Road trip by the numbers

Our Rand Family Vacation this summer took us to Yosemite via Visalia, and then we continued to Santa Barbara for a scenic route home. 

I thought it would be fun to commemorate the trip numerically:

3 CAMPGROUNDS -- KOA in Visalia, Thousand Trails at Yosemite, and Ocean Mesa RV park at El Capitan state beach.

11 Days / 10 Nights -- our longest trip together in the trailer

3 carseats in the F350

35 foot fifth wheel trailer in tow

1200 MILES on the truck

36 HOURS in carseats

3 nine-to-ten hour drive days
1 missed turn (and a 3-point turn on a two lane highway with the trailer to get back on track)

0 accidents or tire failures (although Chris did take the truck to a tire store to have cracked sidewall checked out)

6 fuel stops for diesel

4-5 gas stations we drove by because they were too tight to fit

1 gas station we had to back out into a major street because we didn't fit

9 playgrounds (2 of which were "playground restaurants")

3 Rand families / 3 RV's

10 "Rands" (5 of us, 3 Mike's family, 2 grands)

2 seniors with free admission passes to national parks

2 FIRST teeth for Marissa

2 blow-out diapers for Marissa (thankfully neither in the carseat!)

1 trip to the ER--Addisyn had a severe tummy ache we had to confirm was not appendicitis

2 visits to Bravo Farms--since Addisyn didn't get to do anything the first day when she was sick

3 cousins--we got to visit with Kristen and her two youngest at Bravo Farms 

1 Swedish horse we sat on in the town of Kingsburg

2 waterfalls in Yosemite we "hiked" to and climbed on the rocks

1 fish hatchery where the kids fed fish and held a trout in their hands

2 swimming pools--and daddy taught Addisyn how to tread water

4 afternoons of play in the river at our campground

1 fish Chris caught in the river using our laundry net bag

1 beach day--Addisyn looked forward to the beach all week long, the girls played gloriously for hours on end, and Marissa celebrated her FIRST beach day by tipping over from sitting on the towel and face-planting in the sand.

0 shark sightings--we drove 10 miles up the coast because there were recent shark sightings El Capitan state beach across from our campground

4 training wheels keeping Addisyn and Piper busy riding their bikes at our last campground (Addisyn tried to go without hers, but Chris had to put them back on)

8 s'mores

1 zippy bag that thankfully saved the interior of the truck from the contents of Addisyn's stomach going down the windy mountain roads

2 smart phones for mapping and routing on-the-go

1 time waved down on the freeway for trailer trouble (our emergency window was flapping and we lost the screen)

8 rolls of toilet paper (thank goodness we have rule that pee paper goes in the trash can, or that black tank wouldn't stand a chance)

What felt like 18,000 potty visits between Addisyn and Piper.

2 journals that Addisyn and Piper wrote in (nearly) daily--I wrote Piper's ideas for her to trace, and did that for Addisyn sometimes too--I hope they will be eager to read them with their grandparents

and...
714 digital pictures to sort through...photos will have to come in the next blog!