AZ, caught up on laundry, grocery shopped, splashed in their indoor pool and settled in for a rather chilly (below freezing!) night. 

Today we drove to the Grand Canyon, about an hour north along highway 64. 

The highway from Williams offers no clues to the nearby presence of an enormous canyon. In fact, right up until you walk past the last of the Douglas fir trees, and look out on the abyss it's really not obvious. It reminded me quite strongly of the abrupt scenery change you experience when going to Dinosaur Provincial Park, in Alberta (although that is on a much smaller scale), where the land just drops away. 

Just like our trip over the Top of the World highway, pictures cannot do justice to the vista. And just like that highway the views are all out and down and down and out and down some more. Miles and miles wide and a mile deep, the scale of it is really incomprehensible, even standing on the rim, looking at it. 

We arrived at the Canyon near noon and stayed until 5ish, which gave us time to explore, walk the canyon rim trail (and take the free shuttles), learn some of the geologic and cultural history of the canyon and watch the light change on the canyon walls, painting the same view completely differently from one hour to the next. 

The canyon walls are near vertical steep, and the trails unforgiving and narrow, so given the ages/ abilities of the kids (and both their parent’s intense desire to keep them safe – especially since Morgan loves to bounce and run with his head down, which has scared the crap outta me many times!) we stayed on the rim trails and didn't venture down. Looking out at the tiny snaking trails, I think that to really experience the canyon one must descend from the heights (and perhaps someday we will return to test that theory). That said, the rim, and the multitude of lookout points available along it give a pretty good view from above! 

I think I should let the pictures do the talking…

Hey look!  A family picture

Morgan's favorite viewpoint - he liked the terraces

Can you see the trail on the right?

Nearing sunset

My favorite view - love the red

Invaders from the North

They’re everywhere! In the RV parks & campgrounds. On the streets.  In the businesses and on the roads.  No matter where I turn I see them.  

Canadians!

And a lot of them, considering just how far we are from our own border. It’s both shocking and pleasant. A bit like being at home, except the scenery is totally different. 

I’m familiar with the term “snowbird” but I never really grasped just how many Canadians flock south for the winter. It seemed at the large Oasis RV Resort, in Las Vegas, that every third or fourth unit was from Canada. Even at the small Boulder Beach campground, there were three others when we arrived.  And we’re only on the edge of snowbird territory!  

I remember in social studies, growing up, I was introduced to the term Manifest Destiny. The U.S. believed that one day Canada would be part of them. From my current perspective, the opposite is truer. Kinda.

While we may not have taken over, we certainly peacefully invade.

And why wouldn't we when this is what greets us at home! 

Morgan has it right – less winter is good!  

Now that's more like it!

We have moved out of Las Vegas over to Boulder Beach campground on Lake Mead (Boulder Basin, actually). It was a much shorter drive than we expected and is only a few miles from Boulder City and Hoover Dam (5 to be exact). It feels like we are in the middle of nowhere, but in reality, the city lights are just over the hill. I like this so much better.

To quote Marlin from Finding Nemo “A fish can really breathe out here!” 

This National Parks Service campground doesn't have hookups or cable or WiFi, unlike the RV park right next door, but it feeds my soul in a way that all those services can’t. The sites are spacious and ours is shaded, the scenery is beautiful, the other campers are friendly, and it’s populated just enough to feel comfortable and safe, but not so full as to feel cramped. It feels like a place where the kids can run, bike, explore and just be kids without me having to rein in their enthusiasm. It seems so much easier to just get outside and be outside than our last stop was (nothing against it, I just seem to get extra uptight about “appearances” in a park with lots of people & rules). 

Here, I can relax at the picnic table, or enjoy watching the kids play in the water of the lake (the beach is a short drive/ moderate walk away), and Munchie can actually go outside to sun herself and roll in the dust.  Schoolwork is nicer when it can be done outside in the sunshine (Morgan may have a slightly differing opinion).

I guess it just feels more like my home & yard than a spot that I am renting to put my trailer on. I hope my family makes good use of it while I’m away in Calgary for the next four days!

Boulder Beach at dusk

Verdict

We've been to the Fremont Street Experience.

Light show on Fremont Street

We've drove and walked the Strip.

Near the Bellagio fountains and across from Paris

We've taken in some of the local attractions.

Jelly's at the Shark Reef Aquarium, Mandalay Bay

We've grocery shopped, seen where the truckers sleep and where the locals sleep.

We've taken in some natural sights just a stones throw from the big city.

Red Rock Canyon visitor centre

Red Rock Canyon

We've enjoyed the sun and warmth.

