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Got off the Coho and breezed up to the Customs booth for our little chat with the agent. We were only packing a bit of wine, and no fruit and veggies. Honest. We were squeeky clean, and not traveling with anything that would cause a scene. He checked our passports, and verified we were all present and accounted for.

"Corey?" he asked.

Hmmm, I wondered if my beardless mug shot isn't quite lining up with my current whiskered appearance....

"Yes?" I replied.

"First chance you get, sign your passport."

"Ok!"

He let us pass with this minor issue, and we got home shortly thereafter. I guess I forgot that I was instructed to sign my passport the last time I came through there. Anyhow, I did my homework upon getting into the home-office.

Stopped at the Tourist Info Centre, and got directions to the Dream Playground on Race St. I learned that the town poured 1/4 million bucks into this park for kids. Cool. We got there, and it turned out to be the BEST playground we stopped at on our trip! I'll throw the pics up when I unpack the camera, but check it out : 2 zones, a tot spot for minis under 5, and a big-kids zone, for the 5-12 set. Huge maze castle to climb through, slides, ladders, places to swing, even a set of bells to play - can you say "DING DANG DONG!"

Anyhoo, great play session, then it was time to head for the Coho terminal....

Made some corn tortilla roll-ups in the parking lot, with what we had left in the cooler, which included: packs of corn tortillas, mayo, pickles, cheese. We chowed. Heavily. Great prep for ferry trip.

Last leg of trip. Left Vancouver, WA at 0654 this AM.

The local Starbucks inside Safeway was open at 0500, so we stopped right away for hot bevvies. No, I'm not really a fan of going there, but we've run into some coffee challenges en route this time. I like the little coffee shacks that pop up on the side of the road. Never know what you're gonna get. With Starbucks there is a certain degree of standardization that is playing a role for the crew, and they're liking their fancy drinks just so. I'm typically just getting a brewed coffee, and I'll take whatever I get. At 'bucks though, I have learned that I can best manage a half-decaf brewed 16 oz for the road.

Anyhoo, the drive was a little foggier than planned. Lance took the first leg, and we made one Rest Area stop for relief. Didn't go for the free coffee, but did acquire a free cup of Winnie the Pooh cookies for the kids. Eeyore and Tigger were crunchier than expected.

We made pretty good time this morning, making the exit for the 101 in Tumwater somewhere around 0900. Lance was heading for a gas stop in Shelton, so that is where I took the helm. While pumping another tank of 87 octane into the van, I noticed a drive-thru coffee shack across the parking lot. Great! Grabbed a couple of 16 oz. Americanos and headed north. Not too much fog on this leg. Didn't need to stop for coffee in Hoodsport, at that coffee joint I am sure I have blogged about before....lemme look that up.....

Went through Potlatch, then Sequim, and arrived in Port Angeles around 1100, with plenty of time to make the ferry. First order of business : find a playground for kiddies...

Left Yreka, CA at 0511 this AM. Too early to stop at the local Java shack so headed northbound right away, with me driving. I noted the warning signs for leaping deer placed every few miles along the road north of town. The signs are true. While driving Wolfe to sleep last night, I encountered 3 leaping out on the road, and I had enough time to stop and let them cross. Hitting a deer at this point would put a huge dent in the trip.

Tried for a coffee stop in Medford before the sun rose, but could not find a stop, so returned to the freeway sans java. It was for the best anyway, because the kids were sleeping, and I like to make as many miles as possible while they are sawing logs. Gives us all a break, and we can make up a lot of miles without stopping. As soon as everyone gets coffeed, the next thing that happens is someone wants to go pee, we pull over, the kids wake up, and then we lose the momentum.

Stopped at a rest area just south of Roseburg, and stepped out for a stretch, and let kids run around in the grass. We've stopped at this Rest Area on past trips, and not much has changed. Except on this morning, it was a little foggy and chilly. Not a shorts-morning, which is what I had on. Wolfe thought it was his turn to drive, so I caught him behind the wheel here in the photo before we left. Wolfe, the driver's seat is NOT FOR BABIES.

