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The Ultimate Road Trip

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A Five-Week Vacation

Go on vacation for a month? You have to be rich or retired to do that, right? Not necessarily. Under the right circumstances, it is possible to go on a longer vacation. We went on such a vacation during the summer of 2009, and I promise you, we are not rich. There were a couple of things that made it possible:

1. I work over the internet, and continued working while I was on vacation.
2. We stayed with relatives or camped most of the time.
3.We limited the costly activities.

Prior to our road trip, I wrote about Earning a Vacation for My Kids. Although I talked about the trip a little on that lens, this is a more detailed description.

Perhaps I can inspire someone to go on their own Ultimate Road Trip. I also took another road trip in 2011. I'll be writing about that shortly.

Unless otherwise noted, all pictures and videos are copyright 2009 Brooke Lorren, except for Amazon and eBay product photos.

The Highlights

Ventura

We left Phoenix that night, after our kids had finished Vacation Bible School. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn in the library books that were due before we left (woops! Don't do that). I drove until midnight, and then we switched out drivers at the state line. When I woke up, we were a couple of hours from the beach.

If you're traveling with friends, be sure to get a good idea of what you're going to do while you're on your way. I didn't realize that my friends wanted this to be a longer stop. We splashed in the waves, looked at crabs (I got a really great picture of this one crab on the rock), and my kids got really wet. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that we were going to stop for long, and I didn't have any clothes set out to change the kids into. Everything for the trip was stuffed into our trunk, and I wasn't prepared to get anything out until we got to the hotel. My poor littlest guy ended up hanging out in a diaper for the rest of the day (yes, I did have spare diapers out).

After Ventura, we drove up the 101. I hadn't realized how poor the road had gotten. We didn't make as much progress as we had hoped, and although we had planned on staying in the Redwood Forest that night, it wasn't going to happen. We were tired, and we weren't even past San Francisco yet.

As we started trying to find a place to camp, all the spots were full. My friends were ready to go home, and they wanted to stop in some parking lot to sleep there. My car is too small to sleep in, everything is stuffed in the back of my car and I'm not about to drag everything out to sleep in a parking lot, and I didn't really think that idea was safe, so I ended up parting ways with them and ended up going to a hotel in Williams, California. We agreed to call each other the next day and decide on what to do then. I was heading North no matter what.

After a good night's sleep, my friends were feeling better, and decided to move ahead. They met us in Willliams, and we drove back to the coast to continue on our journey.

Zazzle Products from my Trip

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California Beach Camping

That night, we did find a spot to camp on the beach. We stayed at a county park right next to the ocean. It was my first time setting up a tent, by myself, so I had to figure out how to do it. We had the chance to walk along the beach and see the sun set on the ocean.

It was really cold that night though. My little boy didn't want to go to sleep in his sleeping bag, so he must have been extra cold. He was unfamiliar with the tent and didn't really like it.

The next morning, we packed everything up and moved on to the Redwood Forest.

Tire Trouble

Before we left for the Redwoods, I noticed that somehow my back tire had gone flat. Normally when you're tire goes you notice it, but I must have run over a nail in the parking lot or something. My friend helped me change into my spare tire, and we had an additional challenge on our hands: finding a tire to buy in a location where we didn't know where any of the tire shops were. We weren't located by any cities or anything. There was a town called Crescent City that we were headed towards, but we didn't know anything there.

We tried some rinky dink repair shop, but they didn't have any tires my car's size. We tried Wal-Mart, and although it was a Supercenter, it didn't have a tire shop. Finally, we found a gas station that sold new tires. Fortunately, I still had some money in my account, and I was going to get paid again at midnight that night.

Photo by cmpt.

Redwood Forest

I've always heard the song "This Land Is Your Land" which talks about America... "From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream Waters...". I've driven through the Redwood Forest before, but I never got the chance to stay. So on my way to visit my family, I wanted to stop at the Redwood Forest.

