He’s going for it…0 km left of fuel…and finally exclaims ‘must get off highway at next exit’

Eureka, CA – Santa Rosa, CA

Distance: 350 kms

Actual Drive Time: 3.5 hours

No pictures today (sorry)! we’ve been on a bit of a mission to make our way to San Fran for a day of fun and break up the driving a little bit. Kids=ultimate champs in the car. A bit of a surprise…we were planning for it to be a little more of a challenge. Big win is the activity bag…every hour (if they ask) they can reach in to the activity bag and pull out a surprise. (We’re averaging about $8 a day on surprise activities ;))

Today we left Eureka around 1030 am after a little work and exercise for the grown-ups. We stopped for lunch in Laytonville – amazing how hot the temperature was just an hour south of Eureka. We landed in Santa Rosa…couldn’t resist a sweet hotwire deal for a 4 star hotel with a nice pool (only $15 more than Motel 6’s on the way down…steal!). Great night at the Fountaingrove Inn…awesome pool…lots of fun all around.

Tomorrow we head into San Fran. Another great Priceline deal…landed the Westin St. Francis in Union Square.  Only 1 hour of driving tomorrow…going to have fun with the kiddos in one of my favourite cities.

Love to all! xo

Dinner …watching the sunset and fireworks over the bridge…by the river…;)

Coos Bay, Oregon – Eureka, CA

Distance: 350 kms

Actual Drive Time: 4 hours

Highlights:

• Redwood National Park
• Picnic in Samoa Dunes Park in Eureka (we were there solo for most of the time)
• Swimming in the pool at the hotel 😉

Fantastic day today! Kids were amazing…drive was beautiful…we are lucky people! Tomorrow off to Santa Rosa, California. We’re opting to take 101 most of the way to cut some time. We’ve booked a night in San Fran on Thursday…Cruising the coast again for the weekend! Life is beyond good 😉

Can’t help but post these pics. They are cute, loving…quiet 😉 we are icing this age where they are so amazing together. Sweet dreams little ones!

Portland, OR – Coos Bay, OR

Distance: 365 kms

Actual Drive Time: 5 hours

Highlights:

• Morning run on the Columbia River with views of Mount Hood
• Reaching the coast and starting our trek down HWY 101
• Lunch at Mo’s in Newport Bay – really cool little fishing town (Will didn’t like the smell – Jay hopes he has Mariner genes in there somewhere)
• Sand Dunes in Florence, OR

Today was largely a driving day.  The kids have both been amazing – fingers crossed it lasts a few more days! We headed from Portland to the coast…finally landing in Coos Bay.  Beautiful views of the coast for most of the afternoon. We found a few places we’d like to stop at on our way back up.  Very exciting to think about the slow trip back and less time on the road 😉

Tomorrow we’ll end up in Eureka, California…after a visit to Redwoods State Park. Making some great memories! xo

Our little peanuts had a big day!

Vancouver, BC to Portland, Oregon.

Distance: 520 kms

Actual Drive Time: 5.5 hours

Highlights:

• Woodland Park Zoo – feeding Dave the Giraffe and an old school carousel ride
• Squeaky cheese in Seattle
• Singing Beth happy birthday
• Surprise bag activities in the car (Tal’s fav)
• Seeing the Freemont Bridge go up to let the sailboats pass by
• Seeing Flamingos just like the ones we saw in Anegada

What we learned today:

• You can make paper from elephant poo
• Ostrich eggs are the biggest in the world
• Cheetah’s are the fastest land animal
• Bridges go up to let sailboats pass through

Great first day on the road.  Both kids were champs…no (major) meltdowns, no emergency bathroom breaks, not even an ‘are we there yet’.  That said, 1.5 hours in, Will said he’d like to go home now 😉  Then after we called Beth to wish her a happy birthday, he said he wanted it go home not to see Beth.  Might be a long trip! Woodland Park Zoo was a great pitstop today.  We’ve been before…but the kids were definitely more in to it this time. Feeding Dave the Giraffe was so much fun – both kids loved it.

Tomorrow we hit the coast. Goal is to do about 4 hours of driving per day…not exactly sure where that will put us tomorrow…but guessing somewhere North of Coos Bay.

Night, night!