My verdict.
Las Vegas is an okay place. The real part that is. I'm not so fond of the Strip though. The enormous casinos and sights are overwhelming to the senses, and are really amazing to see all lit up at night. We saw New York, Paris, Egypt, Greece, fountains of water jetting up at least 50 feet high, dancing to music at the Bellagio, a casino with ceilings painted like the sky (Cesar's); and so many lights and neon all in one small stretch of land. Like I said, amazing, but underneath that shiny (and fake) exterior it's not so pretty. Inside the casinos people sat at flashing machines or card tables just on the possibility of walking away with more that they put in (I doubt many do). Outside, people carried drinks wherever you went, and while I couldn't find somewhere to purchase a regular slurpee, I certainly could have had my pick of any alcoholic one I wanted. More people in the streets trying to get you to part with your money for shows and merchandise, and homeless sitting on the walkways hoping for a handout. I don't mind some of this part of Vegas, but I don't think I'd want to visit often.

I like the Las Vegas that's away from the Strip better. There are definitely some seedier parts of town, but I think every big city has that. There's a very diverse population here, lending to a unique ethnic flair. Mexican restaurants nestle up to Thai and sushi restaurants and you can see people from every walk of life here. The locals are very polite, and patient on the road, which is so nice when you're a slightly lost out-of-towner! I'm sure some of that stems from the fact that this is a tourist town, but I think much of it is just how it is here (Bob says it's also because there are some crazy senior drivers!). And if you are in the mood for some culture, there is plenty to take in (both modern and ancient), and huge amounts of high quality entertainment (music, shows, you name it!).
I can't complain about the weather either (at least not for November).While Alberta shivers (sorry guys!), I have enjoyed T-shirt and capris. Finally! The sky here is a nearly cloudless blue - the same blue I always associate with Alberta summers. The sun is up by 6 am and by 7 it's bright, beckoning one to get up and do something! There's some really beautiful natural sights to see right nearby, and many more within a days drive.
So, yes, I've changed my overall opinion of Las Vegas, but I still don't think I'd want to live here. Sure, it's nice now, but desert in the summertime? yikes!
On a side note: Morgan thinks this place is fabulous, and evidently he would live here. As he says "It gets less winter here!" And there's a trampoline place, and pools to swim at and all sorts of bright lights to look at. Oh, yeah, he loved the slot machines (and they do look like big video games), and wanted to know where the kid ones were. Ah, how easy it is to be a kid!

We're moving tomorrow out to Lake Mead. There are several campgrounds to choose from, and while I'm not sure of the intelligence of moving an hour away from the airport (which I will need on Wed, and is currently only 10 min away), it will be interesting to have a different perspective of the area.

Happy birthday monkey

Today my boy turned 8. Wow, where has the time gone?!

We may be on the road, and far away from Alberta, we’re not far from family. Grandma Bonnie & Grandpa Ken took us all out for supper last night, as they had to hop a plane early this morning. Morgan got a birthday brownie & ice-cream, complete with the waitress singing him happy birthday! 

Today texts, e-cards, pre-prepared cards from both sets of grandparents & my sister, and Skype calls let everyone know how much he’s loved (just in case he didn't know already!). 

He got a new Wii game (which he just had to play before breakfast), and I baked him his requested strawberry cake – under Lily’s watchful eye. We plowed through our school work, had lunch and then were off to Sky Zone indoor trampoline park, a short drive away from the campground. We had noticed the sign on the way in on Monday, and I immediately thought of Morgan.  He has always loved trampolines, and would jump on them whenever and wherever we found them (as our neighbour in Airdrie could attest!).  Ever since he was little, I have taken him to gymnastics, and he always enjoyed the trampoline & especially the foam pit. Our last session of gymnastics before moving was at the Flip-Factory in Calgary, which had a bunch of trampolines. Every time Morgan jumped he had such a huge smile on his face. Anyway, back to today. 

So, off we went. We planned to go during their “happy hour” so the kids could jump at a discount price.  Upon arriving we discovered that it was Homeschool Friday, meaning an extra discount – score! And, since it was his birthday, he would get 50% off anyway. Extra score! We were coming anyway, but it was extra nice to get in for less. The kids and I jumped & played while Bob watched.  I’m not sure if it was busy because it was a homeschool special, but there were plenty of parents and children of all ages there at 2:30 in the afternoon.

This place is fun! There are several sections to play in. The main area has multiple interconnected trampolines, and even ones on the walls the bounce off of. Whee! The only thing I didn't quite like was that this area was divided into ages/ sizes. I know it’s to prevent crashes, but it meant I couldn't jump with my monkeys. Morgan & Lily both tried to call me over, but the attendant made sure everyone stayed in their allotted sections.

The foam zone has four trampolines off the edge where you could jump into the pit filled with foam blocks. Morgan did flips and twists into the pit, while Lily jumped as far as she could. I got brave and did some flips into the pit too (which was great fun as soon as I realized it was softer than jumping onto my bed, and it earned me compliments from both kids).

Another section had two longer trampolines which led up to padded basketball nets – one high and one lower. With a foam basketball, Morgan jumped along the track and tossed the ball toward the net, hoping to get it in.  I don’t think he’ll ever become a great basketball player, but he sure had fun!