I never realized how much of the Redwood Forest was by the ocean. My friends were more interested in the beach aspect of the Redwood Forest, and I was more interested in the trees. We stayed at a nice little park by a riverbank. My little boy liked throwing rocks in the river there. We took a long stroll on the beach in an area that seemed pretty much out of the way. We were looking for sand dollars, but I didn't see any whole ones.

We stayed for two nights before it was time to move on. On the last day, we took a scenic drive through part of the forest. Unfortunately, I was supposed to stop by the Sea Lion Caves that day on my way to Portland, my next stop, but they were closed by the time we finally arrived.

Barnacles at the Beach

I filmed these on the beach in Crescent City.
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Arriving in Washington

Although we left my friends for a while in order to try to catch the Sea Lion Caves, we met up with them in Portland for our last night before we reached Washington. They wanted to get a copy of some of the pictures I took. We stayed with some friends of theirs.

The next morning, they copied the photos at Walgreen's, and then it was time to go. It normally isn't too much of a drive to go from Portland to my parent's house in Belfair, at least by long-distance road trip standards. It's only about four hours. We did hit some traffic though.

We were tired when we arrived, and my little boy easily went to sleep that night.

Stuff You Might Want on the Road

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Fourth of July

We had about a day to relax, and then it was the Fourth of July, which we were going to spend at Ocean Shores. My brother had paid for a camping spot near the ocean, and we were going to join them on the Fourth. My mom and dad came down for the day too, and we had a great time at the beach.

The kids had a great time. My daughter played with her cousin, everybody ran in the ocean, and my dad flew kites. We ran into some friends that I knew from high school, and we decided to do fireworks with them after we went to get some pizza for dinner.

My parents had to feed their pets, so they weren't staying the night, so we said goodbye to them after dinner, and then met up with our friends to set off some fireworks. Nearby Ocean City has a fireworks display that they do every year, but it was so misty it was hard to see their display.

Help! Stranded on the Beach!

Although we had a lot of fun with our friends on the fourth, the weather was a little bit misty. It was getting dark, and everybody was packing up. As we started driving home, a most unpleasant thing happened.

The car started slipping on the sand, almost like driving in snow. Then the car got stuck. Stepping on the gas didn't help. I couldn't move.

We realized that the tide was coming in, but the weather was so dark and misty that you couldn't see where the ocean was. I couldn't move my car, and I had visions of the water coming in and sweeping my car out to sea. I had seen some of those cars before, on trips to the beach as a kid, with the whole inside filled with sand. I was wondering how we were going to get home. Were we going to have to take our tent and stuff out of the car?

A truck drove by and offered to tow us for $20. I didn't have any money. I was a little appalled at the profiteering, but we later saw that truck stuck in the surf anyway. It drove off. My brother was with me in his car. I prayed, and we found another car to help us.

We got stuck a little bit less a little bit later, and my brother's car got stuck. We decided to drive up the beach, away from the water, close to the dunes. Although you don't want to get your car stuck in the dunes, at least you can get a tow truck to get you out. When we got far enough away from the surf, we stopped and waited. The tide was eventually going to go out again. We watched other cars, and even trucks, get stuck in the surf. We saw the waves come up over some of their bumpers. It was scary.

Eventually, the tide started to go out, and we could safely go without drowning our cars. Unfortunately, the tidal conditions, combined with all of the Fourth of July traffic slipping and sliding on the sand, had left the beach a mess. I followed my brother out of there, and I don't know if I was so happy to ever leave the ocean in my life.

I wanted to go back the next day to see if any cars got stuck out there, but I never got around to it.

Camping Essentials

You'll want some of these if you go camping.
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Theler Wetlands

Theler wetlands, copyright 2009 Brooke LorrenThe Theler Wetlands are a pretty nice place to go for a walk if you're in Belfair, Washington. Although it's located in the middle of Belfair, you can take a nice walk in the middle of the forest. At the right time of year, you can grab a few berries to snack on while you're out there.