I drove on to Roseburg, and pulled off at the 76 Station (on Corey Court!) for a full-serve, then found out where the Starbuck's was at the Fred Meyer off Exit 125 and went there. At this point in the trip I can successfully order Charlotte's special drink:

• Half-fill an 8 oz. cup with steamed milk, 120 degrees F. Fill with whipped cream, and top with chocolate drizzle.

Lance took the wheel, and we hit that long straight-away heading northbound towards Albany. I snoozed a bit in there, as well as tossed the crackle-book around with Wolfe.

We pulled off just north of Salem for a break, then made it through Portland before noon - whew! Last time we went North through Portland it was rush-hour and a fairly tense drive. This time, we breezed over the bridges without incident, and made it to Vancouver, WA around 1215.

We're staying on route 99 in Salmon Creek. Just a couple of blocks from Klineline Park, where we took the kids to play for a couple of hours after getting off the road. Too bad the sprayground is closed for the season, as it still felt like summer once the day heated up a bit.

Up at 0345 or so....Wolfe kind of restless. Decided to hit the road. On the I5 at 0454, with plenty of other commuters. Lance drove the first leg, and we made good time while kiddies sleeping on the trip past Stockton and Sacramento. We had to stop in Williams for a coffee, and found the Java Stop off the freeway. The alternative was McDonald's, Burger King, or the Shell Station. Rolled out of there smoothly, and was poised for a return to the freeway when Charlotte dropped her drink on her lap. Ooops. Had to pull over pronto for clean-up ops at the gas station. Napkins, STAT.

Driver change. I took the wheel, and set cruise control for 72 MPH and made a plan to hit Redding before 0900. Kiddies got restless south of Red Bluff, so we pulled off there at 0840 and found a playground behind the community centre to stop for a snack and run-around. A brisk wind through the park, so we got a bit chilly.

Grabbed gas and more coffee for the next leg of the trip, leaving Red Bluff at 1015. Got 20 minutes down the road and Charlotte needed a bathroom break, so we found a Chevron station, mini-mart, and Mexican restaurant. Beauty.

Back on the freeway for the trek through the mountains, past Shasta Lake, Mount Shasta, and Weed. We joined the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway for part of the trip, including past Black Butte.

Got to Yreka at 1240, done travelling for the day.

Packed up in the morning, and left Shell Beach around 11 AM under sunny skies. The last glimpse of the ocean I had was off towards the pier at Avila Beach, before cresting the hill on the freeway, and leaving the ocean behind for good. Hope we can come back next year. We needed to do a 4-hour drive north, and inland to Tracy, CA. Made a brief stop in San Luis Obispo about 11:30 AM, and loaded up with with coffees and scones.

I drove the first leg. taking the 101 north from SLO through: Santa Margarita, Atascadero, Templeton, Paso Robles, San Miguel, Bradley, San Ardo, San Lucas, King City, Greenfield. We needed a stop around Greenfield, as the kids were getting itchy. Decided to push past Soledad, Gonazales, then Chualar and press on to Salinas. Grabbed the first gas stop in Salinas, at the 76 station next to a Denny's diner. I think we have eaten at that one before. (This will be the 4th time I've done this trip.) I asked the clerk for a park with a playground, and he told me to go to the next exit, Main St, and take a right at the first light. So we did, and ended up at the Salinas Community Centre. A very nice playground indeed (pictured here). The kids played for an hour, and we had some lunch. We're packing home-made sandwiches, so that was good.

Once again, all around Salinas thousands of acres of vegetables. Saw trucks loaded with cases of romaine lettuce and celery trucking along the highway. Miles and miles of rows of lettuce.

Lance drove the next leg, taking route 156 up past San Juan Batista, to Hollister, where we had a little challenge finding Charlotte a place to go pee. We stopped at 2 service stations that do not offer the service of a public restroom. Ok, fine. We asked the nice ladies at a Mexican restaurant, and they said OK. *whew*

On the stretch past Hollister, we saw lots of field tomato crops and many truckloads of tomatoes being transported off the fields, to the packing house.

