First Ride – Mission Beach

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Grammy was able to make a last minute run to see the kids before we all disappear south of the border—where bandidos lurk behind every boulder. The kids were ecstatic. There is always quite a build up before her visits. “How many more days ’til Grammy gets here? Show me with … Read More

Day of the Dead

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We drove over to San Diego’s Old Town for the Day of the Dead festivities. There were plenty of people to watch, and faces to be painted, but for some reason there wasn’t a single street food vendor to be found and the music seemed to be on break more … Read More

Halloween

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We spent a night in Indio before traveling south along the Salton Sea. There isn’t much happening out there, that’s for sure. It was a nice drive, beautiful in its starkness. When we turned west the desert enveloped us, and for miles and miles all we saw was perfectly groomed … Read More

Joshua Tree National Park

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Nobody was in a hurry to leave the lake. It almost seems sometimes that the less there is to do (in our adult minds) the more the kids find to do. We did eventually make it down to Joshua Tree. We spent a night in the Black Rock Canyon hiking … Read More

Brave

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Ran into some traffic on our way somewhere. Spotted an exit with a sign for a campground somewhere else. Spent an uneventful night somewhere I can’t recall. Well actually it wasn’t all uneventful. The neighbor came home drunk and backed his truck into his rv. There was a bit of … Read More

Ventura

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Spent a nice day at this place near Ventura—just a long strip of road right along the beach.

Refugio State Beach

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We’ve said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, but not before a walk down State Street turned into some sort of costume buying bonanza. Ouest was wearing hers for a couple of days before she asked who that was a picture of on the brooch. “That’s Barbie.” “Who’s Barbie?” Parenting—so far so good … Read More

Don’t Do That. Or That. Or That.

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We went out to a nearby pumpkin patch this morning. The kids have really been wanting to do this, so we waited until the grandparents could join in the fun. However, once we got to Lane Farm’s Pumpkin Patch I quickly discovered that the place did not want anybody to … Read More

Santa Barbara

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We boogied down the coast and got to Santa Barbara just in time for our meet-up with Ali’s parents. Somehow Ali and I have always managed to miss Santa Barbara. After one day I have to say that we’re really enjoying the place. The weather is gorgeous, the boardwalk is … Read More

Hearst Castle

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Highway 1 south of San Francisco is crazy beautiful, and actually a little easier to drive than it is further north. Which doesn’t mean it is an easy drive—in fact, one day we stopped in Big Sur after nearly three hours on the road with only a couple overlook stops … Read More

Back On Our Way

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Ali to the kids: “Papa did it, huh? The bus is fixed.” Ouest: “He wouldn’t have been able to do it without us, though.” Ali had been telling them all week that I needed their help. They were making runs to the store for me, staying out of the bus … Read More