Lots of people like to go on this walk for exercise. I took my kids out there a couple of times so they would have some things to do. I tried to take them out to do something every day.

You can visit my full photo album of the Theler Wetlands on Sidetick.com.

Allyn Park

The Allyn Park is a pretty nice place to stop. I took my kids out on the shore, to the playground, and had them visit the dock.

There is a little known fact about the Allyn Docks. They have traps to keep the pigeons away, but the managers of the park don't tell you about what they do with the pigeons that they trap. They give the pigeons to someone who likes to release them and shoot at them for target practice. Not a very nice thing. Really infuriates my mom.

After we took the kids to the Allyn Park, we spent some time with my grandma and my aunt.

Tents on Ebay

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Staircase

Staircase river copyright 2009 Brooke Lorren

Staircase is one of my favorite places to camp. My family used to go there every year, and I missed it. It was a huge production. My cousins, aunts, and grandparents came too.

Unfortunately, in recent years people stopped going. Grandma got too old, and some of my family members started bickering. I couldn't make it because I lived so far away. People stopped going to Staircase, and when they did, they fought.

Not so this year. We had a great time. Most of my cousins showed up. They didn't stay for the whole time, but the time they did stay was great. We all earned Junior Ranger badges. We hiked together. People didn't fight. It was almost like old times.

Kalaloch

Cooking a la Survivor

After I got back from Staircase, I had one full day of rest before we left for Kalaloch. I hadn't been there for years, but I wanted my kids to be able to experience it. So we took off. The weather was supposed to be nice, but it was cloudy the whole time, and it misted a lot. We still had a great time though.

Before we left, I bought a lantern to see with and a pot to cook with, but I forgot to buy utensils to cook with. So I ended up cooking with a stick. That's what they'd do on the Survivor television show, right? Fortunately, there's a lot of driftwood at Kalaloch. I also broke my lantern mantle while trying to light it, so I had to go pick up another one at the store the next day. Then I broke the globe on the second night, when it tipped over after I tried to put it away for the night.

We actually camped at South Beach, because the Kalaloch campground was full when we arrived. Between June and Labor Day, you'll probably want to make reservations. Even South Beach was almost full when we arrived. It was a lot different than when I went when I was a kid. Back then, it was just an open field. This time, there were fire pits, picnic tables, and designated spots.

This was my first time camping by myself with the kids, and I was a little nervous. Everybody around us was very helpful though.

More Camping Equipment

Be Prepared... Don't Cook with a Stick Like I Did

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Family Reunion

The last planned event for the trip before we left was the family reunion. I hadn't been to one for years, so it was nice to go again. The last time I went to the family reunion was when my daughter was 1 1/2 years old. They had never met my son.

My little boy loves watermelon. He spent all afternoon either in the wading pool, jumping in the bounce house, or with a watermelon in his hand. He probably ate about 1/4 of a watermelon all by himself.

Saying Goodbye

We had a day to pack and get ready to go home. My brother, his girlfriend, her son, and my niece came over, and we played blackjack with Smarties. My grandma and aunt stopped by to say goodbye as well. We had been away from home for several weeks, and I was looking forward to the Grand Canyon, seeing my old friends at home again, and getting back to our old routine.

My daughter didn't want to go. She was sad that she was going to have to leave her cousin. I had to come back in a couple of weeks to attend my grandpa's memorial service, so I wasn't so sad to leave, because I knew that I would be back.

On the Road Again

I love driving long distances through beautiful countryside. At least for a short amount of time.

We had a great drive. We drove to Portland, and then along the Columbia through the Dalles. It is so beautiful, and maybe we'll want to stop by there some day to camp. Then we went South at Boise, drove all the way through Utah, and on to the Grand Canyon.