We took route 152 over the Pacheco Pass and past the San Luis Reservoir, and State Recreation Area. We got onto Interstate 5 at the junction just past the dam, and headed north.

We passed by mandarin orange and lemon groves near Patterson. The California Aqueduct passes under the freeway here and there.....

We reached the target stop in Tracy around 1745, and will probably be up very early to leave in the wee hours, as we did for the trip down. Travelling with the kids is a lot easier before the sun rises....

Whoa. Major surf event coming to Tofino. Cool.

Today is our last day here in Shell Beach. We spent some time this afternoon cleaning up the car, and starting to pack some stuff up in it. We are returning with more stuff than we brought, so Lance has been rather creative in packing a few things away in various spots inside the van. I've stowed my board away until next time, and we'll leave Charlotte's bike down here too.

Charlotte and I stayed home this afternoon to have some lunch, do some drawing in Daddy's journal, and make a trip down the street to the beach. Charlotte ride on her bike, and we brought the wooden duck-windmill with us. Sure was windy today! That ducky was really whipping his legs around, which Charlotte really enjoyed hanging from her handle-bars.

The local beach is at the end of the block, and a real quick trip. We got down there to play in the sand, and check out the local tidal pools. We found some snails and crabs, but no sand-flies, which Charlotte doesn't really like. She says they fly away when Daddy shows up, so maybe they are a little skittish around big Daddys ? Hmmm....anyhoo, it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and we climbed around on the rocks, and got our toes wet in the waves coming in up the beach. We went home to get some dry pants on, and made a plan to come back on a secret mission : to find sea anemones.

Charlotte is all about going on secret missions these days....except they often don't remain a secret for very long. The other night we went on a secret-mission to find secret beaches in the neighbourhood. We had to tell Mommy where we were going of course, so she knew where we were going....

On the way home from the tidal pool mission, Charlotte scraped her knee, so needed some special care on the return to home. I was handed Wolfe in exchange, and he was all interested in digging around in the yard. This yard is already well-groomed, and not for digging, so I decided to load him up in the stroller, and take him down to the beach with 2 shovels. We had the tiny sand bucket shovel, and the recently found "big sand shovel". Once down on the beach, we got into some fairly serious digging, as you can see here with Wolfe using both shovels....

Leaving tomorrow, so wanted to head out for a bit more surf this morning. Threw the board, and my wetsuit into the van, and headed to Spyglass Park first, because I could see it was going off from where we are staying. I got there, parked the van, and peered over the bluff to check it out. It looked nice, a bit windy, and about 10 guys out, with more arriving to check conditions. I wasn't quite feeling up to it this time, so decided to head down to the Pier.

Man was it windy down there. I unloaded my gear, got suited, then headed down towards the steps leading to the beach. A few guys were heading back out from their session. I like to make a point of talking to the other surfers I see, so asked a few guys how it went this morning. The first guy said it was really choppy, and maybe I should go a bit further north on beach. The second guy said it was "pretty rough out there" but that he "had to get some surf". The third guy said it was "choppy as hell".

Oh well. Some days you just got to take whatever the beach is throwing at you.

So, I went out there and did what I could. Got blown around a bit, and ended up drifting south towards the pier. Got out and walked back up the beach before going back in. Caught a couple of short rides before something strange happened. I was paddling out, and this wave was breaking in front of me, so I go to duck it, no biggee - except there was so much juice in the white-water breaking on me that it started pushing me backwards towards the beach. Ok, I'll just let it pass under me now. I kind of got stuck in it going backwards, and it decided to turn me around, so I just go with it, and then come out facing the beach, and decide to ride it anyway. Ok, so this isn't exactly what I planned, but did teach me that it is possible to ride waves on a longboard backwards - just like I see them do on the surf videos....except they do it with much more intent, and style.

It is fairly choppy out there, and the rides are short-lived. I catch a smaller wave to end the set, and ride it all the way into the beach, and decided that this wave would be the last that I would catch in this chapter....

