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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....

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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...

We pulled off the Coho ferry, and hung a left in downtown Port Angeles. We were in search of a grocery store, the planned (and authorized) first stop. Needless to say, the driver is typically involved in negotiations about where and when to stop with this crew.

The ferry was fullly-loaded with cars and motor-homes, so we all proceeded up the hill out of town in a slowly moving chain of vehicles. Found the Safeway just outside town, and picked up some bread, fruit, and water.

Haven't bought store bread in a while, and I didn't get a chance to make the 2 loaves of sourdough last night for the trip, but did manage to FREEZE my starter, which is now almost 3 months young. I hope that baby springs back to life when I thaw and feed it after the trip.

While the kids were snacking on lunch, Lance and I made sandwiches for the adults. Yum! the home-made veggie butter went quite nicely with some extra-old cheddar and a pickle. I'm thinking that the veggie butter might have been spiked with gingko or something ,as I was immediately inspired with several great ideas shortly after chowing down. Robin denies spiking with any herbs or other additives....

If I was to pick 1 word to sum up the start of the road-trip, it would be "frantic". Everyone was busy yesterday at home getting ready for the trip, while I was busy at work leaving several projects in various states of being. I've been updatng a hard-copy trip check-list, and there was still lots to do by the time I got home on Tuesday night. Had to do various bits of cleaning, tidying, packing, and online errands.

The Coho was fairly heavily booked, so we had to park the van down there overnight to secure a spot in line. Needed to be on the first ferry, leaving at 1030. Went to bed at 0200, and got up with Wolfe at 0545, as he was needing a change of sleeping venue. Crashed with him on the couch downstairs for almost an hour, and got up at 0645. Got up feeling thoroughly trashed, but that's not uncommon these daze. Me and Lance got a ride down to the Coho Customs Compound at 0800 with Sarah, with all the rest of our stuff that we still needed to cram into the van. While Lance did the strategic packing exercise, I moved Charlotte's car-seat from the middle row into the back row. We've decided to travel with 1 adult seated next to each child, as we felt that might go over better for both of the kiddies. Took Charlotte's car seat out and discovered that I'd need to put the head-rest back in that seat. Ooops. Had to run home to get it out of attic storage, and back by 0900 before Customs Compound Closedown. Good thing we're not in Swartz Bay.

A large number of mammoth motor-homes slowly lumbered onto the Coho car-deck, and it took a while to get them stationed correctly for the trip. We left Victoria shortly after 1030. The ferry trip was OK, and featured several road-trip highlights including:

• Wolfe shopping in the Coho gift-shop. The colouring books, crayons, postcards, and Hannah Montana toy kit were all targets of . Luckily nothing ended up in his mouth.
• Wolfe inspecting the seating on the upper outer deck. The fold-down deck chairs were all found to be suitable climbing platforms.
• Wolfe issuing a wake-up call to anyone sleeping in the coffee shop. Not sure why he decided to scream at the top of his lungs there, but it could be that I didn't let him play with the change-return slot in the vending machine long enough to satisfy his curiousity.
• Justine's extra-sweet, flavoured coffee: coffee-shop coffee spiked with 2 shots too much of a caramel syrup. Mmmm...don't know how I reached the bottom of the cup on that one - I've been going with only cream in the coffee lately.