Drive Stats: 160 miles MH, 50 miles Jeep, __ hours on the road
Depart: 9ish am Arrive: 2:00pm
Tonight is the GOF auction dinner night. We came to help out. I got to be my mom's fresh eyes and energy as she was pretty wiped out from being chairperson of the whole week.
Chris took the girls to the pool so they could be active for a bit. (Marissa doing amazing in the pool
on her own!) Then Chris, girls, and I helped move all the auction items from the work room to the display tables, girls carried small items and put all the pens out.
Piper and Addisyn were runners (delivering winning auction item papers to the cashier table), bringing items from the live auction tables to the stage, and played "Vanna" on stage holding items up while the announcer talked about them. Marissa sat on Uncle Jerry's lap and helped put in numbers for the live auction powerpoint.
Marissa and Piper were NOT happy to go home late and tired while Addisyn and I stayed later to finish helping... it was 11pm by the time we left; Stacy let me borrow her truck for the night.
DAY 21--THUR 7/13/17 -- GOF in Santa Maria / Pismo Beach afternoon
Drive Stats: 50 miles in the Jeep, __ hours on the road (40 min each way)
We played at the GOF Funkhana--obstacle course in MG's. We learned the difference between the model TC, TD, and TF. Stacy & Jerry competed (placed 3rd! even with no brakes at the end--dad and I stopped them). Then me and girls went through again with Stacy driving for fun--girls loved it! It was sports themed, with "Superbowl" bean bag toss, fishing, hold a tennis ball and drive in a circle, skiing (driver hands up), "NASCAR" backing and parking without bumping the bottle off its shelf, and the "baseball" picture puzzle, all while being timed and avoiding penalties for errors or knocking down cones. All the little cars sounded like Autopia at Disneyland.
Addisyn, Piper, and Karen did the "carless" Funkhana where we had to guess car parts hidden in pillowcases so we could feel the shape but not see it. It was fun doing it together and seeing them take an interest in learning about parts of the car.
We took pictures for nostalgia...about 35 years ago Stacy and Karen fit in the back (before Marcy was born).
Afternoon---we were so tired! We all took mini naps at some point.
The kids climbed trees, met the Jr. Ranger guide on a nature walk, biked a trail around the campground lagoon. After dinner, Chris, Addisyn, and Piper walked down to the beach and collected sand dollars, while Karen and Marissa showered and attempted to get little miss "I'm always tired" to bed. Addisyn and Piper started their journals around the campfire.
DAY 22--FRI 7/14/17 -- Pismo Beach day 2
It was nice sleeping in. Chris cooked breakfast outside and we ate ~9:30.
And we drove in the Pismo beach dunes. We counted about 922 trailers & 22 MH beach camping on the sand.
We played at the beach, even though we were cold. It was strange telling kids to look both ways before crossing the road between the Jeep and water's edge play area. The water was too cold to play in, but they loved the sand.
Girls made friends at camp and exchanged phone #'s/emails with Emily (from Bakersfield).
The Jeep passenger door handle broke so have to put window down to open it from inside.
DAY 23--SAT 7/15/17 -- Pismo Beach day 3
We all rode our bikes a few blocks to eat breakfast in a train car diner. It was the first time Marissa rode around city streets (low traffic back roads). Marissa will be getting a new bike this summer too--her little legs were spinning crazy fast and she needed breaks because she got tired.
We drove into Pismo downtown--it was SO crowded, and pier was under construction
Then we came back to Oceano and did the beach again. Karen drove Jeep on sand (and DIDN'T get stuck) and IN the beach waves because we left at high tide. The Jeep is going to get a full detail and undercarriage wash when we get home!
BBQ dinner out AJ Spurs (recommended by Amber) Steakhouse & Saloon-- fun lots of
food, root beer floats and prizes from the treasure chest in front of the bison statue. Chris
ordered the kids drinks in souvenier light-up boot cups.
DAY 24--SUN 7/16/17 -- DRIVE DAY --> HOME!
Drive Stats: 318 miles, __ hours on the road
Detour-- Hwy 154 closed (digital signage but no explanation...due to fire?)
DEP: 9:50am ARR: __pm (apparently too excited to arrive to note the time)
Our detour was to stay on the 101 (not 154).
We passed the time playing make-believe that the MH is a plane (or a train or boat depending on Marissa's whim)... Daddy is the pilot; Marissa is the "take care of things person" (flight attendant); when we are on the highway we are flying, when we pull over or stop for gas it's a layover, and when we pull into camp it's our destination landing. Marissa will fetch for daddy and ask the pilot if he needs anything.
HIGHLIGHTS:
A RECORD # of days traveling together in an RV! We survived! And even didn't want it to end.
LESSONS LEARNED:
-As tempting as it is to see EVERYTHING in the region, be okay skipping some things...
-Plan "vacation days" into the trip--like a weekend day to do not much but relax, rest, and be free. Some down days will be used for groceries and laundry, or the inevitable fix-it problem on the road (a house on wheels WILL have something that needs tending to!).
-Balancing eating well and exercise while in a new routine was a challenge... I gotta make sure I fit in the clothes I packed!
Trip Overview: How I organized pictures and kept track of where we went
More picts! Thank you Susan for sharing these:
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