I will live to surf again.

Headed down to Oceano Dunes this morning, right at the end of Grand Ave. The nice lady at the entry booth asked us if we would be driving on the dunes today, and we said "No", so she invited us to park for free and walk to the beach. Sounds good to me, as I didn't want to get any more sand in or on the van at this point. We're driving around with a bunch of sand in the van at this point...


Charlotte and I went trooping through the dunes at the edge of the beach, and Wolfe came too. She found someone's fire pit and a few pieces of charcoal scattered around it, so named the trail leading from it the "charcoal trail". The dunes have all these fairly hardy bushes growing through them, and their roots are exposed on the ground, which makes walking on them barefoot a little prickly. As I was walking along, I was remembering all the creepy-crawlies that we saw at the zoo the other day. Hmm. Wonder if any of those creepy spiders are out here....

Charlotte and I had the most fun with a sand bucket, and piece of kelp down on the shoreline. We had the handle of the bucket held up by the kelp, and we ran around on the beach in the water scooping up sand and water and swinging and skipping the bucket around, splashing the contents everywhere. She thought this was a really fun thing to do. She had her pink wetsuit on and pink hat, and looked like such a charm, laughing all the way. The sun came out too, so that was super nice.

The Marie Callender's Restaurant and Bakery is just down the road by Pismo Beach. The semi-annual pie sale is on, and we've had a few pies now. Coconut Cream tonight. Rhubarb last night. And the night before. Also a Peach pie in there. Plus the Double-Cream Blueberry. Also had the Double-Cream Lemon. Did a Pumpkin pie too. What have I forgotten ? Oh yeah, I really wanted Pecan pie, so grabbed one of those babies earlier this week.

Justine says she is getting a little pied-out, so good thing it is about time to go home....

Went to the Steaming Bean with the gang this AM, and enjoyed an iced drink they call the Chunky Monkey - ice, vanilla chai, peanut butter, and banana. It was like a meal in a cup - good stuff, and likely what I needed before heading out onto the waves. We were going to head over to Spyglass Park so the kids could play in the playground, but Charlotte decided she wanted to beach it. So, we ended up down at Silver Shoals, were there were a few waves, and NOBODY out there.

I bombed the longboard down onto the beach, and figured I would give it a shot, even though the rideable waves were a little infrequent. While I was putting on the suit, 6 other dudes showed up and headed out, so maybe they figured something more was going to happen. I ended up talking to a couple of the old-timers that packed their longboards down onto the beach, and picked up some key local info on the beach, and wave conditions. The other 4 guys had shortboards, and were heading farther south down the beach.

I paddled out and waited, and waited, and waited. No problem. The sun was out, and the water was nice. Always great to be out on the waves and full sun. I caught the first wave a little late, and ended up pearling it - poobah. This beachbreak offers no underwater hazards so it was a fairly soft (and safe) landing. Headed back out and the next wave I caught ran out of juice, so got no ride. Blah. I headed back out for the next one, and waited a while and it never really came. I noticed the old-timers were catching some good rides, as they had a slightly better position on the sandbar. One of those brahs been riding here for 35 years, so no wonder they got the inside scoop.

Paddled in, and the kids were beached out, so we took them home to dry off, have lunch, and plan the afternoon activity....

Here is a site featuring pictures of the neighbourhood where we are staying, check it out at shellbeachpictures.com.

Made the short 12 mile drive out to Avila Beach today to enjoy more fun in the sun. It was so baking out there by noon that the sandy beach began to sear my bare feet. I'm beginning to feel quite crisp all over, actually. They've built a great new playground next to the beach, so the kids played there for a bit after frolicking around in the waves.

They've actually rebuilt quite a bit of the town since the great oil leak disaster. If you are interested in massive environmental cleanup operations, I highly recommend you read this review of the Avila Beach deconstruction and rebuild.

