Okay, so that blog title is mostly a joke. ;-) We really did grow up in California, but unlike the
SNL skit, have never used "the" when talking about freeways, highways, interstates, or any other roads. Then again, we grew up in Northern California so that might be a regional difference. SoCal's, any insights? On that note, we did take
101 and it was a beautiful drive!
Last week we joined my husband in California to finish settling the estate of my Father-in-law. Then we caravanned to Washington for work and to bring a few things home. It was a long drive, especially with no relief driver in the car, but we made it! It ended up being fun in spite of the pouring rain. The kids were especially excited when we went over the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Fun fact: My husbands grandmother marched across the Golden Gate with her school band when it opened in 1937! Their family has a long history in California.
San Francisco also has a lot of cool murals and beautiful architecture.
We made sure to visit
Chandelier Tree (the drive-thru tree) and stamped our
Parks Passport at
Redwood National and State Park. Close to the Oregon border you will see gorgeous coastal views. I definitely recommend going if you're ever nearby!
Fortunately for the kids, we were able to get home in time to go trick-or-treating, which was exciting. A big thank you to our wonderful friends for taking them while we sorted everything out! This week has given us a chance to visit the orthodontist and to get a few other things taken care of. Mostly though, it's just been nice to visit with friends and be home for a tick.
Our unexpected detour ended up adding three states we weren't planning on visiting this year- California, Oregon, and Washington. Who knows? We may need to hit all 50 now just to say we did!
Tomorrow we head back to Idaho. I'm sure the dogs will be excited to see us again! They've been at a kennel while we've been gone. Then we start preparing to head down to Arizona for the next leg of our trip in a week or two. Is it really almost time for the third leg of our adventure?!? I guess what they say is true, time flies!
- Jen