An hour proved to be more than enough for the birthday boy, and he powered out a bit before the hour was up.We headed back to the trailer, Lily & I iced the cake and then she and her brother decorated it with every kind of sprinkle I had with us (which was a lot!). After supper Bob took the kids over to the pool for an evening swim, before munching on cake and calling it an evening. I didn't ask him directly if he had a good day, but the tired smile on his face as he snuggled into bed for the night hopefully meant he did.  

Below are two really cute videos of the kids at Sky Zone.

Race to the Sun

Colder weather was coming.  A storm was forecast for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and down into Utah for the weekend, which meant it was time to move on! Bob decided that we just had to go to Vegas, apparently because that was the first spot on the map that looked warm. I think the fact his parents are here this week added to that decision.

the acreage

After working on the remaining two hubs, we set off from Duvall about 2:30 Friday afternoon. From that point on we were on the move, racing away from the storm. East, across Washington on the I90 – a route we had taken the previous summer – and then away from the familiar, south on I84. We drove past sundown, spending our first night just inside the Oregon border at a truck stop in Umatilla. Sleeping at the noisy truck stop was not exactly restful, but everyone did manage some sleep (the kids always sleep, regardless of the noise; I wish I had that ability). We got up and drove all Saturday, through the northeast corner of Oregon, into Idaho. It rained for a good chunk of the morning, becoming lighter as the day passed. Every time we stopped for a break, though, the rain would catch up, pushing us onward. Late afternoon in Idaho we encountered our first dust storm, complete with tumbleweeds! 

S Oregon or N Idaho - not sure which!

It would have been entertaining playing avoid the tumbleweeds, except for the wind that made those move, also meant paying extra attention to driving (which sadly meant no pictures either, although I would have loved to get some!). We pulled into Country RV Village in Heyburn, ID at about 8:30pm (again pulling in in the dark) and quickly stuffed two loads of laundry into their nice, inexpensive washers. I would have done more, but we only had enough American quarters for two (are you noticing we really, really haven’t gotten ourselves organized yet!?). The kids discovered a small playground at the campground, which allowed them to burn off some of their built-up energy before bed. 

Sunday morning dawned quite chilly (near freezing), reminding us of why we were doing this monumental drive. We all took advantage of the nice hot showers at the campground the next morning, before getting back on the road for more driving (ugh, I hate feeling grubby!). Starting our longest driving day yet, we dropped down into Utah, joining the I15 and spent all day heading south, pretty much traveling the length of the entire state. Shortly before noon - alongside the road, hey! Is that? Snow! Yep. Stopping at a rest stop for lunch, the kids spent some time playing in the freshly fallen snow. Lily made miniature snowmen and Morgan tossed snowballs at the trees. Bob and I had to get out their mittens from the back of the trailer so they didn't freeze their little fingers (see, I knew having all our winter gear with us would come in handy!).

The rest stop had free Wifi, so we stayed a bit longer than originally intended, connecting to family & friends, getting weather reports and trying to figure out where to stay once we reached Vegas. That weather report showed that pretty much all of Utah was in the cold front we were racing away from, meaning there would be no leisurely sightseeing here. Traveling on, we passed Salt Lake City, which looked quite beautiful nestled against the mountains, with a fresh coat of snow.

My original plan was to stop at Beaver for the night, but below freezing temperatures pushed us onward, over the mountains. We did stop just outside of Beaver at one of the many truck stops, backed in and grabbed some supper (and WiFi), before making the decision to continue on to lower ground and above freezing temps. I’m not a fan of driving at night time, but the road was bare and dry and there was quite a bit of truck traffic. I got the impression we were missing some spectacular scenery though! 

Our new goal was St. George, just north of the Arizona border.  Since it was going to be after 9 by the time we pulled in we figured we’d grab a spot at Camping World or a truck stop, rather than a campground. This proved to be not possible as both were crammed full. So, parking a block away, we spent our night parked on the street beside a hotel. Neither Bob nor I felt 100% comfortable – although the presence of a transport truck right behind us made us feel a bit better about staying there- and we planned for an earlier rise than our usual 8ish wake up. 

somewhere on those last 100 miles

Monday morning we got up early, packed the kids in the truck and finished up our drive to Las Vegas (only 100 more miles!), actually getting to see some of that scenery I knew was out there!

Since Friday afternoon we have driven over 1200 miles (that’s nearly 2000 km), all to get to a city which I have never ever wanted to visit in my entire life. The extreme consumerism and excess to the extent that Las Vegas seems to portray just isn't my cup of tea. Okay, my prejudices and preconceived notions are showing, and really, I don’t know Vegas, so it’s unfair to judge it before experiencing it. Part of making this journey is to break away from those preconceptions and misconceptions about places and the people who live there. So I shall do my best to open my mind and heart to the area. I’ll let you know how it all works out…

Super traveler Lily

Super traveler Morgan