There must be nothing more legendary for a surfer than having a surf break right in your neighbourhood. Can you imagine living full-time in a place where a great surf spot is only a short walk away? Or even a short drive, with your board on the roof, in the van, or in the back of the pickup ? How about a short bike-ride, with your board sitting in one of those cool surf-racks for your bike ? How about a short skateboard ride, while packing your board under your arm ? Since being down here I've seen a variety of ways people get to the local breaks, and it always strikes me that a "surf-trip" can be a low-impact, short-haul adventure, unlike back at home.

Today we were coming back from Morro Bay, and decided to pull in to Spyglass Park so the kids could let off some steam at the adventure playground there. They have some cool apparatus and the kids were fully-charged for that. We were veryh close to home, so this would count as a neighbourhood park.

I knew about the surf break here at the park, so peeked over the cliff to see what was going on. Below the bluffs, there is a nice point break, and when the swell is right, treats you to a nice reliable wave. Just south of the bluffs, I saw 4 dudes out there sharing these nice waves, which featured a long right-hander that offered a long cruise down the beach. I even saw one dude down there on a long board that he was standing up on and paddling around with a long paddle. He was fun to watch, so smoothly entering these waves, and taking long rides. North of the bluff some dudes were on short-boards shredding it up on a much faster break there.

The sun was so hot out, this being around 1400, and the temperature was somewhere in the 80s. We had no fog today, clear blue skies, and amazing visibility. You could look out across the ocean and see forever. Like you could see the swell coming in from thousands of miles away, to break right here, at this spot....

more...

The kids napped pretty good on the way back from the zoo, almost to dinner time. So, that means they'll be up late. Rather than entertain at home, we decided to take them down to Dinosaur Park (our favourite local green-space) for a run-around. Charlotte rode her bike down there, and then we kicked the ball around the field, played on the tire swing, and generally tried to get their beans all out before going home for the bed-time routine after dark. The sun sets fast down here, so it has been pretty dark by 730....

Made a trip down the 101 to Santa Barbara to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo today. Will get some pics on here when I get a chance.

Getting online somewhat sporadically down here....just blogged some back-dated entries for last week, so check those out if you want to see what we were up to. Am trying to catch up when I get a chance...

Good morning....am down on route PCH #1, in Shell Beach. Got some high-speed network time at the local coffee shop (The Steaming Bean), so am doing a bit of homework online here. Have got a brewed half-caf underway, and the kids are down at the Dinosaur Park playground for a bit. We are under a bit of fog here on the coast, which is nice, to keep us all a bit cooler. Has been roasting in town the last few days, just over the hill.

Have been having a good time down at Pismo Pier, taking the kids down to the beach for fun in the sun, or fun in the fog, as the case may be. Here is a shot of the kids after having one of their great times down on the beach...

Made a fun trip to the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum today. What a relief for Wolfe, I am sure. We can't exactly toddler-proof where we are staying, so have had to keep a close eye on what he gets his mitts on, and repeat frequently the phrase "'not for babies!". The museum has all sorts of hands-on stuff for the kiddies to play with, and they had lots of fun today. Charlotte really had fun in the Cosmic Cafe upstairs, and fixed us all a great (plastic) lunch, and took our plastic money, and cleaned up all the plastic, too. Here is a picture of her getting our pretend-lunch together.

Forecast temperature in the 90s today in SLO, so it was nice to do something indoors for a bit.

We're staying in a community called Shell Beach, which is within the city limits of Pismo Beach, just south of San Luis Obispo, on the Central California coast. A favourite activity for us is to go down to the big beach by the Pismo pier, and have some fun in the sun....which is what we did this afternoon after a morning trip into San Luis Obispo to do a bit of shopping.

The kids had a great time down on the beach. As soon as we got down close to the shore, Wolfe started heading into the water - he seemed very determined to get right into that shore-break. So, under close supervision, he found out that the water was quite wet, and a bit chilly. He got dunked and looked a little shocked, but bounced back OK.

Charlotte loves playing in the waves too, and both little ones were quite drenched after a couple hours of playing in the break, and running along the shore. We also have the sand toys in the van, so there is always a lot of shoveling of sand into buckets while we are on the beach....