I wanted to stop by Salt Lake, but I didn't do any research ahead of time, so I couldn't really figure out where to stop while driving down the freeway. So we just drove on.

We were going to stop by Mount Zion National Park. It's beautiful. I remember driving through when I was a kid. I decided to pass when I discovered that it would cost $25 just to drive through. No thanks. We were already going to pay $25 that evening to go to the Grand Canyon.

This photo is of my daughter doing a cartwheel at a rest area in Utah.

The Grand Canyon

I went to the Grand Canyon when I was in eighth grade, but my kids had never gone. I had never camped there. We did a rim-to-rim drive on the first day of our Grand Canyon portion of the trip, and then did some touristy activities on the South Rim on the second day, after camping at Grand Canyon Village.

Driving rim-to-rim is really beautiful, and you should do it if you get the chance. We started at the North Rim, which is not as crowded (or commercial) as the South Rim, and is only open during the summer. We drove down the Grand Staircase, so we were surrounded by canyon walls on all sides. It was absolutely gorgeous. Although the South Rim's campground was full when we got there, we were able to find a spot outside the National Park, in Grand Canyon Village.

The next day we took pictures at the South Rim, got our Junior Ranger badges, and picked up a couple of souvenirs. Then it was time to finish the drive and go home. I was looking forward to that.

This picture was taken from the North Rim. There was a fire that day, which is where the smoke comes from.

A 360º Tour of the Grand Staircase

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The Unpleasant Return

Eeeew!

The last thing that you want to do when you come back from a month-long road trip is to come back to a house that stinks. That's exactly what happened to us.

I'm not sure what happened, but we had an old refrigerator, and the seal on the door was bad. I think that perhaps when someone closed the refrigerator, the seal on the freezer might have popped (or vice-versa) and caused the motor to run 24-7 in the 110 degree heat. The refrigerator burned out, and then caused the breaker to trip. That's my theory. Whatever the cause, the refrigerator was without power, probably for weeks, and the house stunk.

Rather than relaxing when we got home, I had to clean out the refrigerator ASAP. My neighbors gave me a plastic glove to help out. I threw just about everything out, with the exception of some glassware. That still didn't help the house. After cleaning out the entire refrigerator, we discovered that it wasn't working. Fortunately, we live close to Wal-Mart, so we were able to shop every day for food. I was able to get the refrigerator replaced within a couple of days, and once we pushed it outside, the house started to smell better.

Photo by Edward.

Road Trip Tips

Before you leave on a month-long road trip, be sure to:

  • Turn in all your library books.
  • Double check to make sure that your refrigerator door is closed.
  • Bring metal utensils for cooking over the campfire (works better than sticks).


When you're driving it helps to have some good music to listen to. I put together some of my favorite road songs for the trip. Although I had over 24 hours worth of music on my iPod, I actually repeated some of the music a little too often. For my next road trip, I'd like to have more songs than that.

Keep the kids occupied. Let them have some small toys for the back. Your kids might want to play auto bingo. Plan on frequent stops at the rest area, especially if you have children with small bladders.

Road Trip 2011?

Writing about this trip really makes me want to go again. Despite all the interesting things that happened, it was a lot of fun. I also learned some things, so next time I won't end up cooking with a stick.

We weren't able to come up with the finances to go in 2010, but I still would love to go again. I'd love to spend some time with my family, but at the same time, I'd like to go visit somewhere that I've never been before. Perhaps Yellowstone or Yosemite. They're both a little out of the way, but if you're taking a long time off, you can go.

If I'm making enough money from writing by then, maybe I'll be able to go.

Summer 2011?

In 2011, we went to Washington again to see the family, while my husband did an internship in Alaska. While we were there, I took my kids to Mount Rainier. Along the way, we stopped at Yellowstone. Where would you have stopped if you were me?

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Brookelorren

Homeschooler, professional content producer, and work at home mom. My interests are Christianity, current events, education, scrapbooking, and more. more »

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