The Summer of Vacationing
This summer has been packed. Literally, our suitcases have been packed almost this entire summer so far and it is just going to continue!
While this travel has been logged on another particularly easier to access on the go social media site, I feel compelled to journal our travels here.
We kicked off our summer travels with a trip down to California. We were not really planning to head down that early in summer, but the opportunity presented itself to go snatch up my dad and my niece and bring them back up to Washington, so naturally I jumped at the chance and headed south. We loaded the van and departed on a Friday morning and drove straight through....12+ hours after all the unplanned stops!
It was hot down there. So very hot. I realized that I don't like that kind of heat and I am glad I live in Washington and not the Sacramento valley.
While my flesh was melting off my body in California, we squeezed in a boating trip with my in-laws that included floating the river, the boys fishing, and a little grilling on the back of the boat. It was a lovely way to spend a hot day in Sacramento. We spent the rest of our time inside, in the air conditioned comfort of different family members' homes. It was great to see my grandma, who is still battling cancer, and the rest of my family too.
Top of Wednesday morning, we loaded up the van and headed north. It was already hot and my a/c decided to revolt. We drove about 9 hours with no air conditioning. The temperature in the van was ok, but we had to have all the windows open in order to keep it comfortable. That makes for a very very noisy ride. We had a quick turn around at my house, less than 24 hours, and we were off again. We headed even further north to spend the long weekend with my family in the Bellingham area.
4th of July was a little gloomy outside but we made the best of it and enjoyed a rain free fireworks display downtown in Blaine. The next day we gathered the family together and all painted my grandma's house. Somehow when everyone joins together with a good attitude and determination, even painting can be enjoyable. We skipped out the next day and headed to Canada for some time at a Waterpark, fish n chips on the coast and of course a stroll along the water in White Rock.
We headed back home and spent the next two days doing nothing at all. It felt great! Around town the boys and I, dad and Kaia checked out local playgrounds, the children's museum, farmer's market, and bowling. Back at home dad and the kids worked on building Eli's train set, we all watched movies and played games. We made a day trip up to Mt. Rainier for some hiking and ended the week with a drive down to Salem to drop off dad at his friend's house and the kids and I headed to the Newport coast. We spent two days there walking along the beaches, checking out the tide pools, and swimming in the hotel pool.
Finally our time with Kaia and dad came to an end Sunday night. We left them in Salem to head back home on their own and the kids and I returned home, a little wiped out.
Two days turn around and we were off again. This time we flew to Colorado!
We spend a week in the Colorado Springs area hanging with friends, hiking and enjoying exploring the area in the hot sun!
We returned to Seattle on Tuesday night, came home and then headed back to the city Wednesday morning for a matinee Mariners game. It was the only time we could catch the Mariners playing Matt's beloved Mets, so we HAD to go!
And here we are, home again for a few days. Time to do the laundry, mow the lawn, sleep in .... a lot, and prepare for our next few weeks of adventures.
I am overwhelmingly blessed by our opportunity to travel on a whim, to see family, to visit friends and to enjoy these precious summer days that the boys and I have off before school starts again.
While this travel has been logged on another particularly easier to access on the go social media site, I feel compelled to journal our travels here.
We kicked off our summer travels with a trip down to California. We were not really planning to head down that early in summer, but the opportunity presented itself to go snatch up my dad and my niece and bring them back up to Washington, so naturally I jumped at the chance and headed south. We loaded the van and departed on a Friday morning and drove straight through....12+ hours after all the unplanned stops!
It was hot down there. So very hot. I realized that I don't like that kind of heat and I am glad I live in Washington and not the Sacramento valley.
While my flesh was melting off my body in California, we squeezed in a boating trip with my in-laws that included floating the river, the boys fishing, and a little grilling on the back of the boat. It was a lovely way to spend a hot day in Sacramento. We spent the rest of our time inside, in the air conditioned comfort of different family members' homes. It was great to see my grandma, who is still battling cancer, and the rest of my family too.
Top of Wednesday morning, we loaded up the van and headed north. It was already hot and my a/c decided to revolt. We drove about 9 hours with no air conditioning. The temperature in the van was ok, but we had to have all the windows open in order to keep it comfortable. That makes for a very very noisy ride. We had a quick turn around at my house, less than 24 hours, and we were off again. We headed even further north to spend the long weekend with my family in the Bellingham area.
4th of July was a little gloomy outside but we made the best of it and enjoyed a rain free fireworks display downtown in Blaine. The next day we gathered the family together and all painted my grandma's house. Somehow when everyone joins together with a good attitude and determination, even painting can be enjoyable. We skipped out the next day and headed to Canada for some time at a Waterpark, fish n chips on the coast and of course a stroll along the water in White Rock.
We headed back home and spent the next two days doing nothing at all. It felt great! Around town the boys and I, dad and Kaia checked out local playgrounds, the children's museum, farmer's market, and bowling. Back at home dad and the kids worked on building Eli's train set, we all watched movies and played games. We made a day trip up to Mt. Rainier for some hiking and ended the week with a drive down to Salem to drop off dad at his friend's house and the kids and I headed to the Newport coast. We spent two days there walking along the beaches, checking out the tide pools, and swimming in the hotel pool.
Finally our time with Kaia and dad came to an end Sunday night. We left them in Salem to head back home on their own and the kids and I returned home, a little wiped out.
Two days turn around and we were off again. This time we flew to Colorado!
We spend a week in the Colorado Springs area hanging with friends, hiking and enjoying exploring the area in the hot sun!
We returned to Seattle on Tuesday night, came home and then headed back to the city Wednesday morning for a matinee Mariners game. It was the only time we could catch the Mariners playing Matt's beloved Mets, so we HAD to go!
And here we are, home again for a few days. Time to do the laundry, mow the lawn, sleep in .... a lot, and prepare for our next few weeks of adventures.
I am overwhelmingly blessed by our opportunity to travel on a whim, to see family, to visit friends and to enjoy these precious summer days that the boys and I have off before school starts again.
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