Charlotte and Wolfe have been enrolled in the Music Together program down at the Conservatory, so we have picked up the entire (I think) CD library that comes with that program. We've got 3 of the CDs loaded into the 6-disc player in the van, and have been shuffling between them throughout the trip. Particularly when Wolfe starts screaming - he has recently taken to screaming really loudly while sitting in his car seat - for no apparent reason. The tune-age usually distracts him a bit to mellow him out.

Lance made a musical impulse buy at Starbucks near the start of the trip. They're selling these Beatles CDs right now, so he picked up Rubber Soul and Help! On our way to the surf shop, I shuffled up Rubber Soul, and we arrived at "Nowhere Man". Charlotte liked that track, and asked me to play it again, and then again! By the time we got to the shop, we had played it almost 4 times., and she had a bunch of the lyrics commited to memory. She also wanted to listen to it a few more times on the way home, so this is good, and represents a major musical progression from the kiddies CDs....

Kids slept in until 0630, so it was nice to have a sleep-in, after all those early mornings on the road. The kids went down to the Park with Momo and Mommy, while me and Poppi got ready, got coffees at 1 of the local coffee shops, then headed down to the park.

We're keeping a pretty standard routine so far. Take kiddies out to play in the AM, then come home for lunch. Take kiddies out to play in the PM, and then come home for dinner, bath, story, bedtime.

This afternoon, after Charlotte and I watered the rose garden, she had a super-early bath (around 1430), to somewhat break the routine. Could not exactly do dinner in mid-afternoon, so we bombed over to the Shell Beach Surf Shop to see what was going on there. They are under new management, so we met the new owner, checked out the surfboards, and picked up a surf video called The Present. Got Charlotte a cool surf sticker, although she really wanted a pink surfboard. She knows that she doesn't know how to swim yet, but she still tries to get me to find her a pink board for when she finally learns to swim, then surf. They also had some skateboards in there, and she has her eyes peeled for a skateboard too....

After we got home and kiddies off to bed, I went down to Marie Callenders to pick up a pie. They have started their annual fall pie sale a few weeks early, so I picked up a double-cream lemon pie for $6.99. Yummy treats for big kids....!

Home after stop to get feminine products. Then got beers. Dinner, story, bath, bed. Out for a pie at 2030, for 6.99 on sale - yay!

Just getting things a bit sorted down here. Have stocked the pantry a bit with groceries, and have been getting accustomed to the hot weather we got down here. A bit of fog near the beach house, but this clears once you head over the hill and into town, or down the freeway a bit.

Drove down to Arroyo Grande this PM to pick up a few household items, and Charlotte ended up with a new bike and helmet! It is quite sporty with white tires and a pink and purple colour-scheme, and has super-cool training wheels. We didn't stuff her bike from home into the van, so was clearly without wheels once she got here. We'll likely leave this bike down here in John's garage, along with my surfboard. Nice to have gear here, and there....

She has been biking from John's place, all the way down to the Dinosaur Caves Park, at the south end of the village of Shell Beach. Here is a picture of her posing with one of the dinosaur eggs in the park....

Action packed day. Up at 0500 with the gang to get going. Coffees in hand, leaving Gilroy in the sunshine around 0730 AM, headed for Monterey for today's first planned stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Great drive to Monterey, and very cloudy when we got there. Managed to find the Dennis the Menace Adventure Playground at 0900 and had a great time there for an hour before going down to historic Cannery Row to visit the aquarium. Very impressive facility. Great tanks, lots of sea-life of all types, and great interactive exhibits for the little ones. We spent most of our visit there in the Splash Zone where Charlotte was all over the wave table, and Wolfe was having so much fun he drenched himself, and we needed to take off his shirt.

Wolfe is at that really exciting stage where he is toddling all over the place, just grabbing and clutching and pulling and tearing at anything he can get his hands on. He needs direct and constant supervision.

