DAY 19 Bothell to Spokane THE FINAL DAY Snoqualmie Pass was open and Geoff said we’re going for it. So off we went. It was miserable on the pass with so much standing water on the roadway and big semi-trucks and slush. Not fun! But Captain Geoff got us safely through and kept driving until it was time to dump. What we found out was that most of the dumpsites where buried with snow and not accessible. So we made a beeline for home. Our house was well cared for by dear friends and we were able to pull right in - with walls of snow on either side of the driveway - CRAZY!!! Our house felt as big as a palace! (Not as clean - we left in kind of a hurry 19 days ago ... read more

DAY 16 Ocean Mesa to Oceano Beach to Monterey We stayed Friday night at the same RV park we liked on our way down to Disneyland, Ocean Mesa, just north of Santa Barbara. The swimming pool was still warm and we got 2 loads of laundry done and scrubbed up 3 kids. What a joy to have a hot shower and floss teeth - the simple things of life. I’m seeing that there’s different types of RVer personalities. There’s the true leisurely sort - the retired, “I’ve got nothing but time” mentality; the pitstop guy - “I’m just passing through, leaving as quick as I can at sun up”; the “I’m getting my money’s worth out of this joint” family, like us :) and plenty of others. We aimed at getting to Pismo Beach today but ... read more

DAY 12 Tuesday, December 30, 2008 SEAWORLD Those aren’t bags under my eyes - they’re circles of FUN!! I’m noticing my eyes are a little bloodshot and cloudy and there’s extra colors under them. The price you pay for fun, I guess?!? That’s why there’s Visine, right? It was an absolutely gorgeous drive to San Diego! We rolled down our windows, had our shades on, changed from turtlenecks and longsleeves to shorts and t-shirts. It was great! We met up with our friends, the Bludaus, at Sea World and enjoyed yet another park. Those Beluga Whales were incredible. It was a perfect picture of strength and blubber working gracefully and powerfully together in melodious movements. God is so amazing in all his creation and creatures! They were truly stunning! We caught the dolphin show and the ... read more

DAYS 9, 10, 11 Saturday, 12-27-08 through Monday, 12-29-08 PARKS N PLAY These days kind of blur together because of the early mornings and late nights with a tiny bit of rest in between. We had a great time at the Magic Kingdom and Cal-“E”-fornia Adventure. All in all we were a group of 21 with 4 kids in the bunch (another one’s on the way - YEAH!) and the rest kids at heart. We had an early pass to enter Disneyland at 7am on Saturday and we took full advantage of it! We were on Peter Pan’s Flight by 7:15 - there was already a line to get on it! And we hopped on Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Pinnochio’s Daring Journey, and the Matterhorn - all boom, boom, boom - we’re off! Thunder Mountain ... read more

The Pacific Highway is still as gorgeous as ever! Somehow we never checked our map in the morning and we just cruised onto Hwy 1, Pebble Beach, 17 mile Scenic Drive. A little later in the day we realized we completely missed the drive through Pacific Grove. We'll have to hit that next time through. Monterey was a favorite, we'd love stay there longer. Smelling the salty sea air and feeling the California breeze on my face made me miss living in Seattle! There's just something magical about the ocean! So, if Monday was our best day so far Tuesday might rank as our worst - sort of. Everything outside the motorhome was absolutely incredible and breath-taking! God's creation sings of His Majesty throughout the lands! The sky full of sun and clouds and bursts of ... read more