http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LETS-GO/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LETS GO en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:10:32 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:10:32 +0000 DAY 19Bothell to SpokaneTHE FINAL DAYSnoqualmie Pass was open and Geoff said wersquore going for it. So off we went. It was miserable on the pass with so much standing water on the roadway and big semitrucks 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 acces http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Spokane/blog-361347.html DAY 17Monterey Pacific Grove Moss Landing Santa Cruz to Fairfield to Mt. Shasta CityldquoLove Him in the morninrsquo when you see the sun arsquorisinrsquoLove Him in the eveninrsquo lsquocause he took you through the dayAnd in the in between time when you feel the pressure cominrsquoRemember that he loves you and he promises to stayrdquoGod is so loving and beautiful and patient http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Santa-Cruz/blog-360415.html DAY 16Ocean Mesa to Oceano Beach to MontereyWe 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. Irsquom seeing that therersquos different types of RVer per http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Monterey/blog-360410.html DAY 15Friday January 2 2009MISSION BEACH and LEGOLANDBobafett didnrsquot find us out with the trash nor did we get ticketed or kicked out at 2am. Thank You Dear Jesus for keeping us safe We took a leisurely morning stroll on the beach and combed for precious shells and rocks. Kai was quite a hunter 306 pieces of treasure And everyone loved chasing waves. We had a family powwow and voted http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Carlsbad/blog-359722.html Nineteen of us went out to dinner at the chicken restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm in honor of Grandpa George's birthday on the 27th. It was treat. We ate at the good ole chicken dinner place outside of Knott's Berry Farm. Downhome cookin'. Happy Birthday Grandpa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-358055.html DAY 12Tuesday December 30 2008SEAWORLDThose arenrsquot bags under my eyes theyrsquore circles of FUNIrsquom noticing my eyes are a little bloodshot and cloudy and therersquos extra colors under them. The price you pay for fun I guess Thatrsquos why therersquos Visine rightIt was an absolutely gorgeous drive to San Diego We rolled down our windows had our shades on change http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/La-Jolla/blog-359066.html DAYS 9 10 11Saturday 122708 through Monday 122908PARKS N PLAYThese 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 CalldquoErdquofornia Adventure. All in all we were a group of 21 with 4 kids in the bunch another onersquos on the way YEAH and the rest kids at heart. We ha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-359065.html Santa Barbara to Santa MonicaWe started the 24th morning in a windstorm but the pool was so warm everyone had to go swimming. We had a great view of the ocean from our RV spot and the pool it was pretty cool Once the rain started swim time ended and we piled back into Spirit with a load of clean clothes and clean showered bodies Then off to another beach. We had to make a pit stop to do an er http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-358053.html MERRY CHRISTMAS We made it to Disneyland for Christmas and I bet they broke records for the wettest day of the year On the good side of that the crowds were less than predicted and the wait times for rides were 40 minutes or less little did we know that would be pretty decent. Our second day of Dland and we got in an hour early and hit a lot of the rides we wanted too. The extended family http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-357716.html 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 Ca http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Santa-Barbara/blog-357008.html FROM SEASIDE CAGetting to our final destination for the night last night washellipinteresting. Our dear friend Karla just moved up from Monterey to Spokane in the last 2 years. So this place is definitely her neck of the woods. She offered us to park our rig at her niecersquos house. Us being the frugal sort thought thatrsquod be great So she emailed us directions but we couldnrsquot a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-356936.html Let me take a moment to share about the little nuances of RV travel. Donrsquot get me wrong itrsquos been great really. But there are little funky things that happen when one is living in a Recreational Vehicle. Take for instance LITTLE NOISES. I can hear the heat turn on and off in our Spokane home but rarely think twice about it. In the RV it sounds like someone just announced ldquoGen http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Monterey/blog-356934.html We made it to our cousins beautiful new home in Los Gatos. Had a great time with Jan Nicola Eric and Tia Marisa. Thanks for all the food and laughs and magic tricks the best in the land It's great to see God has you exactly where you're meant to be Thanks for all the love Our boys loved running crazy with Eric 'round and 'round. And making sock puppets and taking pictures over and over and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Monterey/blog-356546.html We had sweet morning in Mt. Shasta but we were ready to leave the snow far behind us. Geoff got us to Redding safe and sound through snow and rain. We got to walk across the infamous Sundial Bridge designed by Spanish Architect Santiago Calatrava. thanks for the idea Lawrence It was fun but very wet. Then the adventure got even more interesting I got behind the wheel and drove us toward Lo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Gatos/blog-356538.html Okay truth be told the brownies weren't so great and the kids and parents got grouchy with each other. We'll blame it on the altitude at least the bad brownie part. But it's a new day and we had tons of fun running around in the snow last night playing tag. And then playing Mexican Train and HideNSeek in the motorhome. The boys sang with me as they fell asleep You are my strength when I am http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Mount-Shasta/blog-356145.html Portland StormLots more driving today and lots more snow. We began the day with a great warm breakfast with our new extended family and then warm goodbyes on a very cold blizzardy morning. Within 5 minutes on the crazy Vancouver roads we were lost all the roads look like country residential roads that go on for miles. But real men can ask for directions And my man is a real man So we got he http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Mount-Shasta/blog-355966.html Whew Day 1 complete We couldnrsquot have gotten out of our driveway and street without the help of the snow angels God sent us PRAISE THE LORD The kids helped get the icicles off Spirit and our good friend Mike snowplowed around the RV and driveway so we had a clear launch pad. Our first turn out of the driveway North and we got stuck in all the massive snow in the road. But Captain Geoff kn http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Vancouver/blog-355835.html We're almost ready to take off on our big adventure Our fellow adventurers the Kaedings tell us we'll be following a coastal storm over the next few days. Did we say adventure people The great thing is we'll all be one big happy family. The bad thing is I asked Geoff when he got the RV to please not take us on winter trips...Looking at the picture of Spirit our motorhome is named Spirit http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Spokane/blog-355212.html