Parkade-sandwiches for lunch, plus I bought a family-pack box of cinnamon rolls for the road. Headed away from Monterey around 1300, heading for Salinas to take the 101 south.

Hot hot sun today. Salinas is always nice to drive through, and southbound through that whole agricultural valley. Makes me think of all the produce that used to wind up the store from all these farms around Salinas, CA. The names of the farms and packing houses escape me now, but I remember stuff coming from Salinas all the time. Sure enough, we went past lettuce, cauliflower, and corn on the drive today.

Had the A/C on all the way south today - so hot out. The Mazda is performing awesome. Everything working fine, and I'm so glad we have a car new enough that we can take on these long road-trips. I've never owned a car this new.

Got to Pismo Beach at around 1545, I think. Charlotte slept most of the way, while Wolfe slept the last 1/2 of the trip.

Did some playtime at John's while we tried to child-proof the place. Lots of little things down low here, so we went thru and moved things away or up.

Got to Gilroy safely, and unloaded at the Super 8 Motel. Man was it HOT when we got out of the van. Of course we had the A/C on in the van for most of the trip down the freeway, and it was like stepping into a hot oven when I stepped out onto the pavement outside the motel. Apparently it is in the mid 90s here.

Hey, look at that! There is a DENNY'S right across the parking lot and some Premium Outlet stores up the street. What more do you really need? I know - liquor! I ended up going for a little drive for bottled water, and other supplies, while the rest of the gang went for a dip in the chilly-pool. Ended up in historic downtown Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world. A stop at Paul's Liquor Mart did the trick. Grabbed a 6 of Dos Equis Amber, and some California Zinfandel. Noted the little blue libido enhancement products for sale at the register, but didn't pick up any of those. Not something usually seen at the liquor stores back home....

Time: 0900-0930

Today is our longest day of driving, going from Yreka to Gilroy, CA. We've got a planned over-night stop in Gilroy to set us up for the final leg of the journey tomorrow.

As co-pilot, I am still finding my way in the role, and one of the important tasks is to point out the upcoming rest stops, just in case anyone needs a stretch or to go potty. Especially Charlotte. Sometimes she is not sure that she has to go until you ask her. We were driving southbound on the I5 between Red Bluff and Williams, and all was going seemingly well. Although Wolfe is teething these days, he hasn't been too cranky yet. We've got the kiddie music on in the CD, and things are cruising along. Poppi is behind the wheel, and I should have been alerting the gang to the rest area south of exit 610, at Artois. Right after we blow by that exit, Justine asks us to please pull over at the next one, so she can use the ladies room. That seemed to kick Charlotte into gear, and now she has to go too. Ok, so the next Rest Area is coming up south of Maxwell, past exit 586. We've got about 20 minutes to go, and Charlotte says she can hold it. we all hope so, because an accident in the car seat at this point would be a real drag. So Wolfe stats getting a bit fidgity. Perhaps he senses the level of anxiety rising in the van, as we're all hoping the next 20 miles pass quickly. Charlotte really has to go, claiming that her tummy is hurting. Uh oh. We pass an exit that had signage for gas, and perhaps should have taken that one, instead of trying to make it to the rest area. Charlotte says she can hold it, but is clearly a little too uncomfortable, so decide that we're going to need to pull over on the shoulder. The signage warns that it is a soft shoulder, and that it is allowed for EMERGENCY STOPPING ONLY. This is indeed an emergency! We pulled over safely, and I hopped out of the van to help Charlotte relieve herself at the side of the road. Ahh, that's s better daddy.

*whew*

We got out at the Maxwell Rest Area in about 10 miles and spent an hour there in the shade. Wolfe and Charlotte got to run around and then we all had a snack. The temperature is climbing, and it is going to be a hot afternoon of driving. By the time we left, it was not yet 1100 AM.

We pulled into Yreka, CA about 1320 this afternoon, done our driving for the day. Wow, starting off in the wee-wee hours really makes a heck of a difference! I think we will do that again tomorrow. It is HOT here in Yreka, and we had enough time to take the kids to the playground this PM for a good run-around. Also met some locals and got an invite to the community BBQ going on in the park - nice!

