California or Bust part 4

(Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3)

Well, I didn't mean for there to be so many posts about this trip, but I guess an epic trip deserves some epic posts. This is the last though: Our trip home.

I'm afraid I can't say that the ride home was very eventful.  We drove home the "back way" towards Nevada, and then North up the East side of the Sierra Nevadas.  If there was anything noteworthy to see, we might have passed it after dark, but otherwise, it was a pretty boring drive.  The first evening might have been the most interesting.  Here's a few pics from that.

Just to give you some perspective, these were on the hill behind the ones in the last picture.
Nice zoom eh? And from a moving car no less.

I always loved the Joshua trees.  It meant we were somewhere new and exotic.

Red Rock Canyon.  The most scenic place we passed.

This kids took a nice long nap at first, but that was interrupted by a hungry baby.  The only problem was that there was no place to stop.  There was seriously nothing around for miles.  Nothing. 

We drove for another half hour and finally stopped at the first place we came to. 

 Radiator Springs? Nope. Pearsonville.

She must have been holding something at one point, I can't imagine what though.

We had the whole place to ourselves; imagine that.

The Astro Turf gave it a welcoming, friendly feel opposed to the surrounding barrens.

Luckily if we were ever thrown in jail together, we'd have the baby to gnaw through the bars. :)
This is about how we felt as we got back into the car.

Driving until well after dark, we stayed at a nice little hotel in Bishop, CA.
The next morning we may have been a little reluctant to get back in the car, and dawdled at the continental breakfast bar a bit, but soon we were on our way.  The last 10hr leg of the journey.

He knows who really loves him. ;)

Despite the long hours in a car seat, the baby made great strides in learning how to crawl on this trip.

Success!

(Notice the boys in the background.  They thought all the complimentary notepads were just for them to draw on.)

This was the view of the Sierra Nevadas as we left town.  Almost all the roads through the mountains were closed due to snow, and yet, it was in the 70s where we were.

Hours went by without seeing anything noteworthy.  This dry lake bed, similar to the salt flats was a nice break from the monotony.

 We got gas in a little town surrounded by what we thought were bomb shelters, but turned out to be artillery storage bunkers.  The town, Hawthorn, NV, is based around an army depot that may or may not still be in operation, with a second road built to skirt the town for trucks carrying hazardous material.  Fun place to live eh?

This museum prompted a second drive by.  There was a lake nearby too (no pics), which was nice to see out in the middle of the desert as well, but all traces of that were swallowed up in the vastness of the desert as we continued our journey.

Honestly, it was so boring.  The longer we drove though, we were able to start picking out different hues in the dirt.  This was a particularly colorful hillside --take my word for it.

We finally stopped for lunch in another small town, and ate it in a park.

I'm glad we didn't even try eating ice cream bars in the car.

Back in the car, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve to keep the kids entertained.  Puff balls = 20 min. and lots of giggles. Even the baby thought it was hilarious.

Our last stop was in the middle of nowhere.  We pulled off the road next to a little canal to keep the kids occupied while I fed the baby and made PB&J sandwiches for dinner.

Throwing rocks never gets old.

By the time we left here it was dark, and then it was one full length movie on the laptop, (we won't mention the last 20 min of whining because of failed glow sticks --curse you dollar store!) and we were finally, blessedly, HOME.

It was a long trip, but too short too, if you know what I mean. I'm glad we went.  I think it was the right time to do so, and although it wasn't relaxing like you might think a vacation should be, it was fun. I believe it was worth it, and it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Actually it was surprising how well thing went.  The kids did great, even the baby, we all had fun and experienced new things together, and we got to spend time with people we love --that's the most important part.  That said, we probably won't be doing anything like it again for a long time, if we can help it. Like not until the kids can actually appreciate and possibly remember it.  Actually, I think they do and will remember it --of course having lots of pictures helps --and they keep asking to go back, so apparently they've already forgotten all those long hours in the car.  What more could you ask for?

Was it a crazy idea?  Yes.
Would I do things differently? Probably not.
Was it a good experience?
Definitely.

California or Bust part 3

(click here for part 1, part 2)

Finally, the reason we came.

Nine decades separate this little guy and his great grandparents.  I'm glad they got to meet. 

It's been 15 years since I was last here. 

My grandparent's house hasn't changed that much since I was little.  These bottles bring back memories from the few times we visited when I was young.

I remember the orange carpet too.

It's like stepping back in time.

Even though I've never met them, their features are familiar to me.

I remember the backyard being like the Garden of Eden.  My absolute favorite memories are the fruit trees. Tangerines, Lemons, Oranges... picked ripe from the tree --there's nothing like it.  Store-bought will never be good enough. And now there's some newer additions --Cumquats, and Loquats.  I don't think I'd ever had them before. Yum!

I can't help but feel that he is completely missing the point here.

And what memories will my boys take with them?  Probably the fun they had with my grandma's doll collection.

...or perhaps the smell of orange blossoms. Mmmm.

So many cool things to look at. 

Afterwards we went to lunch at a local fish and chips place.  It was really tasty.
My mom had fun with the boys,

...while my dad regaled us with fish stories.

My beautiful Aunt, whom I hadn't seen in ages (like since I was 9), met us there, and was so kind to hold the baby while we ate. I think he spent the whole time trying to grab her earrings.

We went back, picked fruit, took a few more pictures...

You'd think we could get a better picture than this.

Nope. They were all varying degrees of this...

...or this.

And that was that.  We said our goodbyes and we were on our way home.

It was such a short visit. My one regret is that I didn't get enough time to visit with them.

I'm glad we came.


(Click here for Part 4)