We had dinner supplies back in the motel, so that was where we headed after playtime....just getting kiddies to bed now, and I'm blogging outside the room on the sidewalk. Seems the Netbook is a wee bit too distracting for Charlotte this evening.....she asked Mommy why Daddy is working. Charlotte doesn't know that Daddy is keeping a web-based journal of the trip.....1 day I wonder if she will go here to read all about it....

After the coffee stop, we did a few more miles, then were trying to decide whether to stop at the next rest area, or try to make it to Sutherlin or Roseburg. The Cabin Creek Rest Area came up in about 2 miles, so we made that stop sometime after 0830 AM. The kiddies were a little fidgity, and the big kids needed to use the facilities. Ahhh. A little run-around did the kids some good, and it was time for another coffee!

Lance decided to drive the next leg, so I kicked back in the passenger seat and booted up the Netbook. Docked the smart-phone, unloaded some photos, and drafted the content for these entries.....we had some overcast here in Southern Oregon, and were heading to Ashland for brunch at the Breadboard Restaurant.

Was that Jump Off Joe Creek back there....?

I drove the first leg of the trip today, leaving the outskirts of Vancouver, WA at 0430. I had a bit of trouble finding the on-ramp to I5, and ended up doing a bit of a tour of downtown Vancouver. Nice town. Will have to come back and visit when things are open. Found the freeway, and bombed southbound, finding a little fog en route, to complement that inside the vehicle. Seemed to be a bunch of other folks up early in Portland, and we had plenty company on the way down I5 in the early morning darkness. The kids went back to sleep, so that gave me a nice chance to put on a lot of miles while not listening to any screaming or kiddie-music on CD.

I needed gas, and it was still dark when the low-tank indicator came on. I took a well-signed exit for gas, and pulled into the Arco station, where they don't accept credit cards. Ok, thanks. Luckily there was a Shell station down the road, so we pulled in there to tank up. Gas seems a little cheaper down here, as we got 65 litres of gas for $44 USD.

Back on the freeway, and somewhere between Albany and Eugene is this really long straight stretch of freeway. That became quite tiresome around 0600, and I developed a deep need for a coffee. Lance suggested that we take exit 174, which seemed to have plenty of signage for Lodging, Gas, and Food. This was the Cottage Grove exit, where we also saw signage for the National Historic Site that was near here. We drove past all the usual so-called "food" outlets, that shall remain nameless. No coffee shack, though. I was looking for a local espresso shop, but would have taken a Starbucks at this point, even though I am not a fan of their coffee. After passing thru the food strip, and then a strip mall on the edge of town, we were denied coffee. Also couldn't find an on-ramp back on to the freeway, so decided to cycle back through town looking for the on-ramp. Noticed that 2 or 3 cop cars were all circling town, so there was a bit of discussion around following them to the doughnut shop. That was a great idea, and I kept it in mind while I pulled up to the stop sign at Main Street. Turned right to head back towards I5, and then came upon the espresso outlet I had my eyeballs peeled for. The Espresso Barn, World Headquarters! I love these small little drive-up coffee shacks that they have down here, and this one did the trick. It was modeled in the shape of a red barn, with white trim. And with only 1 car in line, we were soon placing our order:

• 1 decaf latte, personal mug
• 1 half-decaf americano, personal mug
• 1 latte, personal mug
• 1 16 oz. latte, to go
• 1 Junior Steamer, with whipped cream

The Junior Steamer came topped with an animal cookie, so that was a nice value-add. Brilliant! $11 later and we are equipped with coffee, and back on the freeway. Cottage Grove, Espresso Barn....a stop off I5...

Got to find a list of playgrounds, near the I5. kaboom.

My buddy Guy used to describe these early mornings with the kids as having an "early riser". So far, we are off to an early start, indeed. Wolfe started kicking about at 0256, and we had a little family pow-wow about leaving early. We decided to get dressed, and get going....so here we go....should be on the I5 well before sunrise today...